These are the headlines we are tracking for you in this episode of On the News Line:

Concerns over status of Nigerian Shia cleric Zakzaky

There are growing worries about the health of the Leader of the Islamic Movement in Nigeria. Sheikh Ibrahim Zakzaky has been held by authorities for over two years now. He was detained in December 2015 when Nigerian troops carried out a bloody attack against his home. The brutal operation left hundreds of his followers and three of his sons dead. Zakzaky himself was seriously wounded. His followers have been staging marches and demonstrations over the past days again amid reports that Zaqkzaky’s health has seriously deteriorated following a suspected stroke. Nigerian troops have been brutal in their crackdown on the protesters using tear gas and even live bullets against them.

Is US trying to form a Kurdish State in Syria?

Washington is to recognize a Kurdish state in northern Syria. According to the Asharq Al-Awsatnewspaper, the Trump Administration is going to take concrete steps towards recognizing the eastern Euphrates region controlled by the so-called Syrian Democratic Forces (SDF). The region amounts to about 28,000 square kilometers, three times the size of Lebanon. The first step was already taken by U.S. Defense Secretary Jim Mattis as he said Washington would send "diplomats" to SDF-controlled areas to work alongside the military.