Gaza Strip: Hamas 'Loses' Contact with Team That Ambushed Israeli Soldier

Israeli soldiers load shells on to a tank near the border of southern Gaza StripReuters

The Palestine-based Hamas group has said it has "lost contact" with some of its fighters who ambushed Israeli soldier Hadar Goldin, and presumes that all of them may have been dead.

The military arm of Hamas, Al-Qassam Brigades, said some combatants, who were part of the Friday attack against the Israeli Defence Forces (IDF), have not been in touch, and thus the whereabouts of the 23-year old soldier remain unknown.

"The Izz ad-Din al-Qassam Brigades has no information on this soldier. We have lost contact with the combatant group that took part in the ambush, and we believe its members were killed in the [IDF] strikes. Assuming they managed to capture the soldier during the battle, we believe he may have also been killed."

Two Israeli soldiers were killed in the fighting while one went missing, sparking speculation that he may have been captured.

US President Barack Obama has called for immediate release of Goldin if ceasefire options are to make progress.

"If they are serious about trying to resolve this situation, that soldier needs to be unconditionally released as soon as possible."

Ever since the soldier disappeared, Israeli forces have stepped up their offensive in the Gaza Strip, killing at least 92 people.

Two rockets were intercepted by Israel's Iron Dome over Tel Aviv.

The 72-hour ceasefire fell apart within 90 minutes of coming into effect owing to the ambush.

After a special cabinet session, Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu warned Hamas would "bear the consequences of their actions".

Ebola Crisis: Head of World Health Organisation Warns of Global Catastrophe as Epidemic Spirals Out of Control

Dr. Chan has said that the efforts to contain the spread of the diesease have been "woefully inadequate."AFP / Getty Images

The World Health Organisation has warned that the deadly ebola virus could spread to other countries and become a global crisis.

The warning came from the head of WHO Dr. Margaret Chan, who said that the epidemic in West Africa is spiralling out of control and could potentially cause a catastrophic loss of life.

Speaking at a regional summit of the leaders of Guinea, Sierra Leone and Liberia in the Guinean capital of Conakry, Dr Chan issued the warning and described the response to the virus so far as "woefully inadequate."

"If the situation continues to deteriorate, the consequences can be catastrophic in terms of lost lives, but also severe socio-economic disruption and a high risk of spread to other countries.

"It is taking place in areas with fluid population movements over porous borders, and it has demonstrated its ability to spread via air travel, contrary to what has been seen in past outbreaks," she explained.

"Cases are occurring in rural areas which are difficult to access, but also in densely populated capital cities. This meeting must mark a turning point in the outbreak response."

She added that the virus, which has claimed 729 lives in four West African countries since February, could be stopped if well managed.

Dr Chan said the virus was affecting a large number of doctors, nurses and other health care workers who have an essential role in curtailing the outbreak. In Liberia, authorities say 28 out of the 45 health workers who have contracted the disease so far have died.

"To date, more than 60 health care workers have lost their lives in helping others. Some international staff are infected. These tragic infections and deaths significantly erode response capacity," she said.

"Constant mutation and adaptation are the survival mechanisms of viruses and other microbes. We must not give this virus opportunities to deliver more surprises."

As part of a $100 million emergency response to the epidemic which has claimed more than 700 lives, hundreds of extra medical personnel will be deployed to the affected region.

The first cases of Ebola emerged in Guinea in March, and later spread across the borders to Liberia and Sierra Leone. Outbreaks of the virus in previous years had occurred in other parts of Africa.

The outbreak, which has been described as the largest ever in the nearly four-decade history of the disease, with 1,201 Ebola cases reported, starts with flu-like symptoms before evolving to cause internal bleeding.

The virus has infected three African capitals with international airports and officials are trying to step up screening of passengers.

Experts say the risk of travellers contracting it is considered low because it requires direct contact with bodily fluids or secretions such as urine, blood, sweat or saliva. Ebola can't be spread like flu through casual contact or breathing in the same air. Patients are contagious only once the disease has progressed to the point they show symptoms, according to the WHO.

Sierra Leone today declared a public health emergency to tackle the deadly virus and called in security forces to quarantine infected areas.

Chan's warning comes as it was confirmed that two American missionaries infected with ebola in West Africa are to be flown back to the US.

Arrangements are being made for a chartered flight to land at Dobbins Air Base in Marietta, Georgia to transport Dr Kent Brantly, 33, and 59-year-old Nancy Writebol from the region.

Two other American peace corps volunteers have been isolated after becoming exposed to ebola in West Africa and are under observation, though neither has shown any symptoms.

One US citizen has already died of the virus

Gaza Strip: Father of Abducted Soldier Hadar Goldin Confident IDF Will Find Him

Hadar Goldin(Facebook)

The father of the IDF soldier believed to have been captured by Palestinian militants in the Gaza Strip, hours after the start of a 72-hour humanitarian ceasefire, said he is confident the military forces will find his missing son.

2nd.-Lt. Hadar Goldin, a 23-year-old, Givati officer from Kfar Saba was abducted by Hamas during an operation to destroy cross-border tunnels used by the militants. Two other Israeli soldiers were reported to have been killed in the incident, which took place 90 minutes into a three-day truce.

The IDF reported that "a group of Hamas terrorists, including a suicide attacker, kidnapped 2nd Lt. Goldin at 9:30am and dragged him into a tunnel".

His father Simcha Goldin said that he is certain the IDF would "not leave any stone unturned" in their search for his son.

"The IDF (Israeli Defence Forces) will not stop until there's no stone left unturned in the Gaza Strip is and until Hadar is returned home safe and sound," he said.

"We want to support the Israeli army and the state of Israel in its fight against Hamas in Gaza and we are certain that the army will not stop under any circumstance, and will not leave any rock unturned in the Gaza Strip and will bring Hadar back home safe and sound," he said.

Both sides have accused each other of breaking the truce, which was announced by the US and the UN late on Thursday and began at 8am (6am UK time) Friday.

A Hamas official said the announcement of the soldier's capture was "a justification for Israel retreating from the truth and a cover-up for massacres".

Israel's Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu warned that Hamas and smaller militant groups will "bear the consequences of their actions".

US President Barack Obama called for the militants to free the soldier. He said he "unequivocally" condemned Hamas for capturing the soldier "minutes after a ceasefire had been announced".

UN Secretary General Ban Ki-moon, meanwhile, said he was "shocked and profoundly disappointed" by Hamas' violation of the truce.

The UK Foreign Office is also investigating reports that the missing Israeli soldier held British nationality. Britain's Foreign Secretary Philip Hammond said however, there is currently "no evidence" to suggest he has dual Israeli-British nationality.

The latest abduction is reminiscent of Hamas' capture of Israeli soldier Gilad Shalit in 2006. He was freed five years later in exchange for the release of more than 1,000 Palestinian prisoners.

Israel is stepping up its assault on Gaza following the reported abduction.

1500 people have now died in the latest conflict, most of them civilians. 8,400 have been injured, according to Gaza's health ministry.

Frontline Gaza Strip: A Survivor's Guide to Israel's Hellfire

Children sheltering in a UN school in Gaza endure the ear-splitting sound of an Israeli bombardment.Reuters

Ask my friends, or indeed everyone around me, and they will all agree. "How are you doing?" is one of the most difficult, and annoying questions a Gaza resident might get.

My friend Fidaa Al-Zaanin put it beautifully when she said that it's not the question that annoys us, but the answer. "Because it's hard to express how do you feel while your area is being under attack, and not knowing whether you'll survive the day or not. It's obvious how I feel about that, I can't even answer that question!"

For me the question is infuriating, but the answer is simple. I'm psychologically and physically exhausted - and I'm just fine.

I currently live with five families in the same house, their biggest achievement is to sleep during the night, or have electricity for more than three hours and not run out of food. We no longer use fridges to store food, as the power outages continue, so we have to buy our food every day in the morning.

At first, when the bombardment began,everyone used to gather around the TV to watch the World Cup matches and fight over who deserves to win and lose. Then we'd switch to the news, worried sick about what the next days are going to be like, and how long we'd be away from our houses. But now the power plant stopped working and there is no TV to watch.

“'It's hard to express how you feel when you don't know whether you'll live through the day'”

Fidaa Al-Zaanin

I go out during daylight hours in search of a place with electricity to charge my phone and get some work done. When I'm back home I find everyone gathered in one room, with a battery light hung in the middle of the living room. The children are playing cards, adults are listening to the tiny local radio and the youth are spending their time on the internet or talking on the phone, if there is a good network signal.

They sit in silence most of the time, just staring at each other with almost nothing to talk about in the middle of this mess.

A ray of light

But then, on 1 August, we got a glimmer of hope, when US Secretary of State John Kerry announced that Israel and Hamas have agreed to a 72-hour ceasefire in Gaza.

My sister woke me up in the middle of the night, shouting the war is over! It's something she wanted to say since 8 July, when it all started. We decided to go back to our house in the north of Gaza to see whether it had sustained further damage, and – if it was still intact - clean it, take a shower and sleep in our own house for those 72 hours. On our way home I saw many more displaced people from the northern area going back to their houses, having gained a temporary right of return.

When we arrived in our neighborhood, we found our neighbour collecting what has left from his bombed house, wondering why they would destroy an empty civilian house just because they suspected something was moving next to it.

Our house was even worse than the last time we saw it. No electricity, no water, no internet, no phone, there was nothing. But we ignored the damage, cleaned the house and waited for my father to come and fix the water tank that was hit by flying shrapnel.

After spending almost two hours in our house my friend called and told me that the ceasefire was broken and things might deteriorate once more. So I went out in the street to see that everyone was leaving their houses going back to wherever they came from: relatives' houses, rented apartments, UN schools, or simply the street.

There was a glimmer, just a glimmer, of hope that we are going back to sleep in our houses, and live normally even if it was just for 72 hours. Then the Israeli hellfire hit us again.

Walaa Ghussein is a journalist and activist who has written for several publications including Electronic Intifada.

You can find her on Twitter here.

US Says India's Veto of WTO Deal Sends Wrong Signal

US Secretary of State John Kerry meets with Indian Prime Minister Narendra Modi at the latter's residence in New Delhi.Reuters

US Secretary of State John Kerry has told Indian Prime Minister Narendra Modi that his government's refusal to sign a landmark global trade pact has sent a wrong signal.

Kerry, who was in India to prepare the ground for Modi's Washington visit, urged New Delhi to resolve the dispute at the earliest possible.

Some World Trade Organisation (WTO) members, frustrated by India's veto, have already discussed a plan to exclude the subcontinent from the so-called Trade Facilitation Agreement (TFA) and push ahead no matter what.

But New Zealand's Minister of Overseas Trade, Tim Groser, told Reuters that any talk of excluding India was "naive" and counterproductive.

The failure of the WTO Bali accord must signal a move away from multilateral agreements, Peter Gallagher, an expert on free trade and the WTO at the University of Adelaide, told Reuters.

"I think it's certainly premature to speak about the death of the WTO. I hope we've got to the point where a little bit more realism is going to enter into the negotiating procedures," Gallagher said.

"It's 153 countries. We can't all move at the same speed on the same things, and it's time to let those that want to do it, do it."

The WTO Bali pact to ease global customs rules collapsed over India's insistence that a deal be accompanied by a parallel agreement giving the subcontinent more freedom to subsidise and stockpile food grains for its impoverished population than is permitted by WTO rules.

The Bali accord, tipped to inject $960bn (£570bn, €716bn) into the global economy, promises to cut red tape at customs the world over. The deal is expected to create 21 million jobs globally.

Food Storage

India has an ambitious plan to subsidise food for two-thirds of its population and Indian economists have said that New Delhi's stand on agricultural stockpiling is justified.

Pigeons eat grains from stacked sacks at the Agricultural Produce Market Committee (APMC) market yard, on the outskirts of the western Indian city of Ahmedabad.Reuters

However, the nation has surprisingly tolerated deplorable food storage facilities and infrastructure for decades, which Modi's government hopes to set right.

The 2014-15 federal budget has allocated nearly $820m for boosting warehouse capacity countrywide.

The move followed a survey, by the Ludhiana, Punjab-based Central Institute of Post-Harvest Engineering and Technology (Ciphet), which showed that about 18% of the nation's total produce is wasted every year.

Iraqi Kurds Ask US For Weapons to Cope With Isis Threat

A member of the Kurdish security forces guards a section of an oil refinery being transported to Kalak refinery in the outskirts of Arbil, in Iraq's Kurdistan region, on 14 July.Reuters

Iraq's semi-autonomous region of Kurdistan is pushing the US to supply it with high-tech weapons it says it needs to deal with the threat from Islamic State (Isis) militants, according to Kurdish and US officials cited by Reuters.

The Kurdistan Regional Government (KRG) reportedly made the request when a delegation visited Washington in July. Washington is still considering the appeal.

Pointing to the threat that fighters from the Islamic State pose to the northern Iraq, the Kurds have asked the US to reinforce their own Peshmerga security forces.

The Islamic State has seized vast swathes of territory across Iraq, including the key northern city of Mosul which lies close to the border with Kurdish territory.

The Kurds have asked for tanks, sniper equipment, armoured personnel carriers, artillery and ammunition, as well as helmets, body armour, fuel trucks and ambulances, according to Reuters.

The Islamic State's rapid advance through northern Iraq has taken the central government by surprise, and its security forces have melted away.

The extremist group, which also fights in neighbouring Syria and practices an ultra-conservative interpretation of Islam, has been designated as a terrorist organisation by the US.

However, the US may be wary of arming Kurdish forces who are seeking to break away from Iraq. Washington has reassured Baghdad that it supports its territorial boundaries and does not wish to see the country break up.

Kurdish leaders have instructed the semi-autonomous region's lawmakers to prepare for a referendum on independence.

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India: Men Playing The Monkey in Delhi to Protect Lawmakers from Real Simians

Langur monkeys were used to scare away common monkeys in New Delhi.REUTERS

The job market was never as creative as it is now. Men in New Delhi are being paid to act like monkeys.

They shout and scream like langurs, but stop short of scaling trees to fight the monkeys.

The New Delhi Municipal Council has hired around 40 men to dress up as langurs and scare away the monkeys troubling elected representatives in and around the parliament House, Supreme Court and other surrounding areas.

The men have been hired on contract and earn wages of approximately Rs 8,000 (£88, $131, €98) a month.

Monkeys have multiplied in the area and they even invade homes, vandalising kitchen gardens, carrying away food items, snapping phone or television wires and tearing clothes left in the open for drying.

In come the langur brigade.

Gray langurs or Hanuman langurs, the most widespread species of langurs in South Asia, are natural enemies of the common monkey.

On Thursday, India's Urban Development Minister M Venkiah Naidu acknowledged in a written reply in Rajya Sabha, the upper house of parliament, that men have been posing as langurs to keep the monkey menace in check. He was responding to a complaint on the increasing nuisance from the simians.

But the story goes further into the past.

Earlier, it was part of the municipal gameplan to tackle monkeys by hiring real langurs along with their caretakers. It was a common sight in Delhi to see a langur tied to a long rope being prodded by its caretaker to chase away monkey hordes. The pair worked with two weekly holidays and did eight-hour work shifts with an hour of lunch break.

The practice had to be stopped after the langur species was included in Schedule II of the Wildlife Protection Act, 1972. But it went on clandestinely.

In 2012, the ministry of environment and forests wrote to all government departments that owning, trading, buying or hiring langurs was an offence punishable under the law and entailed a prison term of up to three years or a fine or both.

With Maneka Gandhi, an animal rights activist, now part of the Cabinet there is not much chance for langurs to be municipal staff.

That was when the municipal authorities considered the impersonation act.

The municipal authorities have also acquired 'Sure Shot Rubber Bullet Guns' to scare away monkeys. These are safe and do not kill or injure monkeys, they say.

But the parliament member who had raised the topic of simian explosion in Delhi was apparently not satisfied. "We all love animals. Dogs can be handled but the place for these monkeys is a jungle. We are wasting money by training humans to scare away monkeys. The simians should be caught and released in a jungle," he said.

According to Delhi Fire Service and civic officials, the strategy to employ humans as langurs has not paid off given the men's limited ability, unlike langurs, to scale walls and trees.

Monkeying around is not that easy after all.

Taiwan Gas Explosion: Dramatic Photos and Video of Huge Blasts in Kaohsiung

At least 25 people were killed and 267 injured when underground gas explosions ripped through Taiwan's second-largest city, hurling concrete and cars through the air and blasting long trenches in the streets.

(AFP / Reuters)

The series of five explosions around midnight struck a densely populated district where petrochemical companies operates pipelines alongside the sewer system in Kaohsiung, a southwestern port of 2.8 million people.

Firefighters called to the area in the late evening to investigate a gas leak were among the victims when the blasts went off, upending at least six fire engines.

Four firefighters were among the 25 dead as well as some of 267 people injured, the National Fire Agency said.

(AFP)

(Reuters)

The death toll could rise, because many of the seriously injured were still being treated, officials said.

Three people also were reported missing in the disaster, Taiwan's second in as many weeks following a plane crash that killed 48 people on July 23.

(AFP)

Reuters

Residents carry a wounded person following a blast in the city of Kaohsiung in southern Taiwan(AFP)

The fires were believed caused by a leak of propene, a petrochemical material not intended for public use, but the cause and source of the leak were not clear.

The exploded gas line belongs to government-owned CPC Corp, which told The Associated Press it showed no signs of problems before the explosions.

The government's disaster response centre said it was trying to prevent any knock-on gas explosions in the same place or nearby.

"In terms of what we can prevent, we're afraid another explosion could happen, as there is that possibility," said Hsu Lee-hao, an economics affairs ministry section chief staffing the disaster response centre. "We're afraid it could be in the same place or elsewhere."

Dramatic video footage shows motorists fleeing as the road splits in front of them, followed by flames spewing out of the drains.

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Asian Markets Trade Lower after Global Equity Selloff

Tokyo Stock Exchange.Reuters

Asian markets traded lower on 1 August in the wake of a global market selloff the day before, triggered partly by Argentina's default.

However, positive China factory activity data helped calm regional investors.

The Shanghai Composite was trading 0.53%, or 11.57 points, lower to 2,189.99.

Hong Kong's Hang Seng was trading 0.71%, or 175.35 points, lower to 24,581.50

India's S&P BSE Sensex was trading 0.25%, or 65.80 points, lower to 25,829.17.

The Japanese Nikkei finished 0.63%, or 97.66 points, lower at 15,523.11.

Australia's S&P/ASX finished 1.36%, or 76.50 points, lower at 5,556.40.

South Korea's Kospi finished 0.15%, or 3.02 points, lower at 2,073.10.

Data from China showed that the official purchasing managers index (PMI) rose to 51.7 in July, beating expectations. The reading for June stood at 51.

Meanwhile, HSBC's final China PMI reading, for July, stood at 51.7 as well. Manufacturing activity in the world's second-largest economy struck an 18-month high in July, according to HSBC.

Analysts have said that the Argentina default issue will have a "limited" impact on financial markets in emerging economies.

Capital Economics said in a note to clients: "The circumstances surrounding the [Argentina] default are specific to Argentina and thus shouldn't prove to be the trigger for a wider EM sell-off.

"We expect EM currencies and foreign currency bonds to come under further pressure over the coming months, but this is mainly due to the shift towards tighter policy in the US."

Capital Economics said in a separate note: "We do not expect Argentina's default to trigger a prolonged ripple of contagion in the rest of Latin America. There may be some turbulence in the region's financial markets, but we suspect that the actions of the [US Federal Reserve] will continue to have a much larger bearing on risk appetite. Meanwhile, on the economic front, Brazil and Uruguay stand to lose the most from weaker Argentine growth. The aggregate impact will probably be small, although manufacturers may suffer more than most."

Earlier, Capital Economics said: "Confirmation that Argentina has officially fallen into default after failing to agree a deal with holdout creditors is likely to rattle local markets and has the potential to do significant damage to the domestic economy. But we suspect that contagion to other emerging markets is likely to be limited – for financial markets elsewhere in the emerging world, the big issue remains the Fed."

Company Stock Movements

Sony shot up 6% a day after it reported upbeat earnings data. Rival Panasonic added 2% after its April-June operating profit beat forecasts.

Hitachi eased 2.5% despite strong earnings.

In Shanghai, Baoshan Steel shot up some 3%.

In Sydney, Fortescue Metalas dropped some 4%. Endeavor Mining lost 3% while Kingsgate Consolidated shed 2%.

In Seoul, index heavyweight Samsung Electronics lost 2%.

US Markets

Wall Street indices ended in red territory on 31 July on fears about Europe's economy, an Argentine default and after a spike in US labour costs stoked concerns about corporate margins.

The Dow and the S&P 500 logged their first monthly drop since January 2014.

The Dow Jones Industrial Average finished 317.06 points, or 1.9%, lower at 16563.30.

The S&P 500 finished 39.40 points, or 2%, lower at 1,930.67.

The tech-heavy Nasdaq ended 93.13 points, or 2.1%, lower at 4,369.77.

Scott Schuberg, CEO, Rivkin Securities said in a note: "The jury is probably out with respect to what caused last night's sharp sell-off, my best guess is that this is a late response to the previous session's news that the US economy is growing more quickly than expected."

"While seemingly counterintuitive, remember that the market will have to adjust in anticipation of the ultimate reality that US interest rates will rise, and this will cause some bumps along the road. But as I mentioned [on 31 July], those bumps will be cushioned by the overt dialogue that the US Federal Reserve has with the market. If we could get away with a few, few-hundred point drops in the Dow in exchange for the pricing in of a Fed interest rate hiking cycle, I for one would be quite happy..."

Glencore Completes Sale of Peru Copper Mine to Chinese Joint Venture

Las Bambas copper mine in Peru.Twitter/MMG

Commodity giant Glencore has completed its sale of the Las Bambas copper mine in Peru, which is one of the largest in the world.

The project was acquired by a joint venture led by China's MMG for $7bn (€5.2bn, £4.1bn). MMG will be the operator of the mine with a 62.5% stake. Other partners are Guoxin International Investment Corporation and CITIC Metal Co.

In April, the companies agreed to pay $5.85bn plus the money spent by Glencore on building the mine.

"The acquisition of Las Bambas is a proud and significant milestone for MMG, delivering on our growth strategy and objective to be a top three mid-tier mining company," MMG CEO Andrew Michelmore said in a statement.

"There is a lot of work to be done and we want to ensure the change in ownership does not impact its development."

"We value the expertise of the Las Bambas team who have earned an outstanding reputation in the region. We are delighted to welcome their talent to our organisation."

Las Bambas, located in Cotabambas, Apurimac Region in Peru, is one of the world's largest copper projects under construction with a 10.5 million tonne copper mineral resource and 6.9 million tonne copper ore reserve.

Las Bambas is expected to operate for over 20 years with upside potential from associated unexplored tenements.

"Once operational, Las Bambas will significantly increase MMG's attributable copper sales. With Las Bambas expected to produce over 2 million tonnes of copper in concentrate in its first five years, MMG will become one of the world's largest copper producers also offering exposure to other base metals," Michelmore added.

MMG said it will continue its detailed analysis of the project in order to determine the project schedule and future capital requirements.

Swiss-based Glencore is expected to distribute about half of the proceeds from the sale to shareholders.

The sale was required by China for granting approval to Glencore's multi-billion-dollar merger with Xstrata.