GLOBAL SNAPSHOT

1 Core of the Party

BEIJING: China’s ruling Communist Party declared its General Secretary Xi Jinping the “core” of its leadership on Thursday, elevating his already powerful status. A communique issued by top party leaders after a four-day meeting in Beijing called on all its members to “closely unite around the CPC Central Committee with Comrade Xi Jinping as the core”.

2 Lennon letter found

LONDON: A letter which was hidden in a record sleeve among a box of old singles bought for $12 at a garage sale more than 20 years ago, has now been identified as a draft of the one John Lennon wrote to the Queen when he returned his MBE in 1969. And experts say it could be worth up to $100,000. They believe Lennon discarded the note because he accidentally smudged the ink.

3 Diplomats expelled

ISLAMABAD: Pakistan and India each expelled a diplomat from the other country in an exchange amid escalating tensions between the two Asian archrivals over the disputed Himalayan region of Kashmir. In recent weeks troops have exchanged cross border fire.

4 Condoms block loos

LINCOLN: Condoms flushed down the toilet are creating huge “Johnnybergs”, which block the sewers, an English water company warned. A staggering 21 tonnes of the items were found blocking loos in Lincoln. Blocking agents include condoms and tissues.

5 180 nations visited

CONNECTICUT: An American woman is nearing the end of her mission to travel to all 193 sovereign nations plus Taiwan, Kosovo and Palestine. Cassie De Pecol, 27 began her journey in July 2015. So far she has ticked off 180 countries at a cost of $272,000.

6 School attack probe

BEIRUT: UN Secretary-General Ban Ki-moon has called for an immediate investigation of an attack on a school in Syria’s Idlib province that the UN’s children’s agency is calling one of the deadliest of its kind in the country’s six-year war. UNICEF raised its toll for Wednesday’s attack to 28 dead, among them 22 children and six teachers. Ban said the attack could amount to a war crime if found to be deliberate.

7 Protect Antarctica

HOBART: The countries that decide the fate of Antarctica have reached a historic agreement to create the world’s largest marine protected area in the ocean next to the frozen continent. The agreement covers 1.6 million sq km and there will be a blanket ban on commercial fishing across about three-quarters of that area.