Syria
Tenuous truce holding
An uneasy truce between Turkish troops and Kurdish-led forces in northern Syria held on Wednesday, despite Ankara’s vow that it would never negotiate with what it calls a “terror organization.” The U.S. has called on both sides to stop fighting each other and focus on defeating the Islamic State group, hoping to halt days of clashes between a NATO ally and a Kurdish force that has proven to be highly effective against IS. But a spokesman for Turkish President Recep Tayyip Erdogan said Turkey would continue to attack U.S.-backed Kurdish militias inside Syria.
Egypt
Penalties protect females
Egypt’s parliament on Wednesday toughened penalties for female genital mutilation, adopting amendments that punish perpetrators with up to 15 years in prison if a child dies and up to seven years for performing the procedure. The centuries-old practice, misguidedly believed to control women’s sexuality, was criminalized in Egypt in 2008. But it remains widespread in the country, where an estimated 90 percent of women have undergone some form of the forced procedure.
Ireland
Jet turbulence injures 12
A United Airlines flight bound for London made an emergency landing at Shannon Airport in Ireland on Wednesday after severe turbulence that left 12 passengers needing hospital treatment, officials said. All but one of the injured had been discharged from University Hospital Limerick after receiving treatment for minor injuries, officials said. United Airlines Flight 880 originated in Houston and was supposed to land at London’s Heathrow Airport. It was carrying 207 passengers, three cockpit crew members and 10 flight attendants.
Italy
Zoo’s tiger gets root canal
A team of veterinarians at the Rome zoo performed a root canal on a 2-year-old Sumatran tiger named Terima Kashi. The zookeeper in charge of the carnivores had noticed that Terima Kashi wasn’t using one side of his mouth to chew recently and notified the chief veterinarian. When the vet discovered the tiger had an infected canine, he decided to do a root canal. A team of five people including a specialist from Pistoia, Italy, took part in the three-hour operation Wednesday. Zoo veterinarian Dr. Klaus Friedrich said the tiger was recovering well.
Compiled from wire reports