AFP, Jerusalem
Successive Israeli governments have invested billions of dollars over the past 50 years on settlements in the occupied West Bank, making any withdrawal from the Palestinian territory a costly proposition.
There is no official overall figure for Israel’s spending on Jewish settlements since the June 1967 Six-Day War.
Each year, the finance ministry has published partial figures, amounting to $3.5 billion over the 12 years up to 2015, but the sum does not include investments before 2003.
Pakistani, Indian troops trade fire in Kashmir
AP, Srinagar
Indian and Pakistani forces exchanged gunfire across a cease-fire line dividing Kashmir between the two rivals in the latest fighting there, wounding at least two villagers on the Pakistani side, officials said Saturday. The two sides blamed each other for “unprovoked” firing. Pakistani Foreign Ministry spokesman Nafees Zakaria condemned what he called “deliberate targeting of civilians” by India.
Nepal to elect new PM today
PTI, Kathmandu
Nepal’s Parliament is set to elect a new prime minister on Sunday after former premier Pushpa Kamal Dahal ‘Prachanda’ resigned after a brief stint of nine months.
The Secretariat of the Legislature-Parliament has published the election schedule for the post of prime minister.
As per the schedule, any legitimate member of the Legislature-Parliament willing to contest the elections can register his or her candidacy for the post of prime minister from 11 am to 4 pm tomorrow at the Parliament Secretariat.
UK police make new arrest over Manchester attack
Reuters, London
British police said on Saturday that they had made a further arrest in connection with last month’s suicide bombing on a concert in Manchester which killed 22 people.
The arrest, which was made in Manchester, took to 11 the number of people being held in custody over the attack, all of them men, the police said.
