News in Brief

34 militants killed in Pak clashes
Afp, Islamabad

At least 34 militants and three soldiers were killed in gunfights in a restive Pakistani tribal region where troops have now gained control of strategic heights, officials said Friday.
The clashes took place in an area between the tribal districts of Kurram and Khyber, in the villages of Para Chamkani and Maidan, during an operation against Taliban militants.

Manning trial begins tomorrow
Reuters, Washington

The American soldier accused of the biggest leak of classified information in US history, which prosecutors say put lives at risk, goes on trial tomorrow in a case that raises questions about the limits of secrecy and openness in the Internet era.
Private First Class Bradley Manning, 25, is charged with providing more than 700,000 documents to WikiLeaks, an anti-secrecy website. The military trial at Fort Meade, Maryland, about 30 miles (50 km) northeast of Washington, is expected to run until at least late August.

Drone strikes kill 7 in Yemen
Reuters, Aden

Two drone strikes killed seven suspected al-Qaeda militants in southern Yemen yesterday morning, a local official said, nine days after US President Barack Obama said he would only use such strikes when a threat was "continuing and imminent".
Washington views al-Qaeda in the Arabian Peninsula (AQAP) as the movement's most dangerous wing after it attempted to launch bomb attacks on international airliners. The official said the seven were in two cars driving in the al-Mahfad district of Abyan Governorate in southern Yemen where the Islamist militant group has a strong presence.

IMF releases 1.7b euros for Greece
Afp, Washington

The International Monetary Fund released 1.74 billion euros ($2.26 billion) in fresh funds for Greece Friday after the country passed the third review of its performance under the joint IMF-EU bailout program.
Earlier Friday the European Financial Stability Facility also released another aid installment, worth 7.2 billion euros, to help recapitalise Greece's stricken banks. The funding is part of the 173-billion-euro, four-year program to put Athens's finances on a stable path. The IMF so far has released 6.57 billion euros to Greece under the program.

First SARS-like virus case in Italy
Reuters, Rome

Italy reported its first case of the SARS-like coronavirus on Friday, a 45-year-old man who had been travelling in Jordan, the health ministry said.
Saudi Arabia has been the most affected by the virus, with 39 cases and 25 deaths so far, according to data from the World Health Organisation. The virus, which can cause coughing, fever and pneumonia, has spread from the Gulf to France, Britain and Germany. The WHO has called it the Middle East Respiratory Syndrome Coronavirus (MERS-CoV).

Mugabe given poll deadline
The Guardian Online

A Zimbabwean court has ordered Robert Mugabe to hold elections before the end of July, adding to a political dispute over the timing and funding of the vote in the country.
"The elections should take place no later than 31 July 2013," the chief justice of the constitutional court, Godfrey Chidyausiku said, on Friday.