The 10 most important things in the world right now
REUTERS/Fiqman Sunandar/Antara Foto The Indonesian navy scuttles foreign fishing vessels caught fishing illegally in Indonesian waters near Bitung, North Sulawesi on May 20, 2015.Hello! Here's what you need to know for Friday.
1. Islamic State fighters have seized the ancient Syrian city of Palmyra and now control the nearby airport, prison and intelligence headquarters.
2. Korean Air Lines executive Heather Cho, who was sentenced in February to one year in jail after an outburst over the way she had been served macadamia nuts, was released Friday on appeal.
3. At least two protesters were shot dead during violent anti-government demonstrations in Burundi's capital against President Pierre Nkurunziza's bid for a third term in office.
4. Russia has offered to supply weapons to Iraq to halt advances by Islamic State, which has made major gains over the last week.
5. Central bankers from around the world are gathered in Portugal for a three-day meeting related to solving challenges about "Inflation and Unemployment in Europe."
6. The gap between the rich and poor is at its highest level in three decades, with the richest 10% of the population earning nearly 10 times the income of the poorest 10%, according to an OECD study.
7. Two men captured by Ukrainian troops on Saturday have reportedly confessed to being members of the Russian armed forces, but did not have orders to attack.
8. A Chinese university has denied US espionage charges filed against three of its staff accused of stealing technology often used in military systems, on behalf of China.
9. Greek Prime Minister Alexis Tsipras held debt talks with German Chancellor Angela Merkel and French President Francois Hollande ahead of the EU Summit in Lativia's capital Riga.
10. SpaceX's unmanned Dragon supply ship splashed down into the Pacific Ocean on Thursday, hours after leaving the the International Space Station.
And finally ...
Thousands of new words, including "lolz" and "obvs," have been added to the Scrabble dictionary.