Iraq has announced that its war against Islamic State is over. Prime Minister Haider al-Abadi told a conference in Baghdad that Iraqi troops are now in complete control of the Iraqi-Syrian border. The border zone contained the last few areas IS held, following its loss of the town of Rawa last month.<br/><br/>The Iraqi announcement comes two days after the Russian military declared it had accomplished its mission of defeating IS in neighbouring Syria.<br/><br/>The militant group had seized large swathes of Syria and Iraq in 2014, when it proclaimed a "caliphate" and imposed its rule over some 10 million people. But it suffered a series of defeats over the past two years, losing Iraq's second city of Mosul this July and its de facto capital of Raqqa in northern Syria last month.

Indian Space Research Organisation is planning to launch Chandrayaan-II in the first quarter of next year. The space agency's second indigenous mission to the earth's satellite will be equipped with upgraded domestic space technology. <br/><br/>ISRO Chairman, Kiran Kumar told media at the sidelines of the 87th National Academy of Sciences, India (NASI) symposium organised by Savitribai Phule Pune University that Chandrayaan-I had an impact probe, which crash landed on moon's surface, but Chandrayaan-II will have a controlled descent of a rover which will perform in-situ lunar surface observations for 14 Earth days and the data will be relayed back for further analysis. <br/><br/>The Chairman also revealed that agency is planning to orchestrate 10-12 launches in the next year, which will help it strengthen capacity in terms of observation, communication or navigation. Kiran Kumar explained that the agency is focussing on space technology development for not only domestic use but also to capture a part of the international market.

Iraq has announced that its war against Islamic State is over. Prime Minister Haider al-Abadi told a conference in Baghdad that Iraqi troops are now in complete control of the Iraqi-Syrian border. The border zone contained the last few areas IS held, following its loss of the town of Rawa last month. The Iraqi announcement comes two days after the Russian military declared it had accomplished its mission of defeating IS in neighbouring Syria.<br/>The militant group had seized large swathes of Syria and Iraq in 2014, when it proclaimed a "caliphate" and imposed its rule over some 10 million people. But it suffered a series of defeats over the past two years, losing Iraq's second city of Mosul this July and its de facto capital of Raqqa in northern Syria last month.