NEWS OF THE DAY
From Around the World
_1 Clash over Syria: A pair of U.S. jets intercepted two Russian fighter aircraft over Syria on Tuesday, the Pentagon said, the kind of highly dangerous yet common encounter that’s occurring with more regularity despite agreements between the countries to avoid potentially deadly mistakes. Two F-22A Raptors were diverted from supporting ground operations against Islamic State militants and intercepted the Russian Su-25s aircraft after they crossed into U.S. coalition airspace east of the Euphrates River near Abu Kamal, a key city on the border of Iraq and the region where militants have congregated following defeat in Raqqa. Multiple calls to the emergency channel established to avoid such issues were made during the 40-minute encounter, a Pentagon spokesman said, culminating in a tense moment when one of the F-22s shadowed its Russian counterpart. The Syrian skies have become another contested battle space between old adversaries.
_2 Migrants rescued: Dozens of migrants were rescued by the Turkish coast guard Thursday after their rubber dinghy snagged on a rocky outcropping off Turkey’s Aegean coast. In a rescue recorded by Turkish authorities, a helicopter winched people to safety near Bademli, near the island of Lesbos, Greece. A partly deflated dinghy could be seen on the rocks. Fifty-one people, including 15 children, were rescued, six by helicopter and the rest by fishermen who transferred them to coast guard vessels, according to a statement from the coast guard. The nationalities of the rescued migrants were not immediately clear. The route across the Aegean Sea from Turkey to Greece has often been deadly. Dozens of migrants have drowned attempting the Aegean crossing this year. The perils were seared into the world’s consciousness in September 2015 by a photograph of a young Syrian boy, Aylan Kurdi, whose lifeless body had washed up on a Syrian beach.
_3 Nationalists arrested: The leaders of a British far-right group, which had gained notoriety after President Trump recirculated unverified anti-Muslim videos it had posted on social media, were arrested Thursday. Paul Golding, the leader of Britain First, was detained in Belfast, Northern Ireland, the group said, where he was accompanying his deputy, Jayda Fransen, to her court hearing on earlier charges related to using “threatening, abusive, insulting words or behavior” during an antiIslam speech in August that prosecutors said could qualify as incitement to racial hatred. She has denied the charges. Shortly after her court appearance, British news media said she was arrested again on a different charge.
_4 Russia sanctions: The European Union has extended sanctions against Russia because of the stalled peace process in Ukraine. EU Council President Donald Tusk said at Thursday’s summit of the 28 EU leaders in Brussels that they were “united on the rollover of economic sanctions on Russia.” _5 Argentine protests: Argentine police clashed Thursday with demonstrators protesting reforms to the retirement and pension system. Police in riot gear shot tear gas and rubber bullets at stickwielding protesters who torched several garbage bins outside Argentina’s Congress building and in nearby streets in Buenos Aires. Union leaders and social activists say the reform measure will reduce pension and retirement payments as well as aid for some of poor families starting in March.