LIVE! Islamic State crisis: Jordan air strikes 'destroy' IS hideouts

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Sun, 08 February 2015

Islamic State crisis: Jordan air strikes 'destroy' IS hideouts

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21:19 Islamic State crisis: Jordan air strikes 'destroy' IS hideouts

Jordan says it has carried out 56 air strikes in three days on Islamic State logistics sites and hideouts.

"We achieved what we aimed at," Air Force chief Gen Mansour al-Jbour said.

Jordan intensified its strikes after captured pilot Moaz al-Kasasbeh was shown being burned alive by the IS.

Jordan has carried out nearly 20% of all sorties by the US-led coalition against IS in Syria so far, Gen Jbour said, adding: "We are determined to wipe them from the face of the Earth."

Read full story HERE.

After days of international talks over the bloody crisis in Ukraine, the leaders of Russia, Ukraine, Germany and France will meet in Belarus on Wednesday, a German spokesman told CNN.

"All sides have agreed to it," spokesman Steffen Seibert said.Previously, officials announced a high-profile phone conversation would take place Sunday among Russian President Vladimir Putin, Ukrainian President Petro Poroshenko, German Chancellor Angela Merkel and French President Francois Hollande.

The goal: to revive an agreement established last September for a ceasefire that clearly has not panned out.

Read full story HERE.

19:53 Loss or win, will take responsibility: Bedi

In the face of the exit polls that show BJP losing the Delhi Assembly elections, the party's Chief Ministerial candidate Kiran Bedi today said that a defeat or victory she will take the responsibility for its showing.

The comments by Bedi are seen as an attempt to distance Prime Minister Narendra Modi from a possible defeat of BJP.

Counting of votes for the keenly contested assembly polls yesterday will be taken up on Tuesday.

19:10 Manjhi rules out resignation

Bihar Chief Minister Jitan Ram Manjhi has ruled out his resignation.

"I will prove majority in assembly or step down if I cannot," Jitan Ram Manjhi.

His announcement comes after reports of falling out between himself and the party leadership, including Nitish Kumar, went public after Manjhi declared the party's legislature meeting 'unauthorised'.

Suspicions were abound that Manjhi and his supporters would engage in a massive defection against the JD-U and get support from the BJP to maintain a government in the state of Bihar.

Indonesian crews pulled out more bodies following last year's crash of an AirAsia jet, raising the total to 100 so far, authorities said Sunday.

Of the 100 bodies recovered, 72 have been identified, police said. Efforts are underway to identify the remaining victims.

AirAsia Flight 8501 plunged into the sea on December 28 as it flew from the Indonesian city of Surabaya toward Singapore. It had 162 people on board.

Divers resumed their attempt to lift up the fuselage of the Airbus jet on Sunday after earlier attempts failed.

Read full story HERE.

The brutal gang rape and murder of a woman in Haryana's Rohtak is being protested against in the form of a candle-light vigil.

Police say they are investigating the case and that they will catch the guilty soon.

The candle light vigil also protested the perceived inaction of the police in the case, given that no arrests have been made in the case.

Survivors of a 16-hour siege in a Sydney cafe on Sunday told of their terror during the deadly standoff, as a jihadist gunman threatened to kill people "one by one".

Iranian-born, self-styled cleric Man Haron Monis held 17 people hostage at the Lindt chocolate cafe in the heart of the city's financial district before being killed when police stormed the building in the early hours of December 16.

Read full story HERE.

16:59 Details of Indo-US Nuclear Deal

The Indian government has released details of its nuclear agreement, which was sealed in meetings between India and the US, during US President Barack Obama's recent visit to India.

The two countries have come to agreement on points ranging from liability in the event of mishaps to the tracking of supplied nuclear material.

Read full story HERE.

As Delhi keenly awaits the assembly election result, AAP chief Arvind Kejriwal today spent a relaxed morning with members of his family even as a media jamboree waited outside his Kaushambi residence.

For once, the man tipped to be the next Chief Minister of the state by exit polls, put his duties as a husband and a father first as he spent most of the day in the company of his wife, son and parents.

His daughter is a student of IIT Delhi. An ardent follower of 'Vipassana', Kejriwal started his day by performing a session of yoga and meditation.

Later he read newspapers and watched television, while keeping a tab on the social media. Clearly in a relaxed mood, Kejriwal also had a special message for the party's army of volunteers as he lauded their contribution and asked them to "chill".

The Prince of Wales has described the extent to which young people are becoming radicalised as "alarming" and one of the "greatest worries".

In an interview with Radio 2's The Sunday Hour, Prince Charles spoke of his hopes to "build bridges" between different faiths.

He also spoke of his "deep concern" for the suffering of Christian churches in the Middle East.

He is currently in Jordan on a six-day tour of the region.

Read full story HERE.

Exhorting Chief Ministers to personally monitor factors slowing projects, Prime Minister Narendra Modi today asked states to bury differences to boost growth, create jobs and revive investment cycle.

He also suggested that an officer be identified in state governments to monitor and ensure a smooth resolution of pending issues so as to expedite projects implementation.

Addressing the first meeting of the Governing Council of NITI Aayog, the Prime Minister identified "alleviation of poverty" as the biggest challenge before the county and said the newly formed body will forge a model of co-operative and competitive federalism".

Taiwan's TransAsia Airlines said on Sunday it would cancel 52 flights early next week, in addition to the 90 already cancelled after one of its aircraft crashed into a river in Taipei last week, killing at least 40 of the 58 people on board.

On Friday, Taiwan's Aviation Safety Council said the preliminary findings of the black box showed the almost-new turboprop ATR 72-600 failed to produce enough thrust after take-off, revealing one engine was turned off and restarted.

"We've cancelled 90 flights in the last three days. We'll cancel another 52 on Monday and Tuesday combined," said Amy Chen, a vice-president of the Taipei-based airline.

Read full story HERE.

Japan has seized the passport of a journalist planning to travel to Syria following the brutal killing of two Japanese hostages by the Islamic State in Iraq and Syria there, local media said on Sunday.

It was the first time Tokyo had taken such a measure, on the grounds that it was needed to protect the passport-holder's life, the Asahi Shimbun and other news reports said.

Read full story HERE.

A day after the Assembly elections in Delhi, where all exit polls projected a majority for Aam Aadmi Party, BJP will hold a review meeting this evening to discuss the political situation here.

At the meeting will be present Delhi BJP in-charge Prabhat Jha, party's chief ministerial candidate Kiran Bedi and state party chief Satish Upadhyay, all candidates and other leaders.

"Party has called a review meeting to discuss political situation in the national capital. "At the meeting, leaders will also hold deliberations on the results of all exit polls," said a senior BJP leader.

He also said that the party rejected the exit poll surveys and maintained that they will be proven wrong on February 10,the day of the counting of votes.

The BJP leader also said that the party is expecting more than 34 seats in the elections and will form its government in Delhi.

12:34 'Selma' snubbed by Oscars, honoured by NAACP

Civil rights drama 'Selma' has been named 'outstanding film of 2014' at this year's NAACP Image Awards, held at the Pasadena Civic Auditorium.

The film. which chronicles the journey of Martin Luther King Jr in 1965 to secure equal voting rights, walked away with four awards.

After being denied an Oscar nomination for his portrayal of King, David Oyelowo took home the Image award for Outstanding Actor in a Motion Picture.

"I want to take this opportunity to say I thank the Lord I was able to play one of the most transcendent human beings who ever walked the planet," Oyelowo said after accepting the award.

12:03 Airstrikes pound ISIS targets in Mosul

Coalition airstrikes again pounded ISIS positions in Iraq and Syria on Saturday, including at least a dozen strikes on Mosul, where anti-ISIS forces have been trying to weaken targets ahead of an anticipated fight to wrest Iraq's second largest city from the terror group.

A CNN crew watching from Kurdish positions on Mount Zartak, to the southeast of Mosul, saw at least 12 blasts in the city and heard jets streaking overhead.

Read full story HERE.

Bihar Chief Minister Jitan Ram Manjhi is scheduled to meet Prime Minister Narendra Modi at 5 pm today amid a deep political crisis in the state where his predecessor and senior Janata Dal-United leader Nitish Kumar is attempting to return to the top post.

Manjhi, who was installed by Kumar as his replacement last year, has refused to quit.

Aam Aadmi Party has called for a meeting of the party's top-leadership at Arvind Kejriwal's residence in Kaushambi today.

This high-profile meet of the party leadership comes hot on the heels of the assembly elections that were held in Delhi on Saturday.

The United Arab Emirates has said it is sending F-16 fighters to Jordan to support the country's airstrikes against Islamic State militants. Jordan has pledged retaliation against IS after the group posted a video of a Jordanian pilot being burnt alive. The UAE stopped taking part in coalition airstrikes against IS after Moaz al-Kasasbeh was seized last year. The move "reaffirms the UAE's unwavering and constant solidarity with Jordan", the country's official news agency reported.

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