Security forces end attack on Erbil governorate by suspected Islamic State militants
Kurdish security forces killed gunmen who had stormed a government building in the Kurdish city of Erbil on Monday and took hostages in an attack suspected of being carried out by Islamic State, security officials said.
French interior minister seeks to shift blame over Macron bodyguard scandal
France’s interior minister appeared on Monday to deflect blame over the handling of a video showing Emmanuel Macron’s bodyguard beating a protester telling lawmakers he thought the presidency had dealt with the incident after he informed them.
Delay in shutting down NTPC power plant led to deadly blast in India: probe
An explosion of hot gas at a boiler at NTPC’s Unchahar power plant last year that killed 45 workers was the result of an “error in judgment” by some of the plant’s most experienced operators, according to an internal report on the state-run electricity…
Philippines’ Duterte to keep up ‘relentless and chilling’ drugs war
Philippine President Rodrigo Duterte vowed on Monday to sustain the momentum of his bloody war on drugs, telling the nation in an annual address that the fight would be as “relentless and chilling” as during his first two years in power.
Bitter pill: China vaccine scandal sparks fury, roils markets
A vaccine scandal in China, which has prompted angry reactions from citizens fed up with safety scares, is sending ripples across the local drug market and threatening Chinese ambitions to play a larger role in the global pharmaceutical space.
China police probe vaccine maker Changsheng Bio-technology: Xinhua
Chinese police are investigating vaccine maker Changsheng Bio-technology Co Ltd after the firm was found to have faked documents related to a rabies vaccine, the official Xinhua news agency reported on Monday.
Damascus condemns White Helmet evacuation as ‘criminal operation’
The Syrian government on Monday condemned the evacuation of hundreds of Syrian White Helmet rescue workers and their families with the help of Israeli soldiers, calling it a “criminal operation” undertaken by “Israel and its tools”.
Most Germans think Europe can defend itself without U.S. help: poll
More than half of Germans think Europe can defend itself without military backing from the United States, a poll showed on Monday, less than two weeks after U.S. President Donald Trump said he could withdraw support.
Vietnam jails 10 more for protests over economic zones
A court in Vietnam on Monday jailed 10 people for terms ranging from two to 3-1/2 years after they were arrested in last month’s nationwide protests against new economic zones, state media said.
Turkey detains 43 suspected Islamic State militants: police
Turkish police said on Monday they had detained 43 people on suspicion of being foreign members of the Islamic State militant group in a series of operations across Istanbul.
