Officials and human rights groups condemn shooting dead of Palestinian man

Here is a round-up of global news developments:

• Palestinian officials and human rights groups have condemned the shooting dead of a wounded Palestinian man by an Israeli soldier as a war crime. The incident is documented in a video that shows the injured being shot in the head as he lies on the ground.
• The Syrian army has reportedly entered the ancient city of Palmyra in Homs province which had fell to Daesh terrorists last year. According to Syrian media, army troops have cleared all roads of mines and explosives. Palmyra is home to one of the world’s most magnificent heritage sites.
• The US Treasury Department has blacklisted two Iranian companies, cutting off their international finance for allegedly supporting Iran’s ballistic missile program. The US says the companies are working for an industrial group, which it alleges is in charge of Iran’s missile program.
• Iran says the nation’s missile program has nothing to do with the nuclear deal between Tehran and the P5+1 group. Foreign Ministry said the program is totally defensive and the new US sanctions will not dissuade the Islamic Republic from its legitimate and legal right to strength its deterrence and national security.
• Belgium has lowered its terror alert status from the highest to second-highest, two days after the deadly bombings in the Capital Brussels. This as security forces are still hunting for two terror suspects behind the Tuesday attacks, claimed by Daesh terrorists. The bombings left 31 people dead and around 300 more wounded.
• Desperate refugees have blocked train tracks at the Greek-Macedonian border to protest against the border closure. The protesters slept on the rails in the Greek village of Idomeni, demanding permission to continue their journey across Europe to reunite with their families. The asylum seekers also briefly blocked the main border highway.
• UN judges have sentenced former Bosnian-Serb leader, Radovan Karajich, to 40 years in prison over the Srebrenica genocide. Pronouncing the verdict at war crimes tribunal at The Hague, judges said Karajich was responsible for murder, persecution, and hostage-taking during the Bosnian war of the 1990s.
• The Bulgarian government has angrily dismissed a US Embassy warning to its citizens to avoid a busy transport hub in the capital because of a potential threat. Prime Minister Boyko Borissov said there’s no credible threat or danger to residents or visitors, calling the US warning absolutely inadmissible and improper.

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