Anti-refugee protest in Netherlands turns ugly

1. Israeli forces have shot a Palestinian in the City of Nablus in the occupied West Bank. He was shot after an alleged stabbing attack against Israeli soldiers. Tensions have been simmering in the occupied territories for over two months now. 126 Palestinians have been killed by Israeli forces since October the first.

2. Turkish soldiers have carried out two days of crackdown in the southern towns of Silopi and Cizre. At least 23 members of the Kurdistan Workers' Party have been killed during the raids. The two towns which are located near Iraq and Syria borders were under curfew on Monday.

3. Yemen’s warring sides have completed a prisoner swap as peace talks in Geneva are underway. The prisoners have been transferred in small groups by buses due to security concerns. Most of Ansarullah prisoners are young men who were captured after the port city of Aden fell into the hands of pro-Hadi forces.

4. Bahrainis have taken to the streets of the island city of Sitra, calling for the overthrow of the Al Khalifah regime. The demonstrators slammed the regime for killing pro-democracy protesters. Clashes also occurred between security forces and the protesters. Bahrain has been the scene of anti-government protests since February 2011.

5. Iran’s Foreign Minister Mohammad Javad Zarif is in New York to participate in the third round of talks regarding the crisis in Syria. Zarif says the use of terrorist groups as a tool in the hands of certain countries must come to an end.

6. Scuffles have erupted between police and protesters in the town of Geldermalsen in the Netherlands. The demonstrators were outraged by government’s plans for housing some 1,500 asylum seekers. Police have arrested at least one protester. European countries are struggling to cope with the largest movement of refugee since the second world war.

7. In Brazil, thousands of people have staged a demonstration in Sao Paulo in support of embattled President Dilma Rousseff. The rally came just a day after a court found a panel tasked with impeaching Rousseff to be legitimate. Brazil has been the scene of pro- and anti-impeachment rallies in the past week.

8. North Korea has slammed the US for imposing new sanctions against the country, warning of unimaginable consequences. Pyongyang said that the sanctions would only strengthen the country’s munitions industry and boost its weapons production. North Korea has urged the US to accept its long-standing demand for a peace treaty.

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