W O R L D

Kurds retake Iraq's main dam from jihadists
Irbil, August 17
Iraqi Kurdish fighters backed by US warplanes retook the country's largest dam from jihadists today, as Sunni Arab tribesmen and security forces fought the militants west of Baghdad.

Governor of Kirkuk Najm al-Din Omar looks through binoculars from a position manned by the Kurdish Peshmerga towards Islamist jihadist positions in Kirkuk on Sunday. AFP

Kiev ‘raises’ flag over police station in rebel stronghold of Luhansk
Kiev/Donetsk, August 17
Ukrainian forces have raised their national flag over a police station in the city of Luhansk which was for months under rebel control, Kiev said on Sunday, in what could be a breakthrough in Ukraine's efforts to crush pro-Moscow separatists.

One shot, 7 arrested in riot-shaken US town 
Ferguson, August 17
One person was shot and seven persons were arrested as the police battled to impose a curfew in the riot-hit US town of Ferguson today, one week after the racially-charged shooting of an unarmed black teenager.




Violent outbreaks: Demonstrators protesting the death of Michael Brown gather together in Ferguson, Missouri. AFP

Celebrating independence: Indonesians participate in a local competition called “panjat pinang” in which people try to climb greased poles that have prizes attached to the top, during an event to celebrate Indonesia’s Independence Day in Jakarta on Sunday. AFP

Gaza truce talks resume in Cairo
Cairo, August 17
Indirect talks between Israelis and Palestinians for a long-term truce in Gaza resumed today, with just over a day left before a temporary ceasefire is set to expire, a Palestinian official said.

Hindus in Pak want temples renovated
Karachi, August 17
Pakistani Hindu community has asked the government to repair their places of worship in Punjab province, a media report said on Sunday.

 

 

Kurds retake Iraq's main dam from jihadists
US warplanes, drones aid peshmerga advance by bombing militant targets near the facility

Irbil, August 17
Iraqi Kurdish fighters backed by US warplanes retook the country's largest dam from jihadists today, as Sunni Arab tribesmen and security forces fought the militants west of Baghdad.

The recapture of Mosul dam marks the biggest major prize clawed back from Islamic State (IS) jihadists since they launched their offensive in northern Iraq in early June when they swept Iraqi security forces aside.

IS militants, who have declared a "caliphate" straddling vast areas of Iraq and Syria, also came under air attack in their Syrian stronghold of Raqa today, a monitoring group said.

Syria's air force carried out 16 raids on the city of Raqa and several more on the town of Tabqa in Raqa province, killing at least 31 jihadists and eight civilians, said the Syrian Observatory for Human Rights.

Two months of violence have brought Iraq to the brink of breakup, and world powers relieved by the exit of divisive premier Nuri al-Maliki are sending aid to the hundreds of thousands who have fled their homes as well as arms to the Kurdish peshmerga forces.

Buoyed by the air strikes US President Barack Obama ordered last week, Kurdish forces are fighting to win back ground they had lost since the start of August, when the jihadists went back on the offensive north, east and west of the city of Mosul, capturing the dam on August 7.

Earlier today, US warplanes and drones pummelled the militants fighting against the Kurdish advance.

The US Central Command reported that the military had carried out 14 air strikes during the day near the dam, which, located on the Tigris river, provides electricity and irrigation water for farming to much of the region.

CENTCOM said the strikes destroyed 10 IS armed vehicles, seven IS Humvees, two armoured personnel carriers and one IS checkpoint.

An AFP journalist saw towers of smoke rising from the area of the dam, apparently from the sites of strikes.

In Syria's Raqa, the air strikes were the "most intensive" against the IS since the jihadists joined the anti-regime revolt in that country in spring 2013, the Observatory said.

“The regime wants to show the Americans that it is also capable of striking the IS," said the Britain-based group's director, Rami Abdel Rahman.

In western Iraq's Anbar province, security forces backed by Sunni Arab tribal militia, who announced a new effort against the jihadists on Friday, made gains west of the provincial capital Ramadi, the police said. — AFP

Kurdish militants train Yazidis to fight Islamic State

Kurdish militants have trained hundreds of Yazidi volunteers at several camps inside Syria to fight Islamic State forces in Iraq, a member of the armed Kurdish YPG and a Reuters photographer who visited a training camp said on Sunday. The photographer spend Saturday at the training camp at the Serimli military base in Qamishli, northeastern Syria on the border with Iraqi Kurdistan, where he saw 55 Yazidis being trained to fight the Islamic State. Dressed in green military fatigues, young and old men were taught how to use assault rifles and rocket-propelled grenades by the Syrian Kurds, sweating in the 40 degree Celsius heat.

Fight for strategic dam

• The Islamic State militants captured Mosul Dam, in northern Iraq on the Tigris River, on August 7 as part of their offensive that has seized large swaths of the country
• The dam on the Tigris River provides electricity to much of the region and is crucial to irrigation in Nineveh province
• The recapture of the dam would be one of the most significant achievements of Iraqi forces in fight against the militants

British PM warns of military action

London: Britain may have to use its military prowess to tackle the threat posed by the "poisonous" brand of Islamic extremism in Iraq that could bring terror to the UK, Prime Minister David Cameron warned on Sunday as he described the fight against jihadists a "generational struggle". 

Significant victory

• The Islamic State militants had captured Mosul Dam, in northern Iraq on the Tigris River, on August 7 as part of their offensive that has seized large swaths of the country
• The dam on the Tigris River provides electricity to much of the region and is crucial to irrigation in Nineveh province
• The recapture of the dam is one of the most significant achievements of Iraqi forces in fight against the militants

Kiev ‘raises’ flag over police station in rebel stronghold of Luhansk
No confirmation of Luhansk advance from pro-Moscow separatists 

Long wait: A Russian convoy of trucks carrying humanitarian aid for Ukraine is parked at a camp located near the border with Ukraine in Rostov Region. Reuters

Kiev/Donetsk, August 17
Ukrainian forces have raised their national flag over a police station in the city of Luhansk which was for months under rebel control, Kiev said on Sunday, in what could be a breakthrough in Ukraine's efforts to crush pro-Moscow separatists.

Ukrainian officials allege though that the rebels are fighting a desperate rearguard action to hold on to Luhansk — which is their supply route into neighbouring Russia — and say the flow of weapons and fighters from Russia has accelerated.

The foreign ministers of Ukraine and Russia were preparing to meet for talks on the conflict in Berlin on Sunday, though it seemed likely that the diplomacy could be overshadowed by fast-moving developments on the battlefield.

Russia denies helping the rebels and accuses Kiev, backed by the West, of triggering a humanitarian crisis through indiscriminate use of force against Russian speakers in eastern Ukraine who reject the Ukrainian government's rule.

Andriy Lysenko, a Ukrainian military spokesman, said government forces fought separatists in a neighbourhood of Luhansk city on Saturday and took control of the Zhovtneviy neighbourhood police station. "They raised the state flag over it," Lysenko told a news briefing.

Separatist officials in Luhansk could not be reached by telephone, and a separatist spokeswoman in Donetsk, the other rebel strong-hold in eastern Ukraine, said she did not know what had happened in Luhansk.

A photograph posted on Twitter appeared to show a Ukrainian flag on the front of the police station, but it could not be independently verified. If confirmed, the taking of the police station is significant because the city of Luhansk has for several months been a rebel redoubt where Kiev's writ has not run.

Ukrainian troops have been closing in on the city from the outskirts, but had not previously been able to get forces inside the city limits. The separatists still control sections of the border linking Luhansk region to Russia. — Reuters

Russia, Ukraine agree to start inspecting convoy

• Russian and Ukrainian border guards and custom officials have agreed to proceed with the inspection of a first group of trucks from Russia's humanitarian convoy for Ukraine, the International Committee of the Red Cross said on Sunday.
• The convoy is due to travel from Russia into Ukraine under the aegis of the ICRC. The ICRC also said it was still waiting to receive security guarantees from the fighting parties in eastern Ukraine before it goes ahead with the convoy 

One shot, 7 arrested in riot-shaken US town 

Gaza truce talks resume in Cairo

Cairo, August 17
Indirect talks between Israelis and Palestinians for a long-term truce in Gaza resumed today, with just over a day left before a temporary ceasefire is set to expire, a Palestinian official said.

The Egyptian-mediated talks have dragged since August 4, when both sides agreed a renewable temporary ceasefire to end a month of fighting that killed almost 2,000 Palestinians in Gaza.

The latest such ceasefire, a five-day lull meant to give Egyptian mediators time to bridge the gaps in the negotiations, came amid mounting pressure on Hamas militants in Gaza who say they will resume firing rockets into Israel if their demands are not met.

Hamas, the defacto rulers of the impoverished enclave, want a firm Israeli commitment to end the blockade of Gaza and demand an airport in the coastal strip.

The talks started today in the headquarters of the Egyptian intelligence, who mediate the negotiations, in the absence of some Hamas leaders. — AFP

Hindus in Pak want temples renovated

Karachi, August 17
Pakistani Hindu community has asked the government to repair their places of worship in Punjab province, a media report said on Sunday.

The community leaders demanded their worship places, lying in a dilapidated condition, be widened and renovated so that they could perform their religious rituals comfortably, the Dawn reported.

They also demanded their children be provided facilities for education, admission to higher educational institutions according to the Hindu quota system on reserved seats and construction of boundary walls around Hindu graveyards.

The grievances were raised at a function by representatives of the Hindu community at the Bahawalpur Circuit House yesterday, it said.

The event was to distribute cheques under the Holi package on behalf of the Chief Minister among deserving Hindus of Bahawalpur. — PTI

BRIEFLY

Two killed, 12 injured in knife attack in China
BEIJING: At least two persons were killed and 12 others injured on Sunday when a knife-wielding man went on slashing spree in northeast China. The incident occurred in a shopping mall, in Yanji City of Jilin Province, state-run news agency Xinhua reported. One victim died at the scene and another one died in a hospital. pti

Tens of thousands stage Hong Kong pro-govt rally
Hong Kong: Tens of thousands of people, many wearing red as a sign of their patriotism to China, took part in a demonstration march in Hong Kong on Sunday to protest a planned civil disobedience campaign by pro-democracy activists in the city. Demonstrators braved wilting heat to participate in the rally, which was organised by a pro-Beijing group. AP

Indonesia boat with foreigners sinks, 15 missing
Jakarta: A boat carrying foreign tourists sank in central Indonesia, leaving 15 people missing. The boat was on its way from Lombok island to Komodo island carrying 20 foreign tourists, four Indonesian crewmen and an Indonesian guide when it sank, said Budiawan, head of the search and rescue agency in Mataram. ap