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Xinhua world news summary at 1530 GMT, Nov. 17

Xinhua, November 17, 2016 Adjust font size:

France on Thursday raised risks of eventual bird flu strain and imposed strict precaution measures to avoid contamination, the country's agriculture ministry said.

"Since recent cases in our European neighbors mainly affect migratory birds, the ministry has raised the level of risk in wetlands that concentrate wildlife and can be stops on the route of migrating birds," the ministry said. (France-Bird Flu)

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BRUSSELS -- The European Union (EU) on Thursday expressed its regret at Russia's withdrawal from the International Criminal Court (ICC).

"We regret the Russian Federation's decision to withdraw its signature and not to become a party to the Rome Statute establishing the ICC," said the bloc's foreign policy chief Federica Mogherini in a statement. (Belgium-EU-ICC)

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LONDON -- A man on suspicion of terrorism offences has been taken into custody, Britain's West Midlands Police said on Thursday.

The 34-year-old man was arrested on Wednesday in Birmingham, and he is suspected of "being concerned in the commission, preparation and instigation of acts of terrorism under Section 41 of the Terrorism Act 2000," according to the West Midlands Police. (Britain-Terrorist-Man)

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ISLAMABAD -- Visiting Turkish President Recep Tayyip Erdogan on Thursday accused the Western nations of "supporting terrorists," citing that weapons recovered from terrorists were made in the countries.

Addressing the Pakistani parliament on the second day of his visit to Pakistan, the Turkish leader said terrorist organizations were bringing bad name to the Islam religion. (Pakistan-Turkey-President)

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DAMASCUS -- A total of 110 people have been killed over the past 24 hours in air raids in Syria's northern city of Aleppo, activists said Thursday.

SkyNews Arabia TV cited activists as saying that 90 civilians had been killed by Russian and Syrian aerial shelling on rebel-held areas in eastern Aleppo. (Syria-Aleppo-Air Raids)

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MOSCOW -- Strikes launched Tuesday from Russia's aircraft carrier Admiral Kuznetsov killed a commander of a Syria-based radical group, said the Russian Defense Ministry on Thursday.

Abul Baha Al-Asfari, a field commander of Jabhat Fatah al-Sham, also known as al-Nusra Front, was killed along with at least 30 militants in Idlib province, according to Maj. Gen. Igor Konashenkov, a spokesman of the Russian Defense Ministry. (Russia-Syria-Aircraft Carrier) Endi