AP, Rafah
Gaza’s border crossing into Egypt is running under the Palestinian Authority’s control for the first time in a decade.
Egypt opened the Rafah crossing point Saturday for three days on a humanitarian basis for the first time since the militant Hamas group ceded control of Gaza’s crossings with Israel and Egypt to the Western-backed PA.
Buddhist-Muslim violence in Lanka
Reuters, Colombo
Sri Lankan police arrested 19 people after a clash between “extremists” from the majority Buddhist and minority Muslim communities in which four people were injured, a spokesman said on Saturday.
Tension has been growing between the two communities this year, with some hardline Buddhist groups accusing Muslims of forcing people to convert to Islam and vandalizing Buddhist archaeological sites.
Cambodia charges 2 journalists with espionage
AP, Phnom Penh
Two Cambodian journalists who worked for U.S.-funded Radio Free Asia were charged with espionage on Saturday, the latest targets in an intensifying crackdown on perceived opponents of the country’s authoritarian prime minister.
The pair – Uon Chhin and Yeang Socheameta – were arrested Tuesday and are suspected of supplying information to a foreign state, a spokesman for the Phnom Penh Municipal Court, Ly Sophana, said.
