Reuters, Srinagar
Four militants and two Indian soldiers were among seven people killed in a gun battle in Kashmir on Sunday, a police spokesman said, the latest sign of increasing tension in the Himalayan region disputed by nuclear-armed neighbors India and Pakistan.
Militants opened fire on army troops in the village of Prisal south of Srinagar, the summer capital of India’s state of Jammu and Kashmir, S.P. Pani, the deputy inspector general of police, told Reuters.
Syria oppon picks team for new peace talks
AFP, Beirut
Syria’s opposition on Sunday announced its 21-member delegation, including 10 rebel representatives, for a new round of UN-sponsored peace talks in Geneva scheduled for February 20.
The delegation will be headed by Nasr al-Hariri, a member of the National Coalition, replacing Assad al-Zoabi, who led the opposition at several previous rounds of talks in Geneva last year.
Brazil police strike on despite agreement
AFP, Rio de Janeiro
Relatives of police in Brazil blockaded law enforcement stations in a protest over pay despite an agreement to end an officers’ strike and limited police presence in some of the southeastern state’s cities.
At least 137 people have been reported killed amid looting and robbery in Espirito Santo state since police went on strike a week ago demanding better pay.
Indonesians to vote in local polls
Reuters, Jakarta
Tens of millions of Indonesians head to the polls on Wednesday in local elections across the Muslim-majority country, with bitter feuding over the powerful post of Jakarta governor stoking political and religious tensions.
Incumbent Basuki Tjahaja Purnama, Jakarta’s first ethnic Chinese and Christian leader, has angered some Muslim voters for allegedly insulting the Koran. He has denied wrongdoing, but is on trial for blasphemy in a case that rights groups and his supporters view as politically motivated.
Qatar slaps travel ban on rights lawyer
AFP, Dubai
Authorities in Qatar have barred a prominent human rights lawyer and former justice minister from leaving the country, a rights group said on Friday.
Najeeb al-Nuaimi was also a lead defence lawyer in ousted Iraqi president Saddam Hussein’s trial, and has since voluntarily defended prisoners of conscience in the Gulf state.
Aftershocks continue in Philippines
AP, Surigao
The Philippine president has consoled survivors of a strong earthquake that left at least eight people dead, injured more than 200 and damaged an airport, buildings and about 1,000 houses in a southern province.
More than 130 aftershocks have followed the magnitude 6.7 quake that struck Surigao del Norte province late Friday.
