India--- Prime Minister starts Japan visit

The Indian prime minister Narendra Modi is starting a five-day visit to Japan this weekend.
The trip is being seen by analysts as an attempt by the two democracies to balance the rising weight of China across Asia.

Deadly landslide in south-west China

At least six people have died and 21 others are missing after a landslide struck a village in south-west China.

China's state-run Xinhua news agency reported that more than 70 houses in the village in Guizhou province were destroyed.
It also said, quoting officials, that 22 people were injured and had been transferred to hospitals for treatment.
The landslide was believed to have been caused by a breach from a small reservoir
Officials said that they were expecting environmental conditions to "bring some difficulties" to ongoing search and rescue operations.
The landslide which struck Yingping village on Wednesday night was the second disaster to hit China's southwestern region this month.

Earlier this month, an earthquake struck a remote region in neighbouring Yunnan province, killing 615 people.

Iraqi forces 'reach besieged Amerli'

Iraqi forces have reached the besieged town of Amerli in northern Iraq, where thousands have been trapped by jihadists, military officials say.

  
The apparent breakthrough comes after the US carried out air strikes overnight on Islamic State (IS) positions near the town.
The UK, France and Australia joined the US in dropping humanitarian aid.

Some 15,000 minority Shia Turkmen in Amerli have been surrounded by Islamic State militants for two months.
.Military sources told BBC Arabic that the Iraqi Army and volunteer militia entered Amerli town on Sunday.
Fifteen Islamic State fighters were said to have been captured.
The operation to reach Amerli began on Saturday when an alliance of Iraq government forces, Shia militias and Kurdish Peshmerga began a two-front attack on IS positions.
US and Iraqi planes provided air cover.
Reports described it as the biggest military operation since IS began making major gains in Iraq in June.
"Security forces and militia fighters are inside Amerli now after breaking the siege and that will definitely relieve the suffering of residents," Adel al-Bayati, mayor of Amerli, told Reuters news agency.
One resident of Amerli, Amir Ismael, told Reuters by phone: "I can see the tanks of the Iraqi army patrolling Amerli's street now. I'm very happy we got rid of the Islamic State terrorists who were threatening to slaughter us.
The UN had expressed fears there could be a massacre if IS took the town, which lies in Kurdish-controlled Iraq.
IS has been accused of atrocities in areas of Iraq and Syria under its control.

The jihadists see the Shia Turkmen in Amerli as apostates.
Islamic State has seized large swathes of territory in Iraq and Syria in recent months, including Iraq's second city, Mosul.
Pledging allegiance to their leader, Abu Bakr al-Baghdadi, the jihadists have imposed a harsh form of Islamic rule in areas under their control.
The group has declared a new caliphate, or Islamic state ruled by a religious leader, and Abu Bakr al-Baghdadi has announced himself as caliph.

The IS ideology has attracted would-be jihadists from a number of Western nations, including the UK, and has spread its message aggressively on social media, often posting gruesome pictures of beheadings and mass killings. 

Iraq 'struggling' against Isis militants

Fighters from the Islamic State in Iraq and the Levant (Isis) said they seized a border crossing to Syria and two towns in north-west Iraq on Saturday.
Correspondents say Isis appears to be better trained, better equipped and more experienced than the army.
The Sunni extremists attacked the city of Mosul in June and have since seized large swathes of territory across Iraq.

There is deep pessimism in Baghdad about the way the government's war against Isis is going, 
The Iraqi air force ran out of American Hellfire missiles two weeks ago, and in any case only has two Cessna planes capable of firing Hellfires, he adds.

Experts say Isis has established secure safe havens, including some in neighbouring Syria, which will be difficult to target.

On Saturday, Iraqi officials admitted that Isis had seized a border crossing near the town of Qaim, killing 30 troops after a day-long battle.
Rebels also said they had taken the towns of Rawa and Aneh along the Euphrates river.
Correspondents say a campaign along the river may eventually lead to an assault on Baghdad from the west.

The capture of the Qaim crossing in western Iraq could also help Isis transport weapons and other equipment to different battlefields, analysts say.