Iraq’s leaders quarrel as jihadists advance
BAGHDAD – Iraq’s embattled Prime Minister Nouri al-Maliki, in a surprise speech late Sunday, resisted calls for his resignation and accused the country’s new president of violating the constitution, plunging the government into a political crisis at a time it is battling advances by Islamic State jihadists.
Al-Maliki is seeking a third-term as prime minister, but the latest crisis has prompted even his closest allies to call for his resignation. A parliament session scheduled for today to discuss the election and who might lead the next Iraqi government was postponed until Aug. 19.
The political infighting could hamper efforts to stem advances by Sunni militants who have seized a large swath of northern and western Iraq in recent weeks.
Ukraine demands rebels surrender
DONETSK, Ukraine – Fighting raged in the city of Donetsk on Sunday, as government forces continued to close in on the rebel stronghold and pro-Russian insurgents backed away from an unconditional cease-fire offer that they announced just the day before.
With a string of military successes and broad support for its campaign from the West and most of its domestic base, Kiev has taken a hard line against the rebel forces and promised it will relent only when the separatists surrender. Donetsk remained a ghost town on Sunday, with few civilians daring to venture outside as explosions rang out every few minutes and burnt-out buses and buildings smoldered from the night before.
In a statement Saturday, newly elected rebel leader Aleksandr Zakharchenko appeared to call for a cease-fire without stating any preconditions. But on Sunday, rebel spokeswoman Elena Nikitina repeated the rebels’ earlier stance, telling The Associated Press that talks on the conflict could begin only if the Ukrainian army withdrew from the region – something Kiev is unlikely to do.
U.S. Ebola check means quarantine
CHARLOTTE, N.C. – Missionaries returning to the United States after working with patients infected with Ebola will be put in quarantine and monitored, health officials said Sunday.
The quarantine will last at least three weeks since the missionaries were last exposed to people infected with the Ebola virus, the North Carolina Department of Health and Human Services said.
The missionaries are with Charlotte-based SIM USA. None of them is sick or have shown any signs of having Ebola, but they agree with health officials that everyone should be as cautious as possible, SIM USA president Bruce Johnson said in a statement.
“We will continue to cooperate and collaborate with them and adhere strictly to their guidelines in the return of our missionaries to the United States,” Johnson said.
Associated Press
