US drones over Baghdad as Iraq battles

BAGHDAD: The US military has started flying armed drones over Baghdad to defend American troops and diplomats as Iraqi forces took their fight against Sunni insurgents to the strategic militant-held city of Tikrit.

Iraq's top Shiite cleric urged the country's leaders to unite, after Prime Minister Nuri al-Maliki conceded political measures are needed to defeat the offensive that has killed more than 1,000 people and overrun major parts of five provinces.

In further fallout, the president of Iraq's autonomous Kurdish region said there was no going back on his ethnic group's self-rule in disputed territory, including the divided northern oil city Kirkuk, now defended against the militants by Kurdish Peshmerga fighters.

International agencies also raised alarm bells over the humanitarian consequences of the fighting, with up to 10,000 people having fled a northern Christian town in recent days and 1.2 million displaced by unrest in Iraq this year.

A senior US official said "a few" armed drones were being used over Baghdad as a precaution to safeguard Americans in the Iraqi capital if necessary.

But officials said the drones would not be used for offensive strikes against the Sunni Arab militant offensive, led by jihadists from the Islamic State of Iraq and the Levant (ISIL) but involving other groups as well.

The Pentagon acknowledged that among the manned and unmanned aircraft flying over Iraq to carry out surveillance, some were carrying bombs and missiles — without specifying if those planes were drones.

"The reason that some of those aircraft are armed is primarily for force protection reasons now that we have introduced into the country some military advisers whose objective will be to operate outside the confines of the embassy," spokesman Rear Admiral John Kirby said.

Maliki insisted that "Baghdad is safe." A retired US general, James Conway, echoed those remarks, saying that "the worst is over" as militants will be unable to take Baghdad, the south or Kurdish areas.


In Tikrit, Iraqi forces have swooped into Tikrit University by helicopter, and a police major reported periodic clashes there on Friday.

A senior army officer said Iraqi forces were targeting militants in Tikrit with air strikes to protect forces at the university and prepare for an assault on the hometown of executed dictator Saddam Hussein.

Another senior officer said taking the university was an important step towards regaining control of Tikrit, which the militants seized on June 11.

The operation is the latest effort to regain the initiative after security forces wilted in the face of the initial insurgent onslaught launched on June 9.

Iraqi Kurdish leader Massud Barzani said Baghdad could no longer object to Kurdish self-rule in Kirkuk and other towns from which federal forces withdrew in the face of the militant advance.

"Now, this (issue)... is achieved," he said, referring to a constitutional article meant to address the Kurds' decades-old ambition to incorporate the territory in their autonomous region in the north over the objections of successive governments in Baghdad.

"We have been patient for 10 years with the federal government to solve the problems of these (disputed) areas," Barzani said.

"There were Iraqi forces in these areas, and then there was a security vacuum, and Peshmerga forces went to fill this vacuum."

Grand Ayatollah Ali al-Sistani, who is revered within the majority Shiite community, meanwhile urged Iraqi leaders to unite and form a government quickly after parliament convenes Tuesday.

Sistani's remarks echoed those of British Foreign Secretary William Hague and US Secretary of State John Kerry, who visited Jeddah as Washington unveiled a $500 million plan to arm and train moderate Syrian Sunni rebels to help fight the ISIL-led militants.

On Thursday, Maliki, who has publicly focused on a military response to the crisis, said political measures were also necessary, ahead of the July 1 opening of the new parliament elected on April 30.

Iraq has also appealed for US air strikes against the militants, but Washington has only offered up to 300 military advisers.

Washington has stopped short of saying Maliki must go, but has left little doubt it feels he has squandered the opportunity to rebuild Iraq since US troops withdrew in 2011.

Mortar fire south of Baghdad on Friday killed at least five people, while shelling and clashes in Diyala province to the northeast killed 10 more, four of them soldiers.

Maliki's security spokesman has said hundreds of soldiers have been killed since the offensive began, while the UN puts the overall death toll at nearly 1,100.

The International Organisation for Migration warned that aid workers could not reach tens of thousands of Iraqis displaced by the violence, and called for humanitarian corridors to be established.

Karuna offers support to Cong for post-poll alliance

Launching his campaign for the coming Lok Sabha election in Chennai on Tuesday, the DMK patriarch said, "If the Congress swear that they will stop comunal forces, DMK is willing to forgive and support them.

Scathing U.N. report demands Vatican to act against child sex abusers

The United Nations demanded on Wednesday that the Vatican "immediately remove" all clergy who are known or suspected child abusers and turn them over to civil authorities, in an unprecedented and scathing report.
The U.N. watchdog for children's rights said the Holy See should also hand over its archives on sexual abuse of tens of thousands of children so that culprits, as well as "those who concealed their crimes", could be held accountable.

The watchdog's exceptionally blunt paper - the most far-reaching critique of the Church hierarchy by the world body - followed its public grilling of Vatican officials last month.

"The Committee is gravely concerned that the Holy See has not acknowledged the extent of the crimes committed, has not taken the necessary measures to address cases of child sexual abuse and to protect children, and has adopted policies and practices which have led to the continuation of the abuse by and the impunity of the perpetrators," the report said.

The Vatican was expected to issue a statement on the report later on Wednesday.

The U.N. committee on the Rights of the Child said the Catholic Church had not yet taken measures to prevent a repeat of cases such as Ireland's Magdalene laundries scandal, where girls were arbitrarily placed in conditions of forced labour.

It called for an internal investigation of the laundries and similar institutions so that whose who were responsible could be prosecuted and that "full compensation be paid to the victims and their families".

A commission created by Pope Francis in December should investigate all cases of child sexual abuse "as well as the conduct of the Catholic hierarchy in dealing with them," the report said.

Abusers had been moved from parish to parish or other countries "in an attempt to cover-up such crimes," it added.

"Due to a code of silence imposed on all members of the clergy under penalty of excommunication, cases of child sexual abuse have hardly ever been reported to the law enforcement authorities in the countries where such crimes occurred," the U.N. body said.

At a public session last month, the committee pushed Vatican delegates to reveal the scope of the decades-long sexual abuse of minors by Roman Catholic priests that Pope Francis called "the shame of the Church".

The Holy See's delegation, answering questions from an international rights panel for the first time since the scandals broke more than two decades ago, denied allegations of a Vatican cover-up and said it had set clear guidelines to protect children from predator priests.

Is Barack Obama taking tips from Narendra Modi's speeches?

"Even Obama listens (to) the speech of NaMo," says the caption of a doctored picture showing the US President watching a Narendra Modi speech on TV which is in circulation on social media outlets on Wednesday.

In the original picture of January 28,2011, Obama is seen watching a televised speech by the then Egyptian President Hosni Mubarak in the Outer Oval office. The picture is taken by Pete Souza, according to the White House which has posted it on its flicker account and is publicly available.
In the doctored picture, Mubarak, who ruled Eygyt for 30 years before he was forced to leave following a popular uprising, has been replaced by Modi. The Gujarat Chief Minister is seen delivering a speech, which is being watched on a small television screen by Obama and his team.

Among others, the picture was shared by BJP Member of Parliament from Navasari in Gujarat C R Paatil, a known Modi supporter.

When contacted, Patil said he was not aware that the photograph was morphed. He said he received it on his facebook page from somebody and forwarded it without verifying its authenticity.

He said it could be a handiwork of BJP rivals. "Why should BJP or a Narendra Modi supporter do it and get a bad name?," he said. I am trying to find the details of the photograph, he said.

Man rapes 4-year-old girl in Delhi, arrested

Girls are not safe in Delhi. This unpleasant fact was once again driven home on Tuesday morning when a man was arrested for allegedly raping a 4-year-old minor girl.

The minor has been admitted to the Intensive Care Unit (ICU) of Baba Hindu Rao Hospital and has undergone surgery. Doctors say her condition is critical.

The man reportedly lured her by offering her chocolates and then raped her in a nearby park.

He was caught by locals when he went to drop the child back home.

Alagiri used harsh words against Stalin: DMK chief Karunanidhi

Chennai: In his first reaction on the Alagiri suspension issue, DMK chief M Karunanidhi on Tuesday said that he was suspended because he used "harsh words" against Stalin.

"Alagiri came to my house on January 24 and complained regarding Stalin and troubled me and used harsh words. Alagiri told me Stalin will die in three months. No father can tolerate such words against his son," Karunanidhi said, explaining.

"I do not know why Alagiri has nurtured such hatred against Stalin for many years. Alagiri should have met me in person and spoken about any issues he had about his suspension.

But he has been talking to the media. He is still under temporary suspension, party will take a call on expulsion," the DMK chief added.

Alagiri was suspended from the DMK on Friday, January 24.

In a statement, the DMK said that action against Alagiri had been taken for going against the party stand in the public domain.

Arvind Kejriwal retweets controversial comment on Narendra Modi, Rahul Gandhi

Delhi Chief Minister Arvind Kejriwal today refused to comment on a new controversy he has scripted by retweeting a music director's apparent observation about the BJP's Narendra Modi and the Congress' Rahul Gandhi. 

Last night, Mr Kejriwal had retweeted music director Vishal Dadlani, who said on Twitter, "Stuck between a moron and a murderer....what now, India!?"  

Mr Dadlani's tweet came soon after an interview of Congress vice-president Rahul Gandhi was aired by a private TV channel, and was part of a stream of reviews on Twitter. (Rahul Gandhi accuses Narendra Modi of 'abetting' Gujarat riots)

It was an apparent reference to Mr Modi, the BJP's prime ministerial candidate and Mr Gandhi, who has not been named his party's prime ministerial candidate but is largely seen as the man who will get the job if the Congress retains power in the general elections due by May. (Will consider Prime Minister's post if MPs want: Rahul Gandhi)

The music director, a prominent supporter of Mr Kejriwal's Aam Aadmi Party, has made provocative comments before, but it is the Delhi Chief Minister's endorsement of the tweet that has raised eyebrows.

The BJP's Nirmala Sitharamam has warned the chief minister that he must be "careful about what he tweets."

"He has no business to retweet and strike this language on a public domain...he is not doing public discourse any favour," she observed. 

Arvind Kejriwal, after his spectacular electoral debut in the Delhi polls last month and the announcement that his AAP will contest many Lok Sabha seats, has been seen as a possible challenger to the two seasoned politicians. (One month of Kejriwal's government: 5 hits, misses)

His one month in office, which he marks today, has seen more controversy. The 33-hour protest in the heart of Delhi and his staunch defence of his law minister Somnath Bharti, who has been accused of vigilantism and of being racial and sexist, have earned Mr Kejriwal criticism. (Aam Aadmi Party completes one month in government: Rate its performance)

In yesterday's interview, Rahul Gandhi said his Congress had offered support to the minority Kejriwal government in Delhi to see how it would prove itself.

Mr Gandhi also accused Narendra Modi's government in Gujarat of "abetting" the communal riots of 2002. Mr Modi's political rivals have long alleged that he allowed or actively encouraged the attacks. He has always denied this, and a Supreme Court inquiry found no evidence to prosecute him.