Hi, this is Anna breaking down today's top stories into bite-sized chunks
Syrian strike - The United States has said it killed more than 100 fighters loyal to the Syrian regime of Bashar al-Assad as it repelled an assault on a US-controlled base in eastern Syria, the most serious clash between the alliance led by Washington and government forces in the country.
Language barrier - Chefs working with the Norwegian Winter Olympic team accidentally ordered 13,500 unwanted eggs while making an order for their athletes from their South Korean base. The chefs, who are catering for their country’s 109 competitors at the Pyeongchang games, ordered 15,000 eggs when it was only 1,500 they needed.
LGBTQ rights under attack - Bermuda has become the first country to legalise and then repeal same-sex marriage, in an unprecedented rollback of civil rights by the British island territory. Bermuda’s governor has signed a bill reversing the right of gay couples to marry, despite a supreme court ruling last year authorising same-sex marriage.
Robin Williams’s death - US suicide rates spiked in the months after Robin Williams killed himself in 2014, according to researchers. In the five months after the actor's death there were 10% more suicides than might be expected, PLOS One journal reported. It cannot be known for certain if his death led to the spike but it appeared to be connected, the new study said.
Trudeau apologises - Canadian prime minister Justin Trudeau has apologised for making a ‘dumb joke’ after he interrupted a woman and corrected her for saying ‘mankind’, not ‘peoplekind’. His comments last week drew ridicule from critics who variously accused Trudeau of mansplaining and excessive political correctness.’It played well in the room and in context. Out of context it doesn’t play so well and it’s a little reminder to me that I shouldn’t be making jokes even when I think they’re funny,’ he said-
Military might - North Korea has put on a military parade attended by leader Kim Jong-un, a day before the opening of the Winter Olympics in the South. The North often boasts of its parades but reports of this surfaced afterwards with TV only airing delayed footage. This event is usually held in April and moving it had been seen as a setback to the thawed ties over the Olympics.
Foodie hell - Evidence suggests the food on your plate can alter cancer's growth and spread, Cambridge scientists have found. Animal research, published in the journal Nature, showed breast tumours struggled without the dietary nutrient asparagine. It is found in asparagus, as well as poultry, seafood and many others.