Obama Returns to Political Stage

Former US President Barack Obama was back on the campaign trail a few hours ago, for the first time since the end of his presidency. Mr Obama campaigned for Phillip Murphy in New Jersey and Ralph Northam in Virginia as the Democrats tried to utilise his pulling power.

Iraqi government forces have seized a large swathe of disputed territory from Kurdish fighters, including the vital oil fields around the city of Kirkuk. It comes three weeks after Iraqi Kurds organised an independence referendum. Baghdad has described the referendum as "illegal", but says dialogue is still possible.

When a country is facing economic problems, one of the bodies it can turn to, to borrow money, is the International Monetary Fund. But does it benefit the countries it is there to benefit?