US secretary of state Rex Tillerson has met with Russian foreign minister Sergey Lavrov in New York ahead of the UN General Assembly.
After the meeting on Sunday, which took place at the Russian delegation to the United Nations, Mr Tillerson left without saying anything to reporters. Press had initially been invited in to cover the opening of the talks but then asked to leave before the US official arrived.
Russian foreign ministry spokeswoman Maria Zakharova said "the meeting was on co-operation in [the] Syria crisis, Middle East issues and Minsk agreement", but when asked how it went said she had not been in the room.
Mr Tillerson and Mr Lavrov "met this evening in New York on the sidelines of the United Nations General Assembly", state department spokeswoman Heather Nauert said.
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"The two recommitted to deconflicting military operations in Syria, reducing the violence, and creating the conditions for the Geneva process to move forward."
Ties between the US and Russia are at what Mr Tillerson has called a "historic" post-Cold War low, amid tit-for-tat cuts to each other's diplomatic missions.
But Washington wants to work with Moscow to help resolve the crisis in Syria, where both countries have military forces deployed, and the rivals are trying to work through their differences.
On Sunday, Russia denied hitting US-backed Syrian forces fighting ISIL in an air strike near the eastern city of Deir Ezzor a day before.
The US-backed Syrian Democratic Forces and Russian-backed Syrian government forces are conducting parallel but separate offensives against ISIL in Deir Ezzor province, the last Syrian province still largely held by the extremists.
General Joe Dunford, chairman of the US Joint Chiefs of Staff, said he had spoken to his Russian counterpart, General Valery Gerasimov, about Saturday's incident, and that Mr Tillerson had also addressed the subject with Mr Lavrov.
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"I spoke with Gerasimov, secretary Tillerson has spoken to foreign minister Lavrov. We have had communications at three different levels," Gen Dunford said on Sunday.
He said Russian forces were pursuing ISIL fighters who had fled across the Euphrates river when their jets struck close enough to injure US-backed Syrian Democratic Forces troops in the area.
Syrian government troops are engaged in an offensive against Deir Ezzor city, while SDF fighters are battling the extremists further east across the Euphrates.
"We have been engaged at every level to re-establish deconfliction at the Euphrates river. It couldn't be more complex and crowded in that area, and so deconfliction is more difficult right now than it was a few months ago," he added.
"We haven't resolved all the issues right now. We'll get through that."
Russian president Vladimir Putin will not attend the General Assembly this week, but US president Donald Trump will make his much anticipated first address to the world body on Tuesday.
Defined benefit and defined contribution schemes explained
Defined Benefit Plan (DB)
A defined benefit plan is where the benefit is defined by a formula, typically length of service to and salary at date of leaving.
Defined Contribution Plan (DC)
A defined contribution plan is where the benefit depends on the amount of money put into the plan for an employee, and how much investment return is earned on those contributions.
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Top New Zealand cop on policing the virtual world
New Zealand police began closer scrutiny of social media and online communities after the attacks on two mosques in March, the country's top officer said.
The killing of 51 people in Christchurch and wounding of more than 40 others shocked the world. Brenton Tarrant, a suspected white supremacist, was accused of the killings. His trial is ongoing and he denies the charges.
Mike Bush, commissioner of New Zealand Police, said officers looked closely at how they monitored social media in the wake of the tragedy to see if lessons could be learned.
“We decided that it was fit for purpose but we need to deepen it in terms of community relationships, extending them not only with the traditional community but the virtual one as well," he told The National.
"We want to get ahead of attacks like we suffered in New Zealand so we have to challenge ourselves to be better."
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Name: Dr Hassan Mohsen Elhais
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Straightforward ways to reduce sugar in your family's diet
- Ban fruit juice and sodas
- Eat a hearty breakfast that contains fats and wholegrains, such as peanut butter on multigrain toast or full-fat plain yoghurt with whole fruit and nuts, to avoid the need for a 10am snack
- Give young children plain yoghurt with whole fruits mashed into it
- Reduce the number of cakes, biscuits and sweets. Reserve them for a treat
- Don’t eat dessert every day
- Make your own smoothies. Always use the whole fruit to maintain the benefit of its fibre content and don’t add any sweeteners
- Always go for natural whole foods over processed, packaged foods. Ask yourself would your grandmother have eaten it?
- Read food labels if you really do feel the need to buy processed food
- Eat everything in moderation
