IN BRIEF (Page 12)

Iraq

All IS territory under attack

Iraq brought all of its territory still held by the Islamic State group under attack on Thursday, throwing the jihadists on the defensive across their self-proclaimed "caliphate" extending into neighboring Syria. Security forces backed by paramilitary units launched a dawn assault on a besieged IS-held pocket around the northern town of Hawija, just days after attacking the jihadists' only other foothold in the country.

United Kingdom

Sixth arrest over London attack

A sixth man was arrested on Thursday as part of the probe into the bomb attack on a London Underground train last week, police said. The man, aged 17, was detained under anti-terrorism powers in Thornton Heath, south of London, where a search is under way, a statement said. Some 30 people were injured in the Sept 15 attack at Parsons Green station in west London, which was claimed by the Islamic State group.

Australia

Newspaper has Mandarin site

The country's national newspaper, The Australian, has launched a new Mandarin language version of their online news service on Thursday, in a move it said will help it to better connect with its local Chinese readers. According to the latest 2016 census figures, Mandarin is the second most commonly spoken language within households in Australia with more than 596,000 speakers, or 2.5 percent of the total population.

Alarm over flesh-eating ulcer cases

The spread of a flesh-eating bacterial condition in the country sparked calls on Thursday for more government-funded research into the disease, which is normally limited to developing countries. Buruli ulcer, a leprosy-like disease that rots flesh, is usually found in parts of Africa and was named after the Ugandan village where it was discovered. There is no way to prevent the disease and its exact mode of transmission is still unknown.

France

Le Pen's top aide quits FN party

A top aide to French far-right leader Marine Le Pen quit the National Front on Thursday, laying bare a deep split over Europe and immigration after the party's election defeat this year. Florian Philippot, architect of the party's pledge to quit the euro and of Le Pen's drive to detoxify the National Front, or FN, brand among voters, announced his departure on France 2 television, after Le Pen stripped him of most of his responsibilities.

AFP - Xinhua - Reuters

(China Daily 09/22/2017 page12)