TIMES GLOBAL

WE ALL HAVE ABILITY.

THE DIFFERENCE IS
HOW WE USE IT
CHARLOTTE WHITTON
THE TIMES OF INDIA, AHMEDABAD | MONDAY, JULY 10, 2017

ACTOR OLIVIA MUNN TO REPRISE ROLE OF SHIA LABEOUF PICKS A FIGHT OVER CIGARETTE REFUSAL,
PSYLOCKE IN X-MEN: DARK PHOENIX HELD FOR PUBLIC DRUNKENNESS, DISORDERLY CONDUCT

Iraq ousts IS from Mosul after 9-month battle Trump plans

Fight Has Left Much Of The City In Ruins, Killed Thousands And Displaced 897,000 People
Mosul: Iraqi Prime Minister
Haider al-Abadi celebrated
with Iraqi troops on Sunday
in Mosul after they drove Isla-
mic State terrorists from so-
me of their last strongholds
in a nearly nine-month cam-
paign, although heavy figh-
ting by holdouts continu-
ed in parts of the Old City ne-
ighbourhood.
Dressed in a black milita-
ry uniform, a smiling al-Aba-
di walked amid the soldiers,
at one point grabbing an Iraqi
flag and briefly draping it on
his shoulders. Other troops
waved flags and pointed their
weapons in the air nearby.
Al-Iraqia TV quoted him
as saying he congratulates
the heroic fighters and the pe-
ople on the big victory in
Iraqs second-largest city,
even as fighting rang out in
pockets near the militants
last stand at the Tigris River.
BIG WIN: An Iraqi man takes a selfie with federal police as they
celebrate victory in the Old City of Mosul on Sunday
The loss of Mosul would
mark a major defeat for the Is-
lamic State terror group,
which has suffered a series of
setbacks over the past year.
AFP
The terrorists control less
than a square kilometre (less
than a mile) of territory in
the shattered city in nort-
hern Iraq, but they were
using human shields, suicide
bombers and snipers in a
fight to the death.
Islamic State terrorists
seized Mosul in the summer
of 2014 when they swept
across northern and central
Iraq. That summer, the gro-
ups leader, Abu Bakr al-
Baghdadi, appeared at Mo-
suls al-Nuri Mosque and de-
clared a caliphate on territo-
ry it seized in Iraq and Syria.
Iraq launched the opera-
tion to retake Mosul in Octo-
ber, backed by airstrikes from
the US-led coalition.
The fierce battle has kil-
led thousands and displaced
more than 897,000 people.
Last month, as soldiers of
the Iraqi army closed in on
Mosuls Old City, the terro-
rists destroyed the al-Nuri
Mosque and its famous lea-
ning minaret to deny the for-
ces a symbolic triumph.
Lt Gen Jassim Nizal of the
armys 9th Division said his
forces achieved victory in
their sector, after a similar
announcement by the milita-
rised Federal Police. His sol-
diers danced to patriotic mu-
sic atop tanks even as airstri-
kes sent up plumes of smoke
in nearby areas.
Nizal acknowledged that
many of his men were among
those who fled the city when
IS forces seized Mosul in 2014
in a humiliating defeat for the
Iraqi armed forces.
Some things happened
here, thats true, he said.
But we have come back.
Much of the Old City and
surrounding areas have been
devastated by the gruelling
urban combat. On Sunday, a
line of weary civilians wal-
ked out of the Old City, past
the shells of destroyed apart-
ment blocks lining the crate-
red roads. Heba Walid held
cybersecurity
her sister-in-laws baby,
which was born into war. The
parents of the 6-month-old,
along with 15 other family
unit with Russia
members, were killed last
month when an airstrike hit
Faces Flak From Republicans Reuters
their home. When Walid ran
out of formula, she fed the ba-
by a paste of crushed biscuits
mixed with water.
US-backed Syrian forces
have encircled and pushed in-
to the Islamic State terror gro-
ups de facto capital of Raqqa
in neighbouring Syria after a
month of fighting, although a
long battle lies ahead.
More than 2,000 terrorists
are holed up with their fami-
lies and tens of thousands of
civilians in Raqqas centre,
the citys most densely popu-
lated districts. The extre-
mists still hold several smal-
ler towns and villages across
Iraq and Syria. AP
The Trumps arrive at Joint Base Andrews in Maryland from Europe

Qatar to seek Syria truce

Europes tone toward Trumps
Washington: US President
Donald Trump said on Sun- White House in
day he and Russias presi-
Taiwan faux pas
compensation brokered by dent had discussed forming
a cybersecurity unit, an idea
P resident Donald Trumps

for Arab America turns confrontational US, Russia

harshly criticised by Repub-
licans who said Moscow co-
uld not be trusted after its al-
press secretary mislabeled
Chinese President Xi Jinping as
the leader of Taiwan after a

blockade Steven Erlanger

Doha: Qatar said on Sunday it
is forming a committee to pur-
sue compensation for damages
stemming from its isolation by
four Arab countries. Saudi
Arabia, the UAE, Egypt and
Bahrain cut diplomatic ties
and severed air, land and sea
links with natural gas-rich Qa-
tar last month, accusing it of
grievances, including backing
extremism. Qatar has denied
the allegations, and has charac-
terised the blocs ultimatums
as an affront to its sovereignty.
Qatari public prosecutor
Ali Al-Marri told reporters that
the committee will handle cla-
ims made by private compani-
es, public institutions and indi-
viduals. He gave few details, but
said the body would use both
domestic and international me-
chanisms to seek compensa-
tion, and will hire overseas law
firms to handle its claims.
You have people who have
sustained damages, business-
men who have sustained dama-
ges, banks which have sustai-
ned damages. As a result of this
blockade. he said. And those
who compelled these damages
to happen must pay compensa-
tion for them. Members of the
newly-formed committee inclu-
de Qatars minister of justice
and minister of foreign affairs.
On Friday, the anti-Qatar
bloc accused Qatar of thwarting
efforts aimed at resolving the
rift and said it intends to conti-
nue its policy aimed at destabili-
sing security in the region. AP
Hamburg: The Europeans have stopped
trying to paper over their differences
with President Trump and the US.
Traditionally respectful of American
leadership and mindful of the countrys
crucial role in European defence and glo-
bal trade, European leaders normally re-
press or soften their criticism of US pre-
sidents. Europeans were generally not
happy with President Barack Obamas
reluctance to involve the country in Li-
bya and Syria, for example, or his tardi-
ness to engage in what clearly became an
international confrontation with Russia
in Ukraine, but their criticism was quiet.
But at the G20 summit, public splits
with Trump were the order of the day.
The rifts have been reflected in European
domestic politics, too, from Britain and
France to Germany, where Chancellor
Angela Merkel has said that Europe must
take our fate into our own hands and
stop glossing over clear differences.
The new French president, Emmanu-
el Macron, whose election has given rene-
wed confidence to the Europeans, said
bluntly: Our world has never been so di-
vided. Centrifugal forces have never been
so powerful. Our common goods have ne-
ver been so threatened.
Trump and the British vote to leave
the EU have proved to be great unifiers
for the European Union, said Mark Leo-
nard, the director of the European Coun-
cil on Foreign Relations. There is a rene-
wed sense of confidence in Europe after
the French election, the apparent retre-
at of populism, an increase in economic
growth and the prospect of Merkels re-
election in September, he said. There is
an increased willingness to be assertive
toward Trump, who makes Merkel look
like a figure of international importan-
ce, Leonard said. If the election is abo-
AFP
takes effect
Beirut: US President Do-
nald Trump called for ex-
panded cooperation with
Russia on Sunday, as a cea-
sefire brokered by the two
powers and Jordan for sout-
hern Syria came into effect.
The ceasefire covering
three war-torn provinces in
southern Syria is the first
tangible outcome following
months of strategy and di-
plomacy between the new
Trump administration and
President Vladimir Putin.
Trump tweeted that the
cease-fire, which came into
effect at noon Sunday, will
save lives. Shortly after the
agreement came into effect,
he tweeted, Now it is time to
GERMANS CLEAN UP G20 MESS: People clean a shop window in Hamburg where riots took move forward in working
place during the G20 summit. Fresh clashes erupted again on Sunday, with protesters setting constructively with Russia!
fire to a number of vehicles. Police arrested 186 protesters and detained 225 people A resident and activist in
Daraa, near the Jordanian
ut who can save the international world id, that means less respect for each border, reported calm as the
order from Trump, he added, then Mer- other, and less mutual confidence. truce began. Theres still a
kels opposition seems unimportant and Franois Heisbourg, a French securi- lot of anxiety, said Ahmad
she finds an eager partner in Macron. ty analyst, agrees. On an issue-by-issue al-Masalmeh. Weve ente-
Jan Techau, the director of the Ri- basis, there is apparently no penalty for red the ceasefire but there
chard Holbrooke Forum at the American playing hardball with Trump without ne- are no mechanisms to enfor-
Academy in Berlin, said: There is now a cessarily affecting security, on climate ce it. Six years of fighting
more openly confrontational language for example. The strains were most vi- and siege have devastated
with the United States. The European sible here on climate policy and trade. Daraa, one of the first cities
public is already outspoken about Trumps withdrawal from the Paris ac- to see large protests against
Trump, but now there is a more outspo- cord was widely condemned, with Mer- President Assad in 2011.
ken European leadership that wont pa- kel saying she deplored the move, and all The agreement followed
per over these divisions anymore. the leaders aside from Trump signing up weeks of talks between the
If Europeans had previously felt to language that called the agreement ir- US, Russia and Jordan to
constrained because of their security de- reversible. The Americans did try to address the buildup of Ira-
pendency, Techau said, there is now a fee- persuade some of the countries here, like nian-backed forces, in sup-
ling that Trump has no constraints and Turkey and Poland to move toward the port of the Syrian govern-
will say anything, and now the Europe- American position on climate, but they ment, near the Jordanian
ans feel they can do the same. And, he sa- were rebuffed. NYT NEWS SERVICE and Israeli borders. AP
leged meddling in the 2016
US election.
Tweeting after his first
meeting with President Vla-
dimir Putin on Friday,
Trump said now was the time
to work constructively with
Moscow, pointing to a cease-
fire deal in southwest Syria.
Putin & I discussed forming
an impenetrable cybersecu-
rity unit so that election
hacking, & many other nega-
tive things, will be guarded
and safe, he said following
their talks at the G20 summit
in Hamburg, Germany.
Republican Senators
Lindsey Graham, an influen-
tial South Carolina Republi-
can who chairs the senate ar-
med services committee, and
Marco Rubio of Florida, who
opposed Trump for their par-
tys presidential nomination,
blasted the idea. Its not the
dumbest idea I have ever he-
ard but its pretty close, Gra-
ham told NBCs Meet the
Press programme, saying
that Trumps apparent wil-
lingness to forgive and for-
get stiffened his resolve to
pass legislation imposing
sanctions on Russia.
Rubio, on Twitter, said:
While reality & pragmatism
requires that we engage Vla-
dimir Putin, he will never be a
trusted ally or a reliable const-
ructive partner. Partnering
with Putin on a Cyber Securi-
ty Unit is akin to partnering
with (Syrian President Bas-
har al) Assad on a Chemical
Weapons Unit, he added.
Trump argued for rappro-
much- anticipated meeting at
the G20 summit, adding an
embarrassment to a record of
fraught relations. The apparent
error crept into a White House
transcript of Trumps remarks
before meeting with Xi in
Hamburg, Germany, which
referred to the president of
the Republic of China the
official name for Taiwan. Xis
real title is president of the
Peoples Republic of China, the
one- party Communist state
set up after Mao Zedongs
victory in the Chinese civil
war in 1949. BLOOMBERG
chement with Moscow in his
campaign but has been unab-
le to deliver because his admi-
nistration has been dogged
by investigations into the al-
legations of Russian interfe-
rence in the election and ties
with his campaign.
I dont think we can ex-
pect the Russians to be any
kind of a credible partner in
some kind of cybersecurity
unit, Representative Adam
Schiff, the top Democrat on
the House Intelligence Com-
mittee, told CNN. If thats
our best election defence. We
might as well just mail our
ballot boxes to Moscow,
Schiff added. Trump said he
had raised allegations of
Russian interference in the
2016 US presidential election
with Putin. I strongly pres-
sed President Putin twice
about Russian meddling in
our election. He vehemently
denied it. Ive already given
my opinion... REUTERS

AROUND THE WORLD

Pak-origin Dem
told to get out in Britains first pregnant Vatican outlaws
gluten-free bread
AFP

anti-Muslim mails
New York: A Pakistani-ori-
gin leader of the Democratic
Party in Vermont in the US
has been threatened with a se-
ries of anti-Muslim emails as-
king him to get out of the
state, media reports said.
Faisal Gill, who took over
as the chairman of the Ver-
mont Democratic Party in
March and believed to be the
first Muslim leader of a state
political party in the United
States, received three threate-
ning emails within a seven-
day period in May.
In two emails on may 24
and May 31, 2017, the writer
told Gill that it was his last
chance to get out of my Gre-
en Mountains.
In a separate email, the wri-
ter told Gill: Get out or we will
make you wish you did. PTI
man gives birth to girl
London: A 21-year-old man
has become the first in Brita-
in to give birth after he put his
sex transition on hold to get
pregnant by a sperm donor.
Hayden Cross, who ma-
de headlines around the
world earlier this year when
he announced he was preg-
nant by a sperm donor, has
given birth to a girl.
Cross told The Sun that
daughter Trinity-Leigh is
his angel. Cross gave
birth by caesarean. The girl
was born on June 16 at Glou-
cestershire Royal Hospital.
He had been living legal-
ly as a man for three years
and was already part-way
through hormone treat-
ment to transform from a
woman to a man.
Hayden Cross put
his sex transition
on hold to get
pregnant by a
sperm donor.
He had been living
legally as a man
for three years
But the full transition
was paused after UKs state-
funded National Health Ser-
vice (NHS) refused to carry
out a 4,000-pounds process to
freeze his eggs which he
hoped would enable him to
have children in the future.
A former supermarket
worker, Cross, instead fo-
und a sperm donor via Face-
book and became success-
fully pregnant.
Shes perfect in every
way...she is so good. Im so
lucky, Cross said. Follo-
wing the birth, Cross now
plans to return to complete
his gender realignment as
soon as possible.
The proud father was
born a girl named Paige, 21
years ago. Cross, from Glou-
cester, had said earlier, I fa-
ced the prospect of not beco-
ming the man Im supposed
to be, physically, or a dad. So
I didnt feel like I had any
choice but to have a baby
now then get back to trans-
itioning.
Cross, who used to work
in a clothes shop, aims
to find a job once the baby is
aged one. PTI
for communion
Vatican City: Bread used to
celebrate the Eucharist du-
ring Roman Catholic masses
must not be gluten-free, altho-
ugh it may be made from gene-
tically modified organisms,
the Vatican has ruled.
Cardinal Robert Sarah of
the Vaticans Congregation
for Divine Worship and the Di-
scipline of the Sacraments,
announced that the bread can
be low-gluten, but there must
be enough protein in the whe-
at to make it without additi-
ves. Roman Catholics believe
bread and wine served at the
Eucharist are converted into
the body and blood of Christ.
The wine used must also be
natural, from the fruit of the
BIG SPLASH: A bull chasing revellers jumps into the water during the traditional Bous a la mar
grape, pure and incorrupt, not
(Bulls in the sea ) in Denia, between Alicante and Valencia in eastern Spain, on Sunday
mixed with other substances,
said Cardinal Sarah said. IANS
Groom arrested over New
Bus dislodges York wedding fireworks:
unearthed. About 10,000
people who were evacuated
war memorial Guests watching a fireworks during the removal operation

Af sisters take refuge in home of La Grande Boucle cannon in US

display after a New York
wedding were cheering the
bride, groom and booms when
are returning home. The 500kg
German ST-500 bomb was
found on Thursday during a

W
AFP
ith discreet black
scarves tucked bene-
Two months ago they sett-
led as refugees in the home of
sults on social media. I have
never given up on the bike,
A uthorities say a bus
hopped a curb and dis-
lodged a war memorial cannon
police arrived. The groom
ended up under arrest. Nassau
County police say they were
road project.

Four paintings by Hitler

ath their helmets,
Afghan refugees Zahra and
Masomah Alizada hurtle
down Brittanys rural and
winding roads...the sisters
back on their bikes training
after the Ramzan recess.
Zahra, 19 and Masomah,
20 known as the Little Qu-
eens of Kabul are mem-
bers of the Afghan national
womens cycling team.
They fled a daily life of in-
sults, threats and attacks to
LIVING THEIR DREAM: Masomah (R) and Zahra Alizada take part pursue a passion for cycling
in a training session in Guehenno, western France inherited from their father.
the Tour de France with their
parents and three brothers.
In Afghanistan men
think its unsuitable for a wo-
man to ride a bike, and the Ta-
liban have banned us from
sport, says Masomah.
The Alizada sisters and
their team mates were brave
enough to ride a bike in pub-
lic in a country where few wo-
men dare experiment.
At the centre of it all are
peltings with tomatoes and
stones, submission to forced
marriages and torrents of in-
but I want to encourage girls
to do it, says Masomah.
at a parklet in Pittsburgh. called to a Massapequa home fetch 7,500 at auction:
Spokesman Jim Ritchie of the and found a big party with Four paintings created by the
Their father has never gi-
Port Authority of Allegheny professional-level pyrotech- German dictator Adolf Hitler,
ven in to pressure. He even sa-
County says no passengers nics in the backyard. Police say have been sold for a total of
ys wanting to be a good ex-
were injured in the accident in 39-year-old Thomas Giglio 7,500 pounds - much lower
ample for other parents by
the Brookline neighborhood. explained he was setting them than the estimated price - at
showing that men and wo-
He says someone in a car off to celebrate his wedding. an auction in the UK.
men have the same rights.
struck by the bus had a minor The works of art all bear the
In the land of La Grande
Boucle, (the Tour de France is
injury. The cannon was lodged Polish citizens evacuated signature 'A Hitler', and are
known as the Big Loop) Mo-
in a side window at the front of over WWII bomb return: dated in the early 1900s,
the bus, which went through a Polish police say an unusually according to the Mullocks
samah and Zahra yearn to fol-
low fence around the memo- large bomb leftover from auction house in the UK.
low a stage of the Tour but ul-
rial, struck the cannon, went World War II has been removed The paintings had been ex-
timately they aim for a spot at
over another fence and came safely from the town of Bi- pected to fetch between 5,000
the Olympic Games in Tokyo
to rest against a wall. alystok where it recently was and 7,000 pounds each.
in 2020. A FP