Syrian military takes towns from rebels

DAMASCUS - The Syrian military operation in the southern province of Daraa continued on Saturday amid ongoing reconciliation efforts, and more towns returned under the government control, local media said.

Rallies across US against Trump's immigration policy

Thousands call for families to be reunited during protests over detention facilities

Pence praise provokes charge of 'hypocrisy'

US Vice-President Mike Pence's trip to South and Central America last week to rally support for putting pressure on Venezuela was overshadowed by widespread protests against the recent US "zero tolerance" immigration policy.

Merkel seeks to placate rebels on migration

BERLIN - German Chancellor Angela Merkel and her CDU party will discuss plans to reduce immigration on Sunday as conservative rebels also meet, in key talks likely to determine the fate of her government.

MH370 memorial shelved after protest by relatives

PERTH, Australia - Plans to erect a memorial honoring the passengers and crew of missing Malaysia Airlines flight MH370 were shelved by Australia on Sunday after protests by relatives of the victims.

IN BRIEF (Page 12)

Chinese tourists grab attention of world tourism sector

Ever-increasing numbers of Chinese tourists are traveling overseas, and in response, Western media and tourism companies have begun paying more attention to meeting their needs and attracting their business.

Hotel veteran chases dream to be a painter

For Philippe Caretti, quitting his job in December as a senior executive who helped run a top Hong Kong hotel means he now has the time to devote to his passion to be an artist.

Roundup

New Appointment

US, UK teams join search for 13 missing in Thailand

MAE SAI, Thailand - A US military team and British cave experts joined the search in northern Thailand for 12 boys and their soccer coach missing for five days inside a cave being flooded by near-constant rain.

Erdogan and ally agree to lift state of emergency

ISTANBUL - Turkish President Recep Tayyip Erdogan and his government alliance partner have agreed not to extend emergency rule when the current three-month period expires in July, the pro-government Sabah newspaper said on Thursday.

Trump has chance to reshape Supreme Court

Supreme Court Justice Anthony Kennedy's retirement announcement on Wednesday has Republicans thrilled with the prospect of adding to the conservative majority on the court and Democrats calling for a delay in the nomination process before the midterm elections.