1. Iraqi troops raised the national flag above the flash point government complex.
2. Hundreds of militants and civilians from Syria have been evacuated under a UN-backed deal.
3. Syrian media say 19 people have been killed in several bomb explosions in the western city of Homs.
4. Turkish police have clashed with dozens of protesters in the Kurdish city of Mersin.
5. Saudi Arabia has posted a record 98-billion dollar deficit for 2015.
6. Nigerians have held a protest in the central city of Minna to demand the release of the country’s Islamic Movement leader Sheikh Ibrahim el-Zakzaky.
7. Spain’s Prime Minister is holding talks with leaders of two new upstart parties to form a coalition government.
8. A freight train loaded with sulfuric acid has derailed in Australia's northwestern state of Queensland.