Headlines

• Rebels Make Gains in Syria

• Another Riot Another Killing in the US

• Uzbekistan and Kazakhstan Elections

Details

Rebels Make Gains in Syria

Since the rebel victory in Idlib in late March, the rebels have made considerable advances in their ongoing offensive in the wider Idlib province and northwestern Hama provinces. The biggest gain by the rebels occurred when they managed to seize the critical Idlib town of Jisr al-Shughour. The rebels then seized large portions of the northern al-Ghab Plain, cutting off the two roads from the south that connect to the M4 highway, thereby largely isolating the remaining al-Assad forces in the Frikah-Ariha-Mastoumah pocket in Idlib. The Bashar al-Assad was forced to send reinforcements from Damascus to reopen the route. The rebels were unable for some time to carry out large scale offensives, but this has changed with the operation that took back Idlib. Large-scale coordinated rebel offensives are becoming the norm in the uprising now and the regime is struggling to contain it. This shift, though still in its early stages resulted in stratfor concluding the following: "....but the rebels have shown sufficient capabilities and successes that it is time to re-examine the question of what happens if they actually take the country."

Another Riot Another Killing in the US

Riots broke out across Baltimore, in the state of Maryland on Monday 27 after the funeral of a 25-year-old black man who was fatally injured while in police custody. Freddie Gray died April 17, a week after his spine was partially severed while in police custody after his arrest. Something happened to the victim during transport as an Autopsy showed that a "significant spinal injury" caused Gray's death, Gray's spine was severed 80% at his neck, according to a statement from his family attorney. The police initially stopped Gray because he "fled unprovoked upon noticing police presence," according to court documents. Officers say they then saw a knife clipped to the inside of Gray's pants pocket. "We know that having a knife is not necessarily a crime," Mayor Stephanie Rawlings-Blake of Baltimore said, according to The New York Times. But matters escalated after the funeral service and as a result Maryland governor Larry Hogan declared a state of emergency, activating the state's 5,000 national guard, troops from the US national guard began rolling into Baltimore in armoured vehicles on Monday night after violent clashes, looting and fires led city authorities to declare a week-long curfew banning people from the streets at night.

Gray's case is the latest flashpoint for demonstrators who accuse American police of killing young black men without justification. The US has long struggled with a two-tier society with many languishing in the depths of poverty, with little justice in the face a police force that uses brutality to tackle disturbances and protests. The economic crisis form 2008 is now revealing the fracture eat the heart if US society, which the regime was able to hide due to economic prosperity. One US commentator highlighted there is a problem in the soul of the US, which if not fixed could lead to the falloff the US.

Uzbekistan and Kazakhstan Elections

The two most important countries in Central Asia have completed their presidential elections Uzbekistan's elections took place after the Nowruz festivities, on March 29. Just across the border, Kazakhstan went to the polls on April 26. Both elections featured Central Asia's strongmen, Islam Karimov in Uzbekistan and Nursultan Nazarbayev in Kazakhstan. Both have been leading their respective countries since independence and win elections in staged elections rather than a free vote. Karimov confirmed expectations with 90.39%, while Nazarbayev did even better with 97.7% of the votes. Karimov is in a bad state, suffering from a heart attack in 2014, reports a double undertakes his assignments, this has led to a number of factions jockeying for position in a post Karimov regime.

But what is for certain is that both leaders will stand against Islam and Muslims, which has been a consistent feature of their rule.