Waves of people still leaving Islamic State’s last Syrian enclave
Thousands of people could still be left inside Islamic State’s last enclave in eastern Syria, the U.S.-backed Syrian Democratic Forces (SDF) said, as the waves of evacuations from the tiny area continued on Thursday.
Former TV news anchor set to become first Druze woman in Israel’s parliament
With Israel’s election just over a month away, a Druze former television news anchor is poised to become the first woman from her Arabic-speaking minority to serve in the Israeli parliament.
EU awaits reworked UK Brexit proposals, deal remains elusive
The European Union told Britain to rework its Irish backstop proposal by Friday but feared it would struggle to secure a deal that satisfied pro-Brexit lawmakers before a key vote in the UK parliament on Wednesday.
Militant bus attack in north India kills one, wounds 32: police
A grenade explosion orchestrated by a Pakistan-based militant group at a bus stand in the Indian city of Jammu killed one person and wounded at least 32 on Thursday, police said.
French cardinal convicted of covering up sex abuse allegations
A high-ranking French Catholic cleric, Cardinal Philippe Barbarin, was convicted on Thursday of failing to report allegations of sexual abuse in his diocese and said he would submit his resignation to Pope Francis.
Hundreds protest Hong Kong student’s expulsion from university in row over free speech
More than 200 protesters gathered on Thursday at a Hong Kong university to condemn the expulsion of a student defending free speech, in what was seen as another incremental sign of eroding freedoms in the Chinese-ruled city.
Police evacuate building in central Edinburgh over suspicious package
Police in Scotland evacuated a building on Princes Street in central Edinburgh on Thursday after receiving a report of a suspicious package, a day after they blew up a device sent to a Glasgow university.
Germany charges couple who tested ricin on hamster with plotting Islamist attack
A Tunisian man and his German wife who bought ricin and tested the lethal toxin on a hamster have been charged with plotting Islamist-motivated attacks using a biological weapon, German prosecutors said on Thursday.
In Mexican heartland, ‘bad guys’ still hold sway amid bid to restore order
Burned-out autos littered empty streets this week in the town where Mexican President Andres Manuel Lopez Obrador faces a first major test of his ability to take control of territory absorbed by organized crime during years of mounting violence.
Battle against Ebola being lost amid militarized response, MSF says
The battle against Ebola in Democratic Republic of Congo is failing because ordinary people do not trust health workers and an overly militarized response is alienating patients and families, the medical charity MSF said on Thursday.
