Small Iraqi force enters Kobani

Small Iraqi force enters Kobani

SURUC, Turkey

A vanguard force of Iraqi peshmerga troops entered the embattled Syrian border town of Kobani from Turkey on Thursday, part of a larger group of 150 fighters that the Kurds hope will turn back an offensive by militants of the Islamic State group.

The deployment, accompanied by 50 members of the Free Syrian Army, was condemned by Syria’s government as an act of Turkish aggression and a “blatant violation of Syrian sovereignty.”

The first group of Kurdish fighters crossed into Syria after heavy overnight clashes as Islamic State extremists unsuccessfully tried to capture the frontier post, the only gateway in and out of the town.

Longest-serving Boston mayor dies

BOSTON

Thomas Menino, Boston’s longest-serving mayor whose mumbling and occasional bumbling belied his political ingenuity and endeared him to a scrappy city whose very skyline he helped reshape, died Thursday. He was 71.

Menino died in the company of his family and friends, spokeswoman Dot Joyce said. He had been diagnosed with advanced cancer in February, shortly after leaving office, and announced a week ago he was suspending treatment and a book tour.

Small-plane crash at Kan. airport kills 4

WICHITA, Kan.

A small plane lost power after takeoff and crashed into a flight-training building while trying to return to a Kansas airport Thursday, killing four people, injuring five others and igniting a fire that sent up towering plumes of black smoke that could be seen for miles around Wichita.

Three of the dead were inside a flight simulator in the building when the plane crashed into it at the city’s Mid-Continent Airport, and the fourth was found on the roof and is believed to be the pilot, Wichita Fire Chief Ronald Blackwell said.

Five others were injured in the crash, and one of those was in serious condition at a hospital, Blackwell said.

North Korea takes steps against Ebola

PYONGYANG, North Korea

North Korea announced Thursday it will quarantine foreigners entering the country for 21 days over fears of the spread of the Ebola virus, even though no cases of the disease have been reported anywhere in Asia, and very few foreigners are allowed to enter.

North Korea is always on guard against outside influences, but now that it perceives the deadly disease to be a threat, its anxiety has reached a new level. It has banned tourists, put business groups on hold and is looking even more suspiciously than usual at every foreign face coming across its borders.

French town bans clowns after assaults

PARIS

A small town outside Montpellier in southern France has banned people from disguising themselves as clowns from the streets — especially on Halloween.

This week’s decision by Mayor Pierre Dudieuzere of Vendargues follows a series of incidents around France in which people dressed as scary clowns spooked children and in several cases assaulted people. In one incident, an adolescent assaulted a passer-by with an iron bar.

The phenomenon spread over the past few weeks on Facebook, with groups tracking clown sightings across the country. But Vendargues, with 6,000 inhabitants, apparently is the first town to ban clowning around.

Associated Press