AP, Washington
US National Intelligence Director James Clapper says the Islamic State group is capable of conducting a Paris-style attack in the United States, CNN reported on Wednesday.
“They do have that capacity,” Clapper said in an interview with the US news network.
Sri Lanka suspends
two MPs for fistfight
in parliament
AP, Colombo
Sri Lanka’s Parliament on Thursday suspended two lawmakers for one week for getting into a fistfight that left several people injured earlier this week.
Parliament passed a motion imposing the suspension on ruling coalition lawmaker Palitha Thewarapperuma and opposition lawmaker Prasanna Ranaweera.
Indonesia, Malaysia, Philippines to boost sea security
AP, Yogyakarta
Indonesia, Malaysia and Philippines have agreed to run coordinated patrols to boost maritime security following the kidnappings at sea of Indonesians by suspected Abu Sayyaf militants.
Foreign ministers and military chiefs of the three countries held talks Thursday in Indonesia’s ancient city of Yogyakarta, hashing out the details of join patrols to protect shipping in the waters between their border areas.
Number of homeless people increases in Los Angeles
AFP, Los Angeles
The number of homeless people in Los Angeles County jumped by nearly six percent over the past year to 46,874, in part due to a “historic” housing shortage, authorities said on Wednesday.
The Los Angeles Homeless Services Authority (LAHSA) said in its report that the increase came about despite a reduction in the number of homeless veterans and homeless families. Homelessness among veterans dropped by 30 percent across the county, while the number of homeless families fell by 18 percent, largely thanks to an increase in funding by the federal government.
