Hello, this is Anna bringing you today's top stories.
More bloodshed in Syria - More than 100 people have been killed and hundreds wounded on a day filled with violence in rebel-held eastern Ghouta in Syria. The bloodshed on Monday comes amid reports of a regime incursion into the area outside Damascus, which is home to 400,000 civilians. Pro-regime forces continued to bombard the rebel-held enclave on Tuesday, with the UN issuing a blank paper in response, claiming there are no words to describe the continued atrocities. More than 700 people have been killed in three months, according to local counts, not including the deaths in the last week.
‘Jihadi bride’ will live - The teenager who ran away from home in Germany to marry an Isis fighter has been spared the death penalty, instead being jailed for six years in Baghdad. ‘Jihadi bride’ Linda Wenzel was 16 when she was captured in Iraq last year. She received a five-year sentence for joining IS and one year for entering Iraq illegally.
Panic at KFC - KFC has closed more than half of its 900 UK outlets after experiencing delivery problems. Last week, the fried chicken icon switched its delivery contract to DHL, which blamed ‘operational issues’ for the slowing supply of poultry. Workers are being encouraged to take holiday but would not be forced to do so, a spokesman said.
Brexit dystopia - Britain will not be ‘plunged into a Mad Max-style world borrowed from dystopian fiction’ after it leaves the EU, the Brexit secretary has claimed. David Davis said the UK wanted to lead a ‘global race to the top’ and not a ‘competitive race to the bottom’. He also suggested a Brexit deal by the end of 2018 was "well on the cards".
‘Baby factory dad’ - A wealthy Japanese man has been granted custody to 13 children he fathered through Thai surrogate mothers, making him able to take them to Japan. 28-year-old Mitsutoki Shigeta became the centre of a ‘baby factory’ scandal in 2014 after Thai police linked him via DNA to nine infants found under the care of 24-hour nannies in a luxury Bangkok apartment.
A flat note - Fergie's version of the Star-Spangled Banner at Sunday's NBA All-Star game wasn't has drawn sharp criticism online. The US singer has now issued an apology, telling TMZ: ‘I've always been honoured and proud to perform the national anthem and last night I wanted to try something special for the NBA. I'm a risk taker artistically, but clearly this rendition didn't strike the intended tone.’ She added: ‘I love this country and honestly tried my best.’