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PEOPLES DAILY, MONday, JUNE 27, 2016
Asia&Middle-east
Iraqi Official: Fallujah ‘Fully Liberated’
Afghan Forces Kill 135 Militants Linked to IS
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raqi forces have liberated the city of Fallujah from Islamic State fighters, following a month-long military offensive to seize control, according to a senior Iraqi official. Lieutenant General AbdulWahab al-Saadi said Sunday Fallujah is now “fully liberated” after Iraqi forces took control of the Julan neighborhood, the last area of the city still held by IS. The destruction of the city is extensive. Backed by U.S.-led coalition airstrikes and a strong contingent of Shi’ite militias, Iraqi forces fought fiercely for weeks to oust the extremist fighters. There are no clear reports of how many IS militants and how many Iraqi security forces died or were wounded in the battle for the city. A member of the Iraqi security forces holds an Islamist State flag, after pulling it down from a building, in Fallujah, Iraq, June 25, 2016. A member of the Iraqi security forces holds an Islamist State flag, after pulling it down from a building, in Fallujah, Iraq, June 25, 2016. Afraid of dying in the crossfire, 85,000 people have flooded out of the city and surrounding areas, overwhelming humanitarian agencies and Iraqi government efforts to help them. Many of the displaced are without adequate shelter, living under searing summer temperatures of 45 degrees or higher and punishing sandstorms. “With every day that passes in the camps, the conditions for some of the most vulnerable keep deteriorating,” warned NRC’s Iraq Country Director Nasr Muflahi. Displaced Iraqis who fled the government’s operation against the Islamic State (IS) group in the city of Fallujah carry basic food items donated by a NGO called Preemptive Love Coalition on June 20, 2016 in a camp in Khaldiyeh. Displaced Iraqis who fled the government’s operation against the Islamic State (IS) group in the city of Fallujah carry basic food items donated by a NGO called Preemptive Love Coalition on June 20, 2016 in a camp in Khaldiyeh. The director of a health center in Amariyat al-Fallujah, where many of the displaced ran to, warned of the lack of water and sanitation.
Jerusalem Gay Pride stabbing: ultra-orthodox Yishai Schlissel
Afghan National Army (ANA) officers march during a training exercise at the Kabul Military Training Centre in Afghanistan, Oct. 7, 2015.
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fficials in eastern Afghanistan say security forces have killed more than 135 Islamic State (IS) militants, including top commanders, and wounded many more in days of ground and air raids near the border with Pakistan. The clashes in Nangarhar province’s Kot district subsided on Sunday, but search and clearing operations are still under way, said regional civilian and security chiefs, confirming at least 12 Afghan
security personnel were also killed while another 18 were wounded. Provincial Governor Salim Kunduzi told reporters in Jalalabad, the regional capital, the clashes in Kot erupted late Thursday when about 600 heavily armed men linked to Daesh (Arabic acronym for IS) staged coordinated attacks on security outposts in the area. The fighting has forced civilians to flee to safer areas, and more and more families are still moving away from the conflict zone, witnesses
reported. This was the first major battle IS militants inflicted on Afghan security forces beyond neighboring Achin district where loyalists of the Syria-based terror group are believed to have set up their regional base. The U.S. military spokesman in Kabul, Brigadier General Charles Cleveland, says its counterterrorism mission is helping Afghan partners prevent IS from increasing its influence in the country.
China warns Brexit will ‘cast shadow’ over global economy
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inance minister Lou Jiwei said the “repercussions and fallout” will emerge over the next five to 10 years. Huang Yiping, a member of China’s central bank monetary policy committee, said the Brexit could mark a “reversal of globalisation”. If so, he said, it would be “very bad” for both the world and China. Last year, China was responsible for $3.3 billion worth of foreign direct investment in Britain, according to law firm Baker & McKenzie. Between 2005 and 2015, it has invested nearly $30 billion in Britain. David Cameron announced £40 billion worth of deals between Britain and China following a visit to the UK by President Xi Jinping in October last year. While Mr Lou said the result “will cast a shadow over the global economy”, he added that it was difficult to predict the outcome and said the reaction from global stock markets, which fell sharply on Friday, may have been overdone. “The knee-jerk reaction from the market is probably a bit excessive and needs to calm down and take an objective view,” he said. Following the result of the vote,
China finance experts have warned that Britain’s decision to leave the European Union will “cast a shadow over the global economy”.
the pound plunged 10% against the dollar to a 31-year low before trimming losses to end the day around 7.5% down. Sterling also fell 11.4% against the Japanese yen which is seen by investors as a safe haven for investors in times of crisis. Japan hinted that it may intervene to stem the yen’s strength. Tomomi Inada, chairwoman of the Policy Research Council of the
ruling Liberal Democratic Party, said: “Speculative, violent moves (in the forex market) have extremely negative effects. If necessary, the government should not hesitate to respond, including currency intervention.” On Friday, the Swiss National Bank acted to weaken the Swiss franc which rose 2.1% against the dollar as investors rushed to buy the currency.
n Israeli court has given a life sentence to a man who killed a teenager and wounded five other marchers at last year’s Gay Pride parade in Jerusalem. Yishai Schlissel, 40, an ultra-Orthodox Jew, said he had been doing God’s will when he stabbed his victims. He managed to infiltrate the parade three weeks after completing a 10-year sentence for a similar attack in 2005. The court criticised the police, saying they had known the danger Schissel posed but failed to act properly. Shortly after his release, he had lashed out at homosexuality in interviews and said the Jerusalem march needed to be stopped. In anti-gay pamphlets, he asked Jews to “risk beatings or imprisonment” to act against the event. He stabbed six people during the march before being arrested. Shira Banki, 16, later died in hospital.
Gunmen kill Afghan judge in the province of Farah
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n Afghan judge has been shot dead by unidentified gunmen in the western province of Farah, officials say. The judge was abducted on Thursday and later shot dead before publicly displaying his body late on Saturday. “The judge was abducted by militants and taken to an unknown area,” Mohammad Naser Mehri, the spokesman for the Farah governor told Al Jazeera. “He was later shot and hanged, displaying the body to everyone.” Mehri said an investigation has been launched into the attack. The Khak-e Safid district where the judge was shot and hanged is an unstable area of the Farah province under Taliban control. The group has yet to claim responsibility for the killing. Violence has been rising sharply in recent months, with a series of roadside bombings and attacks, after the Taliban announced the appointment of its new leader, Mullah Haibatullah Akhunzada, last month.