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Xinhua world news summary at 0030 GMT, Dec. 25

Xinhua,December 25, 2017 Adjust font size:

KIRKUK, Iraq -- Five people including a police officer were killed Sunday in an ambush by Islamic State (IS) militants in Iraq's northern province of Kirkuk, a police source told Xinhua.

The incident took place when IS militants set up a fake checkpoint on a road connecting the town of Ryadh and Hawijah in southwestern part of Kirkuk province, and intercepted a car carrying the five people, including Colonel Fadhel al-Sab'awi head of a police station, and shot them dead, the source from Kirkuk police said.(Iraq-IS)

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WASHINGTON -- Several people were killed when a twin-engine private plane crashed during takeoff Sunday morning at a small airport in U.S. state of Florida, authorities said.

The plane was taking off from Bartow Municipal Airport, about 64 kilometers east of Tampa, at around 7:15 a.m. in a heavy fog when it crashed and caught fire, Polk County Sheriff Grady Judd said in a statement.(US-Florida-Crash)

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KHARTOUM -- Sudan and Turkey signed on Sunday in Khartoum 12 agreements to boost economic, military and cultural cooperation.

Sudanese President Omar al-Bashir held talks with his visiting Turkish counterpart Recep Tayyip Erdogan on Sunday, during which they discussed ways to develop bilateral relations in all fields.(Sudan-Turkey-Deals)

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DAR ES SALAAM -- The death toll from Tanzania's Lake Tanganyika grisly boat accident rose to 19, an official said on Sunday.

Amaniel Sekulu, the Principal Officer for the Surface and Marine Transport and Regulatory Authority (SUMATRA) in Kigoma region, said six more bodies of the boat passengers were discovered on Sunday.(Tanzania-Accident)

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MOSCOW -- About 300 people attended an unauthorized rally here organized by the opposition deputy Ilya Yashin on Sunday, the Moscow City Police said.

The public meeting held on December 24, 2017, in the Lermontovsky Square was declared illegal by court, police said in a statement.(Moscow-Rally) Enditem