Beirut / AFP Russian-backed Syrian troops pushed into the IS group’s bastion province Raqa on Saturday, threatening to catch the extremists in a pincer movement as US-backed Kurdish-led fighters advance from the north. The lightning advance from the southwest with Russian air support brought the army to within 40 kilometres of the Euphrates Valley town of Tabqa, site of ...

  Butig / AFP Philippine troops captured an militant training camp after a 10-day battle, officials said, as part of operations to clear insurgents from a remote jungle region. The offensive against the Maute group, one of several Filipino Muslim armed organisations which have pledged allegiance to the IS, left four soldiers dead and 15 others wounded, a Philippine military ...

  Paris / AFP The rain-swollen River Seine in Paris receded for the first time in a week after nearing its highest level in three decades, triggering a scramble to save artworks in riverside museums. The Seine stood at 6.06 metres above normal levels at 8:00am, down from a high of 6.10 metres overnight, the environment ministry’s Vigicrues flood watch ...