India to hold talks with Pakistan on terrorism
India is willing to send its top diplomat to Pakistan for talks focused on fighting cross-border terrorism, sources at India’s foreign ministry said on Wednesday, after a spike in tension in the disputed northernmost region of Kashmir.
Indian Foreign Secretary Subrahmanyam Jaishankar was willing to attend talks on the invitation of his Pakistani counterpart, the sources said, adding that they should focus on the situation in Kashmir.
59 rescued from migrant dinghy off Greek island
AP, Athens
Greece’s coast guard says it has rescued 59 migrants in an inflatable dinghy in rough weather in the Aegean Sea.
The migrants were picked up early Wednesday off the eastern island of Kos by two patrol boats.
UK unemployment fell in run-up to Brexit vote
AP, London
The number of unemployed people in Britain dropped in the three months through June, though not enough to bring down the jobless rate from 4.9 percent, its lowest level since 2005.
The Office for National Statistics said Wednesday that 52,000 fewer people were unemployed than the previous quarter and 207,000 less than a year earlier.
Thousands flee homes due to California fires
Reuters, Los Angeles
Hundreds of firefighters were battling a rapidly-spreading wildfire raging unchecked in drought-stricken Southern California on Wednesday after flames forced more than 80,000 residents to flee.
The Bluecut Fire, which erupted on Tuesday morning and has grown to cover some 18,000 acres (7,300 hectares) of heavy brush in an area called the Cajon Pass, was zero percent contained as of Tuesday night, fire officials said.
12 die after drinking tainted liquor in India
AP, Patna
At least 12 people have died after drinking bootleg liquor in the eastern Indian state of Bihar, police said Wednesday.
The victims consumed the tainted liquor Monday evening and fell ill the following day, said Superintendent Niranjan Kumar. Five others were being treated for poisoning in a hospital in the Gopalganj district of the state, said Rahul Kumar, a district magistrate.
Peru ex-president’s sentence overturned
AFP, Lima
Peru’s supreme court has overturned an embezzlement sentence against former president Alberto Fujimori, although the decision will not alter the 25-year prison term he is serving for crimes against humanity.
The disgraced former leader was sentenced in January 2015 to eight years in prison for diverting some 122 million soles ($40 million) in state funds to help manipulate the media.
