US Defence Secretary Ashton Carter has accused Russia of inflaming Syria's years-long civil conflict and says Moscow's military involvement in the war-torn nation is "doomed to fail".
ELSEWHERE:
WASHINGTON - A US county clerk who refused in the name of her faith to issue marriage licences to same-sex couples says she secretly met Pope Francis during his US visit and that he urged her to "stay strong".
LONDON, Sept 30 PA - Scientists are to attempt to nudge an asteroid out of its orbital path in a practice run for saving the world. (SCI ASTEROID)
REYKJAVIK - Iceland has announced that 155 fin whales and 29 minke whales were killed in its hunting season this year, in defiance of calls to end the practice.
OSLO - Norwegian mass murderer Anders Behring Breivik has said he is ready to go on hunger strike until death if he is not better treated in prison.
BERLIN - A record 270,000 to 280,000 refugees arrived in Germany in September, more than the total for 2014,the interior minister of the southern state of Bavaria says.
NEW YORK - Palestine deserves full membership and recognition as a state at the United Nations, Palestinian leader Mahmud Abbas has UN General Assembly.
