Iraq army assault under way to eject al-Qaeda |
Battles in Anbar province comes after government vowed to launch "major attack" to retake Fallujah from fighters.
Last updated: 06 Jan 2014 00:35
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An operation is under way to drive hardline fighters out of Iraq's Anbar province, with an aerial assault by government forces hitting east of Fallujah, and clashes between the Iraqi army and al-Qaeda-linked Islamic State of Iraq and the Levant (ISIL) near Ramadi leaving many dead.
Iraqi officials said fighting between the army and al-Qaeda-linked rebels near the provincial capital of Ramadi left at least 34 people dead on Sunday, including 22 soldiers and 12 civilians, AP news agency reported.
The officials also said 58 people were wounded in the clashes, along with an unknown number of anti-government fighters.
Iraq's Defence Ministry also released footage on Sunday that it said showed aerial bombings of al-Qaeda fighters' hideouts, after the government vowed earlier in the day to launch a "major attack" to retake Fallujah.
The city has been in the hands of fighters from ISIL since Saturday, a senior security official said.
Chinese gang accused of injecting dirty pond water into meat
Seven held in Guangdong province after authorities raid illegal abattoir in latest food safety scandal to hit the country
Seven people in China's southern Guangdong province have been held over claims they injected dirty pond water into lamb to increase its weight and raise its price, state television reported in the latest food scandal to hit the country.
The suspects slaughtered up to 100 sheep a day at an illegal warehouse, pumping bacteria-ridden water into the meat before it was sold at markets, food stalls and restaurants in cities such as Guangzhou and Foshan, China Central Television (CCTV) said in a three-minute report.
China has been hit by a number of food safety scandals, from deadly chemical-laced dairy products to recycled "gutter oil" used for cooking.
Last week, Wal-Mart Stores, the world's largest retailer, apologised after a Chinese supplier of donkey meat snacks was found to have mixed fox meat into the product.
Turkey’s Erdogan ‘not opposed’ to military plot retrials
Military officers were convicted over coup to overthrow PM’s government
Turkish prime minister Tayyip Erdogan said he would not oppose the retrial of hundreds of military officers convicted on coup plot charges, a case that underlined civilian dominance over a once all-powerful army.
Turkey’s appeals court in October upheld the convictions of top retired officers for leading a plot to overthrow Mr Erdogan’s government a decade ago.
The military last week filed a criminal complaint over the court cases, saying evidence against serving and retired officers had been fabricated.
Chinese police seize 3 tonnes of meth in village
January 6, 2014 - 2:59PMJulie Makinen
Beijing: Call it ‘‘Breaking Bad: China Edition". More than 3000 police officers equipped with helicopters and motorboats and accompanied by dogs descended on a southern Chinese village notorious for making crystal meth, seizing almost three tonnes of the drug and 21 tonnes of raw materials and arresting 182 people.
The massive raid targeted Boshe village in Guangdong province, a difficult-to-reach hamlet of 14,000 people near the city of Lufeng. Pictures of December 29’s raid published on Chinese news websites showed dozens of police vehicles massed in the village of traditional-style, single-story tile-roofed homes separated by narrow alleyways, many passable only by bicycle or on foot.
As battle rages, South Sudanese meet for talks
Delegates from South Sudan's warring factions are expected to meet for talks in the Ethiopian capital on Sunday.
Face-to-face peace talks between South Sudan's warring factions are set to begin in earnest on Sunday, with artillery fire in Juba's government district underlining the risk of a slide into all-out civil war.
The talks in the Ethiopian capital are aimed at ending three weeks of fighting that are feared to have killed thousands in the world's newest nation.
"South Sudan deserves peace and development not war," Ethiopian Foreign Minister Tedros Adhanom said at ceremony to formally open talks on Saturday, which bring the government and rebel teams together for the first time.
"You should not allow this senseless war to continue, you need to stop it, and you need to stop it today—and you can."
Poachers are the prey in a park in the Republic of Congo
January 6, 2014 -- Updated 0647 GMT
Odzala-Kokoua National Park, Republic of Congo (CNN) -- "The poachers are usually hiding firearms in the fishing camps," Mathieu Eckel briefs us as his anti-poaching unit's shaky metal boats speed down one of the rivers that snakes it way through the Odzala-Kokoua National Park.
The river's dark waters are stunningly framed by shades of green and cascading vines in this remote corner of the Republic of Congo.
As Eckel's eco-guard unit turns a corner, he gives the order to cut the engines. We're approaching the first suspected site. The boats coast silently against the hum of the forest.
The team quietly assaults, but the camp is deserted.
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