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Xinhua world news summary at 1530 GMT, June 17

Xinhua, June 17, 2015 Adjust font size:

Iraqi security forces and allied militias on Wednesday clashed with Islamic State (IS) militants across Iraq, as the extremist militants gained ground in Salahudin province, security sources said.

In Iraq's northern central province of Salahudin, IS militants took control of Tal Abu Jrad area in east of the battleground town of Baiji, some 200 km north of the Iraqi capital of Baghdad, after days of heavy clashes with the security forces and allied militias, a security source told Xinhua on condition of anonymity. (Iraq-IS-Attacks)

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MADRID -- Online encyclopedia Wikipedia was on Wednesday announced as the winner of the 2015 Princess of Asturias Award for International Co-operation.

The jury gave Wikipedia the award after considering it is an example of "democratic, open and participative" collaboration which thousands of people worldwide carry out for no personal gain. (Wikipedia-Spain-Award)

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ADEN, Yemen -- The Yemen-based al-Qaida in Arabian Peninsula executed two Saudis and a Yemeni accused of spying for the U.S. in Yemen's Hadramout province on Wednesday, a tribal leader told Xinhua.

"The al-Qaida executed three of its members who were accused of helping the United States to kill some high-ranking commanders of the terrorist group by drones in Hadramout during the past few days," the local tribal chief said on condition of anonymity. (Yemen-AlQaide-Killing)

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TBILISI -- A white tiger which escaped from a flooded zoo killed a man in central Tbilisi on Wednesday.

The beast attacked the man inside a building close to Heroes Square, not far from the zoo, said witnesses."The man in his 40s was already dead when brought to hospital," said a doctor at the hospital. (Georgia-Flood-Zoo)

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JAKARTA -- One tourist was confirmed killed and eight other tourists were feared dead after a cliff in Gunung Kidul, Yogyakarta suddenly fell on Wednesday, local TV reported here.

The 15-meter high cliff, located at a tourist beach resort, collapsed at about 13:00 p.m. local time and hit ten local visitors when they were enjoying the beauty of the beach at the bottom of the high land, the report said. (Indonesia-Cliff-Falls)

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LA PAZ -- Bolivian President Evo Morales said here on Tuesday a proposed transcontinental rail route cutting across South America should pass through Bolivia.

The project currently plans for a railway linking Brazil's Atlantic coast with Peru's Pacific coast to create a transport corridor for Latin American exports to Asia. (Bolivia-China-Railway) Endi