The Tribune, Chandigarh, India

Car bomb attacks kill 20 in Baghdad
Baghdad, September 19
A series of car bombings targeting a Shia mosque and markets in the Iraqi capital killed at least 20 persons today, officials said, in the second straight day of attacks in Baghdad blamed on Islamic militants who have seized large parts of the country.

Ebola lockdown begins in Sierra Leone
An empty street is seen at the start of a three-day national lockdown in Freetown on Friday. Freetown, September 19
Sierra Leone began a three-day lockdown on Friday in an effort to halt the spread of the Ebola virus, as President Ernest Bai Koroma urged residents to comply with the emergency measures. Streets in the normally bustling seaside capital Freetown were deserted, barring vehicles carrying police officers and health workers. Radio stations played Ebola awareness jingles on repeat and encouraged residents to stay indoors.

capital deserted: An empty street is seen at the start of a three-day national lockdown in Freetown on Friday. Reuters

US man kills daughter, 6 grandchildren and self
Don Spirit Houston, September 19
In yet another horrific incident of mass shooting in the US, a man has killed his daughter and six minor grandchildren before turning the gun on himself in north Florida. The incident took place yesterday near Bell, a town of about 500, located roughly 48 km west of Gainesville, where a man identified as Don Spirit (51) killed his daughter and her six children, aged 3 months to 10 years, before killing himself, Gilchrist County deputies said.

The beast: Don Spirit

Sarkozy returns to politics, offers France fresh start
Nicolas Sarkozy Paris, September 19
Nicolas Sarkozy announced his political comeback on Friday, saying he would seek the leadership of France's main rightist party, opening the way for a possible return to the Elysee Palace in 2017 elections.

back in hunt: Nicolas Sarkozy

A Palestinian boy looks on near burning tyres during cashes with Israeli soldiers following a protest against the near-by Jewish settlement of Qadomem, in the West Bank village of Kofr Qadom, on Friday. Reuters

	French jets strike Iraq A boost for US-led efforts to unite world against Islamic State Baghdad/Paris, September 19 French jets struck a suspected Islamic State target in Iraq for the first time on Friday, expanding a US-led military campaign against militants who have seized a third of the country and also control large parts of neighbouring Syria. President Francois Hollande said Rafale jets hit "a logistics depot of the terrorists" near the city of Mosul, which has been held by Islamic State for more than three months. It promised more operations in coming days. The French military action, which follows US air strikes in northern Iraq and near the capital Baghdad, appeared to win qualified endorsement from Iraq's top Shia leader Grand Ayatollah Ali al-Sistani. In a Friday sermon, delivered by one of his aides, the elderly cleric acknowledged Iraq needed foreign help but said Iraq must not become subservient to outside powers. "Even if Iraq is in need of help from its brothers and friends in fighting black terrorism, maintaining the sovereignty and independence of its decisions is of the highest importance," Sistani's spokesman Sheikh Abdul Mehdi Karbala'i said. Sistani speaks for millions of Iraq's majority Shias and has a worldwide following. Islamic State fighters, who have controlled much of Syria's eastern oil and agricultural provinces for more than a year, swept through mainly Sunni Muslim regions of north Iraq in mid-June, seizing cities including Mosul and Tikrit and halting only a few dozen miles north of the capital Baghdad. Washington launched air strikes for the first time in August to halt an IS advance on the Kurdish autonomous capital Arbil. Since then it has tried to build an international coalition to destroy the radical Sunni Muslim group, saying more than 40 countries, including Arab nations, have offered assistance. The air strikes have helped Kurds claw back lost territory. This week they retook ground in the northern province of Nineveh including villages in the Khazer area and several others further west around the town of Zummar, which remains under IS control. French officials said Friday's mission involved two Rafale fighter jets, a supply plane and a Navy reconnaissance plane. Hollande has said French military action would be limited to Iraq and no ground troops would be sent. — Reuters IS creates police force in NW Iraq Islamic State (IS) militants in Iraq's northwest Nineveh province have created a police force to "implement the orders of the religious judiciary," according to a well-known militant Islamist website. Photos on the website showed armed men in black clothing with "Islamic Police Nineveh State" printed on the arm. The police forces were in freshly painted police cars and one photo showed militiamen on a river boat. ‘Qaida preparing to eclipse ISIS’ The Islamic State of Iraq and Syria (ISIS) may be hogging the headlines but the Syrian reincarnation of the old Al-Qaida is being considered a more serious threat to the United States, a report said. According to the CBS News, sources revealed that operatives and explosives experts from Osama bin Laden's old Al-Qaida terror network, now called "Khorasan," may again present an immediate threat to the US homeland security.
	No protest can derail democracy, says Sharif Islamabad, September 19 Embattled Pakistan Prime Minister Nawaz Sharif today hit back at protesters, saying no "long or short march" can derail the government, even as Imran Khan vowed to continue his sit-in indefinitely till the Premier resigns. Sharif, while addressing the joint session of the Parliament convened to support the Premier and discuss the current impasse, said, "the plans of nefarious elements in the country have been foiled in Parliament." He said the government had the option of evicting the protesters from the capital but use of force could harm women and children being used as "human shields" by the protesting groups. "The prevailing situation has made Pakistan a laughing stock...These people will have to face a public court and answer for what they have done," Sharif said. "No long march or short march can derail us from our mission of upholding democracy," the Prime Minister said. Highlighting the problems the sit-ins have caused, especially with regard to visits by international leaders, Sharif said, "Today the Chinese president is in India, when he was supposed to be here, in Pakistan." Sharif also slammed the protesters for raking the issue of rigging months after the general election last year. — PTI
	Car bomb attacks kill 20 in Baghdad Baghdad, September 19 A series of vehicle bombings in Iraq killed at least 31 persons today, officials said, in the second straight day of attacks in Baghdad blamed on Islamic militants who have seized large parts of the country. A parked explosives-packed car detonated shortly before midday prayers near the al-Mubarak mosque in the Iraqi capital's mostly Shiite central district of Karradah, killing nine people and wounding 18 others, police said. Cars later exploded in two outdoor markets, one in the Shiite suburb of Nahrawan and the other in the Shiite district of Bayaa. Those attacks together killed nine people and wounded 23, according to police. Just south of Baghdad, yet another car bomb went off in a parking lot in the town of Mahmoudiyah, killing three and wounding 10, police said. Medical officials confirmed the casualty tolls. All officials spoke on condition of anonymity because they were not authorised to brief the media. While most of the attacks happened in the Iraqi capital, the day's deadliest occurred in the northern city of Kirkuk, when a motorcycle bomb went off near a gun shop, killing 10 people and wounding 14, said provincial police chief. Today's attacks came a day after a series of deadly attacks in mainly Shiite areas in and around Baghdad that left dozens dead. — AP
	Ebola lockdown begins in Sierra Leone Prez urges compliance with measures 30,000 volunteers plan to visit every household Freetown, September 19 Sierra Leone began a three-day lockdown on Friday in an effort to halt the spread of the Ebola virus, as President Ernest Bai Koroma urged residents to comply with the emergency measures. Streets in the normally bustling seaside capital Freetown were deserted, barring vehicles carrying police officers and health workers. Radio stations played Ebola awareness jingles on repeat and encouraged residents to stay indoors. "Today, the life of everyone is at stake, but we will get over this difficulty if all do what we have been asked to do," Koroma said in a television address late on Thursday. "These are extraordinary times and extraordinary times require extraordinary measures." Ebola has infected some 5,357 people in West Africa this year, killing 2,630 of them, in the worst epidemic of the virus that the world has seen. At least 562 people have died in Sierra Leone and nearly 30,000 health workers, volunteers and teachers aim to visit every single household in the country of six million in just three days to educate them and isolate the sick. But the teams were off to a slow start on Friday. Volunteers at the Murray Town Health Center in Freetown said they had not yet received their kits, containing soap, stickers and flyers. "This means we are going to achieve less than our target for today or stay beyond 6 o'clock this evening to be able to do so," one of the volunteers said. Some have questioned whether Sierra Leone's campaign will be effective. "Food prices have gone up 30 percent. Many homes that cannot afford (food) are starving," said Ahmed Nanoh, executive secretary of Sierra Leone's chamber of agriculture. "This morning many families are calling on the radio crying because of lack of food in their homes. — Reuters Capital at standstill Streets in the normally bustling seaside capital Freetown were deserted, barring vehicles carrying police officers and health workers Radio stations played Ebola awareness jingles on repeat and encouraged residents to stay indoors Nearly 30,000 health workers, volunteers and teachers aim to visit every single household in the country to educate them and isolate the sick
	US man kills daughter, 6 grandchildren and self Houston, September 19 In yet another horrific incident of mass shooting in the US, a man has killed his daughter and six minor grandchildren before turning the gun on himself in north Florida. The incident took place yesterday near Bell, a town of about 500, located roughly 48 km west of Gainesville, where a man identified as Don Spirit (51) killed his daughter and her six children, aged 3 months to 10 years, before killing himself, Gilchrist County deputies said. The shooter contacted emergency services '911' at about 4 pm, officials said adding, the first deputy to arrive at the house made a contact with Spirit before he committed suicide. The deputy then conducted a search operation in the house and discovered the bodies. The identities of the victims have not been released yet, nor the motive behind the shooting. In 2001, Spirit had shot his 9-year-old son during a hunting trip, when his rifle went off as he cleaned rust from the barrel, killing his son. The incident was later ruled as an accident, the Tampa Bay Times reported. "We are asking for prayers for this community and the families involved. We ask for patience from the media and public as we work through this investigation," the Gilchrist County Sheriff's Office said in a statement on its Facebook page. On September 13, one US state trooper was shot and killed while another wounded in an ambush outside police barracks in Pennsylvania. In another incident earlier this month, three people were killed and two others critically wounded in a shooting in a residential neighbourhood in Kansas . — PTI

Sarkozy returns to politics, offers France fresh start

Paris, September 19
Nicolas Sarkozy announced his political comeback on Friday, saying he would seek the leadership of France's main rightist party, opening the way for a possible return to the Elysee Palace in 2017 elections.

The former French President ended months of speculation about his future with a message on Facebook, saying he was ready to take charge of the conservative, opposition UMP party, which has been riven by rivalry since he was ousted from power. "I am a candidate for the presidency of my political family," he said.

"I will propose reforming it from top to bottom so as to create, within three months, the basis of a new and broad movement that can speak to the French as a whole ... This broad movement will adopt a new project," he added.

A hyperactive and divisive figure reviled by many left-wing voters, Sarkozy has a series of legal troubles hanging over him that could yet de-rail his hopes of regaining power following defeat against Francois Hollande in a 2012 presidential ballot.

After that loss, he told supporters he would vanish from political life and French media has reported that his wife, Carla Bruni-Sarkozy, was opposed to any return.

But his supporters consider him the only politician capable of rallying the fractured centre-right UMP party, which in recent months has been hit by a party funding scandal and is due to elect its new leader on November 29.

A spokesman for President Hollande's ruling Socialists described the announcement as a "non-event". — Reuters

BRIEFLY

Fiji ruler set to win poll, but opponents cry foul
SYDNEY: Fiji's strongman ruler looked set on Friday to sail to victory in the South Pacific island nation's first elections after eight years of military rule, a contest praised by regional leaders and observers, but clouded by opposition accusations of fraud. Fiji, a tropical idyll about 3,200 km east of Australia, has suffered four coups since 1987, the latest in 2006 led by former army chief Voreqe "Frank" Bainimarama, whose Fiji First Party had a strong lead heading into Wednesday's election. Reuters

Thai new bill proposes death for airport closure
Bangkok: Anyone found guilty of causing closure or damage of an airport in Thailand could face the death penalty under new proposed law by the military junta. The draft states that a person will face execution or life imprisonment if they destroy an aircraft in service, damage an aircraft so that it is no longer operational or put any material in an aircraft that damages it. Pti

2 Indians among finalists for Global Citizen award
New York: Two Indians are among the four finalists for the $1,00,000 global citizen award which will be presented next week. Swapnil Chaturvedi and Anoop Jain are among the finalists for the Waislitz Global Citizen award which is presented to an individual who meets the criteria of global citizenship, impact, innovation and potential. pti