AP, Ankara
Police on Monday raided a house used by a suspected cell of the Islamic State group in southeastern Turkey, triggering a clash that killed seven militants and two policemen, an official said.
The two police officers were killed by booby-trap bombs during the operation launched against the IS cell in the city of Diyarbakir, the state-run Anadolu Agency reported.
UK govt under pressure over welfare cuts
for poor
AFP, London
British Prime Minister David Cameron’s government faced a growing row on Sunday over plans to cut welfare payments for low-income workers on the eve of a highly sensitive vote in parliament.
Finance minister George Osborne, a possible successor to Cameron and his de facto deputy, wants to cut tax credits as part of 12 billion pound in welfare cuts to help reduce Britain’s deficit.
Opponents and many in Cameron and Osborne’s centre-right Conservative party argue that the move is unfair and will hurt several million families.
Early snowfall strands hundreds in Pakistan
AFP, Peshawar
Hundreds of tourists were stranded today after the earliest snowfall in 40 years blocked a main highway in Pakistan’s northern areas, dumping three feet of snow on one town in less than 24 hours.
Authorities sent heavy machinery along with troops and rescue workers to clear the roads in the Naran Valley in Mansehra district.
China leaders meet for 5-year plan amid calls for reform
AFP, Beijing
China’s Communist leaders gathered today to plan the country’s course for the next five years, official media reported, confronting an economic malaise that has investors worried and intractable problems such as pollution souring the public mood.
The world’s second largest economy is riddled with structural inefficiencies and growth is at its slowest rate since the global financial crisis.
