NEWS OF THE DAY
1 Syria fighting: An air strike has killed a top al Qaeda commander and two other fighters in Syria, activists said Saturday, but it was not immediately clear whether it was carried out by the U.S.-led coalition or Russian warplanes. The Syrian Observatory for Human Rights said Abdul Mohsen Abdallah Ibrahim al-Charekh, a Saudi better known as Sanafi al-Nasr, was killed Thursday in an air strike near the northern town of Dana, along with another Saudi and a Moroccan member of al Qaeda’s local affiliate, known as the Nusra Front. Russian warplanes have been carrying out air strikes in Syria since Sept. 30. A U.S.-led coalition has been targeting the Nusra Front and the Islamic State group for more than a year. Jihadi activists on social media say al-Charekh was killed by a U.S. drone strike.
2 Tropical storm: Slow-moving Typhoon Koppu blew ashore with fierce, 109 mph winds in the northeastern Philippines early Sunday, toppling trees and knocking out power and communications. Thousands of villagers in the typhoon’s path had been advised to evacuate. After slamming into Casiguran town in Aurora province, the typhoon weakened slightly and slowed considerably. President Benigno Aquino III and disaster-response agencies have warned that Koppu’s rain and winds may cause more damage with its slow speed. Forecasters said the typhoon has a cloud band of 370 miles and could dump rain over much of the main northern island of Luzon. Koppu, Japanese for “cup,” is the 12th storm to hit the Philippines this year. An average of 20 storms and typhoons each year batter the archipelago, one of the world’s most disaster-prone countries.
3 Guinea election: President Alpha Conde has won a second term, the election commission announced Saturday, avoiding a runoff with his closest rival, who vowed to protest the results. Conde received nearly 58 percent of the Oct. 11 vote, while his main opponent, Cellou Dalein Diallo, had 31 percent, the commission said. It was only the second democratic presidential contest since Guinea gained independence from France in 1958. Violence marked the run-up to the poll, with at least three people killed, and many worry that street protests in the coming days could lead to deadly confrontations with security forces.
4 Mexico manhunt: Fugitive drug lord Joaquin “El Chapo” Guzman was flown to a mountainous region of his home state of Sinaloa following his daring July 11 escape from prison through a mile-long tunnel, a federal official said Saturday. The search for Guzman has focused in recent weeks on a rugged area that stretches from Sinaloa into neighboring Durango state, part of Mexico’s famed Golden Triangle drug-producing region, said the official, who spoke to the Associated Press on condition of anonymity. Mexico’s security Cabinet said Guzman injured a leg and his face fleeing marines in the rugged terrain. Guzman escaped from a maximum-security prison not far from Mexico City.
5 Capsized boat: Twelve people died and another person was missing Saturday after an excursion boat overturned in the Black Sea near the city of Odessa, Ukrainian officials said. The other 23 people who were aboard the boat were rescued. The Ukrainian Infrastructure Ministry said the boat was heading to its berth about 25 miles southwest of Odessa when it capsized. The cause wasn’t immediately determined.