Global Daily Info

AFP/YE AUNG THUYE AUNG THU Image caption The girls' hands and arms are covered in scars The Burmese president has ordered an investigation into the case of two girls who say they were kept prisoner and tortured for five years in a tailor shop. The teenagers were freed last week after a journalist helped them, but their families say that the police had on numerous occasions refused their pleas to get involved. This Wednesday, with the case now generating headlines, the police finally arrested the tailor and two family members. The two girls were aged just 11 and 12 when they were sent by their parents to the commercial capital Yangon. For poor Burmese families it's a painful but depressingly common decision. The United Nations estimates that at least a million Burmese children are forced to give up on education and go to work. AFP/YE AUNG THUYE AUNG THU Image caption The girls are now recovering in their home village, their future unclear These g...

A  report by IHS Conflict Monitor  in July 2016 said the jihadist group had lost about a quarter of the territory that it held in January 2015. IS came to the world's attention in June 2014, when it overran the northern Iraqi city of Mosul, and then moved southwards towards the capital Baghdad, routing the army and threatening to eradicate the country's many ethnic and religious minorities. At its peak, some 10 million people lived in territory under IS control. IHS Conflict Monitor analysts suggest this figure is now nearer 6 million. How did IS spread across Iraq and Syria? The jihadists exploited the chaos and divisions within both Syria and Iraq. IS grew out of what was al-Qaeda in Iraq, which was formed by Sunni militants after the US-led invasion in 2003 and became a major force in the country's sectarian insurgency. In 2011, the group joined the rebellion against President Bashar al-Assad in Syria, where it found a safe haven and easy access to weap...

AP Image caption The offensive to recapture Aleppo was announced after days of intense bombardment of rebel-hel d areas Warplanes have launched fresh air strikes in Aleppo, hours after Syria's government announced an offensive to retake rebel-held areas of the city. Syrian and Russian planes were pounding eastern Aleppo, according to activists. A rescue worker described what was happening as "annihilation". The government has urged people to avoid positions held by rebels. Russia has not confirmed its involvement. US-Russian talks to revive a collapsed truce have broken up without progress. Russia supports the Syrian government, while the US backs the opposition. The two powers accuse each other of failing to rein in their respective allies on the ground. Bitterness on all sides - BBC diplomatic correspondent Jonathan Marcus Russian and Syrian commanders - always sceptical about the merits of the ceasefire - now appear to have been given a green light to...

Charllote Chief on the of Keith Lamont Scot Shooting Protesters flocked to Charlotte for a third straight night Thursday in the latest sign of mounting pressure for police to release video that might resolve the different accounts of the shooting death of a black man. There were contentious moments between demonstrators and police, but it was a far cry from the looting and destruction that was seen Wednesday night. Local officers' ranks were augmented by members of the National Guard carrying rifles and guarding office buildings against the threat of property damage. People chanted “release the tape” and “we want the tape” while briefly blocking an intersection near Bank of America headquarters and later climbing the steps in front of the city government center. Later, several dozen demonstrators climbed onto an interstate highway through the city, but they were pushed back by police in riot gear. Charlotte-Mecklenburg police have resisted the calls to release dashcam an...

GETTY IMAGES The governor of North Carolina has declared a state of emergency in the city of Charlotte, sending in the National Guard, as unrest over a police shooting continues. Violence erupted for a second night as protests over the killing of a black man spun out of control. One protester is in a critical condition after a "civilian on civilian" incident, the city said. Riot police used tear gas as they faced hundreds of protesters. US police shootings: How many die each year? Has anything changed since Ferguson? The demonstrators are angry that Keith Lamont Scott, 43, was killed by police on Tuesday. Police say Mr Scott was repeatedly told to drop his handgun before he was shot but his family say he was reading a book at the time. Sixteen police officers were injured in unrest on Tuesday night. Bottles and fireworks Governor Pat McCrory declared the state of emergency as rioters attacked journalists and other people, breaking windows and setting ...

AP Image caption P riscilla Chan was trained as a paediatrician   Facebook's founder Mark Zuckerberg and his wife Priscilla Chan have pledged $3bn (£2.3bn) to fund medical research over the next decade. At a press conference in San Francisco, they said their ultimate goal was to "cure, prevent or manage all diseases by the end of the century". The funds will be distributed by the Chan Zuckerberg Initiative, which they created in December 2015. Tech leaders are increasingly turning their attention to health. Earlier in the week, Microsoft said it intended to "solve" cancer by  using artificial intelligence tools . Google's DeepMind unit  is working with the NHS  to find a way to use computers to more accurately diagnose diseases. And  IBM and MIT announced a tie-up  earlier this week to develop AI-based systems that could help clinicians improve the care of elderly and disabled patients. Even so, the Chan Zuckerberg plan is marked by its am...