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Xinhua world news summary at 1600 GMT, Aug. 1

Xinhua, August 1, 2016 Adjust font size:

The United States launched the first airstrikes against the Islamic State (IS) targets in the Libyan city of Sirte, at the request of Libya's UN-brokered government, the prime minister said in a televised speech.

"The first airstrikes were carried out on precise positions of the IS in Sirte, causing heavy losses," Prime Minister Fayez al-Sarraj said. (Libya-U.S.-Strikes)

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LOCKHART, UNITED STATES -- The hot air balloon struck the power lines before it crashed in a pasture near Lockhart in central part of the U.S. state of Texas, U.S. federal investigators confirmed on Sunday.

There was evidence that part of the balloon hit the electrical lines before the deadly crash that killed all the 16 people on board, according to investigators from the National Transportation Safety Board (NTSB). (US-Air Balloon-Investigation)

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MOSCOW -- All the five people aboard a Russian Mi-8 transport helicopter were killed on Monday when the aircraft was downed by hostile ground fire in Syria, said Kremlin spokesman Dmitry Peskov.

"Those onboard the helicopter, according to the Defense Ministry's information, have died heroically as they had tried to steer the machine to minimize the casualties on the ground," Peskov told reporters. (Russia-Syria-Helicopter)

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DAMASCUS -- A video clip claiming to show the wreckage of a Russian helicopter appeared online on Monday, just hours after rebels in northern Syria reportedly shot down the aircraft.

The footage showed people gathering around the wreckage of in the northwestern province of Idlib. (Syria-Russia-Crash)

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KABUL -- At least four people including a policeman and three attackers were killed, and three policemen were injured in a truck bomb targeting a foreign guest house in Kabul, police said on Monday.

The attack took place in Pul-e-Charkhi locality in the eastern edge of Kabul city, Kabul police chief Abdul Rahman Rahimi said. (Afghanistan-Kabul-Bombing)

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LONDON -- A spokeswoman for British Prime Minister Theresa May said on Monday that Britain will continue to seek a stronger relationship with China, Reuters reported.

The statement came following British new cabinet's decision last week to delay the Hinkley Point C nuclear power plant program, which has raised concerns about its openness towards foreign investment. (Britain-China-Nuclear Deal) Endi