Lebanese soldier killed at Syria border

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At least one Lebanese soldier has been killed and three others injured in clashes with foreign-backed militants near the border with Syria.

The soldier was killed on Thursday after gunmen attacked an army post in the mountainous border zone just outside the town of Arsal.

The city was held by Takfiri ISIL militants for five days earlier this month, marking the spillover of war in Syria into Lebanon.

On August 8, Lebanese troops entered the town following five days of fierce clashes with the ISIL Takfiri militants.

The town’s infirmary has been used as a base for the militants who killed at least 17 soldiers.

Violence erupted in eastern Lebanon after soldiers arrested a Syrian man who the army said confessed to belonging to the ISIL. Angered by the arrest, the Takfiri militants opened fire on army checkpoints and stormed a police station in a border area.

Analysts have voiced concern that clashes might continue to take place inside the border town of Arsal until the Lebanese army has completely eliminated the armed militants in the area.

The al-Nusra Front and ISIL militants, which have been engaged in infighting as well, have been fighting with the Lebanese army near Arsal. The army has recently sent reinforcements to the area.

The conflict in Syria has spilled over into Lebanon. Northern Lebanon has been the epicenter of fierce clashes between the supporters and opponents of the Syrian government. The Takfiri militants are said to have infiltrated into Lebanon from Syria’s mountainous al-Qalamoun region.

Lebanese Prime Minister Tammam Salam has said that there would be “no leniency towards the terrorist killers and no appeasement for those who violate Lebanon’s territory and harm its people.”

KA/HSN

 

Pro-Russians seize key town in Ukraine

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Pro-Russia forces in eastern Ukraine have taken control of the strategic coastal town of Novoazovsk amid intense clashes with Ukrainian troops.

The Novoazovsk mayor said pro-Russia protesters entered the southeastern town with dozens of tanks and armored vehicles on Wednesday after three days of heavy shelling in the area.

The collapse of Novoazovsk is seen as a major victory for pro-Moscow fighters in eastern Ukraine. The key resort town on the Azov Sea lies along the road linking Russia to Ukraine’s port city of Mariupol and onto Crimea, which rejoined Russia in a popular referendum in March.

Reports say Ukrainian government forces surrendered to pro-Russians and pulled out of the area, leaving behind their military vehicles and ammunition.

Fighting between Kiev troops and pro-Russians has apparently intensified following an August 26 meeting between Russian President Vladimir Putin and his Ukrainian counterpart Petro Poroshenko to de-escalate the Ukraine crisis.

In an interview with the Guardian on Wednesday, NATO Secretary-General Anders Fogh Rasmussen said the military alliance plans to deploy forces to new bases in Eastern Europe for the first time in response to the situation in Ukraine.

The government in Kiev said on August 25 that it had halted a column of tanks and armored personal carriers flying flags of pro-Moscow forces from Russia heading toward Mariupol, a claim denied by the Russian Foreign Ministry.

On the same day, the Ukrainian military also said it had seized 10 Russian paratroopers on Ukrainian soil near the volatile eastern city of Donetsk. Moscow insists its troops crossed border “by accident.”

Kiev and some Western government have accused Russia of meddling with the deadly conflict in eastern Ukraine. However, Moscow has repeatedly rejected the allegations.

MKA/HSN

‘Over 1k Russian troops in Ukraine’

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A senior NATO official claims that “well over a thousand” Russian troops were operating inside Ukraine.

The NATO official made the claim on Thursday on condition of anonymity, saying “They (Russian troops) support [so-called] separatists (pro-Russia forces in Ukraine).”

The unnamed official further claimed that the supply of arms by Russia had intensified both in “volume and quality.”

The official, speaking to reporters ahead of a NATO summit next week in Britain, emphasized that the situation was made even more complicated as the key route between Donetsk and Novoazovsk, on the Sea of Azov close to the Russian border, had been cut off by pro-Russia forces.

The official said, “The supply line is cut” for the Ukrainian army and warned that the latest events “have made clear that the security paradigm in Europe has fundamentally changed” in the face of what he called a “very aggressive Russia.”

He claimed the past weeks have seen a “real upsurge in Russia’s activity” in the flashpoint region, including the supply of weapons, ammunition, special forces training, intelligence and logistical support.

The allegations by NATO come a week before an alliance summit in Cardiff in Wales, where possible action against Russia over the crisis in Ukraine will top the agenda.

The EU leaders will also discuss the developments at a summit on Saturday.

The Western powers accuse Moscow of having a hand in the crisis in eastern Ukraine, which erupted when Kiev launched military operations in April to silence pro-Russia protests, but the Kremlin rejects the accusation.

The unrest in eastern Ukraine has so far claimed the lives of more than 2,200 people. Nearly 300,000 people have also been forced to flee their homes.

RSR/AB

Ukraine firm moves factory to Russia

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A Ukrainian company has reportedly transferred the contents of its machinery factory in the eastern city of Luhansk to central Russia amid fierce fighting in the volatile region.

Russian media reported on Wednesday that the Luhansk Machine Building Plant and all its personnel were being moving into neighboring Russia, where most of the factory’s customers are based.

“First we inspected six sites in the Rostov region but there were already too many refugees there so we went further into Russia’s central area,” Nikolai Druziyev, a technical consultant at the firm,  told Rossiya-24 TV channel.

They eventually decided to settle in the Chuvashia region on the Volga River and hoped to resume production soon, according to the report.

Ukraine’s mainly Russian-speaking regions in the east have witnessed deadly clashes between pro-Moscow forces and the Ukrainian army since Kiev launched military operations in April to stifle pro-Russian protests.

Violence intensified in May after the two flashpoint regions of Donetsk and Luhansk held local referendums, in which their residents voted overwhelmingly in favor of independence from Ukraine.

According to the United Nations, the turmoil in eastern Ukraine has so far taken the lives of more than 2,000 people. Over 300,000 others have also been uprooted from their homes due to intense clashes in Ukraine’s restive east.

MKA/HSN

 

‘Failures led to Rotherham child abuse’

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The failures of responsible bodies to deal with reports of child abuse contributed to the sexual exploitation of 1,400 children in the British town of Rotherham over a 16-year period, a report says.

According to the report written by Professor Alexis Jay and published on Tuesday, “approximately 1,400 children were sexually exploited over the full inquiry period, from 1997 to 2013.”

The report revealed dreadful details about gang rape of children, including rape of “girls as young as 11 … by large numbers of male perpetrators.”

Some of the children were trafficked to other towns and cities in the north of England, the report said.

“The collective failures of political and officer leadership [of Rotherham] were blatant,” Jay, a former chief inspector of social work, said, adding that top managers within social care “underplayed” the scale and seriousness of the issue.

Rotherham council is said to have known as far back as 2005 of sexual exploitation being committed on a wide scale, yet failed to act.

Jay’s investigation was the fourth report clearly identifying the problem of child sexual exploitation in the town.

The first, commissioned by the Home Office in 2002, contained “severe criticisms” of the police and local council for their indifference to what was happening in Rotherham.

But instead of resolving the problem, senior police and council officers claimed the data in the report had been “fabricated or exaggerated” and subjected the report’s author to “personal hostility,” leading to “suspicions of collusion and cover up”, said Jay.

Following the publication of Jay’s report, Rotherham Borough Council leader Roger Stone, who has held the post since 2003, announced his resignation.

This is not the first time that child abuse reports make headlines in the UK as in 2013 members of a sadistic pedophile ring were found guilty of extreme abuse of schoolgirls as young as 11 in Oxford, southern England.

MR/AB

Journalist’s mom pleads ISIL for his life

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The mother of a hostage American journalist pleads for his release in a video directed at the ISIL terrorist group.

In a video message posted online Wednesday, Shirley Sotloff appealed to the ISIL leadership to “grant amnesty” to her 31-year-old son Steven J. Sotloff, a freelance journalist for Time magazine.

As a mother “I ask you to please release my child,” Shirley said addressing the “Caliph.”

“Since Steven’s capture, I have learned a lot about Islam. I’ve learned that Islam teaches that no individual should be held responsible for the sins of others. Steven has no control over the actions of the US government. He is an innocent journalist,” she says.

“You, the caliph, can grant amnesty. I ask you please to release my child,” she continues. “I ask you to use your authority to spare his life.”

Last week, a grisly video uploaded on YouTube and later confirmed as “authentic” by the White House showed an ISIL militant executing American journalist James Foley in retaliation for US airstrikes in Iraq.

In the video,  the ISIL militant threatened to also kill Sotloff, if its demands are not met.

The ISIL terrorist group had originally demanded the United States to provide a ransom of $100 million before decapitating Foley, but the US refused to pay, according to The New York Times.

“The life of this American citizen, Obama, depends on your next decision,” the ISIL militant is seen in the video after beheading Foley, as he is holding Sotloff with his hands cuffed behind his back in the same landscape.

Sotloff remains in the hands of terrorists. The ISIL group in Syria is reportedly demanding a $6.6 million ransom for releasing a 26-year-old American woman.

The woman, whose identity is being kept secret at her family’s request for fears of her safety, was captured in Syria last year while doing humanitarian aid work, the Associated Press reported.

The Takfiris have recently threatened to kill American hostages unless the US stops bombing their positions on Mount Sinjar and Kurdish capital of Irbil.

AN/HRJ

 

Erdogan takes office as president

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Recep Tayyip Erdogan is officially sworn in as Turkey’s new president after winning the country’s first-ever popular vote for the head of state.

Erdogan, who served as prime minister for three consecutive terms, took the oath of office during a special session of the parliament on Thursday.

“In my capacity as President of the Republic, I swear upon my honor and repute before the great Turkish nation and before history to safeguard the existence and independence of the state,” he said at the swearing-in ceremony.

Lawmakers from the mainstream opposition Republican People’s Party (CHP) walked out of the session before Erdogan took his oath.

CHP leader Kemal Kilicdaroglu boycotted the event entirely, saying Erdogan breached Turkey’s constitution by remaining in office as prime minister after his presidential win.

CHP deputy Aykan Erdemir said, “We’re now more worried than ever about one-man, autocratic rule in Turkey.”

Erdogan takes over from Abdullah Gul, with whom he founded Turkey’s ruling Justice and Development Party (AKP). The presidential post is ceremonial in Turkey, but Erdogan has promised to use his dormant powers.

Erdogan won Turkey’s first direct presidential election with more than 51 percent of the vote on August 10.

A day after winning the presidential election, the European Union called on Erdogan to show more tolerance towards his opponents.

Erdogan has come under fire on several occasions both at home and abroad for his government’s crackdown on the opposition.

Turkey has been the scene of protests against the president in recent months. Most of the demonstrations have turned violent.

KA/HSN/SL

‘Women in politics: UK lagging behind’

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A new study shows that Britain is lagging behind almost all major industrialized European nations and some other countries with respect to the number of women in politics.

According to the annual report by the Counting Women In coalition, Britain stands at the 65th position in the world for female representation at all levels of politics.

The study said that women made up only 22 percent of cabinet ministers, 23 percent of MPs and 23 percent of peers. Women also showed very little presence in local government.

“Along with other excluded groups, women have already waited for generations for equal access to power, and we’re still being asked to wait decades to achieve it. That’s not good enough – we need real change now,” said Nan Sloane, author of the report and director of the Center for Women and Democracy.

Nearly every major industrialized European nation has a better record on women’s participation in politics, with Germany placed 21st, Italy 31st and France 48th.

Moreover, Britain has fallen behind Equatorial Guinea, Madagascar and Kyrgyzstan in its efforts to increase the number of women in politics.

Fifteen years ago, Britain ranked 33rd in the world but had dropped to 62nd by 2010, the study said.

The report comes as critics jeer at British Prime Minister David Cameron over his failure to make an impact on women’s role in politics.

“If the Prime Minister (David Cameron) thinks nothing of appointing only four women out of 22 to his Cabinet, no wonder we don’t have more women’s voices in politics. All parties have a responsibility,” said Gloria de Piero, Shadow Minister for Women and Equality.

GMA/AB

Syria militants seize UN peacekeepers

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A UN spokesman says an “armed group” is holding 43 UN peacekeepers in the occupied Golan Heights while another 81 are trapped.

The UN Disengagement Observer Force (UNDOF) personnel were detained on Thursday near Quneitra during fighting between Syrian government forces and foreign-backed militants.

The incident comes a day after militants, believed to be affiliated with the al-Qaeda-linked al-Nusra Front, took control of a crossing into the Israeli-occupied Syrian territory of the Golan Heights.

UNDOF currently has 1,223 troops from India, Fiji, Nepal, Ireland, the Netherlands and the Philippines.

“The United Nations is making every effort to secure the release of the detained peacekeepers and to restore the full freedom of movement of the force throughout its area of operation,” the office of UN Secretary-General Ban Ki-moon said in a statement.

Al-Qaeda-linked militants are operating against the Syrian government forces and stray mortar rounds have hit the Israeli-occupied Golan Heights on several occasions.

Over 170,000 people have reportedly been killed and millions displaced due to the turmoil fueled by the foreign-backed Takfiri terrorists in Syria since March 2011.

The Golan Heights has been under the Israeli occupation since the 1960s. The Tel Aviv regime captured the Golan Heights during the Six-Day War of 1967.

It annexed the Golan Heights in 1981, although the move was never recognized by the international community and was a violation of international law.

The UN Security Council has rejected the de facto annexation in Resolution 497. The UN also regards the Golan Heights as an occupied territory.

KA/HSN

Houthis stage fresh protest in Sana’a

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Supporters of Yemen’s Shia Houthi movement have held a massive protest rally in the capital, Sana’a, calling on the country’s transitional government to relinquish power.

Tens of thousands of Houthis and their supporters defied an earlier warning by the government to disperse and took to the streets in Sana’a on Thursday, calling on the transitional administration to quit power.

The outraged participants accused the government of corruption and marginalizing the country’s Shia Muslim community.

The protesters also threatened that they would intensify their pressure should Sana’a refuses to meet their demands, chanting, “We will not back away. Our people will step up the pressure.”

The demonstrators also held a sit-in near the country’s main airport amid the latest wave of anti-government protests.

The large gathering was held a day after Yemeni President Abd Rabbuh Mansur Hadi warned Houthi anti-government protesters, saying that the United States and its allies oppose the group’s show of force.

In a similar event on Wednesday, hundreds of thousands flooded the streets, demanding the downfall of the government after Houthi leader Abd al-Malik al-Houthi for more anti-government protests.

Houthis have been holding demonstrations since August 20 when they strengthened their positions in the Yemeni capital in an effort to press the government to quit.

The Shia movement and its supporters are demanding the resignation of the government and the reversal of recent increases in fuel prices.

The Houthi movement played a key role in the popular revolution that forced former dictator Ali Abdullah Saleh to step down.

Saleh, who ruled Yemen for more than three decades, resigned in early 2012 under a US-backed power transfer deal in return for immunity, after a year of mass street demonstrations demanding his ouster.

MKA/HSN