Ten Things of Chalk and Cheese

US-Turkey row: Pastor is a pawn in personal feud/Reuters

1. The US is increasing pressure on Turkey to try to secure the freedom of American pastor Andrew Brunson, as Turks boycott US electronic products after Washington imposed punitive sanctions on Ankara. While the leaders of the two Nato allies clash with each other, Mr Brunson's fate hangs in the balance.
2. Turkey has decided to release the national head of Amnesty International after more than a year in prison. Taner Kilic was arrested in June 2017 on terrorism charges.
3. Egyptian President Abdel Fattah al-Sisi has signed a new law that tightens controls over the internet. The legislation on "cybercrime" means websites can be blocked in Egypt if deemed to constitute a threat to national security or the economy.
4. Big Brother has denied claims that Stormy Daniels didn't go into the Celebrity Big Brother House because producers wanted to "control" her. The adult film star hit the headlines after alleging she had slept with President Donald Trump in 2006, which he denies.
5. Nick Jonas and Priyanka Chopra have confirmed they are engaged after just a few months together. The Texan singer, formerly part of the Jonas Brothers, and the Bollywood superstar held a private engagement ceremony in Mumbai on Saturday. Both wore traditional Indian clothes.
6. With its bold claims of Asian representation, the Hollywood film extravaganza Crazy Rich Asians is destined for intense scrutiny, coming as it does after bitter debates about whitewashing and "yellowface" casting - where white actors attempt to make themselves look Asian.
7. Sixteen nurses are all pregnant at a hospital in Mesa, Arizona. That's 10% of the nursing staff in the intensive care unit, and patients have started to notice the high pregnancy rate, the nurses said.
8. Alaska 5000 is one of the most in-demand drag queens in the world, having performed non-stop since first appearing on RuPaul's Drag Race in 2013.
9. A substance found by archaeologists working in an Ancient Egyptian tomb has proved to be one of the oldest cheeses ever discovered.
10. Hundreds of baseball-like sea creatures have washed up on a Cornish beach. The small heart-shaped orbs were sea potatoes, a sea urchin that lives buried in sandy and muddy sea beds all around UK coasts.

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