AFP, Washington
More than 400 additional US troops have deployed to Iraq in recent days, a defense official said Thursday, as local forces prepare for an assault on Mosul, the ISIS group’s last major Iraqi stronghold.
Colonel John Dorrian, a spokesman for the US-led coalition that has been attacking ISIS in Iraq and Syria for the last two years, said the number of US troops in country had grown from about 4,000 a week ago to 4,460 today.
The deployments had been previously authorized earlier this year.
India pledges to join climate deal this year
AFP, Vientiane
India’s Prime Minister Narendra Modi on Thursday pledged to formally join the Paris climate change agreement this year, a potentially major step toward the pact entering into force.
After a meeting with President Barack Obama, a champion of the deal, in Vientiane, the White House said the two leaders had made a joint commitment “to join the Paris Agreement this year.” While in China earlier this week the US already took that step.
3 killed as train derails in Spain
Reuters, Madrid
At least three people were killed today after a train derailed in Galicia in north-western Spain, emergency services said.
Dozens of people were also injured in the crash, Spanish media said, citing Eva Garcia de la Torre, the mayor of O Porrino, the town closest to the accident.
The train between the city of Vigo and Porto, in Portugal, was carrying 63 passengers and two crew members, including the driver, state-run railway operator Renfe said. Spanish media reported the driver was among those killed.
21 killed in India bus mishap
AP, New Delhi
A bus crashed off a bridge in eastern India on Friday, killing at least 21 people and injuring another 30.
Police officer Rajendra Das said the driver lost control of the vehicle while talking on his mobile phone.
The bus plunged nearly 19 meters (50 feet) into a ditch in Angul district in Orissa state, Das said. The area is 140 kilometers (about 90 miles) northwest of Bhubaneshwar, the state capital.
