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Xinhua world news summary at 0030 GMT, May 23

Xinhua, May 23, 2016 Adjust font size:

Iraqi Prime Minister Haider al-Abadi early Monday announced the launching of a military operation to recapture the Islamic State (IS)-held city of Fallujah.

"Zero hour for the liberation of Fallujah has arrived," he said on his official Twitter account. (Iraq-IS-Operation)

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VIENNA -- Austria's presidential election is becoming unprecedentedly intense on Sunday, both the right wing candidate and his rival, former head of the green party, got 50 percent of the vote, showing a dead heat in the runoff, the latest official poll shows.

The vote counting is almost finished in many cities, but many of the votes by mail have not been counted yet. (Austria-Presidential runoff)

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NICOSIA -- Cyprus'governing right wing Democratic Rally party (DISY) leads with between 29.5 and 32.5 percent in a parliamentary vote on Sunday which was marked by high abstention, according to a state television estimate based on a preliminary exit poll.

Four other exit polls by private television stations confirmed the projected results, giving an even higher share of the vote to DISY.

(Cyprus-Parliamentary elections)

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ISLAMABAD -- Pakistan on Sunday confirmed that two people were killed in a Saturday U.S. drone strike in its remote area along the Pak-Afghan border, but remained vague about the Afghan Taliban leader Mullah Mansoors death in the strike.

A statement issued by Pakistan's Foreign Office said that the United States informed the Pakistani prime minister and the Pakistani army chief about the drone strike late Saturday after the strike was carried out in Pakistan near the Pak-Afghan border area. (Pakistan-US-Drone strike) Endi