The Tribune, Chandigarh, India

	Abdullah claims victory as Afghan poll crisis deepens US warns against ‘parallel government’ formation in the country Kabul, July 8 Presidential candidate Abdullah Abdullah claimed victory today in Afghanistan's disputed election, blaming fraud for putting him behind in preliminary results as fears rise of instability and ethnic unrest. Abdullah told a rally of thousands of rowdy supporters in Kabul that he would fight on to win the presidency, but he called for patience from loyalists who demanded he declare a "parallel government" to rule the country. "We are proud, we respect the votes of the people, we were the winner," Abdullah said. "Without any doubt or hesitation, we will not accept a fraudulent result, not today, not tomorrow, never." Before he spoke, a huge photograph of President Hamid Karzai was ripped down from the stage, underlining the boiling anger among many of Abdullah's supporters after the preliminary result in favour of poll rival Ashraf Ghani. The election stand-off has sparked concern that protests could spiral into ethnic violence and even lead to a return to the fighting between warlords that ravaged Afghanistan during the 1992-1996 civil war. But Abdullah called for the country to remain unified as it faces a difficult transfer of power, after Karzai's 13-year rule ends and as 50,000 US-led troops wind down their battle against Taliban insurgents. "We don't want partition of Afghanistan, we want to preserve national unity and the dignity of Afghanistan," he said. "We don't want civil war. We want stability, not division." Earlier, the United States issued a strong warning to Abdullah over reports that he would form a "parallel government" in defiance of the results from the run-off election, which said Ghani took 56.4 per cent of the vote to Abdullah's 43.5 per cent. The US warned on Tuesday it would withdraw financial and security support from Afghanistan if anyone tried to take power illegally. In the eight-man first-round election on April 5, Abdullah was far ahead with 45 per cent against Ghani's 31.6 per cent. Karzai, who is constitutionally barred from a third term in office, has stayed publicly neutral in the lengthy election, but Abdullah supporters accuse him of fixing the vote in Ghani's favour. Turnout on June 14 was more than eight million out of an estimated electorate of 13.5 million, far higher than expected-fuelling fierce arguments about fraud from both sides. Independent Election Commission head Ahmad Yusuf Nuristani announced the results of the run-off vote yesterday, admitting there had been fraud by the security forces and senior government officials. Nuristani emphasised that the results would now be subject to auditing and adjudication of complaints, before the official result is released on about July 24. — AFP
	Israel intensifies strikes on Gaza 12 killed as Israel readies for ground offensive against Hamas Jerusalem, July 8 Israel today asked its military to call-up 40,000 reservists as Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu ordered defence forces to "take off the gloves" and prepare for a "strong" ground offensive in Gaza against Hamas militants amid airstrikes that killed at least 12 persons and wounded 80 others. Israel Defence Forces chief of Staff Lt Gen Benny Gantz requested the call-up of 40,000 reserves in order to replace conscripted forces in the West Bank, and enable their deployment to the Gaza border. The Prime Minister's Office did not confirm reports that the security cabinet approved the request which was made hours after Operation Protective Edge was launched in an effort to quell rocket fire from the Gaza Strip, Jerusalem Post reported. Meanwhile, Netanyahu held a high-level meeting with Defence Minister Moshe Ya'alon, Chief of Staff Gantz and Israel's internal security agency Shin Bet's Chief Yoram Cohen. "Hamas chose to escalate the situation and it will pay a heavy price for doing so," Netanyahu said during the meeting. Netanyahu said that the time had come to "take off the gloves" against Hamas. "The Prime Minister's instruction by the end of the meeting was to prepare for a thorough, long, continuous and strong campaign in Gaza," a senior official said. "The Prime Minister instructed the army to be ready to go all in. A ground offensive is on the table," he added. The decision comes in the wake of foreign minister Avigdor Lieberman, leader of the ultranationalist Yisrael Beitenu party, snapping a 20-month-old alliance with the ruling Likud Party yesterday, over the fractious coalition's response to frequent attacks by Hamas. — PTI Worst violence since 2012 It is the worst outbreak of violence along the Gaza frontier since an eight-day war in 2012. The Israeli military said a ground invasion of the enclave was possible, though not imminent Following the launch of Operation ‘Protective Edge’ aimed at extinguishing Hamas rocket fire, Israel declared a ‘special situation’ in all the areas of south within 40 km of the Gaza Strip
	special to the tribune Iraq crisis continues to escalate Shyam Bhatia in Dubai The Iraqi crisis continues to escalate following the postponement of the country's national parliament session, which was due to be held on Tuesday. The session has now been delayed until August 12 because of ongoing differences between political parties over candidates for the President, Prime Minister and Speaker. Analysts said the postponement of Tuesday's Parliament session will inevitably result in further deterioration of the security situation, particularly as militants loyal to ISIS (or Islamic State, as it is now being called), step up their efforts to remove controversial Prime Minister Nouri al-Maliki from power. The ISIS received a boost on Tuesday as sources near Damascus reported that hundreds of rebels fighting against Syrian President Bashar Assad have crossed into Iraq to join the Islamists. The sources said the rebels decided to join ISIS in Iraq following counter attacks launched by the Iraqi and Iranian armies against their bases in northern Iraq. The rebels have taken with them some 100 armoured vehicles and tanks, which they seized from the Syrian army in recent months. The sources revealed that popular support for ISIS has increased in many parts of Syria after the Islamist group declared the formation of the "Islamic State" last week and appointed its leader Abu Bakr al-Baghdadi as Caliph. The ISIS has since been trying to also assert its power and influence over as many Iraqi towns and cities as possible with ISIS militiamen earlier this week executing several tribal leaders who refused to pay allegiance to the new self-proclaimed Caliph. These determined efforts to carve out a new country may or may not succeed in the long term, but they could pose a dilemma for New Delhi which is trying to negotiate the freedom of some 39 hostages still held by Baghdadi's men in Mosul. Baghdadi has made it clear that he expects to be treated like a head of state, yet if India in any way panders to his demands, simply in order to facilitate the freedom of the hostages, it risks damaging its extremely good ties with the legitimate, elected government in Baghdad With every passing day Baghdad's friendly neighbour, Iran, finds itself forced to meddle in the internal affairs of Iraq and take sides between jihadi Sunnis and the Shiite community represented by Prime Minister Maliki. Iran's Deputy Foreign Minister, Hossein Amir Abdollahian, has been quoted as saying that his country supports Maliki in his bid to seek a third term in office. However, the Iranian official said that Tehran would not oppose the candidacy of any other figure chosen by the Iraqi parliament. ‘Islamic State’ begins issuing passports Abu Bakr al-Baghdadi's new "state" (Islamic State) this week began issuing "Islamic State" passports and vehicle plates for Iraqis and Syrians living in areas under ISIS control The new passports have become a hot topic on social media, where most Arabs and Muslims scoffed at the move by ISIS, saying the document was meaningless since no country has recognised the "Islamic State" The ISIS has also completed the elimination of the Iraq-Syria border as part of its effort to establish the contours of the new state
	Ukraine rejects talks with rebels Donetsk, July 8 Ukraine today brushed off strong European pressure as it rejected talks with pro-Russian rebels on a truce to halt a bloody insurgency convulsing the ex-Soviet nation until they laid down their arms. The unconditional stance reflected a new confidence in Kiev that it was on the verge of quashing a rebellion it views as Moscow's retribution for the February ouster of a Kremlin-backed leader and the decision to pursue a historic alliance with the West. But it was also bound to both frustrate EU leaders pushing for a diplomatic solution to the continent's worst crisis in decades, and Kremlin efforts to force Kiev to make compromises that would preserve the Russian-speaking east's ties to Moscow. "Now, any negotiations are possible only after the rebels completely lay down their arms," Defence Minister Valeriy Geletey said in a statement. Ukrainian forces have scored a string of surprise military successes since the weekend that forced most of the militias to retreat to the sprawling eastern industrial hubs of Donetsk and Lugansk-both capitals of their own "People's Republics". President Petro Poroshenko has ordered his troops to blockade the insurgents inside the cities and cut them off from any further arms supplies. — AFP