AFP, Beijing
China adopted its first counter-terrorism law on Sunday after early drafts of the bill attracted strong criticism for provisions that may tighten media controls and threaten the intellectual property of foreign firms.
The legislation comes as Beijing wages a hard-hitting campaign to stamp out ethnic violence in its Xinjiang region and tries to tighten control over political dissent online and on the ground.
It is the “latest attempt to address terrorism at home and help maintain world security”, said the official Xinhua news agency.
US storms death toll hits 25
AFP, Chicago
Tornados knocked cars off a highway and flattened homes in Texas late Saturday, raising the death toll to 25 over the last week as a string of storms wreaked havoc across much of the southern United States.At least eight people were killed as tornados struck parts of the densely populated Dallas-Fort Worth metroplex, leaving much of the region in darkness, local officials and media reported.
Kurds, Arabs seize key Syria dam from IS
AFP, Dubai
The Syrian Democratic Forces captured Tishreen Dam after intense clashes with IS, as well as seven villages along the river’s eastern bank, spokesman Talal Sello told AFP.
He said dozens of IS fighters had been killed.
The dam, held by IS since 2014, helps generate electricity for large parts of the northern Aleppo province.
