BBC News.

President Trump has been defending the sacking of the head of the FBI. He tweeted James Comey had lost the confidence of both Republicans and Democrats. And White House said the President had been considering firing him since taking office. The Department of Justice has meanwhile denied reports that Mr. Comey had asked for more resources to investigate links between Russia and Trump campaign.

The Russian Foreign Minister has said President Trump and his team are men of action who want to do deals and solve problems. After a meeting in the White House, Mr. Trump said he wanted a mutually beneficial relationship with Russia.

U.S. backed fighters in northern Syria say they've captured the city of Tabqa and a nearby dam from Islamic State fighters. Tabqa is regarded as strategically important, lying in a route to IS's main Syrian bastion in Raqqa.

The Turkish President says he wants the U.S. to reverse immediately its decision to supply weapons to Kurdish militants fighting the Islamic State group in Syria. Turkey regards the militia as a terrorist organization, but the U.S. sees it as the best force to lead an assault on the IS.

The former Brazilian President Luiz Inacio Lula da Silva has arrived in court to give testimony before an anti-corruption judge in the first of five cases against him. He's denied any wrongdoing.

Stellenbosch University in South Africa says it has identified 3 people linked to posters based on Nazi propaganda that were put up on campus. The university has condemned the posters, which critics say highlight how apartheid-era attitude is still alive.

Foreign Ministers of the 8 countries with territory in the Arctic circle are meeting in Alaska. The effects of warming climate are being felt particularly keenly in the Arctic. And they are eager to learn what U.S. policy on climate change will be.

BBC News.