Other News

Islamic State flying three jets in Syria: monitor

(Reuters) – Iraqi pilots who have joined Islamic State in Syria are training members of the group to fly in three captured fighter jets, a group monitoring the war said on Friday, saying it was the first time the militant group had taken to the air. The group, which has seized swathes of land in Syria and Iraq, has been flying the planes over the captured al-Jarrah military airport east of Aleppo, said Rami Abdulrahman, who runs the Britain-based […]

Nigeria aims to have abducted girls freed by Tuesday: presidency source

(Reuters) – Nigeria aims to have secured the release of 200 girls kidnapped by Islamist Boko Haram militants by Tuesday, a senior source at the presidency told Reuters on Saturday, although he declined to comment on where the transfer would take place. “I can confirm that FG (the federal government) is working hard to meet its own part of the agreement so that the release of the abductees can by effected either on Monday or […]

Hong Kong activists regroup; police chief warns safety at risk

(Reuters) – Hong Kong pro-democracy activists recaptured parts of a core protest zone from police early on Saturday after hours of turmoil that the city’s police chief warned undermined order and jeopardized public safety. Dozens of people were injured in the skirmishes, including 18 police, which raged through the night as several thousand protesters squared off again police in the densely populated Mong Kok district. At least 33 people were arrested, Hong Kong public broadcaster […]

Obama names Ebola ‘czar’ as West Africa death toll rises

BY JEFF MASON (Reuters) – President Barack Obama appointed a former White House adviser as U.S. Ebola “czar” on Friday as the global death toll from the disease that has ravaged three West African countries rose to more than 4,500. Amid growing concerns about the spread of the virus in the United States, authorities said a Texas health worker, who was not ill but may have had contact with specimens from an Ebola patient, was quarantined on a […]