WSJ.com What's News - Worldwide News Briefs for Nov 09

ISIS IS OUSTED FROM ITS LAST URBAN STRONGHOLD IN SYRIA

The Syrian government and its allies claimed victory over Islamic State in its last urban stronghold in the country, pushing remnants of the group into the desert straddling the border with Iraq.

IN CHINA, TRUMP EMPLOYS TOUGH TALK, FLATTERY WITH XI

U.S. President Donald Trump blended chumminess with his host, Xi Jinping, with tough talk on North Korea and trade, saying he blamed his predecessors rather than Beijing for a "very unfair and one-sided" economic relationship.

HOW AN AMERICAN FAMILY ESCAPED PIRATES IN THE AMAZON

The Harteaus swam a river and bushwhacked through a jungle teeming with predators to get their two daughters, 6-year-old Colette and 3-year-old Sierra, to safety. A ferryman later plucked the family from a river in Pará state in the Brazilian Amazon.

EUROZONE GROWTH SET TO ACCELERATE AS THREATS SUBSIDE

The European Union said the eurozone was on track to post its fastest growth rate in a decade as political uncertainties that threatened to cast a shadow over the bloc this year largely failed to materialize.

U.K. MINISTER RESIGNS OVER UNAUTHORIZED ISRAEL MEETINGS

U.K. Prime Minister Theresa May, embroiled in another political crisis, sought to reassert authority over her cabinet, calling a minister back from overseas over her unauthorized meetings with Israeli officials.

U.A.E. SEEKS FINANCIAL INFORMATION ON INDIVIDUALS DETAINED IN SAUDI ARABIA

The United Arab Emirates' central bank has asked financial firms operating in the country to provide information on several individuals detained in Saudi Arabia as part of a government-led corruption investigation there, including billionaire tycoon Prince al-Waleed bin Talal.

U.S. PUSHES STIFFER CONTENT RULES FOR NAFTA CAR MAKERS

American trade negotiators are taking aggressive measures to close what they describe as a Mexican "back door" through which steel and other auto-manufacturing components produced outside North America are sold tariff-free in the U.S.

MIRRORING SAUDIS, ISRAEL SEEKS TO COUNTER IRAN AND HEZBOLLAH

Israel is moving to counter Iran and its Lebanese ally Hezbollah diplomatically, aligning its policies with onetime foe Saudi Arabia and signaling a shift in the region's power politics as the war in neighboring Syria winds down.

ELEVEN NATIONS PURSUE TPP DEAL, MINUS U.S., AT PACIFIC RIM SUMMIT

Almost 10 months after President Donald Trump pulled the U.S. out of a sweeping Pacific trade pact, the 11 countries left behind are pushing forward for an agreement without Washington on the sidelines of the Pacific Rim's biggest annual economic summit.

POLITICAL UPHEAVAL TESTS LEBANON'S FINANCES

Investors worried about an escalating crisis between Riyadh and Beirut are selling Lebanese debt and equity, a flight of capital that threatens to upend the precarious finances of a country struggling with slow growth and high debt.

HOLDERS OF VENEZUELAN BOND DEFAULT INSURANCE ASK TO BE PAID

Holders of Venezuelan-bond default insurance are trying to collect, contending that the state-owned oil company failed to make a recent payment.

TRUMP RULES PARE BACK OBAMA'S CUBA OPENING

The Trump administration on Wednesday continued to pare back rules intended to normalize ties with Cuba, announcing new regulations tightening travel and financial transactions by Americans.

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(END) Dow Jones Newswires

November 09, 2017 17:47 ET (22:47 GMT)