Second drone attack in 24 hours kills four in NWA

PESHAWAR: At least four suspected militants including a local Taliban commander were killed in yet another US drone strike in Shawal tehsil of North Waziristan Agency on Saturday night raising the toll from a series of attacks this week to 29.

Intelligence sources said that a US drone fired two missiles at a vehicle in Maraga area of Shawal tehsil of the troubled North Waziristan Agency bordering Afghanistan. Four suspected militants including a commander have died in the strike, they added.

Sources also said that the Taliban commander has been identified as Mustafa, who they claimed belonged to Hafiz Gul Bahadur group.

The incident, however, could not be independently verified as access of journalists is restricted in the area.

Mexico missing students: Nationwide protests held

1.077em; font-weight: bold; line-height: 18px; margin-bottom: 18px; padding: 0px; text-rendering: auto;"> Thousands of people have held protests in cities across Mexico against the disappearance of students in the southern town of Iguala last month.

The students had clashed with police during a demonstration and were last seen being bundled into police cars.

Hundreds of local vigilantes have joined the search, saying they would conduct a house-by-house search.

Meanwhile forensic tests are under way on dozens of bodies found in shallow graves near the town last week.
It is feared the bodies could be those of the students.

In Mexico City, family members led a procession, carrying photographs of the disappeared.

Demonstrations also took place in many cities, including Oaxaca, Veracruz, Morelia, and Guerrero.

A silent march was staged by the the EZLN - better known as the Zapatistas indigenous rebel group - in the southern city of San Cristobal de las Casas.

Kobane: US and UK warn of air strike limitations

The US and UK have warned that air strikes alone will not prevent Islamic State (IS) fighters from seizing the Syrian town of Kobane.

A Pentagon spokesman said the US and its allies were "doing everything we can from the air" but there were limits to what the campaign could achieve.

Similar views were expressed by British Foreign Secretary Philip Hammond.

A Kurdish leader in Kobane told Reuters news agency IS militants had entered parts of the city amid heavy fighting.

Seizing the town would give IS jihadists full control of a long stretch of the Syrian-Turkish border.

The US also appeared to be at odds with allies over a Turkish idea to create a buffer zone or safe haven along the border.

Three weeks of fighting over Kobane have cost the lives of at least 400 people, and forced more than 160,000 Syrians to flee across the border to Turkey.

USAF F-15 jet crashes in Lincolnshire

A US military aircraft has crashed in a field near houses and a school in Lincolnshire.

Witnesses saw the F-15D come down in a field off Broad Gate, Weston Hills, near Spalding at about 15:30 BST.

The pilot have ejected from the aircraft and police said he had escaped with very minor injuries.

The US Air Force said the jet was from the 48th Fighter Wing based at RAF Lakenheath in Suffolk and had crashed during a combat training exercise.

Kobane: IS and Syria Kurds in fierce gun battles

Kurdish fighters are engaged in fierce gun battles with Islamic State (IS) in the Syrian border town of Kobane, as US-led coalition air strikes continue.

In its latest report, the US Central Command said six air strikes had destroyed IS weaponry around Kobane.

An official inside Kobane said the Kurdish forces were now pushing back the Islamic State fighters.

Seizing Kobane would give the IS jihadists full control of a long stretch of the Syrian-Turkish border.

This has been a primary route for foreign fighters getting into Syria, as well as allowing IS to traffic oil it has captured.

Three weeks of fighting over Kobane has cost the lives of 400 people, and forced more than 160,000 Syrians to flee across the border to Turkey.

US Ebola patient Thomas Duncan dies in hospital

Mr Duncan, shown here at a 2011 wedding in Ghana

The first person to be diagnosed with Ebola within the US has died, Texas hospital officials have said.

Thomas Eric Duncan, 42, who caught the virus in his native Liberia, was being treated with experimental drugs in isolation in a Dallas hospital.

Earlier the US announced new screening measures at entry points to check travellers for symptoms of the virus.

It has killed 3,865 people, mostly in Liberia, Sierra Leone and Guinea, in the worst Ebola outbreak yet.

"It is with profound sadness and heartfelt disappointment that we must inform you of the death of Thomas Eric Duncan this morning at 7:51 am," a spokesman said in a statement.

The news came shortly after US Secretary of State John Kerry urged all nations to boost their response to combat the virus.

"More countries can and must step up," he said in a joint press conference with his British counterpart Philip Hammond.

Kobane: IS 'may soon take Syria-Turkey border town'

Islamic State's black flag has been seen above Kobane for the first time, reports Paul Adams

The key Syria-Turkey border town of Kobane might fall to Islamic State (IS) fighters soon, an official there has told the BBC.

A flag of Islamic State has been seen flying over a building on the eastern edge of Kobane.

The official, Idriss Nassan, confirmed IS was now in control of Mistenur, the strategic hill above the town.

Kobane has seen intense fighting over the past three days as Syrian Kurds try to defend the town.

The IS militants have been besieging it for nearly three weeks. Since then, more than 160,000 Syrians, mainly Kurds, have fled across the border.