News brief: Big stories of the day

German Chancellor Angela Merkel said Friday she and the leaders of Turkey, Russia and France planned to hold a summit next month on the situation in war-ravaged Syria.

NCP leader Supriya Sule on Friday said party chief Sharad Pawar`s comment on the Prime Minister and the Rafale deal have been misunderstood as he has actually demanded a Joint Parliamentary Committee (JPC) probe into it.

Smartphone users in India are using up to one 1GB data a day, jumping from an average use of 4GB a month before, a Neilson India report said.

Brett Kavanaugh's nomination to a lifetime seat on the US Supreme Court hung in the balance on Friday after a jarring and raucous hearing into sexual misconduct allegations against him.

Indonesia on Friday was struck by a very strong 7.5 magnitude earthquake, news agency AFP reported citing US Geological Survey.