14, April 2018
Syria comes under military attack on Trump’s orders, 13 missiles shot down 0
Multiple places in Syria have come under attack by US, British and French military forces after President Donald Trump ordered a military strike against the country despite international warnings against further escalation of the situation.
“A short time ago, I ordered the United States Armed Forces to launch precision strikes on targets associated with the chemical weapons capabilities of” Syria, Trump said in a televised address from the White House on Friday evening.
He also warned Russia and Iran, which have been assisting Syria in its counter-terrorism campaign, to end their support for the Damascus government, but said, “hopefully, someday we’ll get along with Russia, and maybe even Iran, but maybe not.”
US officials said that Tomahawk cruise missiles and other types of bombs were used in the attack.
British Prime Minister Theresa May also said she authorized the British armed forces to conduct coordinated and targeted strikes, noting, “I have done so because I judge this action to be in Britain’s national interest.”
Britain’s Defense Ministry said that four RAF tornado jets took part in the attacks, striking a Syrian military facility near the Syrian province of Homs.
Likewise, French President Emanuel Macron also claimed the strikes target Syria’s capability to launch chemical attacks.
“We cannot tolerate the normalization of the use of chemical weapons,” he said in a statement issued shortly after huge explosions were heard in Damascus early Saturday followed by the sound of airplanes overhead.
The three countries used an alleged chemical attack in the Eastern Ghouta suburb of Damascus last week as a pretext for their military action. They blame the Syrian government for the attack, without offering any evidence.
Syria has strongly rejected any role in the suspected attack, which came just as the Syrian army was about to declare full victory against the militants operating in the region.
Russia said the chemical attack was staged by desperate militants to provoke further intervention in the conflict by the West.
The NATO military alliance also voiced support for the military action.
“I support the actions taken by the United States, the United Kingdom and France,” NATO Secretary General Jens Stoltenberg said in a statement, claiming … the campaign will reduce the ability of Syria to launch chemical attacks.
The Britain-based Syrian Observatory for Human Rights said the strikes hit bases and chemical research centers around the capital Damascus.
Syrian state TV said the attack hit the country’s army depots in the area of Homs, adding that Syrian air defense systems shot down 13 missiles.
A Reuters witness said that at least six loud explosions were heard in Damascus with smoke rising over the Syrian capital where a second witness said the Barzah district, the location of a major Syrian scientific research center, was also hit in the strikes.
US Secretary of Defense Jim Mattis said in a press briefing that the air strikes on targets in Syria were a “one time shot,” noting that future strikes will depend on whether the Syrian government uses chemical weapons.
The Pentagon chief added that the US and its allies struck Syria harder than they did last year.
General Joseph Dunford, the highest-ranking officer in the US military, said Russia’s forces in Syria had been warned through existing “deconfliction” channels that Western planes would be in Syrian air space.
There have been contradictory reports on the number of missiles fired on Syria. A pro-Syrian government official said 30 missiles were fired, but the Pentagon put the number at 100.
Source: Presstv
15, April 2018
3 dead as spring snowstorms wreak havoc in central US 0
A storm system stretching from the Gulf Coast to the Great Lakes has buffeted the central US with heavy snow, tornadoes, rain and hail, forcing flight cancellations, creating treacherous road conditions and killing at least three people, including a sleeping 2-year-old Louisiana girl.
In the Upper Midwest, all flights were grounded most of Saturday at Minneapolis-St. Paul International Airport as heavy snow made it difficult to keep runways clear and planes deiced. Nearly 470 flights were canceled before crews were able to open one runway shortly after 10 p.m., according to a spokesman. Blizzard conditions also forced the airport in South Dakota’s biggest city, Sioux Falls, to remain closed for a second straight day.
The Minnesota Twins home game against the Chicago White Sox was snowed out Saturday, marking the first back-to-back postponements of baseball games in the stadium’s nine seasons. Sunday’s game was also called off because of the storm, which by Saturday night had buried Minneapolis under more than 13 inches of snow (33 centimeters). The Yankees and Tigers were rained out Saturday in Detroit.
Authorities closed several highways in southwestern Minnesota, where no travel was advised, and driving conditions were difficult across the southern half of the state. The National Weather Service predicted that a large swath of southern Minnesota, including Minneapolis and St. Paul, could get up to 20 inches of snow (51 centimeters) by the time the storm blows through on Sunday.
“It’s a cool experience for me, the best Minneapolis experience,” Niko Heiligman, of Aachen, Germany, said as he braved the snow Saturday to take a walk along the Mississippi River in downtown Minneapolis. “I’m only here for the weekend, so I guess that’s how it goes. There’s snow and it’s cold. So it’s good.”
The storm is expected to persist through Sunday in Minnesota, Wisconsin and Michigan before moving into New York state and New England.
Up to 18 inches (46 centimeters) of snow had fallen by early Saturday in parts of northern Wisconsin, with another 14 inches (36 centimeters) expected by Sunday evening. Winds of up to 55 mph (88.5 kph) caused blowing and drifting snow, along with ice shoves in Green Bay.
The National Weather Service also warned of potential coastal flooding along Lake Michigan in Wisconsin and Illinois, where Chicago residents were warned that waves could reach as high as 18 feet (5.5 meters).
Snow and wind gusts of up to 50 mph (80 kph) were whipping through parts of South Dakota for a second straight day Saturday, causing blizzard conditions that made travel all but impossible. While the blizzard warning was lifted in the western part of the state, it remained in effect for much of southern and eastern South Dakota.
No travel was advised in Sioux Falls, where police said the blowing snow made it hard to see anything. Several inches of snow fell in various parts of the state, including 18 inches (46 centimeters) in the eastern South Dakota city of Huron.
The storm and powerful winds knocked out power to thousands of customers in Michigan, which was expected to get more snow and ice through the weekend.
Two storm-related deaths occurred early Saturday. In Louisiana, winds downed a tree onto a mobile home in Haughton, killing a sleeping 2-year-old girl inside, according to the Bossier Parish Sheriff’s Office. In Wisconsin, a woman was killed when she lost control of the minivan she was driving on a slippery highway and struck an oncoming SUV near Lewiston. Three passengers in the minvan and the SUV driver were hospitalized.
On Friday, a truck driver from Idaho lost control of his rig on snow-covered Interstate 80 near Chappell in western Nebraska and slammed into a semi that had become stranded, according to the Nebraska State Patrol. He died at the scene.
In Arkansas, a tornado ripped through the tiny Ozark Mountain town of Mountainburg on Friday, injuring at least four people and causing widespread damage. Video showed uprooted trees, overturned cars, damaged buildings and downed power lines. Powerful winds also damaged several buildings at the University of Central Arkansas, though no injuries were reported there.
The storm made its mark in Texas, too, where hail the size of hen eggs fell on areas south of Dallas and Fort Worth, according to meteorologist Patricia Sanchez. In Austin, fire officials said strong winds helped spread the flames after lightning struck two houses that suffered heavy damage.
(Source: AP)