AFP, Istanbul
Turkish fighter jets shot down an unidentified drone which entered its air space near the Syrian border, with the US military saying “all indications” showed that the unmanned vehicle was Russian.
If confirmed, the presence of a Russian craft in the air space of the key NATO member would further ratchet up tensions over Moscow’s behaviour in Syria. Russia denied it was to blame, despite repeated previous violations.
Two girls gang-raped in New Delhi
AFP, New Delhi
Two Indian girls aged two-and-a-half and five years old were raped in separate incidents in New Delhi overnight, with at least one confirmed as a gang rape, police said Saturday.
The younger child was abducted late Friday by two men from a religious event in west Delhi’s Nangloi area and sexually assaulted before being dumped in a park near her home, police and relatives said.
Greek parliament approves reform bill
Reuters, Athens
The Greek parliament approved an omnibus bill on Friday cutting pensions, raising the retirement age, increasing punishment for tax evasion and liberalising the energy market ahead of the first review of the country’s new bailout later this month.
Inspectors from the European Commission, European Central Bank, euro zone rescue fund and International Monetary Fund are expected in Athens at the end of October to assess progress on Greece’s third rescue package.
4 migrants deaths in Aegean sea
AFP, Athens
Four more migrants, three of them children, died attempting to cross the Aegean Sea to reach safety in Europe, the Greek coastguard said early today.
The children and a woman, whose nationalities were not disclosed, drowned when their boat capsized near the Greek island of Kalymnos, the coastguard said. Another 11 people were rescued and crews were searching for a missing child, it added.
Japan PM offers gift to Tokyo war shrine
AFP, Tokyo
Japan’s Prime Minister Shinzo Abe Saturday made a ritual offering to the controversial Yasukuni war shrine seen by neighbouring countries as a symbol of Tokyo’s militarist past.
Abe donated a sacred “masakaki” tree bearing his name as prime minister to coincide with the start of the four-day autumn festival at the shrine in central Tokyo, a shrine official said.
Iraqi forces retake oil refinery from IS
AP, BAGHDAD
Iraqi government troops backed by Shiite militia fighters have driven out Islamic State group militants from a key oil refinery north of Baghdad in a wide-scale military operation, authorities said Friday.
The Joint Military Command said in a statement the forces retook Beiji refinery and nearby Siniya town, but did not provide additional details on the operation at the sprawling refinery, Iraq’s largest which has been idle since June last year. There was also no word on the fate of the nearby town of Beiji.
