Sydney /AFP The reclusive leader of the IS group broke a nearly year-long silence as Iraqi forces closed in on Mosul on Thursday, urging his extremists to hold their ground. It was Abu Bakr al-Baghdadi’s first statement since Iraqi forces launched a massive offensive on October 17 to retake Mosul, where the IS chief declared the group’s “caliphate” two …

  Pretoria / AFP US Marines are using Super Cobra attack helicopters to mount close-range airstrikes against IS militants in the Libyan city of Sirte, the US navy said on Thursday. The gunship attacks, the first of their kind to be confirmed in over two months, were launched overnight from the USS San Antonio, an amphibious transport dock ship deployed …

  Shanghai / AFP China and Russia will invest up to $20 billion to develop a long-haul wide-bodied jet, reports on Thursday and a company statement said, as Beijing seeks to challenge leading Western manufacturers Boeing and Airbus. The hugely ambitious plan was first agreed between the Commercial Aircraft Corporation of China (COMAC) and Russia’s United Aircraft Corporation (UAC), whose products …