BEIRUT / AP Backed by Russian aircraft, Syrian troops pushed towards the historic central town of Palmyra in an offensive to recapture it from the IS group whose fighters have damaged some of the world’s most precious archaeological sites since they overran the town last May. After night fell, Syria’s state news agency SANA reported that the offensive advanced toward …

WASHINGTON / AFP The United States views a deal by Turkish and EU leaders to curb the influx of migrants into Europe as an “important step,” the State Department said. Under the deal all migrants arriving in Greece from Turkey as early as Sunday will be turned back. “We strongly endorse action to shut down the illegal smuggling operations that …

BAGHDAD / AFP Iraqi forces have launched a broad offensive to retake the city of Hit from the IS group in the western province of Anbar, a top commander said on Saturday. Led by the elite Counter-Terrorism Service, forces from the police, army and local tribal fighters were making a final push to retake Hit, 145 kilometres (90 miles) west …

UNITED NATIONS / AP The UN human rights chief said that many people in Burundi are living in “terror” with increasing reports of torture, almost daily grenade attacks, arbitrary arrests and killings while the perpetrators go unpunished. Zeid Ra’ad Al Hussein told the UN Security Council that “the country remains on the brink of a sudden escalation of violence to …

SANAA / AFP UN envoy Ismail Ould Cheikh Ahmed arrived on Saturday in Yemen’s rebel-held capital to try to restart peace talks between Iran-backed insurgents and the internationally recognised government. The Mauritanian diplomat met Ali Hajar, a foreign affairs representative of the Houthi rebels, Sanaa airport director Khaled Al Shayef said. It came a day after the UN envoy held …

ANKARA / AFP A Turkish court detained five people overnight on suspicion of links to a March 13 suicide bombing in Ankara that killed 35, the Anatolia news agency reported on Saturday. The arrests came just hours before another suicide attack in a busy Istanbul shopping street which killed four and wounded 20, the city governor said. It was not …

The Republican Party’s incoherent response to the Supreme Court vacancy is a partisan reflex in search of a justifying principle. The multiplicity of Republican rationalizations for their refusal to even consider Merrick Garland radiates insincerity. Republicans instantly responded to Antonin Scalia’s death by proclaiming that no nominee, however admirable in temperament, intellect and experience, would be accorded a hearing. They …

The laundering of US$81 million from Bangladesh central bank demonstrates digitization — though necessary for enhancement of the banking transactions — comes with huge challenges that need to be addressed by boosting international cyber security and banking communication. The heist has prompted central banks around the world to examine cyber security measures, triggered the resignation of Bangladesh’s central bank governor …

A Catch of the Day to Kevin Drum at Mother Jones for pointing to polling showing that, no, Republicans in 2016 aren’t especially angry about the economy. And HuffPollster notes that Republicans aren’t really angry, period, at least compared with the 2012 cycle. Drum puts it this way: People aren’t more angry, or more bigoted, or more scared than usual. …

One of the key arguments used by the Obama administration to support the Trans-Pacific Partnership (TPP) is that if the United States doesn’t write the rules on trade, China will. There’s some truth here: China is, in fact, leading an effort to negotiate a massive trade agreement across the Asia-Pacific – one that excludes the United States and that will …