1. Parents reunite with girls freed by Boko

    Joy, jubilation* and dancing erupted* on Sunday when a group of Nigerian parents were reunited with 21 schoolgirls kidnapped by Boko Haram more than two years ago and freed in the first negotiated release organized by the government and the Islamic extremist group.

    The girls were hugged and embraced by their parents when they were presented by the government.

    “I never expected I will see my daughter again and I pray that those girls still left behind, that God will bring them out safely the way our own daughter came out alive,” said a mother of one of the released girls, Raha Emmanuel.

    2. Iraqi forces launch military push

    Iraqi Government and Kurdish forces, backed by U.S.-led coalition air and ground support, launched coordinated* military operations on Monday as the fight to wrest* the northern city of Mosul from Islamic State fighters got underway.

    But the battle for Mosul is likely to be long and it was unclear at this early stage when the troops would enter the city itself.

    In the morning hours on Monday, convoys* of Iraqi, Kurdish and U.S. forces moved east of Mosul along the front line.

    3. Brazil prison clashes ‘kill 25 inmates’

    At least 25 inmates* have been killed in clashes between two rival factions* in an overcrowded prison in northern Brazil, local media reported.

    Seven of the dead were beheaded and six others burned to death, a police official reportedly said. The incident in Boa Vista, the capital of Roraima state, happened during visiting hours.

    Some 100 visitors who were taken as hostages have been freed and the riot has ended, the reports added. The state government said it was waiting for a prisoner count to confirm the death toll.

    4. Caretaker monarch in place

    A 96-year-old confidant* of late King Bhumibol Adulyadej has been formally confirmed as the regent* to manage the throne in the place of the crown prince and heir apparent, but it wasn’t clear how long the caretaker arrangement would last.

    In a speech on late Saturday, Prime Minister Prayuth Chan-ocha said that Crown Prince Maha Vajiralongkorn invited him and Prem Tinsulanonda as the temporary regent for an audience to discuss the situation “as his royal highness was deeply concerned for the Thai people during this time of national bereavement*.”

    Prem heads the Privy Council, a body of advisers to the monarchy, and was the closest adviser of Bhumibol.

    5. Maldives quits the Commonwealth

    Maldives ministry of foreign affairs announced on Friday its decision to quit the Commonwealth of Nations after the organization issued a warning to the country that it could be suspended because of its failure to promote the rule of the law and democracy.

    Stating that the decision was difficult but inevitable, the foreign ministry said: “Regrettably, the Commonwealth has not recognized that progress and achievements that the Maldives accomplished in cultivating a culture of democracy in the country and in building and strengthening democratic institutions.”

    6. Bob Dylan wins Nobel Literature Prize

    American singer-songwriter Bob Dylan won the 2016 Nobel Prize in literature on Thursday, a stunning* announcement that for the first time bestowed* the prestigious* award on a musician.

    The Swedish Academy cited Dylan for “having created new poetic expressions within the great American song tradition.”

    Reporters and others gathered for the announcement at the academy’s headquarters in Stockholm’s Old Town reacted with a loud cheer as his name was read out.

    (SD-Agencies)