US could be planning Syria strike: Russia
MOSCOW • The Russian Ministry of Defence said yesterday it had noticed that Washington was building up its military forces in the Middle East in preparation for what Moscow feared was a possible strike on Syrian government forces, Russian news agencies reported.
Major-General Igor Konashenkov was quoted by agencies as saying that the USS Ross, a guided-missile destroyer, had entered the Mediterranean on Aug 25 armed with 28 Tomahawk cruise missiles capable of hitting any target in Syria.
REUTERS
Suspect in 1998 murder of Dutch boy in court
THE HAGUE • A survival expert wanted over the brutal 1998 rape and killing of a young Dutch boy appeared in court in Spain yesterday after one of the most extensive murder investigations to date in the Netherlands.
Joseph Brech, 55, was arrested near Barcelona on Sunday over the murder of 11-year-old Nicky Verstappen, who vanished two decades ago on Aug 9 at a summer camp in southern Limburg province, near the German border.
Spanish police yesterday escorted the suspect to a tribunal in the city of Granollers, where he "accepted being turned over to the Netherlands", court officials said.
AGENCE FRANCE-PRESSE
Merkel condemns 'hunt' for foreigners by mobs
BERLIN • Chancellor Angela Merkel yesterday condemned far-right protesters who were "hunting down" foreigners in street mobs following the killing of a German man, allegedly by a Syrian and an Iraqi.
The far-right movement Pegida called for demonstrations for a second straight day after a gathering of around 800 people in the city of Chemnitz, in the country's ex-communist east, degenerated into violent chaos, forcing police to call in reinforcements.
AGENCE FRANCE-PRESSE
US will defend itself in UN court against Iran
WASHINGTON • The United States will "vigorously defend" itself in the International Court of Justice against Iran's challenge to the reimposition of US sanctions, Secretary of State Mike Pompeo said yesterday.
Iran demanded in The Hague that the top United Nations court suspend the unilateral US sanctions, which were slapped back on three weeks ago following the US withdrawal from a landmark 2015 nuclear accord with Teheran.
AGENCE FRANCE-PRESSE
