Australia has ruled out retrieving dozens of Australian women and children from refugee camps during the cease-fire in Syria. About 46 Australian women and children who fled Islamic State-held territory are being held at the al-Hawl refugee camp in northern Syria. Eight Australian offspring of two slain Islamic State group fighters were removed from Syria in June, Australia's only organized repatriation from the conflict zone.

"You know, I haven't seen any polling showing that nationally, on average, that anybody else is a front-runner," Joe Biden said.

Heavily armed fighters surrounded security forces in a Mexican city on Thursday and made them free one of drug lord Joaquin 'El Chapo' Guzman's sons, after his capture triggered gunbattles and a prison break that sent civilians scurrying for cover. Security Minister Alfonso Durazo said a patrol by National Guard militarized police first came under attack from within a house in the city of Culiacan, 1,235 km (770 miles) northwest of Mexico City. After entering the house, they found four men, including Ovidio Guzman, who is accused of drug trafficking in the United States.

Bill O’Reilly, who was ousted by Fox News two-and-a-half years ago following decades of sexual-harassment allegations and payouts to victims, made a desperate bid for relevance this week when he decided to live-tweet the fourth Democratic presidential primary debate. Among O’Reilly’s insights were that he found the “Trump bashing festival” by the candidates “boring,” he wanted Joe Biden to “fight back” harder and that Elizabeth Warren “wants a wealth tax to pay for free stuff, lots of free stuff. Lots.” Later, he added, “The Democrats on the stage hate Turkey. The country, not the meal. They might be right.” Then came former Rep. Beto O’Rourke’s answer to a question about Warren’s wealth tax proposal. “I think it's part of the solution,” he said, before going on to accuse Senator Warren of being “more focused on being punitive and pitting some part of the country against the other instead of lifting people up and making sure that this country comes together around those solutions.” “I think of a woman that I met in Las Vegas, Nevada,” O’Rourke continued. “She's working four jobs, raising her child with disabilities, and any American with disabilities knows just how hard it is to make it and get by in this country already.” It was this anecdote that caught O’Reilly’s ear. He wasn’t buying it. “Beto says he met a woman working FOUR jobs,” he tweeted. “And raising a special needs child. I don’t believe him. Sorry.” The response from O’Rourke came with receipts. Along with a photo of the woman and her disabled daughter, he replied, “This is her. Her name is Gina. Her daughter's name is Summer. The problem with our economy is she has to live in her car—while a disgraced TV host like you makes millions.” O’Reilly, who at one point had enough money to shell out at least $32 million in sexual harassment settlements before Fox News finally decided to cut him loose, had nothing to say in response to that.But the tweet did get a response from health care expert and former Obama administration official Andy Slavitt, who tweeted, “I would invite @BillOReilly to get a real understanding of what life is like for many in the disability community or raising a special needs or chronically ill child. But that would be cruel to the people who’d have to meet him.” Stephen Colbert Takes Bill O’Reilly to Task Over His $32 Million Sexual-Harassment SettlementRead more at The Daily Beast.Got a tip? Send it to The Daily Beast hereGet our top stories in your inbox every day. Sign up now!Daily Beast Membership: Beast Inside goes deeper on the stories that matter to you. Learn more.

The Democratic Republic of Congo has one of the world’s worst aviation safety records, so reports that an aircraft had tumbled into a remote forest last week caused few international ripples. Since then, however, a deepening mystery over the nature of the cargo and the identity of those on board has left the Congolese government facing awkward questions. The fate of the stricken plane, a mysterious Antonov-72 so far only identified by its former registration number, EK-72903, may also provide a glimpse into the murkier side of Russia’s attempts to reassert its influence in Africa. The details remain scant. Last Thursday, the plane crashed 59 minutes after taking off from the eastern city of Goma bound for the capital Kinshasa. None of the eight people on board survived, officials said. The passengers were identified as the personal chauffeur of Felix Tshisekedi, Congo’s president, and three of his bodyguards. An armoured vehicle used by the president was also on board. A more troubling disclosure followed when two of the four-strong crew were identified. Vitaly Shumkov and Vladimir Sadovnichy, the plane’s pilots, were not only Russian nationals, they both appeared to have a background in gun running. The plane, too, has a murky past. EK-72903 was once owned by an Armenian company whose proprietor has been linked to arms smuggling elsewhere in Africa. Whether the crew were somehow furthering Kremlin interests remains unknown. However, there is no secret that Russia hopes to regain the influence the Soviet Union once wielded in Africa by wooing its leaders with arms sales, private security and “political technologists” adept at winning elections. Such attempts have often been linked to Yevgeny Prigozhin, a close associate of Vladimir Putin who has been accused of masterminding attempts to interfere in the 2016 US presidential election. Mr Prigozhin allegedly had Congo in his sights after Russia announced in May that it was sending a team of army specialists to the country. Some Russia media outlets speculated that Mr Prigozhin, was on board the plane ahead of a meeting with President Tshisekedi. That is almost certainly untrue. Slumming it on an Antonov is generally not Mr Progozhin’s style. “He wouldn’t get into a plane like that,” a Congolese government official said.  “This gentleman is an oligarch and if he travels then he travels on his own plane.” The official said that while Mr Prigozhin had not been scheduled to meet President Tshisekedi, other Russian government representatives had requested a meeting to discuss the upcoming summit. It is unclear if any were on board. At least two people described as being “of eastern European origin” were also on the plane. They have not yet been identified, adding to the intrigue surrounding the flight. For the moment, whoever else was on board the plane remains unknown. With some sources saying there may have been 11 people rather than eight on board, UN officials were attempting to identify the remains of the dead — some of whom had been hastily buried — last night. Even that might not put an end to the intrigue of what happened aboard EK-72903. Congo rarely gives up its mysteries. In 1961, a plane departing the country with then UN secretary general Dag Hammarskjöld on board crashed.  Three inquiries failed to determined the cause of the crash and Hammarskjöld’s death remains a mystery to this day.