W O R L D

In battered Aleppo, rebels dig in for war of attrition
Aleppo, August 25
Syrian rebels say they are digging in for a war of attrition in Aleppo, where what was being billed as the "mother of all battles" is now dragging on into a second month of bloody stalemate.

Residents search for their belongings in the rubble of their houses following shelling by Syrian forces in Aleppo. — AFP

24 killed, over 50 hurt in Venezuela refinery blast
Caracas, August 25
A huge explosion rocked Venezuela's biggest oil refinery early today, killing at least 24 persons and injuring more than 50 others in the deadliest disaster in memory for the country's key oil industry.

Balls of fire rise over the Amuay refinery near Punto Fijo on Saturday. — AP/PTI

Flooding in Myanmar forces 85,000 to flee
Yangon, August 25
At least 85,000 people in Myanmar have fled their homes as the worst monsoon flooding in years submerged hundreds of thousands of acres of rice fields, a government relief official said today.


WATER WOES: A man wades through floodwaters at a village outside Pathein in the Irrawaddy delta region of Myanmar. — AFP

In battered Aleppo, rebels dig in for war of attrition

Aleppo, August 25
Syrian rebels say they are digging in for a war of attrition in Aleppo, where what was being billed as the "mother of all battles" is now dragging on into a second month of bloody stalemate.

Aleppo is bearing the brunt of attacks by government warplanes, tanks and heavy artillery as the army battles to dislodge rebels who claim to control 60 per cent of the battered northern metropolis.

"We don't have enough weapons, they (the Syrian army) don't have enough men," said Abu Haidar, a rebel fighter in Saif al-Dawla, a district in the city's southwestern belt where much of the fighting is concentrated.

At least 200,000 people have fled the city since late July when the increasingly bloody conflict spread to Aleppo, a once thriving manufacturing and commercial hub where war has now left a trail of destruction, with bombed out buildings and shuttered shops.

"It is a long war. Each party wants to settle the score, but it is a war of attrition that will drag on, with bombardments and fighting every day," said Rami Abdel Rahman, director of the Syrian Observatory for Human Rights, a watchdog that has a network of sources on the ground.

Some rebel commanders say they are aware that even if the Free Syrian Army, a motley collection of armed opposition groups, seizes full control on the ground, they will remained besieged from the air by the military's far superior firepower.

"Bashar al-Assad is like a wounded animal now, so I don't expect him and his army to follow a logic," Abu Mohamed, who leads a small katiba (brigade) near the Citadel in old Aleppo, said of the embattled Syrian president..

"I sometimes think he wants us to take the ground and then surround the city and starve us. He can then wait, try to cut us off and hope that we make mistakes, that civilians turn against us," he told AFP.

Abu Mohammed defected from the army three years ago and found political asylum in Belgium before crossing back into Syria via Turkey more than a year ago when the revolution started. — AFP

Romney open to sending troops to Syria

WASHINGTON: Republican presidential candidate Mitt Romney said Friday that he would send US troops to Syria if needed to prevent the spread of chemical weapons. "I think we have to also be ready to take whatever action is necessary to ensure that we do not have any kind of weapon of mass destruction falling into the hands of terrorists and whether that requires troops, or whether that requires other actions by our friends and allies," Romney said in an interview with CBS News. 

24 killed, over 50 hurt in Venezuela refinery blast

Caracas, August 25
A huge explosion rocked Venezuela's biggest oil refinery early today, killing at least 24 persons and injuring more than 50 others in the deadliest disaster in memory for the country's key oil industry.

Balls of fire rose over the Amuay refinery, one of the largest in the world, in video posted on the Internet by people who were nearby at the time.

Those killed included a 10-year-old boy, and at least 53 persons were injured, Falcon state Gov Stella Lugo said on state television. She said firefighters had controlled the flames at the refinery on the Paraguana Peninsula in western Venezuela, where large clouds of smoke were rising.

At least 24 persons were killed, many of them National Guard troops stationed at the refinery, Vice-President Elias Jaua said on television after travelling to the area. He said the authorities were "trying to save the greatest number of lives."

Oil Minister Rafael Ramirez said that Venezuela has enough fuel supplies to guarantee continued exports and domestic supply. As far as fuel shipments, he said, "we won't have major effects." The blast occurred after 1 am when a gas leak created a cloud that ignited, Ramirez said. Some nearby houses were damaged by the blast, he said. — AP

Christian girl still in jail despite furore in Pakistan

Islamabad, August 25
A minor Christian girl arrested on a blasphemy charge here continues to be held in a high-security jail despite her case being taken up by Pakistan's ruling PPP.

Hundreds of Christian families fled Mohalla Badyal in the low-income Mehria Jaffar area on the outskirts of Islamabad following Rimsha Masih's arrest on August 16 after she was accused by Muslims of burning pages of the Quran. A mob beat up Rimsha and other members of her family before she was detained by police.

"Rimsha is still in Adiala Jail and her family is in hiding somewhere in Islamabad," Xavier P William, President of the NGO Life for All, told PTI. "We are expecting a breakthrough as an application seeking bail for the girl has been filed," said William, who is among the activists working for Rimsha's release.

There has also been confusion about Rimsha's age. Though initial reports said she was 11-year old, the girl's family, which is very poor and has no birth certificate for Rimsha, claims she is 14 or 15 years old.

Rights groups have expressed concern at the girl being detained at the high-security Adiala Jail in Rawalpindi.

Terrorists like Lashkar-e-Taiba commander Zakiur Rehman Lakhvi, charged with involvement in the Mumbai attacks, are being held at the same prison.

Though PPP leaders had said steps would be taken to move the girl out

Civil society groups have also expressed concern at the girl being arrested despite reports of her suffering from Down Syndrome. — PTI

Flooding in Myanmar forces 85,000 to flee

Yangon, August 25
At least 85,000 people in Myanmar have fled their homes as the worst monsoon flooding in years submerged hundreds of thousands of acres of rice fields, a government relief official said today.

Heavy rains over the last few weeks caused the inundation, which primarily affected the country's southern delta region, said Soe Tun, a member of the government's emergency response team.

Around 70,000 people have been displaced in the delta and are being housed at 219 emergency relief centers set up at schools and monasteries, he said.

Another 15,000 people have been displaced elsewhere in the country, and more than 6,00,000 acres of rice fields have been swamped, he said.

Annual monsoon rains often cause flooding in the region, and this year's are the heaviest since 2004, Soe Tun said.

However, the delta region was devastated in 2008 by Cyclone Nargis, which killed about 1,30,000 people and destroyed more than 8,00,000 homes and buildings.

No casualties have been confirmed during the recent floods, which have affected 2,00,000 people nationwide whose fields have been swamped with water, Soe Tun said. Some families which have not fled have moved to the upper floors of their dwellings.

Local newspapers have reported that heavy rains and flooding also damaged bridges, homes and rail lines. — AP