Syrian army enters Manbij after Kurdish calls to deter Turkey

The Syrian army said it entered Manbij on Friday for the first time in years, after the Kurdish YPG militia urged Damascus to protect the town from the threat of Turkish attacks.

from Reuters: World News https://reut.rs/2AldnUo

Read More

Six arrested for killing, eating endangered langur monkey

The men confessed to live-streaming the death on Facebook after buying the monkey from a hunter.

from BBC News - World https://bbc.in/2GHMsrF

Read More

Ukraine conflict: Russia completes Crimea security fence

Russia seals off annexed Crimea with a new border fence more than 60km long.

from BBC News - World https://bbc.in/2SoQczz

Read More

Richard Overton, US oldest veteran and oldest man, dies aged 112

Richard Overton, who credited God, whisky and cigars for his long life, has died in Texas.

from BBC News - World https://bbc.in/2BIWumH

Read More

Syrian surprise: How Trump's phone call changed the war

President Donald Trump's declaration in a phone call with Tayyip Erdogan that he was pulling U.S. troops from Syria has stunned Turkey and left it scrambling to respond to the changing battlefield on its southern border.

from Reuters: World News https://reut.rs/2VbbO4t

Read More

Watchdog clears Thai junta deputy over luxury watches

Thai Deputy Prime Minister Prawit Wongsuwan said on Friday he was never worried about an anti-corruption investigation that this week cleared him of any wrongdoing over two dozen luxury watches that he did not claim as assets.

from Reuters: World News https://reut.rs/2Vf8epR

Read More

Kremlin welcomes return of Syrian Kurdish territories to Damascus

Russia welcomes the return of Kurdish territories in Syria to the control of President Bashar al-Assad's government, the Kremlin spokesman said on Friday, after Damascus said its forces had entered the town of Manbij.

from Reuters: World News https://reut.rs/2QbnlwY

Read More

China police detain students protesting crackdown on Marxist group

Chinese police detained a group of students on Friday who were protesting against a crackdown on a campus Marxist society, whose former head was held by police on the 125th birthday of the founder of modern China, Mao Zedong.China has an awkward relationship with the legacy of Mao, who died in 1976 and is still officially venerated by the ruling Communist Party.

from Reuters: World News https://reut.rs/2GGkL2k

Read More

Taliban seek image makeover as Afghan peace talks gain momentum

As moves toward peace pick up in Afghanistan, the Taliban are trying to show they have changed since the brutal days of the 1990s when they banned music and girls' education and carried out public executions in Kabul's football stadium.

from Reuters: World News https://reut.rs/2LC3gPp

Read More

Syrian army enters town of Manbij and raises flag - statement

The Syrian army entered Manbij on Friday for the first time in years, it said in a statement, after the Kurdish YPG militia urged the government of President Bashar al-Assad to protect the town from Turkish attacks.

from Reuters: World News https://reut.rs/2LABPpa

Read More

Congo opposition leader Fayulu takes clear lead ahead of Sunday's election

Opposition candidate Martin Fayulu has become the clear favorite to win Democratic Republic of Congo's long-delayed election on Sunday, with the government-backed candidate trailing in third place, according to a new poll.

from Reuters: World News https://reut.rs/2CCnW6Z

Read More

Ahead of Bangladesh vote, opposition says it has been silenced

Bangladesh has a general election this weekend, but opposition candidate Abdul Moyeen Khan says he has yet to hold a single public meeting in his constituency about 30 miles (50 km) northeast of Dhaka, the capital.

from Reuters: World News https://reut.rs/2ETpsUM

Read More

May's Brexit deal can get through parliament: UK foreign minister

Prime Minister Theresa May's Brexit deal can be passed by the British parliament if the European Union provides clarification that the Northern Irish backstop will be temporary, foreign minister Jeremy Hunt said on Friday.

from Reuters: World News https://reut.rs/2TdavA4

Read More

Angelina Jolie hints at move into politics

The actress and UN special envoy told the BBC she would go where she was needed.

from BBC News - World https://bbc.in/2QU3ho2

Read More

Syrian Kurdish YPG urges government to enter Manbij to stave off Turkey

The Syrian Kurdish YPG militia called on the government of President Bashar al-Assad on Friday to take control of Manbij to protect the town from the threat of Turkish attacks.

from Reuters: World News https://reut.rs/2EQCnWL

Read More

Sudan detains nine opposition leaders ahead of planned protest

Authorities in Sudan arrested at least nine opposition leaders and activists, a committee of civil society groups said in a statement, ahead of fresh anti-government protests expected after weekly Muslim prayers on Friday.

from Reuters: World News https://reut.rs/2VdTJCJ

Read More

UK stocks rise after torrid week

FTSE 100 index of UK's largest company rises 1% at start of Friday trading.

from BBC News - Business https://bbc.in/2ESNEql

Read More

The councils trying to save the High Street

Local authorities are buying up failing shopping malls with the aim of reviving them, but is it too risky?

from BBC News - Business https://bbc.in/2AtEDjV

Read More

Bahrain says work in Syria embassy 'continuing': BNA

Bahrain's embassy in Damascus and the Syrian diplomatic mission in Manama have been operating "without interruption", the Bahraini foreign ministry said in a statement on Friday, a day after the United Arab Emirates reopened its embassy in Syria.

from Reuters: World News https://reut.rs/2QUIu3H

Read More

US shutdown impasse over Trump's wall drags on

Both chambers of congress adjourn within minutes of opening their sessions on the disputed budget.

from BBC News - World https://bbc.in/2Q6qNc1

Read More