Philippines turns to heavy firepower as hunt for rebel leader narrows
MARAWI CITY, Philippines (Reuters) – Philippine armed forces helicopters fired guided rockets at Islamist militant positions on Saturday in an attempt to end a siege in the southern city of Marawi that has raged for five days.
Turkey formally arrests newspaper staff over suspected coup links: paper
ANKARA (Reuters) – A Turkish court formally arrested two opposition newspaper employees late on Friday, the state-run Anadolu news agency and the newspaper said, as part of a media crackdown that has alarmed rights groups and Turkey’s Western allies.
UK lowers attack threat level as police close in on bomber’s network
LONDON (Reuters) – British intelligence experts no longer believe another attack is imminent after police made significant progress in their investigation into a suicide bomb attack on a pop concert in Manchester, Prime Minister Theresa May said on Sat…
South Korea’s anti-piracy unit searches for Mongolian ship off Somalia
SEOUL (Reuters) – South Korea has dispatched its anti-piracy naval unit to waters off Somalia after communication with a Mongolian fishing vessel was cut when it requested help, fearing it was being followed by a suspected pirate vessel.
Iraqi forces launch operation to seize last Islamic State enclave in Mosul
BAGHDAD/MOSUL, Iraq (Reuters) – Iraqi armed forces launched an operation on Saturday to capture the last Islamic State-held enclave in Mosul, according to a military statement.
Malaysian police arrests six Islamic State suspects
KUALA LUMPUR (Reuters) – Malaysian authorities have arrested six local men for suspected involvement with the Islamic State militant group, police said on Saturday.
Top China official says Hong Kong’s autonomy is not a license to challenge Beijing
HONG KONG (Reuters) – A top Chinese official said on Saturday Hong Kong’s high degree of autonomy must not be taken as a license to confront Beijing, and urged the territory’s government to implement contentious new national security laws.
Dozens dead in Afghanistan violence as Ramadan begins
KABUL (Reuters) – A suspected suicide bomber killed as many as 14 people in Afghanistan on Saturday and fighting between militants and security forces left at least 36 people dead on the first day of Islam’s holy Month of Ramadan.
Palestinian inmates in Israeli jails end hunger strike: Prisons Service
JERUSALEM (Reuters) – Hundreds of Palestinian prisoners on Saturday ended a 40-day hunger strike over their conditions in Israeli jails, the Israel Prisons Service and a Palestinian official said.
Philippines’ Duterte jokes about rape amid concern over martial law abuses
MANILA (Reuters) – Philippines President Rodrigo Duterte has sought to reassure soldiers who might be accused of committing abuses under martial law, and jokingly said that if any of them were to rape three women, he would personally claim responsibili…
