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Middle East
Record number of Afghan civilian casualties in attacks in 2017, UN says
Nearly 2,300 civilians were killed or wounded in suicide bombings and attacks in Afghanistan in 2017, more than any previous year of the conflict on record, a UN report said
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Europe
US concerns over EU PESCO defense pact cloud NATO talks
Brussels (AFP) – NATO defence ministers met in Brussels on Wednesday to discuss Washington’s concerns over the European Union’s new plans to deepen defense ties between its members, and increasingly strained U.S.-Turkey relations. Washington and Ankara, two of the transatlantic alliance’s most important members, are at loggerheads over Turkey’s military offensive in northern Syria. U.S. Secretary of State Rex Tillerson on Tuesday warned it was detracting from the fight against the Islamic State group. The two-day meeting at NATO headquarters in Brussels is expected to approve changes to the alliance’s command structure. It aims to meet the challenges of warfare in the 21st century, particularly cyber attacks and other novel “hybrid warfare” tactics, as fears grow about Russian assertiveness. But a working dinner with E.U. diplomatic chief Federica Mogherini later Wednesday has taken on greater significance after senior US officials voiced fears about the impact the bloc’s new landmark defence pact could have on the balance of power in NATO. The E.U.’s so-called permanent structured cooperation on defence agreement, known as PESCO, has projects in view already to develop new military equipment and improve cooperation and decision-making. But on Sunday a senior official working with U.S. Defense Secretary Jim Mattis …
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Asia Pacific
Pakistan Taliban says deputy chief killed in US drone strike
The deputy chief of the Pakistani Taliban has been killed in a US drone strike, the militant group said in a statement, as Washington continues to intensify attacks along the Afghan border region.
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Middle East
Iraq jails Turkish woman, Syrian man for life over ISIS ties
An Iraqi court on Monday sentenced a Turkish woman and a Syrian man to life in jail over ties to Islamic State, a judicial spokesman said.
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Asia Pacific
Philippines’ Duterte cancels Canada Bell helicopter deal
Philippine President Rodrigo Duterte abruptly cancelled a US$235 million contract to buy 16 helicopters from Canada after Prime Minister Justin Trudeau's government ordered a review over human rights concerns.
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Asia Pacific
North Korea confirms dismissal of top military general
North Korea state media confirmed the sacking of the country's military chief Hwang Pyong So, after Southern reports said he had been fired for corruption
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Middle East
Tajikistan pardons more than 100 citizens who returned from Syria and Iraq
Tajikistan has pardoned more than 100 of its nationals following their return home from Syria and Iraq, where they had joined radical Islamist groups, the interior minister said
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Asia Pacific
Philippines says Bell helicopters purchased from Canada ‘not for attack’
The Philippine military denied it planned to use 16 Bell 412EPI helicopters bought from Canada as attack aircraft against local insurgents, following reports Ottawa was reviewing the deal
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Middle East
UN Security Council to discuss Syria humanitarian truce
The United Nations Security Council will hold a closed-door meeting on Thursday to discuss an appeal from U.N. aid officials for a month-long humanitarian ceasefire in Syria, diplomats said
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Middle East
Iraqi forces attack ISIS remnants around Tuz Khurmatu
Iraqi forces backed by the U.S.-led Coalition began a major operation against Islamic State fighters hiding out in a northeastern desert region, the military said.
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