Super Typhoon Haima batters Philippines and other top stories.

• Super Typhoon Haima batters Philippines

  

  Image copyright EPA Image caption Over 10 million people were in the path of the storm At least four people have been killed in the Philippines as Super Typhoon Haima hit the country.The storm, which brought sustained winds of up to 225km/h (140mph), made landfall over Cagayan in the north on Wednesday.Nearly 100,000 people were evacuated from threatened areas as the storm approached.There was widespread damage overnight, with homes destroyed and powe..

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• Cold and frosty EU morning for Theresa May

  

  Image copyright AFP Image caption British Prime Minister Theresa May has been invited to give a "Brexit update" to EU leaders Proudly straightening her skirt, jauntily knotting his tie - a new premier usually feels some excitement about attending their first summit of European Union leaders.Not so Theresa May.I imagine her slipping on her patterned pumps with some dread this morning as she dashes off to Brussels.There are a plethora of English express..

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• Iraqi-Turkish Split Points to Distrust Among Mosul Forces

  

  BAGHDAD — Just days into the operation to retake the Islamic State-held city of Mosul, a fault-line has widened between Iraq and Turkey, and the distrust among the various forces arrayed against the extremists has again bubbled to the surface.The rhetoric is growing increasingly heated on both sides. Iraqi Prime Minister Haider al-Abadi and Turkish President Recep Tayyip Erdogan have traded schoolyard insults, and earlier this week thousands of followers of a firebrand Shiite cleric rallied ou..

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• China's Xi says he hopes Duterte visit can 'fully improve' Philippine ties

  

  By Ben Blanchard | BEIJING BEIJING Chinese President Xi Jinping said on Thursday that he hoped Philippine President Rodrigo Duterte's "milestone" visit to China could help "fully improve" ties, which have suffered from to a territorial dispute in the South China Sea. Duterte arrived in Beijing on Tuesday with at least 200 top business people to pave the way for what he calls a new commercial alliance, as relations with longtime ally the United States deteriorate. On Wednesday, to the cheers..

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• Donald Trump: Vladimir Putin Is 'Not My Best Friend'

  

  WASHINGTON ― Republican presidential candidate Donald Trump said Russian President Vladimir Putin is “not my best friend,” when he was asked whether he disapproves of Russia's alleged interference in the U.S. election. Trump, who once encouraged ...

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• Julian Assange was Ecuador's guest of honor. Until he wore out his welcome.

  

  WikiLeaks founder Julian Assange steps out on the balcony of the Ecuadoran Embassy to address the media in London in February. (Ben Stansall/AFP via Getty Images) Ecuador treated Julian Assange like a trophy in 2012 when it opened the doors of its London embassy to the WikiLeaks founder, sheltering him from extradition to Sweden over rape allegations and, possibly, to the United States. Rafael Correa, Ecuador’s leftist president, seemed to bask in Assange’s bad-boy glow, which gave the small..

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• Mosul operation moving faster than expected, Iraq's leader says

  

  Iraqi Prime Minister Haider al-Abadi said that the operation by coalition forces to free Mosul was going faster than expected."The fighting forces are currently pushing forward toward the town more quickly that we thought and more quickly than we had established in our plan for this campaign," he said via teleconference to a high-level meeting on Mosul in Paris. Further glimpses of life under ISIS rule are emerging as more refugees flee Mosul, the Iraqi city that is the focus of a major campaign..

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• Syria conflict: Aleppo 'humanitarian pause' begins

  

  Image copyright Reuters Image caption Some 2,700 people have been killed or injured in rebel-held Aleppo in the past month, monitors say A "humanitarian pause" in attacks on rebel-held eastern Aleppo - part of a plan to allow civilians and fighters to leave - has come into effect.The unilateral truce, announced by Russia, will last until at least 19:00 (16:00 GMT). Eight exit corridors have been designated from the east. Russian and Syrian air strike..

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