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Qaida-linked men free American writer missing in Syria since 2012
Syrian official warns US
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Thai king endorses junta leader as PM
Qadri issues 48-hr deadline to govt ‘Gandhi’ filmmaker Richard Attenborough passes away
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Qaida-linked men free American writer missing in Syria since 2012
Washington, August 25 US Secretary of State John Kerry said in a statement that Peter Theo Curtis had been held by Nusra Front, Al-Qaida's official wing in Syria whose rivalry with militant group Islamic State has fueled war among the insurgents themselves. President Barack Obama, who was briefed on Curtis' release, "shares in the joy and relief that we all feel now that Theo is out of Syria and safe," the White House said. "But we continue to hold in our thoughts and prayers the Americans who remain in captivity in Syria, and we will continue to use all of the tools at our disposal to see that the remaining American hostages are freed," the statement added. News of Curtis' release emerged just days after the Islamic State group posted a video on the Internet showing one of its fighters beheading American journalist James Foley, who was kidnapped in Syria in 2012. The United Nations said in a statement "it can confirm that it facilitated the handover of Peter Theo Curtis. He was handed over to UN peacekeepers in Al Rafid village, Quneitra, the Golan Heights, on 24 August 2014. After receiving a medical check-up, Mr Curtis was handed over to representatives of his government." White House national security adviser Susan Rice said in a statement that Curtis, 45, was "safe outside of Syria, and we expect he will be reunited with his family shortly."
— AFP An author & a journalist
Beheading video of Foley was ‘staged’
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Syrian official warns US
Beirut, August 25 Walid al-Moallem's words appeared timed to try to pre-empt any US military action in Syria. President Barack Obama has resisted ordering US military action in Syria for three years, even after a deadly chemical weapons attack a year ago near Damascus he blamed on President Bashar Assad's government. But now, Obama faces pressure from his own military leaders to go after the Islamic State group inside Syria. Obama remains wary, however, of getting dragged into the bloody and complex Syrian civil war that the United Nations says has killed more than 190,000 people. Al-Moallem's remarks at a news conference in Damascus also marked the first public comments by a senior Assad official on the threat posed by the Islamic State group, which has captured large swaths of Iraqi and Syrian territory. "Syria is ready to cooperate and coordinate on the regional and international level in the war on terror," al-Moallem said. "But any effort to combat terrorism should be coordinated with the Syrian government." Al-Moallem appeared keenly aware of how much has changed in the past year as he spoke Monday. Since then, global disapproval has shifted away from Assad and toward the Islamic extremists who are fighting him and spreading destruction across Syria and Iraq. The foreign minister said the Syrian government repeatedly has warned of the threat of terrorism and the need to cut off resources and funding but "no one listened to us." — AP Jihadists pushed back in Iraq
Kurdish peshmerga forces supported by Iraqi air strikes pushed back jihadist fighters in northern Iraq on Monday, even as the militants overran a key military airport in neighbouring Syria. On Monday, the peshmerga wrested control of three villages from the jihadists in the Jalawla area in the central province of Diyala, northeast of Baghdad, a Kurdish brigadier general said. They also seized a main road used by the militants to transport fighters and supplies, and were close to sealing off all entrances to the town of Jalawla itself, which they have sought to recapture for weeks, the officer said.
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Eight killed in Gaza as Egypt floats fresh ceasefire proposal
Gaza/Jerusalem, August 25 Six of the dead Palestinians were killed in Israeli air strikes on the 49th day of the war while two others succumbed to wounds sustained in earlier attacks, Gaza medics said. In the latest air strikes, a woman and a child were killed after Israel targeted a home in Beit Lahiya. Israel continued to flatten mosques destroying the Omar Ibn Abd al-Aziz mosque in Beit Hanoun and Ali Ibn Abu Talib mosque in Gaza City accusing militants of using them to store and carry out attacks against it. At least 2,124 Palestinians and 68 Israelis, all but four of them soldiers, have been killed since Israel launched Operation Protective Edge in Gaza on July 8 with the avowed objective of stopping rocket attacks emanating from there. Gaza militants fired some 40 rockets on Israel today, causing some damage to property but no casualties. The UN says 70 per cent of the Palestinian victims were civilians, and that among the dead were 478 children. About 10,500 Palestinians have been injured while another 460,000 have fled their homes in Gaza, over a quarter of the densely populated enclave's 1.8 million population. Meanwhile, media reports early today indicated that progress had been made in ceasefire talks in Cairo between Palestinians and Israel with an Egyptian proposal calling for a swift return to the negotiating table within 48 hours for a long-term truce to be worked out over a period of one month. Palestinian news agency Ma'an reported that new developments "could clear the path for an agreement". The agency quoted Khaled al-Batsh, an Islamic Jihad official as saying that "a ceasefire is supposed to be signed within a few hours". Hamas official Osama Hamdan reportedly said that "there has been positive and fast progress in ceasefire talks in the past few hours". No response was immediately available from the Israeli side as officials only said that "our position is consistent and we would not negotiate under fire".
— PTI
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Thai king endorses junta leader as PM
Bangkok, August 25 Prayuth was appointed Prime Minister on Thursday, three months after leading a coup, by 191 out of 197 members of the military-dominated national assembly. He was the sole candidate. Approval from King Bhumibol Adulyadej was a formality. His endorsement paves the way for the establishment of an interim government in coming weeks, although power will remain firmly in the hands of the junta formally known as the National Council for Peace and Order (NCPO). Dressed in a crisp white military uniform, Prayuth got down on his knees and paid homage to a portrait of King Bhumibol at a ceremony in Bangkok on Monday. The Organisation of Free Thais for Human Rights and Democracy, a group set up overseas to oppose the junta, called Prayuth's selection illegitimate.
— Reuters
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Vacate area near Parliament: Pak SC The Supreme Court on Monday asked the Pakistan Tehreek-i-Insaf (PTI) of Imran Khan and Pakistan Awami Tehreek (PAT) of cleric Tahirul Qadri to clear the Constitution Avenue by tomorrow.
Activists of both parties are on a dharna on the avenue opposite the Parliament House and also blocked access to the Supreme Court. Chief Justice Nasirul Mulk asked them to vacate the route to the court while hearing a petition against the extra-constitutional moves. Refuting the allegations made a day earlier by former additional secretary of the Election Commission of Pakistan (ECP) Muhammad Afzal Khan that the May 2013 elections were rigged, a member of the ECP Justice (retd) Riaz Ahmed Kiani said today that Khan’s accusations against the government were part of a “pre-planned agenda”. Addressing a press conference in Lahore, Kiani said there was a major conspiracy behind Khan’s accusations of rigging. He also rubbished similar accusation by Imran Khan. Afzal Khan had alleged yesterday that the people’s mandate was ‘stolen’ due to the rigging. Kiani said Khan’s interview was a ‘fixed match’. He said that he and other members of the Election Commission of Pakistan (ECP) were against extension of contracts and claimed that Afzal had started leveling allegations when he was not given an extension on his contract. “Why did Afzal Khan suddenly remember that the elections were rigged after a lapse of 14 months?” he questioned. Kiani said somebody was poisoning Imran Khan by providing false information against him. Justice Kiani urged the SC to take suo motu notice of the accusation, given its gravity. 2013 polls: Rigging charges refuted
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Qadri issues 48-hr deadline to govt Islamabad, August 25 Buoyed by former additional secretary Election Commission of Pakistan (ECP) Afzal Khan's claim that the general election in which Sharif won by a landslide was rigged, protesters headed by Qadri and PTI chief Imran Khan stepped their campaign against the government. "I ask the members of National Assembly to leave the house before my deadline expires," Qadri said addressing his supporters outside the Parliament. Qadri gave the 48-hour deadline to the government, asking it to dissolve the assemblies, let the FIR of Model Town incident in which 14 of his supporters were killed be registered and release Joint Investigation Team (JIT) report. — PTI
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‘Gandhi’ filmmaker Richard Attenborough passes away
The actor-director had been in poor health for some time and died just four days before his 91st birthday. He had been living in a care home for those in the theatrical profession with his wife, actress Sheila Sim. Richard Attenborough won an Academy Award for best director for ‘Gandhi’, which went on to sweep the Oscars that year with eight wins, including the best picture, best director and best actor trophies. ‘Gandhi’, starring Ben Kingsley as Mahatma, remains one of the biggest highlights of a distinguished career that spanned six decades, on both sides of the camera. Attenborough was born on August 29, 1923 in Cambridge, England. Knighted in 1976 and made a baron in June 1993. Attenborough played underdogs in a string of character roles after World War Two, notably “Brighton Rock”, “Seance on a Wet Afternoon” and “10 Rillington Place”. He went on to have a long track record in the British theatre and film industry.
— Agencies One of cinema’s greats
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Indian-origin hacker faces 105 more charges Malaysia’s ethnic Indian leader dies 
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London, August 24
