No happy ending unfortunately after an enormous fire gripped a west London building on Wednesday. Twelve people have died in the tower block fire and the number of deaths is expected to rise, police have said. Firefighters rescued 65 people but witnesses said people were trapped in the tower block, and that some jumped from windows in an effort to escape.
Concerns for Syrians in Raqqa are only growing. UN war crimes investigators say US-led coalition air strikes on Islamic State militants in Raqqa are causing “staggering loss of life”. Hundreds of civilians are reported to have been killed since March, as coalition warplanes support an offensive by the Kurdish-led SDF. In the past week, SDF fighters have pushed into the west, east and north of Raqqa while civilians wait for their city to be liberated.
Finally, there might be justice after all. Two Turkish nationals living in the US have been arrested in connection with violence outside the Turkish ambassador’s residence in Washington. One man from New Jersey and an other from Virginia face assault charges. The brawl involving protesters and Turkish security personnel happened during a visit by President Recep Tayyip Erdogan last month. Police called it a “brutal attack on peaceful protesters”.
