News In Brief

Yemen clashes kill 60
Afp, Sanaa

Fierce clashes between Huthi Shia rebels and gunmen from the powerful Hashid tribe killed at least 60 people on Friday in northern Yemen, tribal sources told AFP. The violence in Omran dates back to January 5 when Huthis tried to seize Hashid strongholds.

Red Cross ordered to suspend Sudan work
Afp, Khartoum

Sudanese authorities have ordered the Red Cross to suspend its activities, the organisation said yesterday, in the latest restriction to be placed on foreign aid workers in the war-ravaged country.
"We have received an official letter from the HAC (Humanitarian Aid Commission) informing us to suspend our activities with effect from today," Rafiullah Qureshi, spokesman for the International Committee of the Red Cross (ICRC) in Sudan, told AFP. "Our activities are suspended."

Egypt air strike kills 7 Sinai militants
Afp, Cairo

The Egyptian army said it killed seven militants in an air strike in the Sinai Peninsula less than a week after jihadists downed a military helicopter in the restive region. The army said the Thursday night air raid hit militants linked to the Muslim Brotherhood.

Blasphemy: Pakistan to charge 2nd Briton
Independent.co.uk

The family of a second British man facing blasphemy charges in Pakistan said yesterday that he is entirely innocent and called for more to be done to allow him to return to the UK. Masud Ahmad, 72, is currently on bail in Lahore after he was allegedly tricked into publicly reading from the Quran – an act which is forbidden for members of the minority Ahmadi sect to which he belongs. He now faces three years in jail.

Kashmir border bus service to resume
Afp, Muzaffarabad

The bus service across the de facto border in Kashmir will resume next week after being suspended for more than two weeks, a Pakistani official said yesterday. All movement including travelling and trade along the Line of Control (LoC), which divides the disputed Himalayan region between Pakistan and India, had been suspended after Indian authorities detained a Pakistani truck driver for allegedly carrying heroin.