News in Brief

  Shebab executes 28 in Kenya bus attack
Afp, Garissa

Somalia's Shebab Islamists yesterday ambushed a bus in Kenya, killing 28 non-Muslim passengers in what they said was a revenge attack for police raids on mosques in the troubled port city of Mombasa. Some 60 passengers on board were ordered off the vehicle, and the gunmen only killed the non-Muslims.

HRW says Israeli house demolitions a war crime
Afp, Jerusalem

Human Rights Watch yesterday called on Israel to stop razing the homes of Palestinians accused of attacking Israelis, saying the practice can constitute a war crime. The demolitions have long been used as a deterrent punishment in the occupied West Bank, but rights group have slammed it as collective punishment measure.

550 Germans joined ISIS in Syria, Iraq
Afp, Frankfurt

At least 550 Germans have left their home country to fight alongside jihadists in Syria and Iraq, Interior Minister Thomas de Maiziere said. He said authorities are keeping a close watch on some 230 more people who are considered potential threats on German soil.

Obama telephones Pakistan premier  
Afp, Islamabad

US President Barack Obama telephoned Pakistani Prime Minister Nawaz Sharif to discuss the "evolving situation" in the region, the Pakistani foreign ministry said. Obama informed Sharif of his forthcoming trip to India and said he would visit Pakistan as soon as the situation normalises in the country.

Americans urged to stop wasting food
Afp, Washington

In the run-up to Thanksgiving, a holiday to celebrate bountiful harvests, Americans are being urged to stop wasting food so much. Some 34 million pounds of food is thrown away in the United States every year, the Environmental Protection Agency (EPA) said Friday. That represents 21 percent of all food produced, harvested and purchased -- food that is worth an estimated $1.3 billion, at a time when one in six Americans face hunger.

India invites bids for $2.4b artillery contract
Afp, New Delhi

India yesterdayinvited bids for a $2.4-billion artillery deal while deferring a decision on acquiring 106 Swiss Pilatus aircraft for fighter pilot training. The bid for 814 mounted guns is the first big artillery tender in nearly three decades since the scandal-hit Swedish Bofors guns deal in 1987.