Armed U.S. aircraft now flying over Iraq - defense officials

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Washington: The Obama administration is flying armed aircraft over Iraq, defense officials said on Friday, adding that the flights were aimed at gathering intelligence and ensuring the safety of U.S. personnel on the ground rather than conducting strikes.

Spent shells litter the ground after clashes between Iraqi security forces and the predominantly Sunni militants from the radical ISIL at Dalli Abbas in Diyala province (courtesy: Reuters)

'What I would tell you is that we continue to fly both manned and unmanned aircraft over Iraq at the ... Iraqi government's request, predominantly for reconnaissance purposes. Some of those aircraft are armed,' Rear Admiral John Kirby, a Pentagon spokesman, told reporters.

'The reason that some of those aircraft are armed is primarily for force protection reasons now that we have introduced into the country some military advisers whose objective will be to operate outside the confines of the embassy,' he said.

The United States has increased manned and unmanned reconnaissance flights over Iraq - to about 30 to 35 a day - in an effort to help Prime Minister Nuri al-Maliki's government repel the advance of Islamist militants from the Islamic State in Iraq and the Levant (ISIL).

More than two years after U.S. forces withdrew, the White House has ruled out sending troops back into combat in Iraq, but it has dispatched military advisors and said it would consider air strikes against the insurgents, who have seized cities and towns across western and northern Iraq.

U.S. intelligence about the ISIL advance is improving but it could take weeks to complete a detailed picture of the threat, and any possible strikes do not appear imminent, U.S. officials said.

The Obama administration also has been working to speed up delivery of U.S. weaponry that Iraq is buying from the United States.

Iraq has requested 800 Hellfire air-to-ground missiles, which enable helicopters to battle tanks and other armored vehicles, in addition to the hundreds of Hellfire missiles that should be delivered to the country in coming weeks, Kirby said.

'We're processing that as we speak,' he said.

REUTERS

Bomb explosions unnerve Malayali nurses in Iraq

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Thiruvananthapuram: Already coping with reports of Iraqi rebels stepping up their operations, the 46 nurses from Kerala holed up in Tikrit were further unnerved when bombs went off in the hospital compound where they are staying, one of them said on Saturday.

Speaking to IANS over phone from Tikrit, a Kerala nurse who did not wish to be identified said that whatever peace of mind they had disappeared when the bombs, believed to be dropped from a helicopter, exploded in their hospital compound on Friday evening.

"The sound of the explosion sent shivers down our spines. The explosion occurred around 150 metres from our building. Our impression is that these bombs were dropped from a helicopter. We are all praying (for deliverance)," said the nurse.

She said they are in constant touch with the Indian Ambassador in Iraq, also a Kerala native, and he has assured them something will be done.

"We are told that an Indian naval ship believed to take us back is on its way to Kuwait (which borders Iraq)," said the nurse.

It's been two weeks since they stopped going to work. Of the 46 nurses, 35 have packed and are ready to return any moment while 11 of them wish to remain. Baghdad airport is around two hours' drive from our place. So far we have had no problem getting the basic amenities at our residence," added the nurse.

Meanwhile, a Kerala government official said they are confident that their efforts will bear fruit.

"Shashi Tharoor (who represents the Thiruvananthapuram Lok Sabha constituency) is using his influence in the United Nations to see that these nurses are safely brought back," said the official who did not wish to be identified. Tharoor is a former top official of the UN.

IANS

Four found guilty of gang-raping Bengali teen

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Kannur: Four persons accused of raping a teen-aged girl from West Bengal have been found guilty by a court here on Saturday.

The District Sessions Court at Thalassery found Plathottathil Veetil Biju (38), Kombana Parambil Muhammed Sali (25), Kannoth Veetil Muhammed Shareef (27) and N K Jamsheer (23) guilty of the crime and ordered cancellation of their bail.

The court also ordered that the guilty be lodged in the Kannur sub jail. The quantum of the punishment will be pronounced on Monday.

The hearing was held in-camera in the presence of the victim, the judge, a translator, and the counsels of both the parties. The victim’s sister’s husband, Darul Islam who was an eye witness to the crime, recognized the gang members during the trial.

The incident happened on December 24, 2011, when a teen-aged girl from West Bengal, who reached here to see her lover, was brutally raped by the four-member group at Vayathur near Ulikkal.

According to the police, the girl from Murshidabad in West Bengal reached Iritty on December 16 in search of her lover. When she came to know that the youth was working at Virajpet on the border of Karnataka state, she went to meet him along with her sister’s husband and another native of Bengal. The youth could not be spotted in Virajpeta as he had already returned to Bengal.

The girl along with her relative and the native of Bengal were on their way back to Iritty when those in a lorry offered them lifts. Instead of taking them to Iritty, as asked by the girl, the gang took them to a river-bank at Vayathur and raped her after tying the two others to the lorry. The gang who raped the girl also invited another youth to join their nefarious deed.

Three killed in Delhi building collapse

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New Delhi: Three people were killed and at least nine others injured after a building collapsed here Saturday morning, an official said.

The building collapsed around 9 a.m. in North Delhi's Inderlok area.

"Three people have been killed in the incident. The rescue operation is still on to bring out those who are still trapped under the debris," North Delhi Municipal Council (NDMC) mayor Yogender Chandolia told IANS.

The NDMC has provided an excavator to remove the debris in addition to the four fire tenders sent by the fire department, he added.

"Nine injured people have been taken to Bara Hindu Rao Hospital, out of them four are in critical condition," Deputy Commissioner of Police Madhur Verma told IANS.

Verma said four to five families lived in the building and around 15 people are still feared trapped under the debris.

"The Rescue operation is still underway," Verma added.

Flipkart unveils tablet for Rs.9,999

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Bangalore: India's largest e-commerce player Flipkart Thursday launched its first tablet Digiflip Pro, priced at Rs.9,999.

The tablet comes in black and white variants with shopping benefits worth Rs.5,000 and free e-books valued at Rs.2,000 from the company.

'Launching our own tablet, we have taken another step towards building an entire e-commerce ecosystem in the country. With one of the largest user bases, we have access to huge data that allows us to predict what kind of products and services will work in the market,' Flipkart vice president Michael Adnani said in a statement here.

With a dual SIM 3G calling facility for faster data connectivity and voice calling, the seven inch size tablet has a 1.3 gigahertz (GHz) quad core cortex processor and one gigabyte memory.

Service for tablets will be available through the company's 120 network centres in over 100 cities across the country.

'Customers across 13 cities, including Delhi, Mumbai, Bangalore, Chennai, Kolkata and Hyderabad can avail of 24-hour service by visiting any of the 22 centres we have partnered with in these cities,' the statement said.

Launched in October 2007, Flipkart offers 15 million products across 70 categories. With 18 million registered users, the portal claims to have 3.5 million hits a day and five million shipments a month.

Indian arrested in Kuwait for money laundering

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Kuwait City: An expatriate Indian has been arrested on arrival at the Kuwait International Airport on charges of money laundering, media reported.

The unidentified Indian, who flew from India, was found with an undeclared amount of 12,000 Kuwaiti dinars (over $42,550) in cash in his luggage by a customs officer, Arab Times reported Wednesday.

He has been referred to the authorities concerned for further investigations.

According to Kuwait law, passengers are not allowed to carry more than 3,000 Kuwaiti dinars in cash. 

19 killed in bomb attack in Baghdad

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Baghdad : At least 19 people were killed and 41 were wounded in a bomb explosion in the Iraqi capital Thusday, a police source said.

A suicide bomber blew up himself at a popular market in a Shiite-majority of Kadhimiyah area, north of Baghdad, leaving 19 people dead and 41 others injured, the source told Xinhua on condition of anonymity.

Iraq is witnessing some of its worst violence in recent years. According to the UN Assistance Mission for Iraq, a total of 8,868 Iraqis, including 7,818 civilians and civilian police personnel, were killed in 2013, the highest annual death toll in years.

More US advisors reach Iraq

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Washington: Four teams of 50 US advisors have reached Baghdad to help the Iraqi military counter Sunni insurgents who have made rapid advances in the country.

US forces in Baghdad have started the first of two planned joint operations centres to assess the security situation, Xinhua quoted Pentagon spokesman Steve Warren as saying.

'It will serve as a centre where information that's coming in from the various teams of advisors can be consolidated and analysed,' Warren said.

The 50 are part of 300 US military advisors President Barack Obama has ordered into Iraq to assess the offensive by the Islamic State of Iraq and Greater Syria (ISIS).

The group has overrun towns and cities across the country's north and west and is moving closer to Baghdad, Warren said.

The US teams are mainly from the army's special forces. Overall, there are some 500 American military personnel in Iraq.

14 killed in Andhra gas pipeline blast

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Hyderabad: 14 people were burnt to death and scores of others injured in a huge explosion and fire that took place at a GAIL gas pipeline in East Godavari district of Andhra Pradesh early Friday morning, officials said.

The dead include three women and three children while about 30 people were injured. The death toll may rise as the condition of 15 of them is said to be critical.

State Finance Minister Y. Ramakrishnudu told reporters that 14 people were killed and many others were injured when the fire broke out around 5.30 a.m. in Nagaram village in Mamidikuduru mandal of the coastal district.

The minister said: 'The fire caused massive losses. Coconut trees and other crops in over 10 acres were reduced to ashes.'

The injured were shifted to hospitals at Amalapuram and Kakinada towns.

The blast rocked the 18-inch pipeline of state-owned Gas Authority of India Limited (GAIL) near Tatipaka refinery of the Oil and Natural Gas Corporation (ONGC), about 550 km from Hyderabad.

GAIL officials said the cause of the fire would be known only after a thorough probe.

They said Rescue and relief operations were underway at the blast site.

The huge flames leaping out of the pipeline damaged houses and shops near the blast site. The villagers ran out of their houses in panic as the fire accompanied by loud blasts engulfed a large area.

Local police officials said fire tenders brought the blaze control.

Chief Minister N. Chandrababu Naidu is cutting short his visit to Delhi and rushing to the accident site. He along with senior officials will be landing at Rajahmundry airport, about 90 km from the blast site.

Naidu expressed grief at the loss of lives in the GAIL pipeline explosion. 'He reviewed the situation with district collector and senior officials from Delhi,' said an official statement.

Naidu directed Deputy Chief Minister N. Chinna Rajappa to rush to the blast site to monitor rescue and relief operations.

Rajappa, who is also the home minister, asked district officials to take all measures to provide relief to the injured.

Union Minister for Urban Development M. Venkaiah Naidu apprised Prime Minister Narendra Modi of the incident. He also spoke to officials of the petroleum ministry.

YSR Congress party chief Y.S. Jagan Mohan Reddy expressed shock and grief over the accident. He demanded best medicare to the injured and a probe into the incident.

Bangladesh JI leader faces death penalty

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DHAKA: Bangladesh´s war crimes court is set to deliver a verdict Tuesday against the leader of the largest Islamist party, who could face the death penalty for his alleged crimes during the 1971 independence struggle.

Motiur Rahman Nizami, 71, faces 16 charges ranging from mass killing to rape, arson and genocide, relating to violence committed by one of the most notorious militias during the war which he is suspected of leading. A death sentence could trigger violent protests in the country as Nizami´s Jamaat-e-Islami party has a strong grassroots base with hundreds of thousands of activists and supporters.

Similar verdicts including the execution of a senior Jamaat leader last year saw massive unrest nationwide as Islamists fought with security forces in towns and cities, leaving around 200 people dead. Police were seen patrolling important places in the capital Dhaka while private television Channel 24 said border guards have been deployed in major cities and towns across the country to prevent any violence. Nizami, the president of Jamaat-e-Islami, pleaded not guilty and accuses the country´s secular government of using the special war crimes court to target opposition leaders.

Prosecutors say Nizami was one of the chief architects of the mass killings of Bengalis in the 1971 independence war which saw Bangladesh emerge from what was then called East Pakistan. The government says three million people died in the war. Independent researchers put the estimate between 300,000 and 500,000. "He established the Al-Badr forces during the war to support the Pakistani army," prosecutor Mohammad Ali told AFP ahead of the verdict and the sentencing, which he said would come on Tuesday.

As head of Al Badr, he was involved "in committing crimes against humanity such as genocide, murder, rape and arson" as well as the murder of the country´s top intellectuals, Ali said.

Nizami, a minister in the Islamist-allied government of 2001-6 is already on death row after being sentenced to death in January for trafficking weapons and trying to ship them to a rebel group in northeast India.