REUTERS/Abhishek N. Chinnappa
A bonnet macaque sits on consecrated idols of snakes as it eats a pomegranate fruit left behind as an offering by devotees during the Nag Panchami festival inside a temple on the outskirts of Bengaluru, India, August 19, 2015. Hindus celebrate the festival by worshipping snakes to honour the serpent god.
1. The German parliament has overwhelmingly ratified approved a third bailout package for Greece.
2. A bomb attack killed eight soldiers in the south-east of Turkey on Wednesday and gunmen also opened fire on police outside an Istanbul palace, heightening the sense of crisis in the country.
3. The US Federal Reserve believes that the conditions for a US rate rise are "approaching," according to the BBC.
4. The UN is warning that Yemen is on the brink of famine due to ongoing fighting blocking the ports.
5. The IMF has said that it won't add the Chinese renminbi to its basket of reserve currency for a year at least, as shares in the country continue to trade lower.
6. A car bomb went off in Cairo early on Thursday morning, injuring six police officers.
7. The firm that vetted exiled NSA contractor-turned-whistleblower Edward Snowden has reached a $30 million settlement with the US government.
8. The Thai government says it is "unlikely" that an international terror group is behind the bomb attack on a Bangkok shrine on Monday that killed 20, the BBC reports.
9. Three firefighters have been killed battling extensive wildfires in Washington State that have forced thousands to evacuate, according to The New York Times.
10. Flaws in Uber's background checks mean that the ride-sharing service hired a convicted murderer who applied with a fake name, a complaint filed by the San Francisco District Attorney's office alleges.
And finally...