B2 WORLD Tuesday, July 22, 2014
THE PRESS, Christchurch
MIDDLE EAST
Scores killed on bloodiest day
The first major ground battle in the past that were not true. For
two weeks of Israel-Hamas fighting Israelis, a captured soldier would
exacted a steep price yesterday.
be a nightmare scenario. HamasIn what has been the bloodiest allied militants seized an Israeli
episode since the start of Israel’s soldier in a cross-border raid in
ground offensive against Hamas, 2006 and held him captive in Gaza
65 Palestinians and 13 Israeli until Israel traded more than 1000
soldiers were killed, and thou- Palestinian prisoners, some of
sands of terrified Palestinian whom were involved in grisly
civilians were forced to flee their killings, for his return in 2011.
neighbourhood, reportedly used to
Yesterday’s battle began when
launch rockets at Israel and now Israeli troops backed by tanks
devastated by the fighting.
entered the densely populated
Israeli Prime Minister Benja- Shijaiyah district. They were met
min Netanyahu said the offensive by a ‘‘huge’’ level of resistance by
would continue ‘‘as long as necess- Hamas fighters who fired anti-tank
ary’’ to end attacks from Gaza on missiles,
rocket-propelled
Israeli civilians.
grenades and automatic weapons
But Hamas seems defiant, inter- from houses and buildings, said
national ceasefire efforts are Lieutenant Colonel Peter Lerner,
stalled, and international criticism an army spokesman.
is becoming more
Residents
said
vocal as the death
they came under
toll among Palestinintense Israeli tank
ian civilians rises.
fire.
United Nations
‘‘The gate of hell
chief Ban Ki-moon
has opened, and
called Israel’s latest
shrapnel
came
incursion
through
the
‘‘atrocious,’’
and
windows,’’ Shijaiyah
said it must do far
resident
Jawad
more to protect
Hassanain said by
Jawad Hassanain
civilians.
phone. He and his
In Israel, public Shijaiyah resident
family fled to a
opinion will struggle
nearby
building
to tolerate rising military losses in after their house shook from
an open-ended campaign. Already, explosions.
yesterday’s deaths marked the
After daybreak the extent of the
highest number of soldiers killed devastation slowly became apparon a single day since Israel’s war ent: at least 65 Palestinians had
in Lebanon in 2006.
been killed and nearly 300
The ferocious battle in Gaza wounded, Gaza health officials
City’s Shijaiyah neighbourhood said, while dozens of homes were
came on the third day of Israel’s badly damaged or destroyed.
ground offensive, which had been
Casualties were rushed to
preceded by a 10-day air campaign. Gaza’s central Shifa Hospital.
In all, at least 432 Palestinians Wailing parents, some covered
have been killed and more than with blood or dust from debris,
3000 wounded in the past two carried children peppered by
weeks. The overall death toll on shrapnel, and the emergency room
the Israeli side rose to 20, includ- quickly
overflowed,
forcing
ing 18 soldiers, along with dozens doctors to treat some patients in a
of wounded troops, during that hallway.
period.
During a brief Red CrossHamas spokesman Mushir al- brokered lull later in the day, resMasri claimed yesterday his group cue workers toured the neighbourhad captured an Israeli soldier. An hood to retrieve the dead, pulling
announcement on Gaza TV of the bodies from the rubble of homes.
soldier’s capture set off celebration
In a last sweep of the area on
in the streets of Gaza City.
Sunday afternoon, rescue workers
But the claim could not immedi- heard the faint voice of a woman in
ately be verified and the Israeli the rubble of a house.
military said it was investigating
‘‘I’m here with my husband and
the report. Hamas has made simi- niece,’’ the woman said, adding
lar claims of capturing Israelis in that there were also three bodies
Mombasa shooting
To the rescue: A medic helps a Palestinian in a Gaza City neighbourhood after heavy shelling by Israel during the latest fighting.
near her. ‘‘I’m here under the
shop. God please, I can’t breathe.’’
In the incident witnessed by
Associated Press journalists,
rescuers tried to organise a bulldozer, but the situation was
deemed too dangerous and the
crew left. Later, the rescue
workers returned with a bulldozer,
after coordination with Israeli
forces through the Red Crescent,
and pulled the three from the
rubble, said Said Hamam, a member of the rescue services.
The 13 Israeli soldiers were
killed in several separate incidents
in Shijaiyah, including gun battles
and rocket attacks. In the
deadliest, Gaza fighters detonated
a bomb near an armoured personnel carrier, killing seven soldiers
inside, the army said. In another
Star of TV and film dies
AP
Famous face: James Garner was best
known as detective Jim Rockford, the
title character of crime series The
Photo: REUTERS
Rockford Files.
Today is Tuesday, July 22.
Highlights in history on this
date:
1298 - William Wallace, who
led Scottish resistance
against English rule,
uses extra-long spears
against mounted
soldiers at the Battle of
Falkirk.
1620 - Exiled British
Pilgrims set out from
Holland for the
New World on their
ship Speedwell, which
leaks so badly they
return to England and
transfer to the
Mayflower.
1933 - US aviator Wiley
Post completes first
solo airplane flight
around the world in
seven days, 18 hours
and 45 minutes.
1987 - Lotto launches in
New Zealand.
2001 - Divers begin
preparations for raising
the sunken Russian
nuclear submarine
Kursk, which sank in
August 2000 during a
training exercise in the
Barents Sea off
northern Russia, killing
all 118 crew members.
2011 - Norwegian gunman
Anders Behring Breivik
sets off explosives in
government buildings in
Oslo, then goes to a
summer camp dressed
as a police officer and
guns down young
people as they run and
swim for their lives.
Seventy-seven people
are killed in the Nordic
nation’s worst violence
since World War II.
Iran has been warned that it has
one ‘‘last chance’’ to resolve the
crisis over its nuclear programme
and end its international isolation,
after talks aimed at reaching a deal
with the West were extended by
four months.
Diplomats from Tehran and six
world powers agreed to continue
the negotiations in Vienna until
November after failing to reach
agreement by yesterday’s deadline.
Iran’s unwillingness to compromise has caused frustration as the
West seeks to deny the regime any
chance of building atomic
weapons.
‘‘These few months until
November could be the last and
best chance for a long time to end
the nuclear argument peacefully,’’
said Frank-Walter Steinmeier, the
German foreign minister.
The deadline is now November
24, a year after an interim deal was
reached in Geneva under which
Iran agreed to suspend the most
controversial elements of its
nuclear programme for modest
Tragic loss: Israeli soldiers mourn during the funeral of comrade Bnaya Rubel in
Holon, near Tel Aviv, yesterday.
John Kerry: ‘‘No deal is better than a bad
deal,’’ the US Secretary of State said
Photo: REUTERS
about Iran yesterday.
relief from economic sanctions.
The two sides agreed to release
a further US$2.8 billion (NZ$3.2b)
in frozen Iranian assets. In return,
Tehran would continue to neutralise its uranium oxide enriched to
20 per cent purity, converting it
into fuel plates for a research reactor. This makes it all but impossible for the uranium to be
converted
to
weapons-grade
material.
The talks remain deadlocked
over Iran’s uranium enrichment
capacity. Tehran has 19,000
centrifuges at two sites and has
balked at Western demands cut
them to below 5000. United Nations
inspectors are being denied access
to officials and sites suspected of
involvement in nuclear weapons
testing.
John Kerry, the United States
secretary of state, said ‘‘no deal is
better than a bad deal’’.
‘‘The vast majority of frozen oil
revenues will remain inaccessible.
We will continue to vigorously
enforce the sanctions that remain
in place,’’ Kerry said.
He extended his stay in Vienna
last week for two days of talks with
his
Iranian
counterpart,
Mohammad Javad Zarif.
Philip Hammond, Britain’s
foreign secretary, said the West
would take time needed for an
agreement but added: ‘‘Iran needs
to adopt a more realistic approach
if we are to achieve this.’’ The Times
❯❯ Three years after famine in
Somalia killed a quarter of a million
people in six months, aid agencies
are warning a new catastrophe is
looming unless urgent aid arrives. A
joint statement issued by a group of
charities and aid agencies said there
were more than 300,000
malnourished children in the east
African country and 2.9 million
people in need of life-saving help.
Without funding, the charities
warned aid programmes could be
forced to shut down even as the
number of people facing starvation in
the war-ravaged country is expected
to rise, with 1.1 million internally
displaced people the hardest hit.
Reef under threat
❯❯ The Great Barrier Reef is in the
worst state it has been in since
records began and will be ‘‘pretty
ugly’’ within 40 years, Australian
scientists say. A senate committee is
investigating how the Australian and
Queensland governments have
managed the reef, with Unesco to
decide next year whether to list it as
a World Heritage site in danger.
Scientists say it faces threats from
port-related dredging at Abbot Point,
farm run-off and poor water quality.
It cannot rejuvenate after times of
stress as it once did, they say.
No Anzac holiday
❯❯ Instead of a long weekend away,
Victorians are being told to stay at
home to mark Anzac Day next year.
The Victorian government has
chosen not to allow a public holiday
when Anzac Day falls on a Saturday.
‘‘The purpose of Anzac Day is to
respect, commemorate and
remember the brave soldiers who
sacrificed so much for our
freedoms,’’ Small Business Minister
Russell Northe said. ‘‘It is not about
getting a day off and taking for
granted the liberties our soldiers
fought so bravely to protect.’’ Northe
said trading restrictions would apply
no matter on which day April 25 fell.
IRAQ
Off the rocks
Harassment of Christians
condemned by al-Maliki
Photo: REUTERS
The Costa Concordia during the
refloat operation from rocks at
Giglio harbour at Giglio Island
yesterday. The massive hulk is
about to be towed away from
the Italian island where it
struck a rock and capsized 21⁄2
years ago, killing 32 people. The
rusting prow of the oncegleaming white luxury liner has
❯❯ At least four people were killed in
the Kenyan coastal city of Mombasa
in an attack by armed men on a
motorbike yesterday. Eight people
were wounded, medical sources said.
Mombasa chief of police Robert Kitur
said the killers’ identity was not yet
known. No-one has yet claimed
responsibility. Mombasa has been the
scene of worsening shootings and
bombings blamed on Somalia’s al
Qaeda-linked Shebab rebels or local
supporters.
New famine alert
Another ‘last chance’ for
regime as nuke talks fail
ON THIS DAY
6195562AA
incident, three soldiers were killed
when they became trapped in a
burning building.
Despite the losses, Lieutenant
General Benny Gantz said Israel
intends to escalate the operation.
Gaza
residents
received
automated phone calls late
Sunday, warning them to evacuate
refugee camps in the centre of the
Gaza Strip.
Israel had launched the campaign to hurt Hamas’ ability to fire
rockets and to destroy tunnels dug
by the militants to sneak into
Israel to carry out attacks.
Shijaiyah was targeted as a
Hamas stronghold and because 8
per cent of more than 1700 rockets
fired at Israel since July 8 were
launched from there, said Lerner.
Photos: REUTERS
IRAN
Celebrating the best of
building in Canterbury.
Don’t miss out on this
exclusive feature. Pick up
your copy of The Press,
Wednesday, July 23.
❯❯ Suspected Islamists raided the
remote northeast Nigerian town of
Damboa at the weekend, shooting
dead more than 40 residents and
burning down houses in a familiar
pattern of killing that has forced tens
of thousands to flee their homes this
year. Witnesses and a security source
said the gunmen, thought to be
members of Boko Haram, struck
before dawn on Saturday. Boko
Haram, which is fighting for an
Islamic state in Nigeria, has
relentlessly targeted civilians this
year, mostly in the remote, hilly
region bordering northern
Cameroon.
❯❯ North Korea has defended its
recent missile tests as a legitimate
exercise in self-defence, and says
South Korean and US charges of
provocation are malicious and
hypocritical. The North has
conducted six missile, rocket and
heavy artillery tests the past month.
The launches included ballistic missile
tests, which North Korea is banned
from conducting under UN
resolutions. The National Defence
Commission said condemnation of
the tests was absurd given the largescale military drills the South Korean
and US forces conduct every year.
UNITED STATES
in the 1990s for several TV movies.
He was nominated for his role at
the Emmy Awards for five consecutive years and eventually won
in 1977.
He is also famous for his leading role in Maverick. He later costarred with Mel Gibson in the
1994 big-screen version. He also
appeared in the movie classic The
Great Escape. In 2008, Garner
suffered a stroke and had worked
WENN
little since.
40 civilians killed
Tests defended
The gate
of hell
has opened,
and shrapnel
came through
the windows.
The Rockford Files star James Garner has died, aged 86.
Emergency services were called
to Garner’s Los Angeles home on
Sunday.
The
actor
was
pronounced dead at the scene,
according to a report by TMZ.com.
No cause of death was released.
Garner is best known as detective Jim Rockford, the title character of crime series The Rockford
Files. The series ran from 1974 to
1980 and he later reprised the role
WORLD
BRIEFS
emerged fully from the water
for the first time. Its departure
has been pushed back a day due
to forecasts of rough seas. A
convoy of 14 vessels is set to tow
the Concordia to a port near
Genoa, where it will be broken
up for scrap, completing one of
the biggest maritime salvage
operations in history.
Iraq’s prime minister has condemned the Islamic State extremist group’s actions targeting
Christians in territory it controls,
saying they reveal the threat the
jihadists pose to the minority community’s ‘‘centuries-old heritage’’.
The comments from Nouri alMaliki come a day after the expiration of a deadline imposed by the
Islamic State group calling on
Christians in the militant-held city
of Mosul to convert to Islam, pay a
tax or face death. Most Christians
opted to flee to the nearby self-rule
Kurdish region or other areas
protected by Kurdish forces.
At the Vatican, Pope Francis
expressed his concern, offering
prayers for Iraqi Christians who
‘‘are persecuted, chased away,
forced to leave their houses without the possibility of taking anything’’ with them.
Iraq’s Christian communities
date back to the first centuries of
the religion. Before the 2003 US-led
invasion about a million Christians called Iraq home; church
officials now estimate the community at around 450,000.
UN Secretary-General Ban Kimoon condemned ‘‘the systematic
persecution of minority populations in Iraq by Islamic State and
associated armed groups,’’ in particular the recent threats against
Christians in Mosul. Many accuse
al-Maliki’s Shiite-led government
of fuelling the crisis by failing to
promote reconciliation with the
Sunni minority.
Iraq’s new parliament elected a
new speaker last week – the first
step towards forming a new government. Lawmakers are expected
to meet tomorrow to vote on a new
president. By custom, the largely
ceremonial post goes to a member
AP
of the Kurdish minority.