The Tribune, Chandigarh, India

	Kurds urge more air strikes in Kobani Seek corridor through Turkey to bring in reinforcement to take on jihadists Mursitpinar (Turkey), Oct 11 Kurdish forces defending Kobani urged a US-led coalition to escalate air strikes on Islamic State fighters who tightened their grip on the Syrian town at the border with Turkey on Saturday. A group that monitors the Syrian civil war said the Kurdish forces faced inevitable defeat in Kobani if Turkey did not open its border to let through arms, something Ankara has so far appeared reluctant to do. The US-led coalition escalated air strikes on Islamic State in and around Kobani, also known as Ayn al-Arab, some four days ago. The main Kurdish armed group, the YPG, said in a statement the air strikes had inflicted heavy losses on Islamic State, but had been less effective in the last two days. A Kurdish military official, speaking to Reuters from Kobani, said Islamic State had brought extra tanks and artillery to the front lines, while street-to-street fighting was making it harder for the warplanes to target Islamic State positions. "We have a problem, which is the war between houses," said Esmat Al-Sheikh, head of the Kobani defence council. "The air strikes are benefiting us, but Islamic State is bringing tanks and artillery from the east. We didn't see them with tanks, but yesterday we saw T-57 tanks," he added. While Islamic State has been able to reinforce its fighters, the Kurds have not. Islamic State has besieged the town to the east, south and west, meaning the Kurds' only possible supply route is the Turkish border to the north. The UN envoy to Syria on Friday called on Turkey to help prevent a slaughter in Kobani, asking it to let "volunteers" cross the frontier so they can reinforce the Kurdish forces defending the town that lies within sight of Turkish territory. The Turkish government has yet to respond to the remarks by Staffan de Mistura, who said he feared a repeat of the 1995 Srebrenica massacre in Bosnia when thousands died. Kurdish leaders in Syria have asked Ankara to establish a corridor through Turkey to allow aid and military supplies to reach Kobani. "(Islamic State) is getting supplies and men, while Turkey is preventing Kobani from getting ammunition. Even with the resistance, if things stay like this, the Kurdish forces will be like a car without fuel," said an analyst. — Reuters Islamic State kills Iraqi TV journalist The Governor of Iraq's Salahuddin province says a journalist from a local television network has been killed by the Islamic State group. Governor Raed Ibrahim says Raad al-Azzawi, who was a cameraman for Iraq's Salahuddin Television, was killed by militants on Friday in the city of Tikrit. Ibrahim said he wasn't able to provide any further details. The Islamic State group, which holds large swaths of land stretching across the Iraq-Syria border, has beheaded a number of journalists in Syria, saying the killings are in retaliation to US-led coalition air strikes in Iraq and Syria Turkey reluctant to help Kurds Turkey has been reluctant to help the Kurds defending Kobani, one of three areas of northern Syria where Kurds have established self-rule since the Syrian civil war began in 2011 The main Syrian Kurdish group has close ties to the PKK, which waged a militant campaign for Kurdish rights in Turkey and is listed as a terrorist group by Turkey and its Western allies
	Powerful typhoon Vongfong churns towards Japan Tokyo, October 11 Powerful Typhoon Vongfong churned towards Japan today, injuring at least a dozen people as it pounded the southern Okinawan islands with ferocious winds and driving rain. The monster storm was about 200 km southeast of Naha City in Japan's southernmost area of Okinawa at 0300 GMT, according to the nation's meteorological agency. The Joint Typhoon Warning Center has downgraded the storm from a super typhoon, but Japanese officials said it remained "large and very strong" and warned of gusts, high waves, torrential rain and landslides. Packing gusts of up to 234 km per hour, the typhoon was moving north very slowly, at 10 km per hour. Vongfong is expected to reach near Japan's southern main island of Kyushu by early Monday after brushing off Okinawa. It may then slam into the archipelago, the meteorological agency said. Okinawa has already been experiencing gusts and heavy rain, which caused a blackout in more than 17,000 households. At least 12 people have been injured in the prefecture, including a man who lost a finger after it was caught in a door slammed shut by strong winds, a municipal official said. Public broadcaster NHK said several more had been injured, including a nine-year-old girl who also caught a finger in the door. Satellite images of Vongfong show a perfectly formed eye in the middle of a gigantic swirling disc of cloud. The typhoon came just a week after another strong tropical storm whipped through the country, leaving 11 people dead. — AFP
	China suspects American hand behind HK protests Beijing, October 11 Accusing the US of "manipulating" the pro-democracy protests in Hong Kong, China today claimed that an American official, who was linked to the Tibetan and Xinjiang's separatist movements, met with key protest leaders. "Louisa Greve, a director of the National Endowment for Democracy of the US (NED), was already meeting with the key people from 'Occupy Central' several months ago, to talk about the movement," a commentary in the ruling Communist Party of China's flagship newspaper, the People's Daily online, said today, citing media reports. Greve, the Vice-President of the NED, is responsible for its Asia, Middle East and North Africa programmes. "For many years, her name has frequently appeared on reports about 'Tibetan independence', 'Eastern Turkestan', 'democracy movement' and other forces destabilising Chinese affairs and interfering with the Chinese government," it said alleging an American hand in Hong Kong protests. Greve also hosted or participated in conferences about the "Arab spring" and the "Colour Revolutions" of other regions, it said. "It is hardly likely that the US will admit to manipulating the 'Occupy Central' movement, just as it will not admit to manipulating other anti-China forces," it said. The commentary further said that US justifies such activities under the garb of "democracy", "freedom", "human rights" and "other values". "The results of US interruptions in 'Colour Revolutions' have hardly been a success. The 'Arab spring' turned to be an 'Arab winter' and Ukraine's 'street politics' have resulted in secession and conflict. There is little evidence of any real democracy in these countries, but the US turns a blind eye," it added. — PTI
	Ebola-infected Spanish nurse critical but stable Madrid, October 11 Teresa Romero, the 44-year-old Spanish nursing auxiliary infected with the Ebola virus, remains in a critical but stable condition, according to the latest reports Saturday. Romero, the first person to become infected with the virus outside of Africa, is being treated on the sixth floor of the Carlos III Hospital in Madrid, where she has spent the past five days after being confirmed as having been infected by the virus last Monday. She is currently undergoing a range of treatments, which include the experimental ZMapp serum, which has produced positive results against the virus, a serum made from the blood of a survivor or Ebola and an anti-virus drug, Xinhua reported. Her condition had deteriorated on Thursday and she was described as being in a "very critical" condition, although that has apparently stabilised over the past 48 hours. Sixteen more people are now under observation at the Carlos III Hospital, which was visited by Spanish Prime Minister Mariano Rajoy Friday. None of these 16 people has shown any symptoms yet of the Ebola virus, but are under observation after possible exposure to the virus. Among those 16 is the doctor who first treated Romero when she developed early signs of the illness. These patients are on the fourth and fifth floors of the hospital and it has been confirmed that the third floor of the building is also being prepared for further possible arrivals. — IANS