AFP, Kabul
NATO foreign ministers agreed Friday to extend the alliance’s key training and support mission in Afghanistan beyond this year as the country continues to face “serious security challenges.” NATO chief Jens Stoltenberg said Afghan forces were doing well against Taliban rebels, benefiting from the current military training programmes launched in 2015 after the alliance ended its direct combat role.
Armed man shot outside White House
BBC Online
The Secret Service has shot an armed man outside the White House, according to US officials. Police told ABC News that a man brandished a weapon at a security checkpoint near the building and was shot in the stomach. The White House was briefly placed on lockdown after the shooting on Friday. President Barack Obama was playing golf in Maryland at the time.
Australian PM’s popularity slips in poll
Reuters, Melbourne
Australian Prime Minister Malcolm Turnbull’s popularity has fallen, just over a month before what is expected to a closely fought election, a an opinion poll published on Saturday showed. Turnbull’s conservative government remained neck and neck with the centre-left Labor Party in the Ipsos poll, which showed the government leading with 51 per cent support to Labor’s 49 per cent.
However, Turnbull’s personal popularity as preferred prime minister fell four percentage points to 47 per cent, which is still above opposition leader Bill Shorten at 30 per cent.
