Syrian rebels 'seize key town Manbij from IS' and other top stories.

• Syrian rebels 'seize key town Manbij from IS'

  

  Image copyright Reuters Image caption By July when this photograph was taken, the US-backed alliance already had partial control of Manbij A US-backed alliance of Kurdish and Arab fighters has seized most of a key Syrian city from so-called Islamic State (IS), activists and commanders say.Manbij is situated at an intersection of roads just south of the Turkish border.It has been under IS control for more than two years.Small numbers of IS militants ar..

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• China conducts 'combat patrols' over contested islands

  

  BEIJING China's air force sent bombers and fighter jets on "combat patrols" near contested islands in the South China Sea, in a move a senior colonel said was part of an effort to normalize such drills and respond to security threats.The exercises come at a time of heightened tension in the disputed waters after an arbitration court in The Hague ruled last month that China did not have historic rights to the South China Sea. The air force sent several H-6 bombers and Su-30 fighter jets to insp..

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• Japan Protests China's Vessels Around Disputed Islands

  

  TOKYO — Japan summoned Chinese diplomats Saturday to protest after six Chinese coast guard vessels approached disputed East China Sea islands accompanying a fleet of hundreds of Chinese fishing boats.Japan's Foreign Ministry said in a statement that it filed the protest after the Japanese coast guard spotted the vessels Saturday along with a fleet of 230 Chinese fishing boats swarming around the Japanese-controlled Senkaku Islands. China also claims the islands, which it calls the Diaoyu.Japan..

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• Japan calls on leaders to follow Obama and visit Hiroshima

  

  A woman lights a candle as she prays for the atomic bomb victims in front of the cenotaph at the Hiroshima Peace Memorial Park in Hiroshima, western Japan, early Saturday Aug. 6, 2016. Japan marked the 71st anniversary of the atomic bombing on Hiroshima. (Tsuyoshi Ueda/Kyodo News via AP) (Associated Press) By Mari Yamaguchi | AP August 5 at 10:17 PM TOKYO — Japan marked the 71st anniversary of the atomic bombing of Hiroshima on Saturday by renewing calls for a nuclear weapons free world ..

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• 13 Killed as Fire Sweeps Through Birthday Party in France

  

  PARIS — A fast-moving fire swept through a birthday party in the basement of a bar in northwest France overnight Friday, killing at least 13 people and injuring six others, authorities said. Firefighters leave after inspecting the Cuba Libre bar in Rouen. MATTHIEU ALEXANDRE / AFP - Getty Images The fire in Rouen was "totally accidental," Mayor Yvon Robert told Europe 1 radio, mentioning a possible gas explosion "from the heat in a basement room doubtless too small for the number o..

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• Black Lives Matter movement 'needed in UK'

  

  Media captionAmateur video shows Black Lives Matter campaigners trying to obstruct the slip road to Heathrow airport Activists have voiced hopes that a strong Black Lives Matter movement can be built in Britain following the growth of the campaign in the US.Organiser Joshua Virasami said black people should come together "to achieve justice and equality in Britain".The movement has grown over the past three years in protest at police killings of black people in America.Small-scale protests ..

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• Was the US behind a failed coup? Many Turks think so.

  

  ISTANBUL — Amid a sea of Turkish flags and the blare of loudspeakers, Nazmi Kaya beamed with pride. The 51-year-old truck driver had brought his whole family back to the “motherland,” as he put it, from their home in Frankfurt, Germany, to experience the chaotic, emotional aftermath of the July 15 coup attempt. They stood in the city’s central Taksim Square, the site of nightly vigils marking the successful defeat of a mutinous army faction. Kaya said the courageous protests who confronted the..

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• UK Court Keeps 19-Year-Old in Custody After Stabbing Rampage

  

  LONDON — A 19-year-old Somali-Norwegian man accused of carrying out a stabbing rampage in London's Russell Square was remanded into custody Saturday after a court appearance in the British capital.Zakaria Bulhan of London is accused of slaying 64-year-old American Darlene Horton, a retired teacher. Bulhan also faces five counts of attempted murder in the attack on two Australians, an Israeli, an American and a British citizen. The victims were named in court Saturday for the first time.Bulhan..

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