3 Ukraine bridges blown up to block key roads into the rebel-held city of Donetsk
3 Ukraine bridges blown up to block key roads into the rebel-held city of Donetsk
DONETSK, Ukraine — After Ukrainian forces’ seizure of a key rebel stronghold in the east, the major cities of Donetsk and Luhansk could be the next focus of major fighting. Three bridges on roads leading to Donetsk were blown up Monday — possibly to hinder military movements, though the rebels claim it was the work of pro-Kiev saboteurs.
As nerves fray over the prospect of fighting in the sprawling cities, Russia urges Europe to put pressure on the government to end the fighting, but takes no overt action. Rebels in Ukraine and nationalists at home have called for the Kremlin to send in troops to protect the pro-Russia insurgents, but President Vladimir Putin, wary of more sanctions being imposed by the West, has resisted.
Separatist fighters driven out of the city of Slovyansk and other eastern towns by the Ukrainian army over the weekend are regrouping in Donetsk, a major industrial city of 1 million where pro-Russia rebels have declared independence as the Donetsk People’s Republic. Pavel Gubarev, the region’s self-described governor, had promised “real partisan war around the whole perimeter of Donetsk” before thousands of supporters at a rally Sunday.
GM engineer: Effort to fix ignition switches touched off GM recall problems
DETROIT — General Motors’ deadly ignition switch flaws emerged from an effort to improve its cars.
As the company began developing new small cars in the late 1990s, it listened to customers who complained about “cheap-feeling” switches that required too much effort to turn. GM set about making switches that would work more smoothly and give drivers the impression that they were better designed, a GM switch engineer testified in a lawsuit deposition in the spring of 2013.
The switches, though, were too loose, touching off events that led to at least 13 deaths, more than 50 crashes and a raft of legal trouble for the Detroit automaker.
Former U.S. Attorney Anton Valukas, hired by GM in March to investigate the switch problems, told a congressional subcommittee last month that GM wanted each small-car ignition to “feel like it was a European sports car or something.” After years of lagging behind the Japanese, GM was eager to make better, more competitive small cars.
But as it turned out, the new switches in models such as the Chevrolet Cobalt and Saturn Ion can unexpectedly slip from “run” to “accessory,” causing engines to stall. That shuts off the power steering, making cars harder to control, and disables air bags in crashes. GM says the problem has caused at least 13 deaths, but some members of Congress put the death toll near 100.
With political leaders deadlocked, Iraqi parliament squabbles over date of next session
BAGHDAD — With political leaders deadlocked, Iraq’s parliament squabbled Monday over when to hold its next session, potentially delaying the formation of a new government for weeks despite the threat from extremists who have seized control of a large chunk of the country and declared the establishment of an Islamic state.
The acting speaker of parliament initially announced that the legislature would not meet again until mid-August because there was no agreement among factions over the top leadership posts — particularly the prime minister, with incumbent Nouri al-Maliki facing a campaign to replace him.
But after an uproar over the long delay, speaker Mahdi al-Hafidh announced Monday night that there was a preliminary agreement among lawmakers to meet Sunday, July 13. But even that appeared uncertain, since al-Hafidh added that an official announcement of the date would not come until Tuesday.
With politicians struggling to even agree on when to meet, it was hard to see how they could quickly forge a compromise on the much thornier issue of a new government. The impasse, coupled with the military’s sluggish counteroffensive, underlined just how difficult a task Iraqis face as they try to keep their country from fracturing along sectarian and ethnic lines.
The military suffered a new setback in its battle with the extremist advance Monday when the top commander of the armed forces battling militants in the west was killed by a mortar strike.
By wire sources