The Tribune, Chandigarh, India

	Retreating rebels dig in around Ukraine coal hub Donetsk, July 7 Retreating pro-Russian insurgents dug today in Ukraine's sprawling industrial hub of Donetsk after government forces scored a string of morale-boosting victories in the bloody battle for the future of the country. The eastern home of one million mostly Russian speakers has been flooded with convoys carrying hundreds of fighters and scores of anti-aircraft guns from five smaller surrounding cities where Ukrainian flags were flying for the first time in three months. The rebels erected checkpoints along the main roads leading into Donetsk while the centre of the riverbank city itself saw several restaurants and shops shutter their doors. The separatists' "tactical retreat" began on Saturday with the fall of their symbolic bastion Slavyansk and continued overnight into Sunday until government forces had reached the very gates of the region's main metropolis. Ukrainian National Security and Defence Council deputy head Mykhailo Koval said on Monday that soldiers now intended to complete a "full blockade" of both Donetsk and the neighbouring separatist stronghold Lugansk, both capitals of their own "People's Republics". His carefully-worded comments underscored the dilemma facing Western-backed President Petro Poroshenko as he seeks to fulful his May 25 election promise to quickly end Ukraine's worst crisis since the ex-Soviet state's independence in 1991. The conflict has claimed the lives of nearly 500 persons and displaced tens of thousands across an economically-vital region that has long viewed the more nationalistic west of Ukraine and Kiev with a mixture of hostility and mistrust. A Ukrainian shelling campaign of either Donetsk or Lugansk of the type that pulverised parts of Slavyansk would seem unimaginable because of both the inevitable toll and the high probability of an already-fuming Kremlin responding by sending in its troops. It would also risk throwing the strategic nation of some 45 million into an all-out civil war on the European Union's eastern edge that would pit Russia against Western powers in a standoff of a scale not even witnessed during the Cold War. — AFP Ukraine tycoon pleads for Donetsk’s safety Ukraine's richest man pleaded with the government on Monday not to bomb Donetsk, a city of a million people, where hundreds of heavily armed pro-Russian rebels have vowed to make a stand after losing control of their bastion in the town of Slaviansk. The Kiev government has said it will act quickly to seize back more territory from rebels after re-taking Slaviansk. Rebels retreating from Slaviansk, some driving armoured vehicles flying Russian flags, poured into Donetsk, 110 km to the north over the weekend.
	Prelim result declare Ghani as Afghan Prez Kabul, July 7 Former World Bank economist Ashraf Ghani won Afghanistan's presidential election, according to preliminary results released today, with 56.4 per cent of the run-off vote to Abdullah Abdullah's 43.5 per cent. Officials said the turnout was more than eight million in the June 14 vote out of an estimated electorate of 13.5 million voters-far higher than expected, and a figure likely to trigger further allegations of fraud from both sides. "The IEC (Independent Election Commission) admits that despite best efforts for a better election, there were some technical mistakes and shortcomings in the process," IEC head Ahmad Yusuf Nuristani told reporters. "We can not deny fraud and violations in the process, in some cases some security forces were involved, in other cases senior government officials like the governors or lower-level officials were involved." Last-minute talks delayed the release of the results by nearly five hours today, as the two campaigns tried to thrash out a deal over fraud allegations that threaten to fuel instability. Abdullah has vowed to reject the preliminary result, alleging he was the victim of "industrial-scale" ballot-box stuffing, while Ghani has said he won fairly. Central to the talks is how many of the total 23,000 polling stations will now be put through an anti-fraud audit. "We agreed for an audit of 7,000 polling stations, but they had other conditions that we couldn't agree with, so for now there is only partial agreement," Ghani's spokesman Daud Sultanzoy told AFP before the result. — AFP
	Kenyan police tear gas anti-govt protesters Opposition leader demands dialogue with govt Nairobi, July 7 The police fired tear gas at anti-government protesters in Kenya on Monday, shortly before an opposition rally in the capital, stoking tensions in a nation haunted by past political violence and battling a wave of militant attacks. The police shot gas canisters to disperse unruly protesters on Nairobi's streets and fired again after youths hurled stones at them from inside a central park where a few thousand people gathered for the rally, witnesses said. A street protest drew a similar police response in the western city of Kisumu, a stronghold for opposition leader Raila Odinga, who called Monday's rally in the capital to demand talks with President Uhuru Kenyatta. Odinga, who will address the Nairobi rally later on Monday, says dialogue is needed to deal with a host of grievances including a slowing economy and a spate of militant attacks, the latest of which killed 29 persons at the weekend. "Uhuru must go", chanted a group of a few hundred protesters in Nairobi's streets early on Monday. Some clambered over statues, prompting police to fire teargas. A few thousand had gathered in the nearby park by early afternoon before the main speeches began at what the opposition promises will be a mass rally. Some chanted or danced to music, a scene that was briefly marred when some youths hurled stones at lines of police, who fired tear gas back. "This country is not well and this government hasn't delivered a single thing from their manifesto," said Mohamed Hassan, 30, who was joining the rally in the park. "Raila Odinga wants people to get jobs and (a) poor man to get a good home." — Reuters
	9 killed in Israeli airstrikes in Gaza Jerusalem, July 7 Israeli jets today pounded targets in the Gaza strip, killing at least nine Palestinian militants after rockets were fired at southern Israel, as Islamist militant group Hamas vowed revenge for the assault. The Israel Air Force (IAF) struck 14 targets early this morning in two waves of airstrikes leading to nine deaths. The first round of airstrikes targeted nine Hamas bases in Gaza and the second launched a few hours later hit five underground rocket launchers, Israeli security sources said. The IAF last night also struck a cell in central Gaza which was in the process of carrying out a rocket attack on Israel, killing two Palestinian militants, the Israel Defence Forces (IDF) said. Hamas said most of the strikes were launched at a gathering point of its members in Gaza’s southern-most town of Rafah near the Egyptian border. After nine militants were killed, Hamas vowed revenge on Israeli forces. “This is a serious escalation and the enemy will pay the price,” Sami Abu Zuhri, the Hamas spokesman in Gaza, posted a warning message overnight on his Facebook page. — PTI
	Hamas attacks: Lieberman ends ties with Netanyahu Jerusalem, July 7 Israeli foreign minister Avigdor Lieberman today snapped a 20-month political alliance with Prime Minister Benjamin Natanyahu, the first fallout of a simmering discontent over the fractious ruling coalition's response to frequent attacks by Palestinian Hamas militants. The split leaves Netanyahu's ruling Likud party fragile though it remains the single largest party with only a seat more than the second largest faction. "Disagreements between the Prime Minister and me are fundamental and do not allow for a future partnership," the ultra-nationalist leader told reporters. He, however, said he has no intention of leaving the governing coalition and does not seek to advance early polls. Lieberman said he intends to return to operating as an independent faction as before the two parties' pact ahead of the 2013 general elections. The announcement follows a bitter dispute between Lieberman and Netanyahu over the government's handling of intensifying rocket fire by Palestinian Hamas militants in the Gaza Strip. — PTI
	63 women escape from Boko Haram captivity Maiduguri, July 7 More than 60 Nigerian girls and women abducted by Nigerian Islamist militant group Boko Haram two weeks ago have managed to escape, officials said today. Nigerian security forces and federal government officials had denied reports of the mass abduction from three villages in the northeast state of Borno on June 22. Chibok local government chairman Pogu Bitrus said today he had verified that about 60 women and girls escaped on Thursday and Friday by sending a representative who met with some of the escapees and their families at the hospital in Lassa, a town in the neighbouring Damboa local government area. Vigilante leader Abbas Gava in Maiduguri, capital of Borno state, said yesterday that vigilantes in the area told him 63 women and girls escaped on Friday while their captors were engaged in a major attack on a military barracks and police headquarters in Damboa town. — AP

BRIEFLY

7/7 memorial defaced on anniversary
London: Vandals on Monday defaced a memorial to the victims of July 7, 2005, London bombings hours before survivors and relatives were to gather there to pay tributes on the ninth anniversary of the attack. The 52 stainless steel columns, commemorating each of the deceased, were daubed with messages referring to ex-Prime Minister Tony Blair, who led Britain into the US-led wars in Afghanistan and Iraq, as well as the four suicide bombers involved in the attacks. pti

German Chancellor Angela Merkel (L) and Chinese Premier Li Keqiang visit the Temple of Heaven in Beijing on Monday. Merkel is on a three-day visit to China.

German Chancellor Angela Merkel (L) and Chinese Premier Li Keqiang visit the Temple of Heaven in Beijing on Monday. Merkel is on a three-day visit to China. AP/PTI

AirAsia plane veers off runway upon landing in Brunei
Kuala Lumpur: Over 100 people on board an AirAsia flight from Malaysia had a lucky escape on Monday when the budget carrier's aircraft skidded off the runway upon landing at the Brunei International Airport. The Airbus A320 was carrying 102 passengers and a seven-member crew from Kuala Lumpur to Bandar Seri Begawan. Pti

Strong quake hits Mexico, Guatemala; 2 dead
Mexico City: A magnitude-6.9 earthquake on the Pacific Coast jolted a wide area of southern Mexico and Central America on Monday. At least two persons are reported dead and dozens of houses damaged in Guatemala. The US Geological Survey initially calculated the magnitude at 7.1 but later lowered the figure to 6.9. Pti

Pak Army chief vows to hunt down militants
Islamabad: Pakistan Army Chief General Raheel Sharif on Monday visited troops battling militants in North Waziristan and vowed to chase and hunt down terrorists from their sanctuaries across the country till they are eliminated. pti

India to assist Nepal in construction of temple building
Kathmandu: India on Monday pledged to provide NRs 21.76 million for the construction of Mathadis building of a prominent Vishnu temple here. Shri Budhanilkantha Temple is situated 10 km north of Kathmandu. AFP

Iraqi Parliament delays next session until August
Baghdad: Iraq's deadlocked Parliament on Monday postponed its next session until mid-August, prolonging the country's political impasse despite urgent calls for a new government that can confront Sunni extremists who have overrun much of the country. pti

US spy reports serious if true: Merkel
Beijing: German Chancellor Angela Merkel said on Monday that if reports that a German intelligence employee spied for the United States are proven true, it would be a "clear contradiction" of trust between the allies. ap

Aus HC bars handing over of Lankan asylum-seekers
Melbourne/Colombo: The Australian High Court on Monday barred the government from returning 153 Sri Lankan asylum-seekers, including 48 Tamils, amid a growing concern over the country's immigration policies a day after Canberra handed over 41 migrants in a controversial mid-sea transfer. Pti