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Yemen's warring sides end talks in Switzerland

Sunday, 20 December 2015 1:43 PM [ Last Update: Sunday, 20 December 2015 1:43 PM ]

News in Brief

1. Lebanon's resistance group Hezbollah says Israel has assassinated one of its senior figures. Samir Quntar was killed in an Israeli strike on his home in the city of Jaramana in the Damascus countryside. Reports say two Syrians were also killed in the attack. Quntar had spent 29 years in Israeli jails.

2. Over 100 Kurdish militants have been killed in Turkey’s city of Diyarbakir since the army began its offensive there five days ago. The fighting has also left two soldiers and five civilians dead. Turkey has been engaged in a military campaign against the Kurdistan Workers Party since July.

3. India's top court will hear a plea against the release of a culprit in the fatal gang-rape of a 23-year-old student. A women's rights body has filed a petition seeking a stay order for the juvenile convict. He was involved in the 2012 assault of the victim in New Delhi.

4. The UN has announced that Yemen’s peace talks have come to an end in the Swiss city of Biel. UN's special envoy for Yemen Ismail Ould Cheikh Ahmed is set to explain the outcome of the talks later in the day. The talks aimed to halt the conflict in the Arab nation.

5. Iranian lawmakers have slammed new American legislation that restricts visa-free travel to the United States. Over 100 MPs called on President Hassan Rouhani to take serious action against the hostile move. They believe the law violates the terms of the nuclear agreement between Tehran and the P5+1.

6. An Air France flight from Mauritius to Paris has been diverted to Kenya after a suspicious package was found on board. The pilots requested to land in Mombasa after the package, believed to be an explosive device, was found in the toilet. All passengers and crew were safely evacuated.

7. Spaniards are casting their ballots in historic general elections, with more than two parties vying for the first time in decades. The anti-austerity Podemos party and the Liberal Party of Citizens are competing with the ruling Popular Party and the Socialists. Opinion polls have put the ruling conservatives narrowly ahead.

8. Nigeria is to prosecute top Shia Muslim leader Sheikh Ibrahim al-Zakzaky over the violence in the city of Zaria. Last week, the Nigerian army attacked members of the Shia community in Zaria, killing hundreds of them, including Sheikh Zakzaky’s sons. Officials are now blaming the violence on the cleric's supporters.

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News in Brief