News Headlines - 14 August 2014

▽Maliki steps down as Iraqi PM - FT.com

Iraq’s prime minister announced late on Thursday he would step down after eight years in office and endorse the man chosen by his own political bloc to succeed him.

▽Humanitarian crisis averted on Mount Sinjar, says Obama | Israel News

The humanitarian crisis facing religious minorities stranded on a mountaintop in northern Iraq has been averted, US President Barack Obama said on Thursday, after the US Air Force conducted strikes on terrorists at its base and delivered seven tranches of much-needed aid.
Obama said the US had broken the Islamic State’s attempted siege of Iraq’s Yazidi minority.

▽BBC News - Iraq crisis: BBC gains rare access to refugees' Mount Sinjar

The US said it has broken the siege on Mount Sinjar in Iraq, allowing thousands of Yazidis to escape... The BBC's world affairs correspondent Paul Wood has driven up the mountain to meet the refugees who are still there.

▽Pope Francis Arrives in South Korea on First Trip to Asia as Pontiff - WSJ

Pope Francis arrived in South Korea on Thursday for his first trip to Asia as pontiff, kicking off a five-day visit that will showcase the Vatican's efforts to spread the faith on a continent where just 3% of the population is Catholic.

▽Japan Lodges 'Strong Protest' with Russia Over Military Exercise - WSJ

Tokyo lodged a "strong protest" with Moscow after Russia began a large-scale military exercise at a northern Pacific island chain also claimed by Japan, a further setback for Prime Minister Shinzo Abe's bumpy efforts to strengthen ties with the northern neighbor.