From Washington, this is VOA news. I'm David DeForest reporting.

Russia's Defense Ministry said Tuesday a group of its warplanes took off from an airbase in Iran to carry out airstrikes against militants in Syria.

They say the strikes hit five warehouses with weapons, ammunition and fuel as well as training camps for the Islamic State and the Jabhat al-Nusra terrorist groups. The attacks took place in the provinces of Aleppo, Deir ez-Zor and Idlib.

It marks the first time Russian bombers used Iran as a launching point for attacks in Syria.

A Turkish court ordered a pro-Kurdish newspaper to close Tuesday, accusing it of engaging in "terrorist propaganda."

The court accused Ozgur Gundem newspaper of being the "media organ" for the outlawed Kurdish Workers Party, or PKK.

Earlier in the day, state media reported that police raided 44 companies in Istanbul in connection with last month's failed coup.

The Anadolu agency said arrest warrants were issued for 120 company executives accused of providing financial support to Muslim cleric Fethullah Gulen. Gulen lives in self-imposed exile in the U.S.

The Turkish government says he was behind the July 15 coup attempt. He denies that, of course.

U.S. gymnast Simone Biles won her fourth gold medal of the 2016 Olympic Games in the floor exercise competition Tuesday.

Biles is a 19-year-old and has given one of the best performances ever by a gymnast at the Olympic Games.

The U.S. currently leads in the medal count with 26 golds (and) a total of 75. Britain comes in at number two with 16 golds and a total of 41.

This is VOA news.

U.S. military officials are telling China they are under no threat from South Korea's deployment of a new U.S. anti-missile defense system.

The decision to deploy the system has come under fire by state media in China, where there are suggestions that it is intended to track Chinese missiles.

British authorities say they are seeking information about Iran's arrest of a [Britain-Iranian] British-Iranian person suspected of spying for Britain.

An Iranian prosecutor says the person under arrest is active in the economic filed related to Iran. He did not disclose the name of the individual, but said the person was arrested last week.

Three months before the U.S. presidential election, analysts are saying there is more than an 80 percent likelihood that Democrat Hillary Clinton will defeat Republican Donald Trump.

Polls show that Americans hold negative views of both candidates, but more against him than her.

The FBI has sent Congress documents related to its investigation of Hillary Clinton's use of a private email server during her tenure as secretary of state.

The House Oversight Committee said Tuesday it had received the documents marked "secret," which include notes on FBI interviews with Clinton and other witnesses during the investigation.

More than 14 million people in Angola and the Democratic Republic of Congo are to be vaccinated against yellow fever. Lisa Schlein reports.

Mass vaccination campaigns usually take between three to six months to plan. But, the World Health Organization says this campaign must begin by the start of the rainy season in September because the spread of yellow fever could become unstoppable.

Yellow fever is a potentially deadly flu-like disease spread by mosquitoes. It causes a high fever and jaundice, a yellowing of the skin and eyes. The disease is not curable, but it can be prevented with the yellow fever vaccine.

Lisa Schlein, Geneva.

Prices in the U.S. economy rose a modest eight-tenths of a percent over the past 12 months.

Tuesday's report from the Labor Department shows the rate of inflation was a bit slower in July than the previous month as gasoline prices declined.

Pakistan's military says airstrikes near the border with Afghanistan have killed at least 14 militants and wounded 11.

An army spokesman says the air and ground operation targeted a remote valley in the Khyber tribal district and destroyed nine hideouts.

According to an Associated Press report released Monday, South Sudanese troops gang-raped, beat, and robbed aid workers, specifically targeting Americans, at a hotel compound in Juba on July 11.

Witnesses interviewed by the news agency said soldiers carried out mock executions and forced the foreigners to watch as they killed a local journalist.

In Washington, I'm David DeForest.

That's the latest world news from VOA.