No 'Fundamental Delay' In Syria Talks: Kerry
U.S. Secretary of State John Kerry says there will be no "fundamental delay" in the internationally-brokered peace talks between the Syrian government and opposition groups scheduled to begin this month.
"When you say a delay, it may be a day or two for invitations, but there is not going to be a fundamental delay. The process will begin on the 25th and they will get together and see where we are," Kerry told reporters in Davos this morning.
Air Strikes Against IS Will Accelerate: Hollande
French President Francois Hollande has said that air strikes against the IS group will accelerate in the coming months.
Turkish PM Says Russia Trying To Undermine Syria Talks
Turkey's Prime Minister Ahmet Davutolgu has accused Russia and others of trying to undermine peace talks in Syria by including groups like the Syrian Kurdish People's Protection Units (YPG) militia.
Arab, Kurdish Forces To Get More Support In Fight Against IS
French President Francois Hollande has said that Arab and Kurdish forces in Iraq and Syria would be given more support to help them retake IS strongholds.
"The (military) strategy comes through the liberation of the cities of Raqqa and Mosul," Hollande said in a New Year's address to French and foreign ambassadors.
Russia Displays Naval Might Off Syria's Coast
Russia is showing off its naval might in the form of a navy missile cruiser off Syria's Mediterranean coast, AP reports.
Russia took a group of Moscow-based journalists aboard the Varyag cruiser.
The display of Russia's military operations in support of Syrian President Bashar Assad comes ahead of planned peace talks Monday in Geneva, which are meant to pave the way for a political settlement for Syria.
To reach the cruiser, journalists boarded a Russian destroyer in Tartus, where Russia has had a supply and repair facility for its ships in the Mediterranean since Soviet times. It's now the only such support facility outside the former Soviet Union.
Libya's National Oil Company says that IS has attacked oil facilities near Ras Lanuf and that two oil storage tanks are now on fire.
The Atlantic Council's Mohamed Eljarh offers this snappy analysis of the IS group's attacks on Libya's oil facilities.
A spokesman for Libya's Petroleum Facilities Guard (PFG), the militia protecting Libya's oil facilities, the IS attack this morning caused one oil storage tank at the Harouge company facility at Ras Lanuf and one pipeline to explode.
This from the UN Security Council amid reports that IS has attacked the Ras Lanuf oil terminal and is threatening more attacks on Libya's oil facilities.