May 19, Friday, 2017 (2:00 p.m.) Read by Ms. Sarah Macdonald and Ms. Mariko Kojima

1. At least 52 people have been killed in an attack by the Islamic State militant group on villages in central Syria.
2. The Japanese government has decided on a bill for one-off legislation on Emperor Akihito’s abdication.
3. Delegates from around the world at law-making talks of the Paris Agreement have agreed to speed up their negotiations so that common rules could be adopted by December 2018.