Law & Society

The United States' top military officer told American troops on a surprise visit to Baghdad on Saturday that the momentum in the battle with Islamic State was "starting to turn", but predicted a drawn-out campaign lasting several years.

Algerian President Abdelaziz Bouteflika, who suffered a stroke last year, was hospitalised in the Alpine city of Grenoble in France on Thursday, French police and government sources said.

Prime Minister Manuel Valls said on Friday that France would not be dictated to after an unidentified Russian official was quoted as giving Paris two weeks to deliver the first of two Mistral helicopter carriers or face possible compensation claims.