IRAQ SAYS DEFEATS IS INFILTRATION NEAR RAMADI

RAMADI, Iraq: Islamic State group fighters seized areas around Ramadi, west of Baghdad, on Wednesday in an apparent attempt at a diversion from offensives on its last Iraqi footholds but were swiftly defeated, security sources said. The jihadist infiltrators briefly occupied three areas near the city, which is the capital of mainly Sunni Arab Anbar province, long a bastion of insurgency, the sources said. But after several hours of heavy fighting in which there were deaths on both sides, all three areas were retaken. “The security forces and the tribes retook control of the Al-Tash, Majr and Kilometer Seven districts,” provincial police chief Major General Hadi Razij Kassar told reporters.

“All the Daesh members were killed,” he added, using an Arabic acronym for IS.

TRUMP- BACKED REPUBLICAN DEFEATED IN US SENATE RUNOFF

WASHINGTON, D.C.: Donald Trump’s pick in the Alabama Republican Senate runoff crashed to defeat Tuesday ( Wednesday in Manila) against a populist former judge, likely sending shockwaves through establishment Washington and denting the president’s influence over his restless political base. The result is an embarrassing setback for Trump that highlights the deep divisions within his party and raises questions about its future direction as the GOP heads toward mid- term elections in 2018. With all 67 counties reporting, former Alabama state chief justice Roy Moore led incumbent Luther Strange by 54.9 percent to 45.1 percent. Trump offered his own congratulations to Moore, urging him in a tweet to “WIN in Dec!”

UN PLANS FOOD AID FOR UP TO 700,000 ROHINGYA

COX’S BAZAR, Bangladesh: The UN has drawn up a contingency plan to feed up to 700,000 Muslim Rohingya refugees from Myanmar after some 480,000 fled to Bangladesh over the past month and arrivals continue. A senior official from the UN’s World Food Program ( WFP) told AFP they were now prepared to provide massive food and other emergency aid if the influx continues in coming weeks. “All the UN agencies together have now set a plan for a new influx of 700,000. We can cover if the new influx reaches 700,000,” said the WFP’s deputy chief in Bangladesh, Dipayan Bhattacharyya, on Wednesday. Bhattacharyya said the hunger situation in camps has improved as food aid from WFP and other agencies is now reaching the refugees.