SIRTE, Libya (Reuters) - Libyan forces faced fierce resistance on Saturday from Islamic State militants defending a final strip of land in their former stronghold of Sirte, losing at least five men, officials said.

ISMAILIA, Egypt (Reuters) - Islamic State claimed responsibility on Friday for an attack on an Egyptian military checkpoint in northern Sinai Peninsula that killed at least 12 soldiers.

SHANGHAI (Reuters) - An earthquake with a magnitude of 6.7 struck China's northwestern border with Tajikistan killing at least 1 person, destroying houses and severing a railway line in the sparsely populated region, state news agency Xinhua reported on Saturday.

ISTANBUL (Reuters) - A blast was heard in the southeastern Turkish city of Gaziantep late on Friday but police were unable to find any signs of damage, the governor's office said, adding the noise could have been caused by warplanes breaking the sound barrier. State-run Anadolu news agency said police and fire fighting teams had been sent to the suspected area of the blast.

By Brian Love and Richard Balmforth PARIS (Reuters) - Former prime minister Francois Fillon looked on Friday to be in a strong position to claim his center-right party's nomination to contest next year's French presidential election as he and rival Alain Juppe held final rallies of the primary campaign.

By Lisandra Paraguassu and Anthony Boadle BRASILIA (Reuters) - One of Brazilian President Michel Temer's closest aides resigned on Friday following allegations he pressured the culture minister to approve a property development, unsettling investors with the prospect of renewed political turmoil in Latin America's largest economy.

By Saif Hameed BAGHDAD (Reuters) - Iraq is readying a special force tasked with storming Tal Afar, a bastion of Islamic State west of Mosul, in a way that would avoid revenge killings against the town's Sunni population.

By Ju-min Park and Cynthia Kim SEOUL (Reuters) - South Korean President Park Geun-hye's approval rating fell to 4 percent amid a deepening political crisis, marking an all-time low for any democratically elected leader in the country, according to an opinion poll released on Friday.

By Gustavo Palencia and Sofia Menchu TEGUCIGALPA/GUATEMALA CITY (Reuters) - Central American countries warned on Thursday that large numbers of migrants have fled their poor, violent homes since Donald Trump's surprise election win, hoping to reach the United States before he takes office next year.

By Charlotte Greenfield WELLINGTON (Reuters) - New Zealand is looking offshore for hundreds of workers to rebuild roads, railways and buildings after this month's earthquake amid a shortage of local workers in an overstretched construction industry.