More than 60 journalists have been killed in Syria since the conflict began in 2011. Among the most recent is Iraqi journalist Yasser Faisal al-Julaimi, who was killed last month by Islamic extremists. Baghdad-based reporter Jane Arraf knew Yasser well and recalls his keen sense of beauty.
Violence is spreading in Iraq’s western Anbar province engulfing two key cities — Fallujah and Ramadi. Many Americans remember Fallujah and Anbar province as places where US soldiers fought and died. Retired US Army Colonel Peter Mansoor knows the area well and says the US government should re-engage.
It’s been quite a week for an al-Qaeda spin-off called ISIS. Last week, ISIS took over Fallujah in Iraq. But it seems some of the local Sunni tribes abandoned the group and have joined government forces fighting against al-Qaeda. Then, rebel groups in Syria combined to attack ISIS there. Borzou Daragahi of the Financial Times explains the politics that work for and against ISIS.
Just as the US and Canada face record cold temperatures this week, Australia is hitting record highs — up to 121 degrees Fahrenheit. Also, China says its women should stop turning their breast milk into novelty soaps, Saudi Arabia gets its first female law firm, and an American designer may be the world’s greatest diamond counterfeiter. All that and more, in today’s Global Scan.
An oral history project at the University of California, Irvine, seeks to help Vietnamese American students connect with their elders and, along the way, document the stories of life for Vietnamese immigrants to the United States, before and after their trip.