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Xinhua world news summary at 0130 GMT, Sept. 3

Xinhua, September 3, 2016 Adjust font size:

Uzbek President Islam Karimov died on Friday at the age of 78 after being hospitalized following a stroke on Aug. 27, the Uzbek government confirmed.

His funeral will be held on Saturday in the historic town of Samarkand, where he was born, a government statement said, adding that a three-day period of mourning would start on the same day. (Uzbek-Karimov)

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UNITED NATIONS -- UN Secretary-General Ban Ki-moon on Friday said that he "is saddened" to learn of the death of Islam Karimov, the president of Uzbekistan, and he extended his sincere condolences to the bereaved family of President Karimov, the government and the people of Uzbekistan.

"The secretary-general pays tribute to the late president's efforts to develop strong ties between Uzbekistan and the United Nations as well as strengthen regional and global peace and security, through the promotion and entry into force in 2009 of the Treaty to establish the Central Asian Nuclear Weapon-Free Zone," said a statement issued here by Ban's spokesman.(UN-Uzbekistan)

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WASHINGTON -- U.S. space agency NASA said Friday it has approved the launch of its Mars lander known as InSight in spring 2018 to study the Red Planet's deep interior.

The Interior Exploration using Seismic Investigations, Geodesy and Heat Transport (InSight) mission was originally scheduled to launch in March this year, but NASA suspended launch preparations in December due to a vacuum leak in the lander's prime science instrument. (NASA-Mars)

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ANKARA -- 11 Turkish soldiers were killed in clashes with the outlawed Kurdish Workers' Party ( PKK) militants on Friday in eastern Van and southeastern Mardin provinces, Milliyet News reported.

Three soldiers were killed when a military post in Dargecit district of Mardin was attacked by PKK militants on Friday, and three village guards and a civilian were injured. (Turkey-PKK)

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DAVAO CITY -- At least 10 people have been confirmed dead and scores others wounded in an explosion in the hometown of Philippine President Rodrigo Duterte on Friday night, officials said on Saturday, amid fears the toll could further rise.

Aside from the fatalities, some 60 others were rushed to different hospitals following the blast in downtown Davao City, according to presidential spokesperson Ernesto Abella. (Philippine-Explosion) Endi