Egypt’s Sinai Province swears allegiance to new Islamic State leader
Egypt’s Islamic State affiliate, Sinai Province, has sworn allegiance to the new leader named by the group following the death of Abu Bakr al-Baghdadi, the affiliate said on Telegram on Saturday.
Thailand reopens cave where boys’ soccer team was trapped for weeks
Thailand has opened the famous Tham Laung cave to the public, after the removal of equipment that was used in last year’s dramatic rescue of 12 boys and their soccer coach who were trapped underground for weeks.
Explosion in Syrian town on Turkish border kills 13
At least 13 people were killed and more than 30 injured in the Syrian town of Tel Abyad on Turkey’s border after a car bomb exploded in a market on Saturday, according to Turkish state media and the Syrian Observatory for Human Rights.
Trade talks in balance at Southeast Asian leaders summit
Plans to finalise an Asia-wide trade deal at a summit in Bangkok this weekend were uncertain after new demands raised by India in the negotiations to create the world’s largest trading bloc.
Lebanon central bank chief says banks reopened without ‘any disturbance’
Lebanon’s central bank governor Riad Salameh said on Saturday the reopening of banks to the public after a two-week closure due to nationwide protests “did not cause any disturbance at any bank” and that no “formal capital controls” were being consider…
Downtown Hong Kong becomes battleground as night falls
Police fired tear gas at black-clad protesters across Hong Kong on Saturday after they set fire to metro stations and vandalized buildings including China’s official Xinhua news agency in some of the worst violence to hit the city in weeks.
Attackers kill three in heavily guarded district of Bujumbura
Gunmen wearing police and army uniforms killed three people and injured three others at a bar in a heavily guarded neighborhood of Burundi’s biggest city Bujumbura late on Friday, police and residents said.
Turkey says will send Islamic State prisoners to home countries
Interior Minister Suleyman Soylu said on Saturday Turkey would send captured Islamic State members back to their home countries, and he complained about European inaction on the matter.
Lebanon’s banks see no ‘extraordinary movement’ of money on reopening
Lebanon’s banks did not see “any extraordinary movement” of money on Friday or Saturday, the first two days they reopened to the public after a two-week closure due to nationwide protests, the head of the banking association said on Saturday.
Iran strikes initial deal to rebuild Syrian power grid
Iran signed a preliminary agreement with Syria on Saturday to help rebuild the Arab ally’s electricity grid, Iranian state media reported, as Tehran seeks a deepening economic role after years of the Syrian conflict.
