AFP, Washington
Donald Trump has extended his lead in the Republican presidential nomination race amid a fresh bout of controversy over his remarks about Muslims, while Hillary Clinton has consolidated her lead among Democrats, a poll showed Wednesday.
Less than two months before the first state-wide votes to determine the presidential nominees, Trump was his party’s undisputed leader, backed by 27 percent of registered Republican voters, while his closest challenger for months, retired neurosurgeon Ben Carson, has faded to third place, according to the Quinnipiac University survey.
British bombers strike IS oil fields in Syria
Reuters, Akrotiri
British bombers made their first strikes on Islamic State in Syria on Thursday, hitting oil fields that Prime Minister David Cameron says are being used to fund attacks on the West.
Tornado bombers took off from the RAF Akrotiri air base in Cyprus just hours after British lawmakers voted 397-223 to support Cameron’s plan for air strikes, a Reuters witness said. They returned to base safely several hours later.
France shuts mosque, one arrested
Reuters, Paris
Police shut a mosque east of Paris and arrested the owner of a revolver found in related raids on Wednesday as part of a crackdown called after the Nov. 13 attacks on the capital, Interior Minister Bernard Cazeneuve said.
He told journalists authorities had already closed two mosques last week – the first time France has taken such action against places of worship suspected of nurturing what he called “Islamist radicalization”.
Palestinian home domolished
AP, Jerusalem
The Israeli military has demolished the home of a Palestinian accused of orchestrating the deadly shooting of an Israeli couple.
The military identified the man as Raeb Ahmed Muhammad Alivi, in his late 30s. He was arrested days after the attack.
