The 10 most important things in the world right now
Good morning! Here's what you need to know on Thursday.
1. At least 28 people were killed and 61 wounded after a car bomb exploded outside a military residence in Turkey's capital of Ankara on Wednesday. A spokesman from Turkey's ruling Justice and Development Party called the explosion "an act of terror."
2. Apple CEO Tim Cook published a strongly-worded letter after a US judge ordered Apple to help the FBI unlock an encrypted iPhone. Cook is opposed to the decision and has described the demand as "chilling."
3. It looks like a London payment technology company valued at over £1 billion is in turmoil. It was reported that Powa Technologies is struggling to pay staff and suppliers.
5. The Islamic State's English-language reach on Twitter has stalled in recent months amid a stepped-up crackdown against the extremist group's digital army, according to a study being released on Thursday.
7. Paris, Rome, Los Angeles, and Budapest have all applied to host the 2024 Olympic Games, the International Olympic Committee (IOC) confirmed on Wednesday.
8. Japan, one of the export powerhouses of the global economy, posted some ghastly trade data on Thursday. The disappointing result for January follows an equally unimpressive, and weak, trade report from China for the same time period.
9. A woman who was taken as a sex slave by Islamic State has described how she and other young women were forced to pray before they were raped. Nadia Murad, 21, was among more than 5,000 Yazidi women taken captive by ISIS.
10. An explosion severely damaged part of a building that housed a Turkish cultural association in a Stockholm suburb late on Wednesday but no one was injured, police said. All the windows of the centre were blown out and an investigation is ongoing.
And finally ... Oil is now so cheap even pirates don't want it anymore.