Pentagon: Clashes between Turkish army, Kurdish forces 'unacceptable'

Here is a round-up of global news developments:

• The Pentagon says clashes between the Turkish army and US-backed Kurdish forces are unacceptable. It says the fighting provides room for Daesh terrorists to find sanctuary. The Pentagon reiterates that the Kurdish YPG militants must return to the eastern side of the Euphrates. 
• Turkey’s Foreign Minister Mevlut Chavush-oglu has accused Kurdish YPG forces of engaging in ethnic cleansing in northern Syria. The accusation comes as Turkey has launched a deadly offensive in the Syrian territory. Chavush-oglu said the military operation will continue unless the YPG withdraws to east of the Euphrates. 
• Five men armed with explosive vests, rifles and grenades attacked the Iraqi town of Ain al-Tamer, in Karbala province, killing 18 people. Security forces gunned down four of the assailants while the fifth one was killed in a blast. Over two dozen were injured in the attack.
• Two bomb explosions have killed at least nine civilians in Afghanistan’s Helmand and Ghor provinces. Helmand has seen heavy fighting in recent weeks between Afghan security forces and the Taliban. The group’s militants frequently target security forces with roadside bombs across Afghanistan. 
• Brazil's suspended president Dilma Rousseff has started her testimony at the Senate in an impeachment trial which could see her permanently removed from office. Rousseff is accused of breaking budget law. She has described the trial as a coup by her opponents.
• Poland has criticized the European Union’s response to last year’s refugee crisis, saying Brussels worsened the situation instead of offering a real solution. The Polish foreign minister slammed other EU countries for failing to secure the bloc’s external borders. He was speaking with his German and French counterparts.
• South Korea’s President Park Gun-Hey says North Korea will never downsize its nuclear weapon capabilities. She said the South’s government and military should prepare counter-measures against Pyongyang and take a punitive stance against it. North Korea test-fired a ballistic missile from a submarine last week. 
• Tehran has hosted the first American human rights art festival. The event sheds light on the violations of human rights both inside and outside of the United States by relying on documents released by Washington itself. More than 50 works of art were displayed in the weeklong festival.

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