Lewis Walker

President Barack Obama is to send up to 50 special forces to Syria to help co-ordinate the fight against IS, US officials say.
BBC News – US & Canada

Nigeria launches a major crackdown on fake bank-account holders in a bid to reduce fraud in the banking sector.
BBC News – Africa

ORLANDO – The first game of the
Oklahoma City Thunder

The Kansas City Royals are back in the World Series, and they are halfway to the four wins they’ll need for their first title since 1985. One of the big reasons for their recent run of success is their defense, […]

US economic growth slowed to an annualised pace of 1.5% in the third quarter of the year, according to the latest official figures.
BBC News – Business

The Saudi blogger Raif Badawi, whose flogging sentence caused a global outcry, is awarded the prestigious Sakharov human rights prize.
BBC News – Middle East

Venezuelan National Assembly head Diosdado Cabello says former prosecutor Franklin Nieves – who alleges that the Venezuelan judiciary is corrupt – was bribed.
BBC News – Latin America & Caribbean

Ten people, including children, die in four separate boat sinkings off Greece, with reports that many more may still be missing.
BBC News – Europe

A 16-year-old boy is charged over the death of “beloved” Bailey Gwynne, who died after suffering stab injuries in an Aberdeen school.
BBC News – UK

Republican Paul Ryan is elected to the key job of US House of Representatives speaker, replacing John Boehner.
BBC News – US & Canada

Tanzania’s governing party candidate John Magufuli has won Sunday’s fiercely competitive presidential election with 58% of the vote, officials say.
BBC News – Africa

18,203 people were on their feet, anxiously awaiting the Thunder’s first basket of the 2015-16 season.
Oklahoma City Thunder

Athletics center fielder Billy Burns smacked a two-run home run in the third inning of Oakland’s 5-4 win over the San Francisco Giants Friday night at the Coliseum, passing Jose Canseco for sole possession of […]

When the last shoe stepped off the floor at the INTEGRIS Thunder Development Center on Tuesday afternoon, it signaled a small moment of t
Oklahoma City Thunder

Lloyds Banking Group said profit before tax for the three months to the end of September rose to £958m from £751m from a year earlier.
BBC News – Business

Medecins Sans Frontieres says a hospital in north Yemen has been destroyed by several air strikes, but the Saudi-led coalition denies responsibility.
BBC News – Middle East

Dominican Republic calls on France to extradite two pilots who fled after being convicted of trafficking cocaine.
BBC News – Latin America & Caribbean

The presidents of the European Parliament and European Council warn that the migrant crisis threatens the EU’s cohesion.
BBC News – Europe

David Cameron will continue to push his case for changes to the UK’s relationship with the EU when he meets other leaders in Iceland on Wednesday.
BBC News – UK

The US indicates that it will step up its campaign against Islamic State militants in Iraq and Syria, including through direct ground missions.
BBC News – US & Canada