Abbas, Trump to hold first phone call
AP, Ramallah
Palestinian President Mahmoud Abbas will speak by telephone with U.S President Donald Trump in the first contact between the two leaders since Trump took office.
Trump’s planned phone call to Abbas was revealed in a White House notice Friday.
Abbas has spent many hours on the phone and in meetings with U.S. presidents and secretaries of state over the past decade but he has tried unsuccessfully to reach out to Trump.
Abbas’ office did not comment ahead of the call.
$7m Japanese aid for Afghan refugees
Dawn.com, Islamabad
The Japanese government has announced a $7 million aid for the United Nations High Commissioner for Refugees (UNHCR) and the World Food Programme (WFP) to support Afghan refugees and host communities in Pakistan.
The announcement was made by Minister for States and Frontier Regions retired Lt Gen Abdul Qadir Baloch and Japan’s Ambassador Takashi Kurai at a ceremony on Thursday.
Two killed in Basel shooting
AFP, Geneva
Two men shot dead two people and seriously injured a third on Thursday at a cafe in Basel, north-west Switzerland, police said as they hunt for the suspects.
“Two men came into Cafe 56” around 8.15 pm local time (1915 GMT) “and fired several rounds of shots,” police said in a statement, without providing information on a possible motive.
AP, Ramallah
Palestinian President Mahmoud Abbas will speak by telephone with U.S President Donald Trump in the first contact between the two leaders since Trump took office.
Trump’s planned phone call to Abbas was revealed in a White House notice Friday.
Abbas has spent many hours on the phone and in meetings with U.S. presidents and secretaries of state over the past decade but he has tried unsuccessfully to reach out to Trump.
Abbas’ office did not comment ahead of the call.
$7m Japanese aid for Afghan refugees
Dawn.com, Islamabad
The Japanese government has announced a $7 million aid for the United Nations High Commissioner for Refugees (UNHCR) and the World Food Programme (WFP) to support Afghan refugees and host communities in Pakistan.
The announcement was made by Minister for States and Frontier Regions retired Lt Gen Abdul Qadir Baloch and Japan’s Ambassador Takashi Kurai at a ceremony on Thursday.
Two killed in Basel shooting
AFP, Geneva
Two men shot dead two people and seriously injured a third on Thursday at a cafe in Basel, north-west Switzerland, police said as they hunt for the suspects.
“Two men came into Cafe 56” around 8.15 pm local time (1915 GMT) “and fired several rounds of shots,” police said in a statement, without providing information on a possible motive.
Thousands march in Turkey for women’s rights
AFP, Istanbul
Tens of thousands of women took to the streets across Turkey on Wednesday, marching for women’s rights while some also rallied against expanding the president’s powers.
In Istanbul over 10,000 people, mostly women, walked the long Istiklal Avenue, chanting “end male-perpetrated violence” and “Tayyip, Tayyip, run, run, we are coming”.
“Tayyip” refers to the Turkish President Recep Tayyip Erdogan who is seeking to create an executive presidency which would see the post of prime minister abolished.
