Connect with us

CBS News

American-backed forces work to keep ISIS at bay in Syria

Avatar

Published

on


American-backed forces work to keep ISIS at bay in Syria – CBS News


Watch CBS News



The U.S. has been conducting airstrikes in Syria since the fall of the Assad regime, in part, it says, to prevent a resurgence of ISIS. Holly Williams got an on-the-ground look at how American-backed forces in Syria are also working to disrupt the group.

Be the first to know

Get browser notifications for breaking news, live events, and exclusive reporting.




Read the original article

Leave your vote

CBS News

Head of Russia’s nuclear defense forces killed in Moscow blast triggered by device hidden in scooter, officials say

Avatar

Published

on


Markarova: Ukraine is “not asking for other troops”


Ambassador Oksana Markarova says Ukraine is “not asking for other troops”

06:24

Moscow — The head of Russia’s Nuclear, Biological, and Chemical Defense Forces, Lt. General Igor Kirillov, was killed along with his deputy early Tuesday in an explosion in Moscow, Russia’s Investigative Committee said.

An explosive device hidden in an electronic scooter went off outside a residential building as the two men left the structure, Agence France-Presse cites investigators as saying.

RUSSIA-BLAST-MILITARY
A body is seen at the scene of an explosion in Moscow that killed the commander of the Russian armed forces’ chemical, biological and radiation defense troops, Igor Kirillov, and his deputy, on Dec. 17, 2024, according to the Russian Investigative Committee.

ALEXANDER NEMENOV / AFP via Getty Images


“Investigators, forensic experts and operational services are working at the scene,” committee spokesperson Svetlana Petrenko said in a statement. “Investigative and search activities are being carried out to establish all the circumstances around this crime.”

RUSSIA-BLAST-MILITARY
A view of scene of a Dec. 17, 2024 explosion that killed the commander of the Russian military’s chemical, biological and radiation defense troops, Igor Kirillov, and his deputy, according to the Russian Investigative Committee.

ALEXANDER NEMENOV / AFP via Getty Images


The committee carries out responsible major investigations in Russia.  

Kirillov was sentenced in absentia by a Ukrainian court on Dec. 16 for the use of banned chemical weapons in Ukraine during Russia’s military operation in Ukraine that started in Feb. 2022.

RUSSIA-BLAST-MILITARY
In this screengrab from AFPTV footage, Igor Kirillov, head of the Russian Defense Ministry’s radiological, biological and chemical protection unit, speaks at a press briefing in June 2018.

AFPTV / AFP via Getty Images


Ukraine’s Security Service, the SBU, said it had recorded more than 4,800 uses of chemical weapons on the battlefield since February 2022, particularly K-1 combat grenades.

During the almost 3-year operation, Russia has made small but steady territorial gains to the nearly one-fifth of Ukraine it already controls.

Kirillov had been in his post since 2017, AFP notes.



Read the original article

Leave your vote

Continue Reading

CBS News

Earthquake rocks Pacific island nation of Vanuatu, deaths feared, U.S. embassy damaged

Avatar

Published

on


A powerful earthquake hit the Pacific island nation of Vanuatu Tuesday, smashing buildings in the capital, Port Vila, including one housing the embassies of the U.S. and other nations. A witness told Agence France-Presse of bodies seen in the city.

Dan McGarry, a journalist with the Organized Crime and Corruption Reporting Project based in Vanuatu, told the Reuters news agency in an interview that police said at least one person had been killed and injured people had been taken to hospital.

“It was the most violent earthquake I’ve experienced in my 21 years living in Vanuatu and in the Pacific Islands. I’ve seen a lot of large earthquakes, never one like this,” he said.

The 7.3-magnitude quake struck at a depth of 35 miles, off the coast of Efate, Vanuatu’s main island, at 12:47 p.m. local time, according to the U.S. Geological Survey.

The ground floor of a building housing the U.S, French and other embassies had been crushed under higher floors, resident Michael Thompson told AFP by satellite phone after posting images of the destruction on social media.

“That no longer exists. It is just completely flat. The top three floors are still holding but they have dropped,” Thompson said.

“If there was anyone in there at the time, then they’re gone.”

Thompson said the ground floor housed the U.S. embassy, but that couldn’t be immediately confirmed.

A photo showed significant damage to the building:

TOPSHOT-VANUATU-EARTHQUAKE
This photo shows a general view of a severely damaged building housing the embassies of the United States, United Kingdom and New Zealand after a powerful earthquake struck Port Vila, the capital city of Vanuatu, on December 17, 2024.

STR / AFP via Getty Images


The United States has closed the embassy until further notice, citing “considerable damage” to the mission, the U.S. embassy in Papua New Guinea said in a message on social media. “Our thoughts are with everyone affected by this earthquake,” the embassy said.

The New Zealand High Commission, housed in the same building, suffered “significant damage,” a statement from Foreign Minister Winston Peters’ office said, adding that, “New Zealand is deeply concerned about the significant earthquake in Vanuatu, and the damage it has caused.”

Thompson, who runs a zipline adventure business in Vanuatu, said, “There’s people in the buildings in town. There were bodies there when we walked past.”

A landslide on one road had covered a bus, he said, “so there’s obviously some deaths there.”

The quake also collapsed at least two bridges, and most mobile networks were cut off, Thompson said.

“They’re just cracking on with a rescue operation. The support we need from overseas is medical evacuation and skilled rescue, (the) kind(s) of people that can operate in earthquakes,” he said.

VANUATU-EARTHQUAKE
Rescue workers are seen at the site of a collapsed building after a powerful earthquake struck Port Vila, the capital city of Vanuatu, on December 17, 2024.

STR / AFP via Getty Images


Video footage posted by Thompson and verified by AFP showed uniformed rescuers and emergency vehicles working on a building where an external roof had collapsed onto a number of parked cars and trucks.

The streets of the city were strewn with broken glass and other debris from damaged buildings, the footage showed.

Nibhay Nand, a Sydney-based pharmacist with businesses across the South Pacific, said he had spoken to staff in Port Vila who said most of the store there had been “destroyed” and that other buildings nearby had “collapsed.”

“We are waiting for everyone to get online to know how devastating and traumatic this will be,” Nand told AFP.

A tsunami warning was issued after the quake, with waves of up to three feet forecast for some areas of Vanuatu, but it was soon lifted by the Pacific Tsunami Warning Center.

Earthquakes are common in Vanuatu, a low-lying archipelago of 320,000 people that straddles the seismic Ring of Fire, an arc of intense tectonic activity that stretches through Southeast Asia and across the Pacific Basin.

Vanuatu is ranked as one of the countries most susceptible to natural disasters such as earthquakes, storm damage, flooding and tsunamis, according to the annual World Risk Report.



Read the original article

Leave your vote

Continue Reading

CBS News

12/16: CBS Evening News – CBS News

Avatar

Published

on


12/16: CBS Evening News – CBS News


Watch CBS News



Student and teacher killed in Madison, Wisconsin, school shooting; Supreme Court Justice Ketanji Brown Jackson makes Broadway history

Be the first to know

Get browser notifications for breaking news, live events, and exclusive reporting.




Read the original article

Leave your vote

Continue Reading

Copyright © 2024 Breaking MN

Log In

Forgot password?

Forgot password?

Enter your account data and we will send you a link to reset your password.

Your password reset link appears to be invalid or expired.

Log in

Privacy Policy

Add to Collection

No Collections

Here you'll find all collections you've created before.