Tunnel reveals assault course for IS fighters

SOUTH OF MOSUL, IRAQ - The mouth of the tunnel is hardly visible on a muddy hillside overlooking Mosul, where fighting now rages between Iraqi forces and Islamic State militants.

Trump signs new travel order, exempting Iraqis

WASHINGTON - US President Donald Trump signed a revised executive order on Monday banning citizens from six Muslim-majority nations from traveling to the United States but removing Iraq from the list, after his controversial first attempt was blocked in the courts.

Bill unveiled to replace Obamacare

The US Republican Party on Monday unveiled a healthcare bill that it says will replace the Obamacare, or the Affordable Care Act, taking a step further in trashing what former president Barack Obama hoped would be his biggest legacy.

Malaysia, DPRK slap exit bans as dispute escalates

KUALA LUMPUR - Malaysian Prime Minister Najib Razak said on Tuesday that he had instructed police to ban all citizens from the Democratic People's Republic of Korea from leaving the country after Pyongyang announced a similar ban.

Surgeons remove 915 coins from sea turtle

BANGKOK - Tossing coins in a fountain for luck is a popular superstition, but a similar belief brought misery to a sea turtle in Thailand from whom doctors have removed 915 coins.

Poachers kill rare giant elephant in Kenya

NAIROBI - One of Africa's oldest and largest elephants was killed by poachers in Kenya on Monday, according to a conservation group that protects the dwindling group of giant "tuskers".

IN BRIEF

President 'colluded with friend'

SEOUL - Republic of Korea's President Park Geun-hye colluded with a friend to take bribes from Samsung aimed at cementing Samsung chief Lee Jae-yong's control of the conglomerate, the special prosecutor's office said on Monday, paving the way for Park to be prosecuted if removed from office.

Seoul and Tokyo denounce DPRK's missile launches

SEOUL AND TOKYO - The Republic of Korea and Japan have denounced Monday's launch of four ballistic missiles by the Democratic People's Republic of Korea as a grave provocation.

Fillon bid alive as rival rules himself out

PARIS - Former French prime minister Alain Juppe ruled himself out on Monday as an alternative to his right-wing party colleague Francois Fillon whose campaign has been thrown into chaos by a fake job scandal.

Expelled DPRK ambassador says 'extreme measures' by Malaysia to harm bilateral ties

KUALA LUMPUR - The ambassador of the Democratic People's Republic of Korea in Malaysia, who has been expelled by Malaysia, on Monday expressed "grave concerns over the extreme measures taken" by Malaysia, which he said will harm bilateral ties.

FBI asks Justice Department to reject Trump's wiretapping claim

WASHINGTON - FBI Director James Comey has asked the US Justice Department to publicly reject President Donald Trump's claim that his predecessor Barack Obama ordered wiretapping of his phones during last year's election, media reports said on Sunday.