Jerusalem/ AFP Israel closed off the occupied West Bank and Gaza Strip on Sunday for the Jewish holiday of Sukkot, the army said, as concerns rose over whether visits to a sensitive holy site could lead to violence. The restrictions barring Palestinians from entering would remain in place through Monday, but humanitarian cases would be allowed passage, said an army …

  Dhaka / AFP Security was tightened in a Bangladesh southern city on Sunday ahead of the expected execution of a senior extremist whose group has been linked to the murder of foreign hostages, police said. Asadul Islam, a leader of the Jamayetul Mujahideen Bangladesh (JMB) who is also known as Arif, is due to hang in Khulna after the Supreme …

  Beirut / AFP Turkish-backed rebels captured the emblematic northern Syrian town of Dabiq from the IS group on Sunday, dealing a major symbolic blow to the extremists. The defeat for IS came as US Secretary of State John Kerry was due to meet European allies in London as part of a new diplomatic push to end Syria’s conflict, which …