SYRIA: Unicef decried an “escalation of violence” today as government shelling was blamed for the deaths of eight civilians, including children, in rebel-held Idlib.
Idlib is the last holdout of jihadist group Tahrir al-Sham, a merger of al-Qaida branch al-Nusra with other terrorist organisations including Nour al-Din al-Zinki, notorious for its child executions.
A ceasefire was agreed in March last year but the Syrian government remains determined to reconquer the area.

OUTER SPACE: Chinese astronauts made their first spacewalk outside its new orbital station today, setting up cameras and other equipment.
Liu Boming and Tang Hongbo spent almost seven hours outside the station, the Chinese space agency said.
With Nie Haisheng they are on a three-month mission as part of China’s ambitious new space programme, which landed a robot on Mars in May.

LITHUANIA: Vilnius has declared a state of emergency over a flow of refugees via Belarus.
The country’s relations with its eastern neighbour have been dire for nearly a year, with Lithuania hosting a Belarusian opposition “transitional government” and US troops which Minsk says are a threat to its sovereignty. Belarus recently ceased border co-operation in response to EU sanctions, leading to a flow of refugees from countries including Afghanistan, Cameroon, Iraq and Syria into the EU.