Iraqi Kurdish forces take control of Sinjar

1. Iraq’s Peshmerga forces have secured several strategic facilities in Sinjar. Witnesses say Kurdish fighters are also in control of the central part of the strategic northern town. Kurdish forces have already cut Sinjar off from east and west. They have liberated the governor’s office and several villages around the town.

2. Lebanon is observing a national day of mourning following Thursday’s deadly bomb attacks in the capital, Beirut. The twin bombings killed at least 43 people and wounded over 200 others. The explosions have drawn strong condemnation from Iran, the US, France and many other countries.

3. The party of Noble peace prize laureate Aung San Suu Kyi has won an absolute majority in Myanmar’s parliament. The Election Commission announced the opposition National League for Democracy has exceeded the 329-seat threshold it needs in both houses of the Parliament. This party can now pick Myanmar’s new president.

4. The Pentagon has confirmed that two US bombers have flown near artificial Chinese-built islands in the South China Sea. According to the US Defense Department, the bombers were contacted and warned by Chinese ground controllers but did not go within 12 nautical miles of any islands.

5. The Organization for Security and Cooperation in Europe calls for accountability over US human rights violations at Guantanamo prison. In a detailed report, the organization’s human rights office says Guantanamo should be closed and its detainees tried before ordinary rather than military courts.

6. Asian stocks have slipped to multi-year lows on worries that slower global growth may worsen a supply surplus. Markets in Tokyo, Hong Kong, Seoul and Sydney all plunged between one and three percent in resource shares. Investors were deterred over concerns that the US would soon move to raise interest rates.

7. British demonstrators have held a rally outside the Downing Street in a show of solidarity with refugees coming to Europe. Protesters slammed the government’s lack of response to the unfolding calamity faced by refugees. London has been criticized for accepting a small number of refugees while hundreds of thousands of them seek asylum.

8. A new study reveals US citizens have become fatter than before despite years of major public health efforts. The Centers for Disease Control and Prevention says the obesity rate among US adults reached nearly 38 percent in 2014. New findings also show the rate was significantly higher for women.

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