The 10 most important things in the world right now

Hello! Here's what you need to know for Thursday.

1. Islamic State fighters stormed the strategic Syrian city of Palmyra on Wednesday, which is home to spectacular ancient ruins.

2. Five of the world's largest banks - Citicorp, JPMorgan, Barclays, RBS, and UBS - will pay a combined $5.8 billion (£3.7 billion) related manipulating foreign currencies and interest rates.

3. The US is sending 1,000 rockets to the Iraq military, which is planning a counterattack on Islamic State militants to take back the city of Ramadi.

4. British authorities announced Wednesday that hundreds of celebrities and politicians are among 1,400 suspects being investigated in a child-sex-abuse scandal.

5. US intelligence this week released a trove of documents found at Osama bin Laden's compound, including video games and many English-language books.

6. Up to 105,000 gallons of oil may have leaked into California's coastal waters after a pipeline ruptured, prompting the governor to declare a state of emergency.

7. France says it killed two key figures from Islamist militant group Al Qaeda in the Islamic Maghreb in northwest Africa.

8. Ukrainian President Petro Poroshenko told the BBC that Ukraine was fighting a "real war" with Russia, most recently evidence by the capture of two purported Russian regular special forces soldiers.

9. South Korean health officials have confirmed the country's second case of Middle East Respiratory Syndrome (MERS), but said the disease does not have a chance of spreading to the wider population.

10. After making largest vehicle recall in US history, Japanese air bag maker Takata said it will produce 1 million airbag inflators a month to replace defective ones.