Protesters, Beijing supporters scuffle in prime Hong Kong shopping district

News Field 3-rd of October

Turkey approves military action against ISIS

The Turkish army received the go-ahead from the country’s parliament to engage in military action against Islamic State insurgents in Syria and Iraq. Meanwhile, a senior NATO official said the bloc's involvement is “practically” possible.

Ankara lawmakers on Thursday also authorized foreign forces on Turkish territory when participating in operations against the Islamic State (IS, formerly ISIS/ISIL).

"The rising influence of radical groups in Syria threatens Turkey's national security...The aim of this mandate is to minimize as much as possible the impact of the clashes on our borders," Defense Minister Ismet Yilmaz told parliament.

Erdogan said on Wednesday that Turkey will join the US-led fight against terrorist groups in the region, including Islamic State militants.

"We will fight effectively against both [Islamic State] and all other terrorist organizations within the region. This will always be our priority," President Erdogan said in his opening speech of the legislative session of the Turkish parliament. "We are open and ready for any cooperation in the fight against terrorism.”

Until now, Turkey had refused direct military involvement in the conflict.

Protesters, Beijing supporters scuffle in prime Hong Kong shopping district

Scuffles between protesters and groups supporting Beijing broke out in a key Hong Kong shopping district on Friday, Reuters said. More than 50 police were sent to Mong Kok, just north of the Tsim Sha Tsui shopping district on the Kowloon side of the harbor, to form a human chain between the groups. Several people were reportedly injured. Mong Kok is popular with tourists from mainland China. Meanwhile, the People’s Daily, the newspaper of China’s Communist party, said Friday that authorities will not make concessions to protesters in Hong Kong and that their cause is “doomed to fail.”

Date: 2015-01-29; view: 836