18 June 2016

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4 Saturday, June 18, 2016 National KARACHI: Head office: 509, Land Mark Plaza, I.I Chundrigar Road, Karachi, Pakistan. Ph: +9221-32214988- 32214990, Fax: +9221-32214989 messengerdaily@yahoo.com, editor@dailymessenger.com.pk Chief Editor: Muhammad Taqi Alvi Associate Editor: Ali Razavi - Hyderabad Bureau Chief: Abbas Kassar ISLAMABAD –– LAHORE –– RAWALPINDI –– KARACHI EDITORIAL BLACK AND WHITE TRUTH OF WORLD POLITICS: SICK JOKES ON HUMANITY Nations can change state policies like slavery under big powers CHANGES were made by some governments as demanded via protests and demonstrations by their nations who instituted gradual as well as drastic changes in their governments' wrong policies like slavery under big powers. MIDEAST situation resembles a ball of fire raging in some parts of a number of Muslim countries at war against each other. That confronts Pakistan with a critical diplomatic problem to find a solution that could be acceptable at home as well as abroad. NUCLEAR power Pakistan, the only one in the Muslim world, can have a considerable influence on friends and foes alike within and outside the country to change its own direction from such negative and defaming stance and move towards freedom and independence by reducing and ending an internationally induced slavery to big powers and their Mideast satellites where rules and principles think nothing of any diplomatic or military solutions being right or wrong. CROSS roads for Pakistan: To do Mideast, big powers’ bidding and, for instance, play its significant role in abstaining from support to oppressor Muslim majority leaders' wars under centuries old enmity that continues to kill an oppressed Shi'ite Muslim minority. Islamabad can follow up with a later advocating of a termination of militarist adventures. Briefly, Pakistan, which has among largest Shi'ite populations in the world, can let this helpless Muslim minority be killed like they were in centuries past, or make a decision to save it from denial of basic human rights and stop centuries old inhuman discrimination and persecution of all kinds. REVIEW of history of performance of Pakistani governments have led researchers towards that constant historical problem faced by state leaders, institutions, officials and law enforcing agencies, who sometimes spoke and did right, and sometimes spoke and did wrong. There was not any clear cut policy that actions could otherwise prove to be true. EXAMPLE: Rulers and leaders of both Islamabad and provincial governments were accusing each other with grave charges of supporting terrorism against Muslim Shiite community. However, neither side, even though daring each other to do so, was taking signficiant proper action and were not punishing self proclaimed killers in all those decades of freedom ever since Pakistan came into existence. ZARB-E-AZB operation, which Pakistan Army launched launched despite dislike of some rulers, did By Marwan Kabalan Over the next final months of his presidency, United States President Barack Obama will be preoccupied with solidifying the legacy of his administration as well as enhancing his personal image as an “exceptionally” successful US president. Domestically, that may not be a difficult task after all. Obama did indeed accomplish some of the most important social and economic reforms he had promised during his election campaign. In the US, millions of poor Americans will be grateful for him for having the courage to fight the greed of big insurance cartels in order to provide them with the health-care facility they have always yearned for. He will also be remembered for getting Wall Street under control and rescuing the US economy from its worst economic and finical crisis since the Great Depression in 1929. Yet, on foreign policy, Obama will not leave many good memories. On the contrary, his administration will always be remembered in this regard as one of weakest and most pathetic in the history of the US (this title has so far been reserved to the Jimmy Carter administration). Under his watch as president, Daesh (the self-proclaimed Islamic State of Iraq and the Levant) captured one third of Iraq and half of Syrian territories, posing great challenge to regional order, world peace and US interests. During his presidency also, the world witnessed the greatest humanitarian crisis since the Second World War. On Syria, the president of the world’s sole superpower and leader of the free world stood idle, watching a great disaster unfolding before his own eyes and aired live on TV screens across the globe; with hundreds of thousands of innocent civilians losing their lives and many millions getting displaced. Under Obama too, the world witnessed the resurgence of Russia. His weakness tempted Russian President Vladimir Putin to invade and annex the Crimean Peninsula without even having to think about the consequences. These great failures in foreign policy have given critics a lot of ammunition to target the very legacy that Obama is trying to uphold. At home and abroad, his administration has been accused of rolling back American power and influence around the world. American leadership has seen a waning as a result of his timid international policies, which were widely interpreted as hesitant and failures. Indeed, as a lawyer by profession and an eloquent orator, Obama did always have something to say in the face of these criticisms. He believes that the main challenges for the US today is to lead the world without becoming its policeman. The US should hence avoid involvement in reduce and ended terrorism to a great extent that was not expected anytime soon, but a large number of civilians were made homeless and suffered, though rehabilitated by the army. If media is any indication, the operation marked a respite in anti-Shia terrorism. However, before any operation, precautions to avoid innocent casualties and displacements can be made and any fresh start of sectarian violence and killings can be ascertained. That is nearer to ideal, though it may not be realistic to expect any miraculous results or creation of a superhuman situation. WARS led and waged by Saudi Arabia and many of its allied Arab countries in the Mideast may subdue Shi'ites in their victimized and invaded countries. Majority of extremists have a usual "wait and see" attitude before deciding for taking any action. However, its follow ups in ways and methods similar to the outcome and results of those majority Muslim states' wars against minority of Muslim states. PEACE in practice without persecution of minorities and a guarantee for protection of their human rights as can be observed in practice after those wars on Shi'ites ended may have more favorable impact for betterment of that Muslim minority. KILLINGS of Shi'ites after those wars are over may also trigger a worldwide killing against that minority sect in Islam. That post-war negative or positive impact after peace or end of war with more killings may determine the fate of Shi'ites in at least other Muslim majority countries with a long history of persecution of minorities. Under one or the other of these desirable as well as undesirable consequences, including undeclared anti-social behavior and uncivilized killings after peace, Muslim rulers must take precautionary and protective measures to ensure human equality and just rights for all sects in Islam. PAKISTAN can change its policy and play its positive role, but not as usual in verbal terms only, but in practice too: It can save all Muslim sects and strive to ensure their rights in Islam to the extent it can. Aside governments, nations can also make their rulers change a disgraceful and defaming policy and action towards one of human values and noble principles as ensured in Islam. NATIONS can also wake up and help their rulers and countries regain their lost place, pride, sense of justice and rising up to human world standards for one and all within their own nations. OPINION Fuzzy footprints of Obama foreign policy attempts at rebuilding every state that falls into crisis. “That’s not leadership; that’s a recipe for quagmire, spilling American blood and treasure that ultimately will weaken us. It’s the lesson of Vietnam; it’s the lesson of Iraq — and we should have learned it by now”, Obama said. The alternative to this direct projection of American power is its “wise application”, defined by Obama as the “smarter approach” of a patient and disciplined strategy that utilises all elements of American power. On issues of global concern, he says: “We will mobilise the world to work with us and make sure other countries pull their own weight.” Obama gave a number of examples in this regard to affirm the success of a strategy, which many see as a failure. In Syria, the US is “partnering” with local forces (meaning separatist Kurdish factions) and leading an international coalition against Daesh. In handling Iran, the US formed an international coalition that imposed harsh diplomatic and economic sanctions, ultimately resulting in the nuclear agreement. He also refers to the Trans-Pacific Trade Agreement, the Paris Climate Change Agreement and America’s and international efforts to fight infectious diseases in Africa and elsewhere. It is obvious that while attempting to protect his foreign policy legacy, Obama tries to exonerate himself and his administration from any responsibility for the chaos that has swept through the Middle East during his tenure. To realise that he tries to use everything he can muster, including twisted historic events. He stated: “The Middle East is going through a transformation that will play out for a generation, rooted in conflicts that date back millennia.” This represents an official endorsement of the myth of a Sunni-Shiite conflict as lying at the heart of the matter, disregarding the fact that conflicts so-designated only became fraught and violent after his predecessor decided to invade Iraq in 2003, established sectarian power-sharing there and left Iraq prey to Iran. If the George W. Bush administration was directly responsible for this situation, then Obama is not blameless either. He did absolutely nothing to stop the use of heavy weapons, including warplanes, tanks and missiles by the regime of Bashar Al Assad against civilians. He backed former Iraqi prime minister Nouri Al Maliki in the face of election results that favoured Ayad Allawi. He turned a blind eye to Al Maliki’s sectarian policies in Iraq and to Al Houthis in Yemen, leading to heightened sectarian tensions in the region. These policies will always haunt the legacy of President Obama and will tarnish the image he tried to make for himself as one of the greatest presidents of the US. Met Office forecasts hot and dry weather ISLAMABAD: Youngsters taking bath in the water to cool themselves off during hot weather in the capital. CMCH: No dialysis machine for Hepatitis B patients LARKANA, Jun 17: There is no dialysis machine for Hepatitis B patients in Chandka Medical College Hospital (CMCH), Larkana, which has put life of the visiting patients in danger. Sources revealed that all Hepatitis B patients have been deprived of this life-saving facility. There is also no professor of Nephrology in CMC to look after the Waheed Phulpoto patients of this vital department, which shows the hospital administration's utter negligence. The dialysis center, which was functioning in Urology Department in CMCH Teaching Block has now been shifted to city block owing to unhygienic ground water that was used in the dialysis process through Reverse Osmosis system. At the moment, there are SHIKARPUR, Jun 17: The special team headed by A/C HESCO Larkana Nazir Soomro, Sub Divisional Officer [SDO-2] Shafqat Lashari along with Ranges personnel conducted raid against power pilferage here on Friday. As per details, the special team conducted raids against power pilferage and to recover Wapda dues from bench No 8 and 9 Shikarpur city 2 and recovered Rs6.0 millions out of Rs1.5 million while special team 11 machines, out of which nine are reserved for Hepatitis negative patients and two for Hepatitis C patients. Out of these two machines one has completed its life which keep on creating troubles frequently. All these machines are not only outdated but also unworthy of usage as they keep on running in three shifts since years. HESCO recovers 0.6 millions rupees Policeman injured in hitand-run incident ISLAMABAD, Jun 17: A police man was injured in a hit-and-run incident within the Kohsar police jurisdiction. Sonstable Yunus Khan lodged a complaint with the police that he was going on a motorcycle when a car (YK- 724) driven by Ghaniur Rahman hit him from behind and injured him. According to him, the car driver fled after public gathered and took notice of his reclessness. The police have registered a case and started investigation. Four hospitals to get model hospital status RAWALPINDI, Jun 17: A decision has been taken to accord model hospital status to four hospitals including Benazir Bhutto Hospital Rawalpindi. On the directives of Punjab Chief Minister Shahbaz Sharif, an inspection team visited four hospitals in the district and they have been recommended to be included in the list of model hospitals with all medical facilities and doctors and paramedical staff, said a senior health official. According to him, all medicines will be provided to patients from hospital stocks and life-saving drugs will also be available in these hospitals. Work on the plan has been completed and a committee headed MS Dr Asif Qadir Mir and three other members has been formed to give a final shape to the proposal. caught many direct Kunda connections. According to officials of HESCO that operation against power pilferage would continue in future. The HESCO employees including Jani and others were took part in the operation. Two persons drowned Waheed Phulpoto SHIKARPUR, Jun 17: Two persons were drowned in separate incidents on Friday. According to sources, a twelve years old boy identified as Siraj Mahar drowned in Jaara Waah [canal] while a senior citizen identified as Joungal Jagirani were also drowned in Kheer thal canal when they were taking bath into it. The local divers rushed on the spot and fished out the dead bodies of the deceased. Later, they laid to rest in their ancestral graveyards after offering funeral prayers at their native villages. ISLAMABAD, Jun 17: Met Office has forecast mainly hot and dry weather in most parts of the country today (Saturday). Rain-thundershowers with strong gusty winds are expected at few places in Rawalpindi, Gujranwala, Lahore, Hazara divisions, Islamabad, Kashmir and Gilgit-Baltistan, added PMD. According to synoptic situation, a low pressure lies over central parts of the country with its trough extending south-eastward. Weak moist currents from Arabian sea are still penetrating eastern parts of the country and likely to continue during next 02 to 03 days Westerly wave is still affecting Kashmir and its adjoining areas. Radio Pakistan contradicts report on non- payment of salaries ISLAMABAD, Jun 17: Radio Pakistan has contradicted a media report on non disbursement of salary to its contractual employees of Rawalpindi station for the last eight months. A spokesperson Radio Pakistan said that the report published in a section of press was one sided and incorrect. “Salaries of contract employees are paid in time,” he said. It is pertinent to mention that Online had run the story. A source in Radio Pakistan Islamabad told Online that the contractual employees of Islamabad station have also not been paid their salaries for the month of April. The source further said that some of the contractuals, who have contacts with seniors, have managed to get their salaries for the month of April while the rest were yet to be paid. Two looted at gunpoint RAWALPINDI, Jun 17: A man and his sister were looted at gunpoint within the airport police jurisdiction. Waseem Safdar, a resident of airport, lodged a complaint with the local police that he along with his sister was going home when three armed men intercepted them at gunpoint and made off with Rs4,000 in cash, gold ornaments, two cell phones and other valuables. Meanwhile, Khalid Masih, a resident of Saddar Wah, lodged a complaint with the local police that van driver Sana Ullah stole Rs0.2 million from his pocket while he was traveling with him in his vehicle. The police have registered cases and started investigations. LAHORE: Renowned Religious Scholar Maulana Tariq Jameel delivering the Jumma Sermon before Friday prayers.
Saturday, June 18, 2016 International 5 Britain mourns murdered lawmaker; EU referendum campaign in limbo BIRSTALL, ENGLAND, Jun 17: Britain mourned lawmaker Jo Cox on Friday after a man wielding a gun and knife killed the 41-year-old in an attack that has thrown a June 23 referendum on European Union membership into limbo. Cox, a supporter of Britain staying in the EU, was shot and stabbed after a meeting with residents in her own constituency near Leeds in northern England by a man who witnesses said had shouted "Britain first". She was pronounced dead just over 48 minutes later by a doctor working with a paramedic crew trying to save her life. A 52-year-old man named by media as Thomas Mair was arrested by officers nearby and weapons including a firearm were recovered. The killing prompted campaigning to be suspended in the EU referendum, the tone of which has become increasingly angry and bitter and included personal recriminations as well as furious debate of issues such as immigration and the economy. Though the motives of the JAKARTA, Jun 17: Indonesian authorities have stopped 44 migrants believed to be from Sri Lanka from disembarking from their boat and said on Friday the vessel had to head back out to sea after being supplied with food and fuel and repaired. FALLUJA, IRAQ, Jun 17: Iraqi forces recaptured the municipal building in Falluja from Islamic State militants, the military said on Friday, nearly four weeks after the start of a U.S.-backed offensive to retake the city an hour's drive west of Baghdad. The ultra-hardline militants still control a significant portion of Falluja, where the conflict has forced the evacuation of most residents and many streets and houses BIRSTALL: Women arrive to leave a floral tribute near the scene of the murder of Labour Member of Parliament Jo Cox in Birstal near Leeds, Britain. killer were not immediately clear, some suggested sympathy for Cox could boost the Remain campaign which opinion polls indicate had fallen behind Leave. Police said they were not in a position to discuss the motive of the attack. "Jo believed in a better Indonesia has for years been a stepping stone for refugees and migrants from the Middle East and South Asia hoping to reach Australia. Australia has been urging it to act to stop the flow of people, often traveling in unseaworthy boats. The boat carrying the 44 remain mined with explosives. A spokesman for the U.S.- led coalition backing Baghdad's quest to recover large swathes of western and northern Iraq from Islamic State told Reuters that government forces were "close (to the building) but don't have control yet". A military statement said the federal police had raised the Iraqi state flag above the government building and world and she fought for it every day of her life with an energy and a zest for life that would exhaust most people," Cox's husband, Brendan, said. "She would have wanted two things above all else to happen now, one that our precious children are bathed in people, including several women and children, was found stranded off the coast of the northern Indonesian province of Aceh last week. "We fixed their boat and gave them the food and fuel they asked for. We also did health checks and we see their love and two, that we all unite to fight against the hatred that killed her." A U.S. civil rights group the Southern Poverty Law Center (SPLC), based in Alabama, said on its website that it had obtained records showing a Thomas Mair had links with the neo-Nazi Indonesia says 44 migrants must sail on after being resupplied condition is good," provincial governor Zaini Abdullah told media. "They can be on their way. We are waiting for high tide ... Don't look at it as if we are pushing them out or ejecting them. We have fulfilled the humanitarian obligations." It was not clear if the people on board the boat wanted to land in Indonesia or sail on but activists said they should have been given access to the U.N. refugee agency. Even though Indonesia is seen as a transit country on the way to Australia, many migrants end up staying there for years. More than 1,000 migrants from Myanmar and Bangladesh landed in Aceh last year after spending days on overcrowded boats, adrift in the Andaman Sea. EU extends sanctions US says it will stay in Black on Russia-annexed Crimea until mid-2017 Sea despite Russian warning BRUSSELS, Jun 17: The ABOARD THE USS MASON, Jun 17: The United States will maintain its presence in the Black Sea despite a Russian warning that a U.S. destroyer patrolling there undermined regional security, the U.S. Navy Secretary said. The USS Porter entered the Black Sea this month, drawing heavy criticism from Moscow. Turkey and Romania are expected to push for a bigger NATO presence in the Black Sea at the NATO summit in Warsaw next month. Aboard the USS Mason, another U.S. destroyer, in the Mediterranean on Thursday, Navy Secretary Ray Mabus told Reuters that it was the U.S. Navy's job to deter aggression and keep sea lanes open. "We're going to be there," Mabus said of the Black Sea. "We're going to deter. That's the main reason we're there -- to deter potential aggression." Mabus spoke days after Russia criticized NATO discussions about a creating a permanent force in the Black Sea. "If a decision is made to create a permanent force, of course, it would be destabilizing, because this is not a NATO sea," Russian news agencies quoted senior Foreign Ministry official Andrei Kelin as saying. Russia, which annexed Ukraine's Crimea in 2014, has its own Black Sea Fleet based at Sevastopol. The NATO summit takes place as relations between Russia and the alliance are severely strained over Moscow's role in the Ukraine crisis and in Syria. While Russia says it poses no threat to alliance, NATO is considering what to do to counter what it sees as growing Russian aggression. Mabus said the United States follows the rules of the Montreux Convention, which states that countries without a Black Sea coastline cannot keep their warships there for more than 21 days. NATO members Turkey, Romania and Bulgaria are all Black Sea Basin countries. Bulgaria appeared to buckle to Russian pressure on Thursday. Prime Minister Boiko Borisov said he would not join a proposed NATO fleet in the Black Sea because it should be a place for holidays and tourists, not war. European Union extended for a year on Friday a ban on business dealings with the Black Sea peninsula of Crimea, which Russia annexed from Ukraine in 2014 in a move that has not been internationally recognized. Sanctions, now prolonged until June 23, 2017, prohibit imports of products from Crimea, any investment there, cooperation in tourism services as well as exports of some goods and services to the peninsula. EU is due next week to extend until the end of 2016 its broader economic sanctions on Russia over its role in crisis in Ukraine. Following annexation of Crimea, Russia-backed rebels took up arms against Kiev in eastern Ukraine, where more than 9,000 people have been killed in fighting since the spring of 2014. organization National Alliance (NA) dating back to 1999. The SPLC posted images showing what it said were purchase orders for books bought by Mair, whose address is given as Batley, from the NA's publishing arm National Vanguard Books in May of that year. The orders included a manual on how to build a pistol, it said. Britain's Union flag was flying at half-mast over the Houses of Parliament, Queen Elizabeth's London residence Buckingham Palace and Downing Street, where Prime Minister David Cameron has his official residence. In Birstall hundreds of people attended a vigil at a local church. Queen Elizabeth was due to write a private letter of condolence to Cox's husband. Some people, many weeping, laid flowers outside the Houses of Parliament. Beside a picture of Cox smiling, dozens of white candles lay beside bunches of flowers and a message board upon which people had written their condolences. Afghan police tell foreigners in Kabul to stay in or hire guards KABUL, Jun 17: Police in the Afghan capital have told foreigners living outside protected compounds to travel with guards, after the kidnapping of an Indian aid worker last week added to a growing sense of insecurity in Kabul. The push is for the safety of residents, said Fraidoon Obaidi, chief of the Kabul police Criminal Investigation Department. "All foreign citizens and their offices in Afghanistan are terrorists' targets ... the kidnapping and criminal threat is very serious," he told Reuters. "This will be prevented only if they use security guards and escorts." One document distributed by Obaidi's officers to private homes and organization instructs residents to take a variety of security measures, including using armed police escorts if necessary. But national security officials have distanced themselves from the police efforts, after critics complained that the measures were counterproductive and did not reduce the threats facing residents. KIEV, Jun 17: Politicians in Kiev worry that a vote by Britain to leave the European Union would weaken the EU's support for Ukraine and undermine its resolve to stand up to Russia. "I do not think Brexit would lead to a U-turn on Ukraine, but it would be a serious stick to beat those who favor EU integration" Serhiy Leshchenko, a member of President Petro Poroshenko's faction in parliament, told Reuters. His concern, ahead of Hearing in Amber Heard restraining order against Johnny Depp called off CAIRO, Jun 17: A second flight recorder has been retrieved from the crashed EgyptAir flight MS804, containing data from aircraft systems which could shed light on what brought the plane down last month, Egyptian investigators said on Friday. An Egyptian committee investigating the crash into were continuing to pursue insurgents. A Reuters photographer in a southern district of Falluja said clashes involving aerial bombardment, artillery and machine gun fire were continuing. Clouds of smoke could be seen rising up from areas closer to the city center. Heavily armed Interior Ministry police units were advancing along Baghdad Street, the main east-west road running through the city, LOS ANGELESA, Jun 17: hearing on the restraining order obtained by Amber Heard against Johnny Depp, in a divorce between the celebrity couple in which Heard has accused Depp of abuse, was called off on Thursday, a day before it was set to occur, court officials said. Heard was expected to testify at the hearing related to the restraining order in Los Angeles Superior Court on Friday, according to E! News and other media outlets. Instead, the next hearing in the divorce filed by Heard against Depp last month will occur on Aug. 2, court officials said in a statement. The restraining order is part of the divorce case. The delay allows Depp to gather more witnesses to defend himself against abuse allegations, while for Heard it allows the restraining order to remain in effect at least until the next hearing, said attorney Christopher Melcher, who previously served as chair of the state bar of California family law section, in a phone interview. It was not immediately clear which side moved to vacate the hearing set for Friday. Attorneys for Depp and Heard did not immediately return calls. There have been conflicting reports in the media about whether the two sides are moving toward a settlement in the divorce case. Depp's legal team had filed court papers seeking to prevent witnesses from testifying on behalf of Heard at the hearing on Friday, on grounds that the actress' legal team had not provided the names of those witnesses, according to a report on the website of People magazine. A judge on May 27 granted a temporary restraining order for Depp to stay at least 100 yards (91 meters) away from Heard and move out of the eastern Mediterranean Sea made the announcement a day after search teams found the cockpit voice recorder in a breakthrough for investigators seeking to explain what caused the plane to go down, killing all 66 people on board. The Airbus A320 crashed early on May 19 on its way from Paris to Cairo. The two and commandos from the counter-terrorism service (CTS) had surrounded Falluja hospital, the statement said. Sabah al-Numani, a CTS spokesman, said on state television that snipers holed up inside the hospital, considered a nest of militants, were resisting but the facility was expected to be retaken within hours. Government forces, with air support from the U.S.-led coalition, launched a major the couple's shared condominium in downtown Los Angeles. The couple married in February 2015. Heard, 30, said in court filings that Depp, 53, was abusive to her throughout their marriage and that it culminated in an argument last month in which he hurled a cell phone into her face and shattered various objects in her apartment. Second flight recorder retrieved from crashed EgyptAir flight BEIJING, Jun 17: A wellknown Chinese civil rights lawyer went on trial for fraud on Friday, an attorney with knowledge of the case said, the latest trial in a farreaching crackdown on political dissent. Xia Lin was detained by Beijing police in November 2014 and later charged with fraud, said Mo Shaoping, a colleague of Xia's lawyer who is familiar with the case. Xia's lawyer could not be reached for comment. Xia had worked with Pu Zhiqiang, one of China's best-known human rights lawyers, who was handed a blackbox recorders are crucial to explaining what went wrong. The Egyptian investigation committee said preparations were under way to transfer the two flight recorders to Alexandria where they will be received by an official from the general prosecutor's office and investigators. China rights lawyer faces fraud trial in Beijing amid crackdown Thursday's referendum, is typical of pro-Western Ukrainian politicians who hope to integrate their ex- Soviet country into the EU and distance it from three-year suspended sentence last year for writing Internet posts the government said incited ethnic hatred. Xia had represented artist and dissident Ai Weiwei's company, Beijing Fake Cultural Development. Kiev worried that Brexit would weaken EU support for Ukraine Moscow. A decision by then president Viktor Yanukovich to reject an association agreement with the EU sparked the "Maidan" protests in 2014 that brought a pro- Western government to power and precipitated Moscow's annexation of the Crimean peninsula. But two years on, Ukrainians and their Western backers are frustrated with Kiev's slow pace of reforms and drive to tackle corruption. Iraqi forces take Falluja government building from Islamic State operation on May 23 to retake Falluja, an historic bastion of the Sunni Muslim insurgency against U.S. forces that toppled dictator Saddam Hussein, a Sunni, in 2003, and the Shi'ite-led governments that followed. The city is seen as a launchpad for recent Islamic State (IS) bombings in the capital, making the offensive a crucial part of the government's campaign to improve security.
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