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500 Yazidis killed by Islamic State: Baghdad
Israel, Palestinians agree to another 72-hr ceasefire
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Cameron will lose next election: Warsi
Not running away from Pak, says Musharraf
192 on board US flight escape major mishap
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500 Yazidis killed by Islamic State: Baghdad
Baghdad, August 10 Human rights minister Mohammed Shia al-Sudani accused the Sunni Muslim insurgents — who have ordered the community they regard as "devil worshippers" to convert to Islam or die — of celebrating a "a vicious atrocity" with cheers and weapons waved in the air. No independent confirmation was available. Fresh strikes by US The US Central Command said drone aircraft and fighter jets had hit Islamic State armed trucks and mortar positions near Arbil, the capital of the autonomous Kurdish region which had been relatively stable throughout Iraq’s years of turmoil until the insurgents swept across the north this summer. That marked a third successive day of US air strikes, and the Central Command said they were aimed at protecting Kurdish peshmerga forces as they face off against the militants near Arbil, the site of a US consulate and a US-Iraqi joint military operations centre. The Islamic State's advance has forced tens of thousands to flee, threatened Arbil and provoked the first US air strikes in the area since Washington withdrew troops from Iraq in late 2011. Sudani said in a telephone interview that accounts of the killings had come from people who had escaped town of Sinjar, an ancient home of the Yazidis, a Kurdish-speaking community whose religion has set them apart from Muslims and other local faiths. “We have striking evidence obtained from Yazidis fleeing Sinjar and some who escaped death, and also crime scene images that show indisputably that the gangs of the Islamic State have executed at least 500 Yazidis after seizing Sinjar," he said. “Some of the victims, including women and children, were buried alive in scattered mass graves in and around Sinjar.” President Barack Obama warned on Saturday that there was no quick fix for the crisis that threatens to tear Iraq apart. Kurdish regional president Masoud Barzani urged his allies to send arms to help his forces hold off the militants, who have bases across the Syrian border. During a visit by French Foreign Minister Laurent Fabius, Barzani said: "We are not fighting a terrorist organisation, we are fighting a terrorist state." Another senior Kurdish official said Kurds retook two towns southwest of Arbil, Guwair and Makhmur, with the help of US strikes but said he did not expect a rapid end to the fighting. Iraqi rights minister Sudani said: "The terrorist Islamic State has also taken at least 300 Yazidi women as slaves and locked some of them inside a police station in Sinjar and transferred others to the town of Tal Afar. We are afraid they will take them outside the country." Maliki criticised Obama said it would take more than bombs to restore stability, and criticised Prime Minister Nuri al-Maliki's Shi'ite-led government for failing to share power with Iraq's Sunni minority, which was dominant under Saddam. France joined the calls for Iraq's feuding leaders to form an inclusive government capable of countering the militants. — Reuters France ready to offer humanitarian aid
Ban Ki-moon urges leaders to form govt New York: UN Secretary-General Ban Ki-moon has called on Iraqi politicians to form a broad-based government to face jihadists threatening large parts of the country. Ban "calls upon all Iraqi political parties to abide by the constitutional timeline that governs the nomination of the Prime Minister," his spokesman said in a statement. — AFP
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Israel, Palestinians agree to another 72-hr ceasefire
Gaza/Jerusalem, August 10 After tense talks that both sides had threatened to abandon, the surprise truce announcement came late today. “Israel has accepted Egypt's proposal for a 72-hour ceasefire,” a senior Israeli official said. The official added that Israel would send negotiators to Cairo tomorrow if the truce holds. Izzat al-Reshiq, a Hamas negotiator in Cairo said, "In light of Israel's acceptance of the truce and their return without pre-conditions, we will inform the Egyptian brothers of our positive response," the BBC reported. Al-Reshiq said that Palestinians agreed to the ceasefire, adding that this would be the last time Palestinians are willing to participate in negotiations. In a statement, Egypt's foreign ministry urged both sides to resume indirect negotiations and "work towards a comprehensive and lasting ceasefire agreement". Israel is likely to continue to push for Gaza to be demilitarised, and Hamas will continue to demand the blockade of Gaza to be lifted. Since the last 72-hour truce ended on Friday, there has been regular exchange of fire as Israeli air strikes have killed at least 20 Palestinians. On the Israeli side, where dozens of communities have been evacuated, residents will also be able to return home. The temporary cease-fire would allow for negotiations between Israelis and Palestinians, Egyptian Foreign Ministry spokesman Bader Abdelatty told CNN. Egypt had earlier asked both sides to resume the cease-fire at midnight local time tonight so that they can resume indirect talks in Cairo, as well as to allow for humanitarian help to get to the victims of the fighting, Abdelatty said. Over a month of bloody fighting has killed more than 2,000 Palestinians and 67 in Israel, most of them soldiers. About 10,000 people have been injured in the conflict.
— PTI
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Cameron will lose next election: Warsi
London, August 10 Sayeeda Warsi, a former Foreign Office minister who has played a key role in the Conservatives' appeal to Muslim voters, last week embarrassed Cameron by resigning via Twitter over what she said was the government's "morally indefensible" approach to the conflict between Israel and Hamas. On Sunday she dominated the front pages of Britain's newspapers again, this time warning that what she called Cameron's neglect of ethnic minority voters would cost him an outright victory at next year's national election. "The electoral reality is that we will not win outright Conservative majorities until we start attracting more of the ethnic vote," she said in an interview with the Sunday Times and Independent on Sunday newspapers. "We've probably left it a little too late to take this part of the electorate seriously." The criticism from Warsi, the daughter of Pakistani immigrants to Britain who speaks fluent Urdu,
Punjabi and Gujarati, will hit a sore spot for Cameron. Poor support from ethnic minority voters — which make up around 14 per cent of the electorate — was one factor that cost Cameron an outright win in 2010, forcing him into a coalition government with the left-leaning Liberal Democrat party. An academic study showed that only 16% of ethnic minority voters backed the Conservatives in 2010, while Labour, the main opposition party, won 68% support.
— Reuters The electoral reality is that we will not win outright Conservative majorities until we start attracting more of the ethnic vote. We've probably left it a little too late to take this part of the electorate seriously, said
Sayeeda Warsi, a former Foreign Office minister.
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India for freedom of navigation in South China Sea
Nay Pyi Taw (Myanmar), August 10 A belligerent China which was under attack in both meetings remained unperturbed and insisted it will resolve the issues relating to the disputed area bilaterally with nations concerned, including Vietnam, the Philippines and Brunei. In the ASEAN Regional Forum Meeting, the US put forth a proposal to stop any activities in the South China Sea that may escalate tensions further but none of the stakeholders supported it. In the meeting, China rejected demand for resolution of the issue at a multilateral fora and Chinese Foreign Minister Wang Yi told reporters that China will continue to exercise restraint but at the same time will respond to provocations "unequivocally and resolutely". In the ARF meeting, US Secretary of State John Kerry asked the stakeholders to take lessons from resolution of water-related issues between India and Bangladesh and called for settling the dispute through negotiations. In her address at the 4th East Asia Summit Foreign Ministers' Meeting, External Affairs Minister Sushma Swaraj said maritime territorial disputes have the potential for undermining comprehensive security and mutual confidence. “India opposes the use or threat of use of force and supports freedom of navigation and access to resources in accordance with principles of international law, including the 1982 UN Convention on the Law of the Sea. “We hope that progress will be made with respect to implementation of Guidelines to the 2002 Declaration on the Conduct of Parties in the South China Sea and the adoption of a Code of Conduct on the basis of consensus," she said. Fresh standoff started recently when China deployed a deep sea oil rig into waters close to the Paracel Islands, which Vietnam says belong to it. India's ONGC Videsh has operations in oil blocks in hydrocarbon-rich South China Sea. China has been objecting to India's oil exploration projects in the disputed waters. Earlier, India sought concrete action in dealing with terrorism and called terrorism a major challenge for countries of the Asia Pacific region. Swaraj asked the international community to support Afghanistan since it was going through a
delicate transition. “We must address this scourge resolutely and with one yardstick. Our commitments must be translated into concrete action against individuals and groups involved in terrorist acts. Terrorists should not find sanctuary and support in any member state,” Swaraj said.
— PTI 2 Nalanda varsity schools to start courses next month
Nay Pyi Taw: The first two schools of Nalanda University, being built near the ruins of the ancient academic institution in Bihar with the assistance from a number of ASEAN member countries, will commence courses from the next month. In her address at the East Asia Summit Foreign Ministers’ Meeting, External Affairs Minister Sushma Swaraj said, “The first two schools of Nalanda University, the Schools of Historical Studies and Ecology and Environment Studies, will begin programmes from the academic year starting September 2014. We would like to welcome students from the EAS countries to these schools.”
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Not running away from Pak, says Musharraf
"I am not running away from Pakistan. Rather, I will defend myself in all cases before any court of law," the 70-year-old said in a telephonic address to a small gathering of supporters at a convention of his All Pakistan Muslim League (APML) party here. He, however, explained that he needed to go to see his ailing mother in Dubai but will return soon. The government has so far refused to allow him to travel abroad. In his address, Musharraf termed all cases against him as politically motivated and baseless. He also criticised the government for the economic mismanagement and said when he resigned in 2008, the country had $18 billion reserves as compared to only $4 billion to $5 billion today.
— PTI
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192 on board US flight escape major mishap
New York, August 10 JetBlue Airways Flight 704 with 186 passengers and a crew of six was headed to John F Kennedy International Airport in New York City when the incident occurred last night. “A JetBlue Airways flight departing from Luis Munoz Marin International Airport in San Juan, Puerto Rico, was evacuated on Saturday evening after one of its engines caught fire,” the Federal Aviation Administration (FAA) said in a statement. JetBlue spokesperson Gina Recine said there were no known injuries among the 186 passengers and six crew members on board the Airbus A321 aircraft. — PTI
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18 surrender over Xinjiang terror attack No ceasefire until separatists surrender: Ukraine Erdogan wins Turkish presidency in first round triumph Suicide car bomber kills 4 civilians in Kabul
3 Indians killed in road accident in UAE Iran won't accept 'toy' enrichment programme
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Baghdad: France's Foreign Minister
Laurent Fabius said on Sunday his country was prepared to join multinational efforts to provide aid to hundreds of thousands of internally displaced Iraqis and called upon leaders in Baghdad to unite against the Sunni militants. Speaking at a press conference with Iraq's acting Foreign Minister Hussain al-Shahristani, Fabius said his visit was aimed at boosting humanitarian efforts in northern Iraq.
— AP
Need more ethnic votes to win
Islamabad, August 10
