Baghdad / AFP Iraq’s elite forces deployed around Fallujah, marking a new phase in efforts to retake the extremist bastion, as concern grew for trapped civilians there and in neighbouring Syria. After almost a week of shaping operations around Fallujah, the arrival of the counter-terrorism service (CTS) signalled that an assault on the IS group inside the city may …

  Rome / AFP A week of shipwrecks and death in the Mediterranean culminated on Sunday with harrowing testimony from migrant survivors who said another 500 people including 40 children had drowned, bringing the number of feared dead to 700. Brought to safety in the Italian ports of Taranto and Pozzallo, survivors told the UN’s refugee agency (UNHCR) and Save …

  London / AFP The British coastguard said it rescued 19 migrants on Sunday from the Channel after their inflatable boat began to take on water. “The rhib (rigid-hulled inflatable boat), with 19 people on board was located at 2.00am and the incident handed over to Border Force,” it said in a statement. The mission included the deployment of a …