US estimates 50,000 IS fighters killed so far

China sends graft inspectors to armed forces

China’s Central Military Commision, the country’s top military leadership body, has dispatched corruption inspectors to the armed forces and its military academies to conduct “re-examinations,” state news agency Xinhua said. The inspections cover the army, navy, air force, rocket force, Academy of Military Science, National Defense University, National University of Defense Technology and the armed police, Xinhua reported late on Tuesday. Previous inspections found issues with leading official

18 May, 2016

Australia defers backpacker tax hike

Australia will review a planned tax hike for foreign travelers who work in the country, following complaints from farmers in the lead up to a federal election that their supply of “backpacker labor” at harvest times may dry up. The ruling conservative government, which is counting on the support of rural voters in the July 2 poll, will defer the tax increase and hold a review of labor force issues in rural and regional communities, Assistant Treasurer Kelly O’Dwyer said. Under the proposal, fo

17 May, 2016

Top Hezbollah commander killed

Hezbollah’s top military commander Mustafa Badreddine has been killed in a blast at a base near Damascus airport, the Lebanese Shi’ite group said on Friday, one of the biggest blows to its leadership the Iranian-backed organization has ever sustained. Hezbollah did not immediately say on Friday who it blamed for the attack, but its deputy leader Sheikh Naim Qassem said there were clear indications of who was behind it, and the group would announce the outcome of its investigation within hours.

14 May, 2016