Iraqi troops retake key oil refinery Beiji from ISIS
Iraqi government troops backed by Shiite militia fighters have driven out Islamic State (IS, formerly ISIS/ISIL) militants from a key oil refinery north of Baghdad, AP reported officials as saying on Friday. The Beiji refinery and nearby Siniya town were retaken, the Joint Military Command said, without giving details of the wide-scale military operation. The refinery, Iraq's largest, has been idle since June last year. It remained contested after the town of Beiji, about 250km north of Baghdad, fell to IS during its blitz across northern Iraq a year ago. The town lies on the road to IS-held Mosul, Iraq’s second-largest city.Hungary to close border with Croatia from midnight
Hungary warned on Friday it would close its southern border with Croatia from midnight (22:00 GMT), Reuters reported. The move comes a month after Hungary’s government shut its frontier with Serbia to hundreds of thousands of migrants and asylum seekers. A steel fence has been erected almost the length of its southern frontier. Hungary said it had to secure the borders of the EU from mainly Muslim migrants who it says pose a threat to the security and Christian values of Europe. The flow of migrants and refugees, which was between 5,000 and 8,000 per day in recent weeks, continued unabated on Friday over the border with Croatia.Russian Emergencies Ministry delivers 30 tons of humanitarian aid to Myanmar
A Russian Emergencies Ministry Il-76 plane has delivered more than 30 tons of humanitarian aid to Myanmar that suffered devastating floods this summer. Food, blankets, tents and inflatable boats were delivered to Yangon’s airport on the instruction of the Russian government. Monsoon floods in the Southeast Asian nation this year have claimed more than 100 lives and affected more than 1 million people. Vasily Pospelov, Russia’s ambassador to Myanmar, was quoted as saying that the Russian Emergencies Ministry will help Myanmar build an early warning system for natural calamities.Bulgaria denies airspace access to Russian plane with aid for Syria
Bulgaria has denied access to its airspace to a Russian plane carrying humanitarian aid for Syria. The Bulgarian Foreign Ministry’s spokeswoman said that Moscow had failed to file an application on time, Reuters reported.“Legal terms were not followed. We have received a request for a flight to take place today in the afternoon of October 14. Such a request needs to be filed at least five days ahead,” Betina Zhoteva said.4 Iraqis charged in Switzerland over alleged ISIS-linked terror plots
Switzerland’s top prosecutor has filed charges accusing four Iraqis linked to Islamic State (IS, formerly ISIS/ISIL) of plotting terror attacks in Europe, AP reported. Three suspects, who were not identified, helped smuggle other IS followers to Europe, spread propaganda and provided unspecified “operative advice,” Attorney General Michael Lauber’s office said Friday. The suspects have remained in custody since they were detained in northeastern Switzerland in March and April 2014.Turkey shoots down drone near Syrian border – official
Turkish warplanes shot down a drone in Turkish airspace near the Syrian border on Friday, a senior government official said. Its owner has not yet been identified, Reuters quoted the officials as saying. The military said earlier it had shot down an unidentified aircraft after issuing three warnings, in line with the NATO member’s rules of engagement. The drone was shot down around 3km inside Turkey’s airspace, according to an NTV report.
Erdogan mocks EU help over Syrian refugee crisis
Turkish President Recep Tayyip Erdogan on Friday mocked the EU’s contribution to easing the Syrian refugee crisis.“They announce they’ll take in 30,000 to 40,000 refugees and then they are nominated for the Nobel [Peace Prize] for that. We are hosting two-and-a-half million refugees, but nobody cares,” Erdogan said, speaking after Turkey and the EU agreed a plan for improving the handling of the refugee crisis. He also questioned whether Brussels treated Ankara’s long standing membership application seriously, AFP reported.At least 30 killed as 2 bombs explode by Nigerian mosque
Two bombs exploded near a mosque in Nigeria filled with worshipers, killing at least 30 people, AP reported. The Nigerian Emergency Management Agency said Friday the attack happened the previous night in Maiduguri. The blasts also wounded 20 people, according to the agency’s northeast coordinator, Muhammed Kanar. Officials say Boko Haram Islamic extremists are suspected of being behind the attack.Poland to send 70 officers to guard Hungary border
Poland will send around 70 border officials to Hungary to help it secure its border with Serbia, Reuters quoted Poland’s Prime Minister Ewa Kopacz as saying after an EU summit on Thursday. Five specialized vehicles with night vision devices, with equipment, will allow for guarding the entire border between Hungary and Serbia, Kopacz said.“Additionally, we are sending a few less-specialized vehicles, and around 70 border control officers,” she said. Poland could also boost the EU border agency Frontex by supplying an additional 40 border control officials, on top of around 40 it had already assigned to it.Philippines braces for Typhoon Koppu
Typhoon Koppu is forecast to make landfall this weekend in northern Isabela province of the Philippines, AP said. Disaster relief personnel and equipment have been readied as the typhoon was packing winds of 130kph with gusts up to 160kph, weather forecasters said Friday. It was still 520km west of the Philippines but moving steadily toward land. Koppu will be the 12th storm or typhoon to hit the Philippines this year.Hero from French train attack released from hospital after stabbing
US Airman Spencer Stone, who helped break up a terrorist attack on a French train in August, was released from a California hospital Thursday, about a week after he was stabbed multiple times in the chest during a fight near a bar, Reuters reported. Police have said the stabbing was not related to terrorism and stemmed from a separate"nightclub incident."EU and Turkey agree ‘migrant action’ plan
The European Union and Turkey have agreed an "action plan" along with Turkey to deal with the flow of refugees, European Council President Donald Tusk announced. German Chancellor Angela Merkel has said that the two side have arranged to “open new chapters of accession talks,” Reuters repots, but no specifics have been agreed on so far. The EU is considering some €3 billion ($3.4 billion) for Turkey to help it deal with refugees and to prevent them from heading towards Europe, Merkel said. Turkey has accommodated more than two million Syrian refugees, spending over €7 billion (nearly $8 billion). So far it has received only €1 billion ($1.1 billion) in external aid.
- tar is behind bars in Pretoria, after being convicted last in September last year after a seven-month trial.
NATO chief urges Montenegro’s further 'progress' ahead of December membership decision
NATO Secretary-General Jens Stoltenberg on Thursday praised reforms so far in Montenegro and urged further effort ahead of the December decision on whether to invite the Balkan country to join the alliance, AP reported. He told Montenegrin lawmakers that “in close cooperation with NATO, Montenegro has reformed its armed forces and its intelligence services.” Stoltenberg was on a two-day visit with ambassadors from NATO’s North Atlantic Council. He said the alliance wanted “to hear and see for themselves from the government, members of parliament, as well as from those who have doubts about NATO,” adding that implementation of the reform still lies ahead.Finland arrests suspected migrant smugglers from Turkey
The Finnish Border Guard is investigating a ring of human traffickers suspected of illegally smuggling at least 100 people from Turkey to Finland over the last year, Reuters reported. Last month, the Border Guard and the Swedish police arrested a total of 15 men in the two countries on charges of transporting the migrants through Sweden to Finland by land, sea and air for high fees. A Border Guard official said on Thursday that the suspects were of Iraqi background and residents of Finland or Sweden.Thousands gather to support Catalan president at court over referendum
Thousands of people rallied Thursday in support of regional acting Catalan President Artur Mas as he arrived at a Barcelona court for questioning over staging a symbolic referendum on secession from Spain last year. Some 400 pro-independence mayors and independence party leaders joined Mas and his government councilors as he walked to the court building, cheered on by the crowd of some 5,000, AP said. Many chanted “independence, independence” and “this court does not represent us.” The probe was opened after Catalonia went ahead with the November 9, 2014 referendum, defying a ruling by Spain’s Constitutional Court.NATO to conduct Arcade Fusion maneuvers in Baltic States
NATO’s Allied Rapid Reaction Corps (ARRC) and its supporting units will conduct exercise Arcade Fusion in the Baltics to test the headquarters’ ability to control simulated troop formations, the alliance said. The deployment marks the first time HQ ARRC has conducted their annual exercise in the Baltics with participation in all 3 nations of Lithuania, Latvia and Estonia. About 350 logistics vehicles and more than 150 containers of equipment departed in convoys to the various exercise locations in Lithuania and Latvia. More than 1,000 servicemen from Britain and Latvia will conduct exercises in the Baltic republic, TASS reported. Ministers of the Latvian government are expected “to be involved” in the maneuvers.Kosovo opposition MP releases teargas in parliament
An opposition lawmaker in Kosovo released teargas in parliament on Thursday, in protest at an EU-brokered accord with Serbia, Reuters said. Donika Kada Bujupi of the opposition Alliance for the Future of Kosovo (AAK) triggered the teargas canister during the opening of the session. The second such incident in a week forced MPs to evacuate.
Up to 3,000 ISIS militants operate in Afghanistan – CSTO
Some 2,000-3,000 Islamic State (formerly ISIS/ISIL) militants are operating in Afghanistan, according to the Collective Security Treaty Organization (CSTO). Its secretariat held a meeting on Wednesday at the level of deputy security secretaries, where the Iranian ambassador to Russia and a representative from the Chinese embassy in Moscow took part. The participants expressed concern over possible deterioration of the security situation on the border between Afghanistan and Turkmenistan, Sputnik reported.
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