Avoiding coalition clash

October 02, 2015 - Daily News Briefing

The US and Russia are leading separate coalitions with separate aims in Syria. It is imperative that they avoid a direct clash.

Subscribe Now to read this post!

To read this post and thousands more articles, subscribe today!

A gunman opened fire at an Oregon community college Thursday, killing at least 13 people before the 20-year-old gunman was killed during an exchange of gunfire with police, authorities said. The shooting happened at Umpqua Community College in Roseburg, about 180 miles south of Portland. Douglas County Sheriff John Hanlin did not say whether the shooter was killed by officers or took his own life. The school has about 3,000 students. The sheriff's office reported on Twitter that it received a call about the shooting at 10:38 a.m.

Hundreds of Iranian troops have arrived in Syria to join a major ground offensive in support of President Bashar al-Assad's government, Lebanese sources said on Thursday, a further sign of the rapid internationalization of a civil war in which every major country in the region has a stake. Russian warplanes, in a second day of strikes, bombed a camp run by rebels trained by the CIA, the group's commander said, putting Moscow and Washington on opposing sides in a Middle East conflict for the first time since the Cold War. Russian jets struck targets near the cities of Hama and Homs in western Syria on the second day of their air campaign. Moscow said it had hit Islamic State positions, but the areas it struck are mostly held by a rival insurgent alliance, which unlike Islamic State is supported by US allies including Arab states and Turkey.

Bernie Sanders is offering Hillary Rodham Clinton an unexpected challenge in the race for primary campaign money this quarter as he collected nearly as much money from small donations as the Democratic front-runner has from big-dollar donors. The Vermont senator's campaign says he has raised about $26 million for his presidential campaign in the past three months. Coming mostly from small donations given online, the sum underscores the draw of his insurgent campaign among the grassroots of the Democratic Party. Clinton's campaign, in its own announcement Wednesday, said she had taken in $28 million.

The Afghan government claimed Thursday that it had successfully retaken the northern city of Kunduz from Taliban militants who had controlled the city since Monday. President Ashraf Ghani, appearing at a televised press conference with his defense and interior ministers, said the city was retaken in a six-hour assault with no fatalities among the government security forces. He praised the government troops, saying they, "were able to foil one of the most significant operations to have taken place in Afghanistan in 14 years."

The Obama administration set a new national ozone standard Thursday, tightening limits on the smog-forming pollution linked to asthma and respiratory illness. The Environmental Protection Agency said the new standard of 70 parts per billion – below the current standard of 75 parts per billion – will reduce exposure to dangerous ozone pollution and prevent thousands of asthma attacks, emergency room visits, and even premature deaths. The move fulfills a long-delayed campaign promise by President Obama, but sets up a fresh confrontation with Republicans already angry about the administration's plans to curb carbon pollution from coal-fired power plants and regulate small streams and wetlands.

Russia-linked hackers tried at least five times to trick Hillary Rodham Clinton into infecting her computer systems while she was secretary of State, newly released emails show. It is unclear whether she was fooled into clicking any attachments to expose her account. Clinton received the virus-riddled emails, disguised as speeding tickets from New York, over four hours early on the morning of Aug. 3, 2011. The emails instructed recipients to print the attached tickets — and opening them would have allowed hackers to take over control of a victim's computer.

As Joaquin strengthened into a major Category 4 hurricane near the Bahamas on Thursday, states along the US East Coast hustled to activate emergency plans developed after Superstorm Sandy slammed the region in 2012, aiming to blunt the storm's potential impact. New Jersey Governor Chris Christie, whose state took a direct hit from Sandy, declared a state of emergency, warning residents to "be prepared but don't panic." The governor of North Carolina made a similar announcement, a day after Virginia declared a state of emergency.

Subscribe Now to read this post!

Are you sure?

Forgot to add folder?

Tags Error