W O R L D

Copters target Aleppo as onslaught looms
Tal Rifaat, July 28
Military helicopters pounded a rebel-held district of Aleppo on Saturday and armoured units positioned themselves for an onslaught that could determine the fate of Syria's biggest city, opposition sources said.

Syrians protest in Aleppo during the funeral of a man killed in the bombardment of Sukari, southwest of the restive city, on Saturday. — AFP

China cancels waste project after protests turn violent
Qidong, July 28
Chinese officials cancelled an industrial waste pipeline project on Saturday after anti-pollution demonstrators occupied a government office in eastern China.
Protesters shout slogans and hold placards outside local government offices in the coastal city of Qidong, near Shanghai, on Saturday. — AFP

Copters target Aleppo as onslaught looms
Battle for Aleppo seen as potential turning point

Tal Rifaat, July 28
Military helicopters pounded a rebel-held district of Aleppo on Saturday and armoured units positioned themselves for an onslaught that could determine the fate of Syria's biggest city, opposition sources said.

Turkey, once a friend but now a fierce critic of the Syrian government, joined growing diplomatic pressure on President Bashar al-Assad, calling for international steps to deal with the military build-up.

The Syrian Observatory for Human Rights, an opposition group which collects information on the 16-month-old uprising against Assad, reported helicopter attacks on the central Salaheddine district of Aleppo and fighting elsewhere in the city.

"Helicopters are participating in clashes at the entrance of Salaheddine district and bombarding it," the group said in an emailed statement. "There are also violent clashes at the entrances to Sakhour district."

One opposition activist said he had seen tanks and armoured carriers heading for Salaheddine. On the approaches to Aleppo from the north many villagers were still shopping or tending their fields. But fighters from the rebel Free Syrian Army (FSA) were also in evidence, while a military helicopter clattered overhead in the distance.

One man in his forties, carrying his family on a motorcycle, said he was fleeing the fighting in Aleppo and heading to the town of Azaz near the Turkish border. "We are living in a war zone," he told Reuters. "I and my relatives are just going back and back and forth, trying to stay away from the fighting. We left Aleppo when we saw smoke and helicopters firing."

On the road south from the Turkish border to Aleppo rebel soldiers had set up checkpoints bearing the sign: "This is an FSA checkpoint. May God protect you."

The battle for the city of 2.5 million people is seen as a crucial test for a government that has committed major military resources to retaining control of its two main power centres, Aleppo and the capital Damascus.

While neither side has managed to gain the upper hand, the outcome of the uprising is being watched anxiously in the region and beyond, amid fears that sectarian conflict could spread to neighbouring countries.

Military experts believe that while Assad's more powerful military will overcome the rebels in Aleppo and other major cities, it risks loss of control in the countryside because the loyalty of large sections of the army is in doubt. — Reuters

China cancels waste project after protests turn violent

Qidong, July 28
Chinese officials cancelled an industrial waste pipeline project on Saturday after anti-pollution demonstrators occupied a government office in eastern China, destroying computers and overturning cars.

The demonstration was the latest in a string of protests sparked by fears of environmental degradation and highlights the social tensions the government in Beijing faces as it approaches a leadership transition this year.

It was also the second cancellation of an industrial project this month, as officials buckle under pressure from protests. Zhang Guohua, city mayor of the eastern China city of Nantong, said in a statement the city would terminate the planned pipeline that would have emptied waste water from a Japanese-owned paper factory into the sea near Qidong.

The decision came hours after about 1,000 protesters marched through the city of Qidong, about one hour north of Shanghai, shouting slogans against the pipeline.

"The government says the waste will not pollute the sea, but if that's true, then why don't they dump it into Yangtze River?" Lu Shuai, a 25-year-old protester who works in logistics, said while marching.

"It is because if they dump it into the river, it will have an impact on people in Shanghai and people in Shanghai will oppose it."

Several protesters entered the city government's main building where they smashed computers, overturned desks and threw documents out the windows to loud cheers from the crowd. Reuters witnessed five cars and one minibus being overturned.

At least two police officers were dragged into the crowd at the government office and punched and beaten enough to make them bleed.

The outpouring of public anger is emblematic of the rising discontent facing Chinese leaders, who are obsessed with maintaining stability and struggling to balance growth with rising public anger over environmental threats.

Such protests "suggest that the middle class, whose members seemed willing to accept in the 1990s that being able to buy more things equalled having a better life, is now wondering whether one's quality of life has improved, if you have to worry about breathing the air, drinking the water, and whether the food you're eating is safe," said Jeffrey Wasserstrom, of the University of California Irvine. — Reuters

For environment

• The demonstration was the latest in a string of protests sparked by fears of environmental degradation
• It was also the second cancellation of an industrial project this month, as officials buckle under pressure from protests
• The outpouring of public anger is emblematic of the rising discontent facing Chinese leaders

N Korea floods kill 88, leave thousands homeless

Seoul, July 28
Flooding across impoverished North Korea this month has killed 88 persons, left tens of thousands homeless and devastated swathes of farmland, state media said today.

A week of floods "caused by typhoon and downpour... claimed big human and material losses", Pyongyang's official news agency said. The new death toll was a dramatic increase from the figure of eight reported Wednesday.

A total of 134 persons were injured and almost 63,000 persons were left homeless by the floods, which started on July 18, the Korean Central News Agency (KCNA) reported, with thousands of houses damaged or destroyed.

The biggest loss of human life was in two counties of South Pyongan province, which were hit by torrential rains on Monday and Tuesday, it said.

More than 30,000 hectares of land for growing crops was "washed away and buried" or "submerged", KCNA said, a potential blow for a state that is beset by persistent severe food shortages.

With rugged terrain and outmoded agricultural practices, the country faces serious difficulties in feeding its 24 million people. Hundreds of thousands died during a famine in the mid to late-1990s. UN agencies, after a visit to the North, estimated last November that three million people would need food aid in 2012.

Some 300 public buildings and 60 factories were damaged in the floods, as well as large stretches of road, KCNA said.

State media reported earlier this week that 60 flood victims were rescued thanks to a helicopter urgently sent by leader Kim Jong-Un.

The victims, including children and women, were trapped Monday on a hillock in the northwest of the country after a river flooded due to heavy rain, the official news agency said. "Isolated incommunicado, they did not find a way out, in panic at rising water. At that time a helicopter appeared," it said. — AFP

Indian among 15 killed in Nepal road accident

Kathmandu, July 28
An Indian driver was among 15 persons killed when a jeep carrying them to a pilgrimage site veered off the road and plunged down a 100 metre slope in western Nepal today.

The Indian jeep was hired by members of a family, Nepalis living in India, who were travelling to a holy site to dispose the remains of a kin near his birth place.

The jeep was taking them to Ridi in Gulmi district of western Nepal when the accident took place, police said.

Nine women and four children were among those killed when the jeep fell down the road at Jorte of Deurali Bhire are of Palpa district, the police said.

The jeep was being driven by an Indian, who was also killed in the tragedy. The Himalayan Times said the Indian was identified as 25-year-old Ashok Kumar Tiwari.

Earlier official sources said that all those killed were Indians. However, the police later confirmed that the victims included 14 Nepalese and an Indian. The Indian Embassy in Kathmandu also confirmed that only one Indian was among those killed. — PTI