Top US Gen
contradicts Trump on border threat
AP, Washington
Under pointed questioning from senators, the top U.S. general for homeland defense said Tuesday that he sees no military threat coming from the southern border with Mexico, but his focus is on “very real” threats from China and Russia.
Air Force Gen. Terrence O’Shaughnessy, commander, U.S. Northern Command and North American Aerospace Defense Command, told a Senate committee that proposed barriers along the U.S.-Mexico border could increase security against any potential military threats coming from the south. But he said Russia’s advancements in training and capabilities, and its intent to hold the U.S. at risk, present an urgent threat to America.
Attackers kill 2 cops in Thailand
AP, Hat Yai, Thailand
Police in southern Thailand say two of their officers were abducted and later found dead in a ditch, with the pickup truck of one of the officers stolen and set on fire.
They say they are investigating whether the Tuesday night killings in Narathiwat province involved a personal dispute or the region’s Muslim separatist insurgency, which has claimed about 7,000 lives since 2004.
25 killed in fire at Cairo train station
AP, Cairo
An Egyptian medical official says 25 people have been killed and 22 injured when a major fire erupted at the main train station in Cairo.
Mohammed Said, the head of the Cairo Railroad hospital, says the death toll is expected to rise further following the blaze on Wednesday.
The fire is said to have been triggered by an explosion of a fuel tank on a speeding train that was heading into the Ramsis station in downtown Cairo.
Russia presses case for greater control over its internet
AP, Moscow
The Kremlin spokesman says reports that the U.S. military carried out a cyberattack in Russia ahead of the U.S. midterm elections proves that the country needs to create its own, self-controlled segment of the internet.
Russia’s parliament this month passed the first reading of a bill that proposes all internet traffic be routed through servers in Russia. Opponents fear the measure would lead to widespread censorship.
Dmitry Peskov was reacting on Wednesday to a recent report in The Washington Post that quoted unnamed U.S. officials as saying that the U.S. military remotely blocked internet access to a Russian “troll factory” ahead of the 2018 midterm elections.
Long Island train strikes truck, killing three
Reuters, New York
Three people were killed on Tuesday when a commuter train headed into New York City collided with their vehicle, local police said.
The Long Island Rail Road (LIRR) train bound for Penn Station in Manhattan struck the truck at a little after 7:15 p.m. (0015 GMT) in Westbury, New York, the train service said on Twitter.
About 200 people were on the train when it hit the truck and derailed. The driver of the truck was trying to beat the gate at a crossing, Newsday.com reported, citing local authorities.
