美国国家公共电台 NPR 伊拉克局势恶化 首批被困中国员工已回撤至巴格达

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The head of the mainland's Taiwan Affairs office has met with the mayor of New Taipei City.

Zhang Zhijun and Mayor Eric Chu have discussed economic cooperation between the two sides.

Zhang Zhijun is set to make a number of stops in different communities in Taiwan as part of his 4-day trip to the island.

Zhang has already held a formal meeting with Wang Yu-chi, Taiwan's mainland affairs chief.

The Iraqi government is moving to acquire second-hand¹ jet fighters from Russia and Belarus to secure air cover for its ground forces fighting the massive insurgency² in northern Iraq.

The jets are said to be arriving in Iraq in the next two or three days.

Meantime, Syrian forces have launched air strikes against Islamist militants³ at a border crossing between Iraq and Syria.

The strike took place inside Iraq territory, leaving around 90 dead.

Meantime the first batch⁴ of Chinese nationals trapped by the fighting in the Iraqi province of Salahudin has reportedly been taken back to Baghdad.

Around 40 Chinese nationals were evacuated⁵ by helicopters.

Around a thousand Chinese staffers from the China Machinery⁶ Engineering Group have become trapped by the fighting brought on by the Sunni insurgency in the region.