09/27/14

* British fighter jets set to strike ISIS in first mission since authorization Two British fighter jets flew over Iraq on Saturday, their first mission since parliament authorized strikes against Islamic State militants there.

* US-led air strikes hit IS on Syria's border with Turkey US-led coalition air strikes have hit Islamic State (IS) targets near the besieged Syrian town of Kobane on the border with Turkey, the Pentagon says.

* Iran nuclear talks: Rouhani warns time running out Iranian President Hassan Rouhani has warned that time is running out for negotiating a permanent agreement on his country's nuclear programme.

* What will it take to defeat the Islamic State? Although more and more nations have agreed to join the coalition against Islamic State militants, a victory over the terrorist group is not in near sight.

* Op-Ed: Get Ready for the Real War In recent weeks, the media are filled with reports on the international preparations for a war against the "Islamic State" and an International Conference was even convened in Paris in an attempt to enlist the cooperation of as many nations as possible in waging it.

* Oklahoma Beheader Linked to Al Qaeda Leader Awlaki, Boston Bomber's Mosque Suhaib Webb, an Imam with ties to former Al Qaeda mastermind Anwar al-Awlaki, had also previously been the leader of the Islamic Society of Greater Oklahoma City, which had been attended by Alton Nolen -- the man who on Thursday beheaded a former coworker after recently converting to Islam.

* Iran says it will strike if Islamic State nears border Iran will attack Islamic State group jihadists inside Iraq if they advance near the border, ground forces commander General Ahmad Reza Pourdestana said in comments published on Saturday.

* China, Iran to conduct joint naval exercises in defiance of U.S. interests For the first time in four decades, a Chinese naval flotilla has visited the Islamic Republic of Iran, as U.S. deterrence and its military presence in the region wanes.

* Turkey's overlooked role in rise of latest 'Islamic Caliphate', and what's coming next Much has been spewed forth about the seemingly inexorable and sudden rise, steeped in blood, of a chimeric new "state", the so-called Islamic Caliphate.

* Rouhani: Iran will never agree to stop uranium enrichment Iran's president on Friday urged faster progress at nuclear talks between his country and six world powers, joining other top international officials who say the current round has failed to make substantial headway toward sealing a deal by the November 24 deadline.