Xinhua world news summary at 0030 GMT, Feb. 23
Xinhua, February 23, 2016 Adjust font size:
The United States and Russia announced Monday the plan for a cessation of hostilities in Syria that will begin on Feb. 27, the U.S. State Department said.
In a joint statement, the two countries said the ceasefire agreement will not apply to "Daesh", also known as the Islamic State (IS), "Jabhat al-Nusra", or other terrorist organizations designated by the UN Security Council. (US-Russia-Syria Ceasefire)
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DAMASCUS -- Syrian President Bashar al-Assad on Monday set April 13 as the date for the parliamentarian elections in Syria, state news agency SANA reported.
The elections are set for the usual time as Syrian government holds such elections every four years. (Syria-Elections)
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KABUL -- Some 14 people were killed and 11 others injured as a suicide bombing rocked Afghanistan's eastern province of Parwan on Monday, a provincial government spokesman said.
"The blast took place in Seyyagard District at around midday. The killed and injured were shifted to a hospital in the district, west of provincial capital of Charikar city," spokesman Wahid Seddiqi told Xinhua. (Afghanistan-Suicide Bombing)
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JERUSALEM -- Israel's defense minister said on Monday that Israel is preparing for the possibility of another round of fighting against Hamas in the Gaza Strip.
Defense Minister Moshe Ya'alon made the comments on board USS Carney, an American battleship currently located in Haifa amid a joint U.S.-Israeli military drill. (Israel-Hamas-War) Endi