To mark the 30th anniversary of the EU flag, the eurozone countries are to issue a special commemorative coin chosen by the citizens and residents of member countries of the euro among the five designs that have already qualified.

Islamic State militants may have already killed up to 500 people, both Iraqi civilians and soldiers, and forced 8,000 to flee homes as they captured the city of Ramadi, a provincial official said Monday, while the government-backed Shiite militias vowed to mount a counter-offensive and reclaim the Anbar provincial capital.