Bartalla/ AFP Iraqi forces battled extremists deep inside Mosul on Wednesday, edging closer to the River Tigris that divides the city and looking for a breakthrough in the seven-week-old offensive. The fighting to retake the IS group’s last major stronghold in Iraq has prompted a steady trickle of people to leave their homes, many taking refuge in camps where …

  Mogadishu / AFP The government of Somalia’s northern Puntland region said on Wednesday it had retaken control of a small port town from extremists who have declared allegiance to the IS group. “Puntland forces have secured control of Qandala and the armed militants have fled, now the situation is quite calm and everything is under control,” said Yusuf Mohamed Waceys, …

  New Delhi/ AFP Torrential rain and rough seas have stranded around 1,000 tourists on one of India’s tropical islands off its east coast, officials said Wednesday. Officials from the local Andaman and Nicobar Islands administration said they have asked the Indian navy to help rescue tourists from Havelock, one of the smaller islands most popular with visitors. “Around 1,000 tourists …