Russia Accused of Killing Dozens of Syrian Civilians

Amidst accusations that recent Russian air-strikes in Syria resulted in the deaths of dozens of civilians, diplomats from Moscow and Washington traded accusations on Monday regarding the conduct of the factions they support in that country’s nearly seven-year-old multi-faceted civil war. Russian Deputy Foreign Minister Sergei Rybakov issued a harsh statement blaming the US for the death of a Russian general in Syria over the weekend, an accusation to which the Pentagon declined to respond.

The process of counting ballots from Monday’s referendum on independence in Iraqi Kurdistan was underway Tuesday, amidst reports that early counting showed an overwhelming majority in favor of independence. The poll was opposed by most world governments, including regional heavyweights Turkey and Iran, who fear the effect it would have on their own Kurdish populations if Iraqi Kurds declare their own state. Israel is the lone country in the world which has announced its support for the referendum, which is non-binding and could be used by the provisional government in Irbil as a bargaining chip for a more favorable relationship with the regime in Baghdad.

Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu set the tone for his government’s reaction to elections in Germany on Monday, saying Israel’s “friend, (incumbent Chancellor) Angela Merkel has just won the German government elections.” He did not mention the surprisingly strong electoral support for the Alternative for Germany (AfD) Party, despite expressions of deep concern about the possible implications of this development by many of Germany’s Jewish communal leaders.

US-based international technology conglomerate IBM Watson announced in recent days that it is in the process of acquiring Israeli start-up Cloudigo, which offers solutions for cloud computing. It was the latest in a growing tsunami of Israeli companies being acquired by international firms.

Several indicators have sparked optimism that tensions in the Middle East may be starting to subside. The problem is that many of those indicators are speculative, and none holds out the possibility of a permanent resolution of multiple problems. In fact, the contours of a next round of volatility and violence are already visible.