Yemen requests aid for 200,000 people forced out of Saudi Arabia
Yemen has asked the International Organization for Migration (IOM) to help some 200,000 Yemenis forced to leave Saudi Arabia in the past three months, the IOM said Friday. Yemen wants the IOM to help provide basic assistance such as shelter, access to water, and hygiene kits to vulnerable returnees, the Geneva-based organization said in statement. Saudi King Abdullah announced an amnesty on April 3 which grants foreign workers a three-month grace period to regularize their residency or leave the country to avoid being jailed or fined. Earlier this week, the time limit was extended to November.
British PM Cameron wins symbolic vote on EU referendum
British Prime Minister David Cameron, along with his Conservative Party, has won a parliament vote on a referendum on Britain's EU membership. Lawmakers supported a bill that legislates for an EU referendum by the end of 2017 by 304 votes to zero, although the draft law could still be defeated while making its way through parliament. Cameron said in January that he would hold a referendum in the first half of the next parliament, providing he is re-elected.
Twelve people sentenced over anti-Japanese violence in China
Courts in the western Chinese city of Xi’an have sentenced 12 people to up to ten years in prison for attacks on Japanese-brand vehicles and a driver during a wave of anti-Japanese violence last September. Cai Yang was sentenced to ten years and fined $42,000 for bashing the driver of a Toyota Corolla on the head when he attempted to prevent him from smashing the vehicle. Others were sentenced to less than two years for scuffling with riot police and smashing Japanese-brand cars.
President Pranab signs landmark food scheme for poor
Indian President Pranab Mukherjee has signed an ordinance on a landmark food welfare program targeting the poor, the government announced. The National Food Security measure “has special focus on the needs of the poorest of the poor, women and children,” a senior food ministry official told AFP. The program, to be approved by parliament, will offer subsidized grains to nearly 70 per cent of the population - or more than 800 million people.
Taliban vows Afghan attacks over Ramadan
The Afghan Taliban promised on Friday to continue attacks over Ramadan, claiming that an insurgent email which promised to halt violence over the Muslim holy month was faked. Taliban spokesman Zabihullah Mujahid said the message sent in his name was the latest incident in a simmering cyber war between intelligence agencies and the insurgents. “In that mail the enemy losers have tried to influence attacks by mujahideen fighters,” Reuters quoted Mujahid as saying. “We strongly reject sending any such email on a stoppage of operations.”
Supporters of Salafist cleric attack TV crews in Lebanon
Hundreds of Lebanese supporters of Salafist cleric Sheikh Ahmed al-Assir marched from Bilal Bin Rabah Mosque after Friday prayers, heading to Al-Karameh in the southern Lebanese city of Sidon. They assaulted TV crews in Abra, according to local media reports. The protest allegedly erupted after the mosque’s new Imam, Sheikh Mohammed Abu Zeid, did not mention al-Assir when he delivered his sermon to worshippers. Al-Assir, 45, reportedly stated in an audio message on Thursday that the clashes between his gunmen and the Lebanese army last month were a plot against him. Al-Assir earlier called on his supporters to participate in a sit-in in front of Hezbollah’s offices in Lebanon.
12 people killed in suicide attack on Afghan highway patrol HQ
Twelve people have been killed in a suicide attack on an Afghan highway patrol headquarters. The bomber sneaked into a police dining hall in central Afghanistan at lunchtime Friday, according to officials. The suicide bomber passed three checkpoints to enter the crowded hall at around 12:30pm and detonated a suicide vest just inside the door, Uruzgan provincial government spokesman Abdullah Himmat said. The room was on a base used by police assigned to secure the main highway to neighboring Kandahar. Ten of the 12 victims were reportedly Afghan national police officers. Five other people were wounded in the explosion.
Russia petitions UNSC over weaponry supplies from Libya to Syria
Unauthorized supplies of weaponry sent from Libya to the Syrian opposition represent a crude encroachment on the international embargo on arms trade with Libya, the Russian Foreign Ministry said Friday. It cited recent media reports on the supplies of weapons via Qatar and Turkey, adding that the weapons included submachine guns, machine guns, grenade launchers, and antitank systems. Moscow has petitioned to the UN Security Council’s committee on sanctions to initiate an investigation in connection with the reports, the ministry said, adding that it expects “an unbiased and fair investigation.”
Pakistan’s new govt ends ban on death penalty
Pakistan’s new government has ended a ban on the death penalty. A 2008 moratorium imposed by Pakistan’s previous government, praised at the time by rights groups, expired on June 30. “The present government does not plan to extend it,” Reuters quoted Interior Ministry spokesman Omar Hamid Khan as saying. The new policy of Prime Minister Nawaz Sharif is to execute all death row prisoners, except those pardoned on humanitarian grounds, Khan said. The government has put the number people remaining on death row at about 400, but human rights groups say the number is bigger. All executions must be approved by Pakistan’s president.
Crashed Proton-M rocket took off prematurely – Roscosmos head
A Proton-M rocket carrying three Glonass satellites took off from the launch pad at the Baikonur cosmodrome 0.4 seconds earlier than planned, director of the Russian Space Agency (Roscosmos) Vladimir Popovkin said Friday. “One can say for sure that the rocket left the launch pad ahead of the time before engines started to operate normally,” Interfax quoted him as saying. He added, however, that the real causes of the Tuesday crash are still being investigated. The commission probing the incident will work until late July.
Philippine peacekeepers to stay in Golan Heights if security is boosted
The Philippines said Friday it would keep its 340 peacekeepers in the Golan Heights provided it gets additional heavier weapons and protection. Philippine President Benigno Aquino would reject a proposal to pull the Filipinos out if the UN met his requests to boost security, Foreign Secretary Albert del Rosario said in a statement. Aquino said last month that Philippine troops needed anti-tank and anti-aircraft weapons, as well as protection against chemical warfare. Escalating violence against the UN Disengagement Observer Force, which monitors a 1974 truce between Israel and Syria, has prompted some countries to pull out their troops.
Islamist gunmen stage multiple attacks on Egyptian forces in Sinai Peninsula
Islamist militants have carried out multiple attacks on security forces in Egypt’s Sinai Peninsula, security sources told media. One soldier was killed and two others wounded during rocket fire near a police station in Rafaq, located on the border with the Gaza Strip. Earlier, militants fired rocket-propelled grenades at army checkpoints guarding El Arish airport, near the border with the Gaza Strip and Israel. It is not clear whether the attacks were connected with Mohamed Morsi’s removal from office just two days ago. The militants reportedly have links with al-Qaeda and have established a foothold in the desert peninsula.
People hurt in California 'fireworks mishap'
Around 14 people were injured in a Fourth of July “fireworks mishap” in the US state of California, according to police. The explosion occurred around 9:20pm local time at Rancho Santa Susana Community Center and Park in the city of Simi Valley. The incident forced park authorities to evacuate the premises. The detonation was determined to be accidental and the injured were attended to quickly, as emergency personnel were already on site monitoring the fireworks. The full extent of the injuries was not immediately known.
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