War

John Kerry said it would take between 15,000 to 30,000 ground troops to maintain a ‘safe zone’ inside northern Syria. Citing previously unheard of Pentagon estimates, the Secretary of State asked a Senate panel today: “Now are we ready to authorize that?” ABC7 News reports: Although a ceasefire is planned for this coming Saturday, there are growing calls within Washington for a so-called “Plan-B”: options for military action if the truce fails. Many Republicans, including Donald Trump, are calling for a “safe zone” in northern Syria to protect the increasing number of displaced people.

The Norwegian Prime Minister Erna Solberg has warned that Sweden is about to collapse due to the overwhelming influx of refugees in the country.  Solberg is so concerned with its imminent collapse that she has created an emergency law to seal Norway’s borders in case “it all breaks down” in Sweden. Zerohedge.com reports: “It is a force majeure proposals which we will have in the event that it all breaks down, the power just comes, and all end in Norway because we are at the top and most of Europe.

Police are dealing with a hostage situation at an Italian restaurant near Leicester Square in central London. Officers were called to a branch of the Bella Italia restaurant chain at 8.50pm, where a man was reportedly holding a woman hostage with a knife.

According to Syrian opposition groups a deadly car bomb killed dozens of Russian Generals at a military base on the Syrian coast, some 15 kilometers from Latakia. The important military center was hit by a car bomb on Sunday, carried out by opposition factions Ahrar al-Sham and the Bayan movement, according to reports on Wednesday.

Saudi Arabia, the United Arab Emirates and Bahrain have urged their citizens to leave Lebanon or avoid travelling there, amid deteriorating political ties between Riyadh and Beirut. On Tuesday they called on “all citizens not to travel to Lebanon, for their safety, and asking citizens residing in Lebanon or visiting not to stay unless extremely necessary.” The move on Tuesday came after Riyadh halted $4bn in aid to Lebanese security forces in response to “hostile” positions linked to the Lebanese Shia group Hezbollah.