IRAQ LAUNCHES OPERATION TO CLEAR LAST IS HOLDOUTS FROM DESERT

BAGHDAD: Iraqi forces announced the launch of a major operation on Thursday to flush remaining Islamic State group fighters out of the western desert near the border with Syria. The arid, sparsely populated wastelands between the Tigris and Euphrates rivers are the last refuge of the jihadists in Iraq after troops and paramilitaries ousted them from both valleys and all urban areas. “The Iraqi army, the federal police and the Hashed al-Shaabi (Popular Mobilization paramilitary units) this morning began clearing the Al-Jazeera region straddling Salaheddin, Nineveh and Anbar provinces,” the head of Joint Operations Command, General Abdelamir Yarallah, said in a statement. The region’s dry valleys, the oases and steppes make up around four percent of national territory, Hisham al-Hashemi, an Iraqi expert on IS, told Agence France-Presse last week. Iraq’s close ally Iran has already declared victory of IS but Prime Minister Haider al-Abadi said on Tuesday that he would not follow suit until the desert has been cleared.

MISSING FISHERMEN SAFE AFTER CAPSIZING IN PACIFIC

KOROR, Palau: The crew of a Japanese trawler found capsized in remote Pacific waters have been located safe and well in the Philippines, the US Coast Guard said on Thursday. The abandoned Gyotoku Maru No.1 was found drifting 350 kilometers (220 miles) southwest of Palau on Monday after it send an SOS message. With no word on the fate of the seven-man crew- five Indonesians and two Japanese—a major international search effort was launched. The coast guard said it turned out the trawler had collided with another fishing vessel, which then rescued the stricken sailors and took them to the Philippines. “We’re incredibly relieved these men are safe and back on dry land,” search coordinator Lieutenant Commander Josh Empen said. Empen thanked those involved in the search, which included vessels from Japan and Palau, as well as US ships and planes based in Guam.

RUSSIAN BILLIONAIRE KERIMOV CHARGED IN FRANCE FOLLOWING MOSCOW PROTEST

NICE, France: Russian billionaire senator Suleyman Kerimov was charged on Wednesday ( Thursday in Manila) with tax fraud in Nice, hours after Moscow protested his arrest in the French Riviera resort. Kerimov was detained upon arrival at the airport on Monday, where he faced two days of questioning over alleged tax evasion involving the purchase of luxury properties. He has now been released under strict conditions including handing over his passport and posting bail of five million euros. He also faces restrictions on his movement, state prosecutor Jean- Michel Pretre said. A source close to the probe told Agence France- Presse that Kerimov was accused of hiding tens of millions of euros from tax authorities while buying a string of properties on the glitzy Riviera through intermediaries. His detention prompted the Russian government to summon France’s deputy ambassador and angry Russian MPs passed a resolution branding the arrest a violation of the 1961 Vienna Convention on Diplomatic Relations, urging Moscow to press for his release.