Mid East Crises

Israel air strikes kill 5 Palestinians in Gaza: medics
Afp, Gaza City

Israeli air strikes killed five Palestinians in the centre of the Gaza Strip yesterday, two in Deir al-Balah and three in Nusseirat, the local emergency services said. One strike in Nusseirat hit a house, killing two men aged 24 and 22, while in Deir al-Balah it landed in open farmland, Ashraf al-Qudra told AFP. A drone strike later targeted a 45-year-old man in Nusseirat who died of his injuries in hospital shortly afterwards, Qudra's office said. The identities of those killed in Deir al-Balah were not immediately clear.

'Just a few strikes': Iraq militia wants help from old US foe
Afp, Jurf Al-sakhr

Iraq's Mahdi Army fought US troops to the death in past years, but now some members of the rebranded Shiite militia say they could do with a little help from their old foe. A campaign of US air strikes in the north has helped flagging Kurdish troops regroup and allowed them to go on the offensive, whetting the appetite of other anti-IS forces for similar assistance.

700,000 Iraqis displaced in Kurdish north: UN
Afp, Geneva

About 700,000 Iraqis have gathered in the Kurdish north after being driven from their homes by jihadist fighters, the United Nations said yesterday as it stepped up a massive aid operation to the region. Earlier this week, the UNHCR had put the number at around 600,000, but it is unclear how many of the additional 100,000 were new arrivals and how many had arrived earlier but only been registered in recent days.

Germany 'regrets' minister's claim on Qatar IS funding
Afp, Berlin

Germany said yesterday it regretted any offence caused to Qatar after a cabinet minister linked the Arab state to financing of jihadist militants in Syria and Iraq. "We regret if there have been any misunderstandings" a foreign ministry spokesman said after the comments by Development Aid Minister Gerd Mueller to a German public broadcaster. On the funding allegations, he said: "I am not aware of such information."

Yemen Shiites stage Sanaa protest as crisis talks held
Afp, Sanaa

Tens of thousands of supporters of Shiite Zaidi rebels pressing the government to resign gathered yesterday in the north of Yemen's capital as a presidential team held crisis talks in their stronghold. Against the backdrop of what were termed "positive" talks in the Zaidis' northern Yemeni stronghold of Saada, the rally was staged on the final day of an ultimatum set by rebel commander Abdulmalik al-Huthi. "The people want to overthrow the government," chanted the protesters who joined the weekly Friday prayers.