We don't want Saudi-led ground offensive, says Yemeni Vice-President
Al-Qaeda militants seized an airport in the major port city of Mukalla in the southern region of Yemen on Thursday. Officials stated that government troops guarding the airport had fled, allowing the Al-Qaeda fighters to capture it. Unconfirmed reports suggested that the outfit’s fighters have also taken control of a sea port and an oil terminal in the region. Meanwhile, Yemeni Vice-President Khaled Bahah stated that he does not want a Saudi Arabia-led ground offensive against the Shia Houthi rebels in the country. “We are not expanding the war, but we are trying to stop the war,” he said. The Saudi-led coalition has been conducting airstrikes against the Houthi rebels, who hold large swathes of the country’s territory.
Opposition office raided during Putin phone-in
The offices of Russian opposition group Open Russia were raided by the country’s security services during President Vladimir Putin’s annual televised phone-in. The group's computers and files were seized, said members of the opposition on Twitter. Some of the men who raided the office were wearing ski-masks, they added. Meanwhile, Putin said that his critics had the right to run in the country’s elections, due to be held next year. However, the Kremlin has been accused of persecuting the opposition in the country, with parties being refused registration to run in the elections and criminal cases being filed against opposition leaders. In February, unidentified gunmen shot dead Boris Nemtsov, a prominent critic of Putin’s policies.
Italian police arrests 15 migrants
Italian police on Thursday arrested 15 Muslim migrants for allegedly throwing 12 Christian migrants overboard into the Mediterranean Sea while their boat was heading from Libya to Italy. The migrants were reportedly thrown off the boat after a row with the other group. Authorities said that the accused had been charged with multiple aggravated murder motivated by religious hate. In a separate incident, 41 people were reportedly drowned after their boat capsized off the Italian coast. Around 10,000 migrants have been rescued in recent days by various countries. Italy has also called on the European Union to assist it in rescue efforts.
Coalition airstrikes slow Islamic State advance
Airstrikes by the United States-led coalition against the Islamic State of Iraq and the Levant have slowed the militant outfit’s advance on the Iraqi city of Ramadi, said a provincial leader in the country on Thursday. The outfit’s logistical supply routes have been cut off by the airstrikes, said Faleh Essawi, the deputy chief of the Anbar provincial council. However, he added that Iraqi troops in the city needed reinforcements as there was not enough ammunition and manpower left to continue holding their positions. Security forces on Wednesday repelled an attack by ISIS militants on government buildings in the city, said Aathal al-Fahdawi, another member of the council. Fighters from the Islamic State seized three villages near Ramadi on Wednesday.
Assange agrees to be questioned on rape charges
WikiLeaks founder Julian Assange has agreed to be questioned by Swedish prosecutors over sexual assault allegations, said his lawyer on Thursday. Prosecutors in Sweden had agreed last month to conduct the questioning in London. Assange has been living at the Ecuadorian embassy in the city since June 2012 after he requested asylum to avoid being extradited to Sweden over the allegations, which were levelled against him by two women in 2010. Assange stated that he feared if Britain extradited him to Sweden, he would then be extradited to the United States, where he could stand trial for publishing the country's military and diplomatic documents.
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Al-Qaeda militants seized an airport in the major port city of Mukalla in the southern region of Yemen on Thursday. Officials stated that government troops guarding the airport had fled, allowing the Al-Qaeda fighters to capture it. Unconfirmed reports suggested that the outfit’s fighters have also taken control of a sea port and an oil terminal in the region. Meanwhile, Yemeni Vice-President Khaled Bahah stated that he does not want a Saudi Arabia-led ground offensive against the Shia Houthi rebels in the country. “We are not expanding the war, but we are trying to stop the war,” he said. The Saudi-led coalition has been conducting airstrikes against the Houthi rebels, who hold large swathes of the country’s territory.
Opposition office raided during Putin phone-in
The offices of Russian opposition group Open Russia were raided by the country’s security services during President Vladimir Putin’s annual televised phone-in. The group's computers and files were seized, said members of the opposition on Twitter. Some of the men who raided the office were wearing ski-masks, they added. Meanwhile, Putin said that his critics had the right to run in the country’s elections, due to be held next year. However, the Kremlin has been accused of persecuting the opposition in the country, with parties being refused registration to run in the elections and criminal cases being filed against opposition leaders. In February, unidentified gunmen shot dead Boris Nemtsov, a prominent critic of Putin’s policies.
Italian police arrests 15 migrants
Italian police on Thursday arrested 15 Muslim migrants for allegedly throwing 12 Christian migrants overboard into the Mediterranean Sea while their boat was heading from Libya to Italy. The migrants were reportedly thrown off the boat after a row with the other group. Authorities said that the accused had been charged with multiple aggravated murder motivated by religious hate. In a separate incident, 41 people were reportedly drowned after their boat capsized off the Italian coast. Around 10,000 migrants have been rescued in recent days by various countries. Italy has also called on the European Union to assist it in rescue efforts.
Coalition airstrikes slow Islamic State advance
Airstrikes by the United States-led coalition against the Islamic State of Iraq and the Levant have slowed the militant outfit’s advance on the Iraqi city of Ramadi, said a provincial leader in the country on Thursday. The outfit’s logistical supply routes have been cut off by the airstrikes, said Faleh Essawi, the deputy chief of the Anbar provincial council. However, he added that Iraqi troops in the city needed reinforcements as there was not enough ammunition and manpower left to continue holding their positions. Security forces on Wednesday repelled an attack by ISIS militants on government buildings in the city, said Aathal al-Fahdawi, another member of the council. Fighters from the Islamic State seized three villages near Ramadi on Wednesday.
Assange agrees to be questioned on rape charges
WikiLeaks founder Julian Assange has agreed to be questioned by Swedish prosecutors over sexual assault allegations, said his lawyer on Thursday. Prosecutors in Sweden had agreed last month to conduct the questioning in London. Assange has been living at the Ecuadorian embassy in the city since June 2012 after he requested asylum to avoid being extradited to Sweden over the allegations, which were levelled against him by two women in 2010. Assange stated that he feared if Britain extradited him to Sweden, he would then be extradited to the United States, where he could stand trial for publishing the country's military and diplomatic documents.
