World/Nation
• Al-Qaida wants to end infighting with Islamic State
WASHINGTON - U.S. intelligence analysts are closely watching al-Qaida's overtures to the renegade Islamic State to reunite and fight the West, and while a full reconciliation is not on the horizon, there is evidence the two groups have curtailed their feud and are cooperating on the Syrian battlefield.
The al-Qaida global terror network recently has extended olive branches to the rival Islamic State through messages released by its affiliates around the world. The most recent was on Oct. 17 from al-Qaida in the Arabian Peninsula, the Yemen-based offshoot that denounced the airstrikes and called on rival militant groups to stop their infighting and together train their sights on Western targets. Al-Qaida also has sent emissaries to Syria on unsuccessful missions to get the rival groups working together.
Al-Qaida is saying, "Let's just have a truce in Syria," said Tom Joscelyn, who tracks terror groups for the Long War Journal. "That is what's underway now. ... What we have seen is that local commanders are entering into local truces. There are definitely areas where the two groups are not fighting."
• Hundreds feared buried in Sri Lanka mudslide
KOSLANDA, Sri Lanka - A mudslide triggered by monsoon rains buried scores of workers' houses at a tea plantation in central Sri Lanka, raising fears that hundreds may have been killed.
In the chaos which followed Wednesday morning's disaster, there was confusion about the number of dead and missing because government officials reported different figures and later reduced the number of missing by 100 without explanation.
The mudslide struck around 7:30 a.m. and wiped out 120 workers' homes at the Koslanda tea plantation, said Lal Sarath Kumara, an official from the Disaster Management Center. The plantation is in the town of Koslanda in Badulla district about 140 miles east of Colombo. He said at least 10 people were killed and more than 250 reported missing.
A 48-year-old truck driver who gave his name only as Raja said he lost all five members of his household - his wife, two sons, daughter-in-law and his 6-month-old grandchild.
• Activists oppose anti-discrimination law in Houston
HOUSTON - Houston city attorneys have withdrawn subpoenas that sought speeches and other information from five pastors who publicly opposed an ordinance banning discrimination of gay and transgender residents, the mayor said Wednesday.
Mayor Annise Parker said the subpoenas, which the city pursued after opponents filed a lawsuit seeking a vote on repealing the ordinance, inadvertently created a national debate about freedom of religion. The pastors, who aren't plaintiffs but support repeal efforts, argued that their sermons, presentations and other material were protected under the First Amendment.
"I always supported the right of clergy to say what they want even if I disagree with them," Parker said. "It was never our intention to interfere with any members of the clergy and their congregants in terms of sermons, in terms of preaching what they believe is the word of the God that they serve. ... My whole purpose is to defend a strong and wonderful and appropriate city ordinance against local attack."
The Houston City Council passed an ordinance in May which consolidates city bans on discrimination based on sex, race, age, religion and other categories. It also increases protections for gay and transgender residents. Opponents are pushing to repeal the ordinance, saying the issue should be decided by voters.
The mayor, who is openly gay, and other supporters said the measure was about offering protections at the local level against discrimination in housing, employment and services provided by private businesses such as hotels and restaurants. Religious institutions are exempt from the ordinance.
- The Associated Press