1. Iraq’s Kurdish Peshmarga forces have managed to liberate parts of the town of Sinjar from Daesh terrorists. The forces have liberated Sinjar’s Governor’s Office and five villages around the town. They also took control of a major ISIL supply line between Syria’s Raqqah city and the Iraqi city of Mosul.
2. Turkish police have raided offices of opposition Zaman newspaper in Istanbul. The paper says that police searched buildings while armed forces with water cannons massed outside. The newspaper called the operation a threat to the free media. The raid follows a similar operation against opposition television stations last month.
3. Greek strikers have taken to the streets in the capital Athens to protest against new austerity measures. The demonstrations began after labor unions kicked off a 24-hour general strike. Domestic flights, transportation systems, and all public offices are affected in the first nationwide walkout since Prime Minister Alexis Tsipras came to power.
4. Mortar attacks by foreign-backed militants north of the Syrian capital Damascus and the city of Aleppo have left six civilians dead and over two dozen others injured. This comes as the government forces have made significant gains against militants of Daesh and other terrorist groups under air cover provided by Russia.
5. Israeli forces stormed a hospital in the city of al-Khalil also known as Hebron and killed a Palestinian man. According to Palestinian medical sources, Israeli undercover agents also abducted the victim’s cousin who was hospitalized. Israeli forces say that the victim was a Hamas member.
6. A study has found that majority of British Muslims witnessed discrimination against followers of the Islam. Respondents say that climate of hatred toward Muslims is being driven by politicians and media. 80 percent of them said they had seen Islamophobia directed at someone else, up from 50 percent in 2010.
7. New York police officers have staged a rally to protest against a proposal that would give them a very small pay raise. The demonstrators say the proposal is not fair. The draft proposal suggests that police officers receive one percent pay raise from 2010 to 2012.
8. Clashes between Niger army and Boko Haram terrorists have left 25 people dead in south of the country. Clashes broke out after terrorists attacked a village. Army officials say that Niger soldiers pushed the attacker out of the village.