Saudi-led coalition admits wrongdoing in Saada attack
Riyadh, Sep 2 : Saudi-led coalition involved in a Yemen war Saturday admitted the wrongdoing in an airstrike that targeted Yemeni city Saada, pledging to hold those responsible accountable, Al Arabiya reported.
The coalition accepted the findings of the Joint Incidents Assessment Team (JIAT) on the attack that took place on August 9 in Saada, including the mistakes in compliance with the Rules of Engagement regarding the strike.
The Joint Forces Command of the Coalition expressed regret over the mistakes, extended its sympathies, condolences and solidarity to the families of the victims, and announced its acceptance of the results and findings of the JIAT.
It obliged to revise and enhance its Rules of Engagement, according to operational lessons learned, in order to guarantee non-recurrence of such incidents. It also assured that the victims would be compensated.
On August 9, a coalition airstrike hit a school bus in Yemen's northern province of Saada, killing 51, including 40 children.
Saudi Arabia has led other Arab countries in the war in Yemen that completed its third year in March in support of the Yemeni exiled government against Houthi militias.
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England sticking with Key, McCullum and Stokes despite Ashes humbling
London (AP): England is not sacking anybody following the 4-1 Ashes loss in Australia.
A review of the tour by the England and Wales Cricket Board, announced within hours of the final match in January, was concluded on Monday. Firing people would “be the easy thing to do,” ECB chief executive Richard Gould said but he insisted, "This is not the time to throw everything out."
Managing director Rob Key, coach Brendon McCullum and captain Ben Stokes kept their jobs after the best England side to go to Australia in 14 years lost the Ashes in 11 days with two games to spare.
“Moving people on can sometimes be the easy thing to do. That's not the route that we're going to take,” Gould said. “I've seen the driving ambition and determination that we're lucky enough to have within our leadership group to take the lessons from the Ashes and move forward.”
Gould previously was the chief executive of Bristol City soccer club and said the ECB would not follow the same route as soccer's hire-and-fire culture.
“Cricket is a very unique sport in that it takes a team of leadership ... it's not like football where there's a single point of failure or success with a manager," he said. He added the ECB would not “select or deselect management based on a popularity campaign.”
The main criticisms of England's tour were poor preparation, player misbehavior, and selection mistakes.
At a press conference at Lord's, Gould and Key said McCullum and Stokes have not had a “bust up,” they did not want McCullum to “completely change” but “to evolve,” the behavior of some players was “unprofessional,” there will be more consequences for underperforming, and a commitment to “better long-term planning” ahead of major test series.
Some changes were already implemented for the Twenty20 World Cup, where England reached the semifinals. Gould implied that performance saved McCullum.
Key acknowledged that England supporters would be disappointed to see the management team go unpunished.
“I know people want punishment and that people then should be sacked for that,” Key said. “That doesn't mean we don't feel like we've gone through some serious pain: Brendon, myself, Ben. It's been as tough a time as I think I've had.”
