Issue link: https://www.epageflip.net/i/351692
Newsfeed BAGHDAD Iraq'sPrime Minister Nouri al-Maliki rejected an attempt by Iran to persuade him to step down, senior Iraqi politicians said Wednes- day, underlining his de- termination to defy even his top ally to push for a third term in office. Al-Maliki has for weeks been resisting growing pressure for him to step aside, including from former Shiite politi- cal allies and from Iraq's top Shiite spiritual au- thority. His critics see the Shiite prime min- ister as too divisive to form a government that can win support from the Sunni minority against the militant-led Sunni in- surgency that has seized control of a large swath of the country. But the recent meet- ing between al-Maliki and Iran's pointman in Iraq, senior general Ghasem Soleimani, was the first sign that Iran also believed he should go. Iran was crucial for al-Maliki in winning a second term four years ago, when Tehran used leverage over Shiite par- ties to ensure their back- ing for him during gru- eling negotiations over a government at the time. Al-Maliki's rejection of the Iranian pressure puts Tehran in an un- clear position, effectively posing it the choice of relenting to his remain- ing in the post or of hik- ing up pressure. IRAQ Al-Malikirejects Iran's urging to step down as premier ABUJA, NIGERIA Bomb blasts that appeared to target former Nige- rian military ruler Mu- hammadu Buhari and a prominent moderate Muslim cleric killed doz- ens of people Wednes- day, but left both leaders unharmed, according to Nigerian state security. At least 39 other peo- ple were killed in the two blasts, said State Po- lice Commissioner Umar Usman Shehu. The death toll is expected to rise, as witnesses at both bomb sites said dozens of people were killed in each of the blasts. "The unfortunate event, clearly an assas- sination attempt, came from a fast moving vehi- cle that made many at- tempts to overtake my security car," said Bu- hari, in a statement is- sued after the bombings. "I came out unhurt, but with three of my secu- rity staff sustaining mi- nor injuries." Buhari is currently a leader of Nigeria's lead- ing opposition party, but is not yet a candidate for president as no contend- ers have been formally declared ahead of 2015 elections. NIGERIA 2 bomb blasts kill at least 39; intended target unharmed FREETOWN, SIERRA LE- ONE Sierra Leone's health minister confirms that the doctor in charge of battling the current Ebola outbreak has him- self become ill with the deadly disease. Minister of Health and Sanitation Miatta Kargbo issued a state- ment Tuesday saying that Dr. Sheik Humarr Khan has a confirmed case of Ebola. The minister de- scribed the stricken doc- tor as a national hero for the sacrifices he has made during the current outbreak of the hemor- rhagic fever. The minister said the doctor is now on his way to a Doctors Without Borders treatment center in Sierra Leone's eastern Kailahun District. More than 500 people have died in the current Ebola outbreak in three West African countries: Sierra Leone, Guinea and Liberia. HEALTH Sierra Leone doctor fighting Ebola catches disease WONGYAO-WEN—THEASSOCIATEDPRESS Rescue workers survey the wreckage of TransAsia Airways flight GE222which crashed while attempting to land in stormy weather on the Taiwanese island of Penghu. By Ralph Jennings The Associated Press TAIPEI,TAIWAN A plane at- tempting to land in stormy weather crashed on a small Taiwanese island late Wednesday, killing 47 peo- ple and wrecking houses and cars on the ground. The ATR-72 operated by Taiwan's TransAsia Air- ways was carrying 58 pas- sengers and crew when it crashed on Penghu in the Taiwan Strait between Tai- wan and China, authorities said. The plane was arriv- ing from the city of Kaoh- siung in southern Taiwan. Two people aboard the plane were French citi- zens and the rest Taiwan- ese, Transport Minister Yeh Kuang-shih told report- ers. The twin-engine turbo- prop crashed while making a second landing attempt, Yeh said. The crash of flight GE222 was Taiwan's first fatal air accident in 12 years and came after Typhoon Matmo passed across the island, causing heavy rains that continued into Wednes- day night. Some 200 air- line flights had been can- celed earlier in the day due to rain and strong winds. The official death toll was 47, according to Wen Chia- hung, spokesman for the Penghu disaster response center. He said the 11 other people were injured. Authorities were looking for one person who might have been in a house that was struck by wreckage, Wen said. A car was crushed by a toppled wall but Wen said no one was in it. President Ma Ying-jeou called it "a very sad day in the history of Taiwan- ese aviation," according to a spokesman for his of- fice, Ma Wei-kuo, the gov- ernment's Central News Agency reported. The plane came down in the village of Xixi out- side the airport. Televi- sion stations showed res- cue workers pulling bod- ies from wreckage. Photos in local media showed fire- fighters using flashlights to look through the wreckage, and buildings damaged by debris. Penghu, a scenic chain of 64 islets, is a popular tour- ist site about 150 kilometers (90 miles) southwest of the Taiwanese capital, Taipei. Residents said they heard thunder and then what sounded like an explosion, the news agency said. It cited the Central Weather Bureau as saying there were thunderstorms in the area. "I heard a loud bang," a local resident was quoted as saying by television station TVBS."Ithoughtitwasthun- der, andthen Iheard another bang and I saw a fireball not far away from my house." About 200 military per- sonnel were sent to help re- cover the people who were on the plane, Taiwanese Defense Ministry spokes- man Maj. Gen. Luo Shou- he said, according to the news agency. The ministry said mil- itary vehicles and ambu- lances were rushing people to hospitals and an air force rescue team was on standby to transfer survivors to Tai- wan's main island if needed for treatment, the agency reported. Plane crashes while la nd in g, 4 7 de ad TAIWAN By Sarah El Deeb The Associated Press CAIRO An Egyptian judge released his reasoning for harsh sentences issued against three Al-Jazeera journalists, saying they were brought together "by the devil" to destabilize the country. The main evidence cited in the 57-page docu- ment obtained by The As- sociated Press on Wednes- day was footage produced by the journalists that in- cluded voices critical of the government and showed the turmoil in Egypt after the overthrow of Islamist Presi- dent Mohammed Morsi last summer, as well as inter- views with families of those killed in the crackdown on Morsi supporters. The reasoning was re- leased a month after judge Mohammed Shehata con- victed and sentenced the three journalists, Austra- lian correspondent Peter Greste, Egyptian-Cana- dian acting Bureau Chief Mohammed Fahmy and Egyptian producer Baher Mohammed, to seven years over charges linked to aid- ing the Muslim Brother- hood, which the govern- ment declared a terrorist organization after the mil- itary's ouster of Morsi, a Brotherhood leader. The verdicts raised a storm of international de- nunciations, including from the United States. Rights groups called the trial a "sham" that sends a chilling message to the press. The defendants and Al-Jazeera denied the charges, saying they were being prosecuted merely for going their jobs. The three were convicted for spreading false informa- tion, faking reports to show that the country was on the verge of civil war, and for aiding the Brotherhood's goal in portraying Egypt as a failed state. Moham- med received an additional three years for his posses- sion of a spent bullet. Three other foreign reporters re- ceived a 10-year sentence in absentia. Twelve other co- defendants were sentenced to between seven and ten years, some of them in ab- sentia. Under Egyptian law, now that the judge has released his reasoning, the defen- dants can appeal the ver- dicts before the Court of Cassation, the highest court of appeal. In his reasoning, the judge stated that the defen- dants — who worked for Al- Jazeera's English-language channel — broadcast their material through a TV sta- tion that works "in the ser- vice of a banned terrorist or- ganization," referring to the Brotherhood — a blanket condemnation of the Qatar- based Al-Jazeera. But the document provided no clear link between the Brother- hood and the network, only saying that some members of the group were also oper- ating out of Qatar. Shehata rejected defense lawyers' arguments that ev- idence put forward by State Security investigators was insufficient and based on anonymous sources. She- hata said he found the ev- idence compelling, and found no "false allegations or contradictory state- ments" in investigators' tes- timony. "The defendants used the noble journalistic work for reasons other than its pur- poses, turning the profes- sion that seeks the truth to one that falsifies the truth," the statement said. "They were brought together by the devil to abuse this profession and turn it into acts against the nation." EGYPT Judge: Al-Jazeera did 'devil's' work By Ibrahim Barzak The Associated Press GAZA CITY, GAZA STRIP Is- raeli troops battled Hamas militants on Wednesday near a southern Gaza Strip town as the top U.S. diplo- mat reported progress in efforts to end fighting that has so far killed more than 680 Palestinians and 34 Is- raelis. But neither side ap- peared to be backing down, after Palestinian rocket fire led several in- ternational airlines to can- cel flights to Tel Aviv and Israeli troops clashed with Hamas near the Gaza town of Khan Younis in heavy fighting that forced dozens of families to flee. Hamas leader Khaled Mashaal later demanded Gaza's bor- ders be open and an end to the blockade against it, calling Palestinians "the true owners of the land." Israel has insisted it must substantially curb the military capabilities of the Islamic militant group Hamas — a position that appears to have gained sup- port within the U.S. admin- istration — while Hamas has demanded the lifting of a crippling Israeli and Egyptian blockade on the impoverished coastal terri- tory it has ruled since 2007. U.S. Secretary of State John Kerry flew into Tel Aviv despite a Federal Avi- ation Administration ban following a Hamas rocket that hit near the airport the day before, reflect- ing his determination to achieve a cease-fire. He met with Israeli Prime Minister Benja- min Netanyahu after ear- lier talks with Palestinian President Mahmoud Ab- bas and U.N. chief Ban Ki- moon, who is also in the region. But U.S. officials have downplayed expec- tations for an immediate, lasting truce. In Jerusalem, Kerry said negotiations toward a Gaza cease-fire were mak- ing some progress as he met for a second time this week with Ban. "We cer- tainly have made steps for- ward," Kerry said. "There's still work to be done." White House deputy national security adviser Tony Blinken meanwhile said Hamas must be de- nied the ability to "rain down rockets on Israeli civilians." "One of the results, one would hope, of a cease-fire would be some form of de- militarization so that this doesn't continue, doesn't repeat itself," Blinken said in an interview with NPR. "That needs to be the end result." On the ground, mean- while, Israeli troops backed by tanks and aer- ial drones clashed with Hamas fighters armed with rocket-propelled gre- nades and assault rifles on the outskirts of Khan You- nis, killing at least eight militants, a Palestinian health official said. The Palestinian Red Crescent was trying to evacuate some 250 peo- ple from the area, which has been pummeled by air strikes and tank shelling since early Wednesday. Hundreds of residents of eastern Khan Younis were seen fleeing their homes as the battle unfolded, flood- ing into the streets with what few belongings they could carry, many with children in tow. They said they were seeking shelter in nearby U.N. schools. "The airplanes and air- strikes are all around us," said Aziza Msabah, a resi- dent of Khan Younis. "They are hitting the houses, which are collapsing upon us." MIDEAST CONFLICT US pushes for truce amid Gaza battles Please help sponsor a classroom subscription Call Kathy at (530) 527-2151 to find out how. ThroughtheNewspapersinEducation program, area classrooms receive the Red Bluff Daily News every day thanks to the generosity of these local businesses & individuals. •SHOFFORTHODONTICS • DOLLING INSURANCE • GUMM'S OPTICAL SHOPPE • HOOKER CREEK INC. • CALIFORNIA WALNUT COMPANY • LEPAGE COMPANY INC. • MODERN CLEANERS • OLIVE CITY QUICK LUBE • WALMART • TEHAMA CO. DEPT. 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