7 killed by landslides after storm in northern Vietnam

At least seven people have been killed by landslides triggered by heavy rains from a tropical storm in northern Vietnam, AP reported. Six people were killed and five others were injured when a landslide buried their hut in early Wednesday. A five-year-old girl was killed and her mother was injured when another landslide struck their house, according to authorities of Lang Son province’s Cao Loc district.

Area northwest of Guam hit by magnitude 7.1 quake

A magnitude 7.1 earthquake struck 40km northwest of the Pacific island Guam on Wednesday, Reuters reported. The quake struck at more than 160km deep, according to the US Geological Survey. No tsunami has been generated because the quake was too deep, the Pacific Tsunami Warning Center said. The magnitude was originally put at 6.9.

​New York man charged with aiding Islamic State militants

American law enforcement officials indicted 30-year-old Mufid A. Elfgeeh on Tuesday for allegedly trying to aid the Islamic State (IS) terrorist group, USA Today reports. Court records claim that Elfgeeh – born in Yemen but living in Rochester, New York – not only tried to help three individuals travel to Syria in order to fight alongside IS, but also plotted to murder American troops returning from the Middle East, as well as Shia Muslims. Elfgeeh is a naturalized US citizen. Officials believe that roughly 100 Americans have already traveled to Syria to fight in the ongoing conflict.

Syrian rebels occupy Golan Heights, seize UN weapons and vehicles

Al-Qaeda-linked Jabhat al-Nusra fighters have driven out hundreds of UN peacekeepers from the Syrian side of the Golan Heights, taking their uniforms and vehicles, Syrian UN envoy Bashar Jaafari said. The fighters"had succeeded in occupying all of the Syrian side" of the Golan Heights, forcing troops from the UN Disengagement Observer Force (UNDOF) to retreat. "The terrorists are now using United Nations cars, which hold the emblem of the United Nations forces in the Golan. They are using the uniform of the UNDOF, the weapons of UNDOF, the positions of UNDOR to shell on the Syrian army as well as on the civilians in villages,"Jaafari told reporters. The UN Security Council is scheduled to discuss the Golan Heights situation during a session on Wednesday.

US bombs Islamic State targets near Baghdad

US fighter jets have launched a new round of airstrikes near the Iraqi capital Baghdad, targeting Islamic State (IS) fighters. “US military forces continued to attack ISIL (IS) terrorists in Iraq, using fighter aircraft to conduct five airstrikes Monday and Tuesday southwest of Baghdad and northwest of Irbil,” the US Central Command said in its latest statement. The airstrikes destroyed two trucks, an Islamic State fighting position, an anti-aircraft artillery piece, a small ground unit, and two small boats, according to US Central Command officials.This brings the total of strikes across Iraq to 167. The US began using airstrikes against the Islamic State’s positions in northern Iraq last month as part of a military campaign against the militant group.