News Headlines - 21 September 2014

▽Release of Turkish Hostages Opens Door For Ankara Role in Coalition - WSJ

Turkey's President Recep Tayyip Erdogan said Sunday that the release of 49 hostages held by Islamic State had removed the main obstacle to joining a U.S.-led coalition against the extremist group, spurring hopes that Ankara would take a more robust role.

▽Yemen Rebels Gain Concessions From Government After Assault on Capital - NYTimes.com

An assault on Yemen’s capital rocked the transitional government on Sunday as fighters from a Shiite rebel group stormed through the city, seizing government buildings, state media facilities and military bases. The military broke apart, some units appeared to side with rebels, and the prime minister abruptly resigned.

▽Pope Francis condemns violence in the name of religion - CSMonitor.com

Pope Francis, in his strongest criticism of Islamist militants to date, said on Sunday no religious group which used violence and oppression could claim to be "the armor of God."

▽BBC News - Ed Balls draws blood in clash with football opponent

Ed Balls left an opponent with a bloodied eye in the annual party conference football match between Labour and political journalists.
The shadow chancellor clashed with the Northern Echo's Rob Merrick in the game at Manchester City's Etihad complex.

▽NASA Craft in Mars’s Orbit, to Study Its Air - NYTimes.com

NASA’s latest Mars spacecraft, Maven, arrived Sunday evening to study the mystery of what happened to the planet’s air.