QUOTE OF THE DAY
“Malicious terrorist attacks … will not deter the United Nations or weaken its resolve to stand by the people and government of Somalia as they work courageously to
build peace in their country.”
Eduardo del Buey, U.N. deputy spokesman, after al-Qaida-linked gunmen set off an explosion and raided the U.N. compound in Somalia’s capital Article, this page
Indian state reels as flood toll rises
LUCKNOW, India - Monsoon flooding that has stranded thousands of people and caused landslides in northern India has killed almost 120 people, and the prime minister said the toll could rise substantially.
Prime Minister Manmohan Singh said after returning from an aerial survey Wednesday that the death toll in Uttrakhand state was 102, but was feared to be much higher.
Another 17 people died in neighboring Uttar Pradesh state, said R.L. Vishwakarma, a state police officer.
After Singh’s comments, Uttrakhand’s Chief Minister Vijay Bahuguna said hundreds of people have lost their lives but the exact number would be known only after a survey.
A joint army and air force operation evacuated nearly 12,000 Hindu pilgrims stranded in the state but nearly 63,000 people remained cut off, according to Home Minister Sushilkumar Shinde. He said the flooding washed away roads and nearly two dozen bridges and demolished 365 houses and partially damaged 275 others in Uttrakhand.
Passive resistance gets nod in Turkey
ANKARA, Turkey - Turkey’s deputy prime minister gave a nod of approval Wednesday to a new form of peaceful resistance that is spreading through Turkey.
Although police dispersed pockets of protesters who set up barricades in two Turkish cities overnight, the sometimes violent anti-government demonstrations have largely given way to a passive form of resistance, with people standing motionless.
Hundreds of demonstrators stood still for hours in squares on main streets in several cities, mimicking a lone protester who started the trend Monday on Istanbul’s Taksim Square and has been dubbed the “standing man.”
In the first direct government comment on the new style of protest, Deputy Prime Minister Bulent Arinc said such standing protests are peaceful and “pleasing to the eye.”
Palestinian stand clouds talks bid
RAMALLAH, West Bank - The Palestinian president and his Fatah movement Wednesday signaled a tough line on talks with Israel, casting new doubt on U.S. efforts to revive long-stalled negotiations.
U.S. Secretary of State John Kerry is returning to the region next week, his fifth attempt this year to bridge wide gaps between the Palestinian leader, Mahmoud Abbas, and Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu on the ground rules for talks.
Abbas has said he won’t negotiate unless Israel stops building in settlements on war-won lands or accepts its 1967 lines - before the capture of the West Bank, Gaza Strip and east Jerusalem in a Mideast war that year - as a starting point for border talks.
Netanyahu has rejected the Palestinian demands, saying there should be no preconditions for the talks.
Both Abbas and Netanyahu are waiting for Kerry to present the proposed U.S. terms for renewing talks.
Front Section, Pages 7 on 06/20/2013