AP, Washington
Hillary Clinton says “the black flag” of the Islamic State group could be flying over the Palestinian territories if the Palestinian Authority and President Mahmoud Abbas fail to keep order.
The Democratic presidential candidate and former secretary of state says a Palestinian leadership vacuum could provide an opening for IS to make inroads.
Clinton also says that as president, she’d push Israelis and Palestinians toward a peace deal. But she acknowledges the difficulty of brokering a two-state solution.
Tajikistan earthquake rocks Central Asia
Agencies, Delhi
Magnitude 7.2 earthquake hits Tajikistan, sending mild tremors across northern Pakistan and India.
An earthquake measuring 7.2 magnitude struck in Tajikistan, shaking buildings as far away as the Indian capital of New Delhi and in Pakistan, the US Geological Survey and witnesses said.
NATO won’t send ground troops to fight ISIS
Reuters, Zurich
NATO has ruled out sending ground troops to fight against Islamic State militants in Syria, NATO General Secretary Jens Stoltenberg told a Swiss newspaper, stressing the need to bolster local forces in the conflict.
“That is not on the agenda of the coalition and the NATO allies,” he told the Tages-Anzeiger paper when asked about dispatching ground forces to accompany air strikes.
Venezuelan oppn wins legislative voting
AP, Caracas
Venezuela’s opposition won control of the National Assembly by a landslide, trouncing the ruling party and altering the balance of power after almost 17 years of socialist rule.
The opposition coalition won at least 99 seats in the incoming 167-seat legislature, electoral authorities announced after midnight Sunday. The ruling socialist party won 46 seats.
