Britain charges 2 Russians over Novichok poisoning
AP, London
British prosecutors said Wednesday they have charged two Russian men with the nerve agent poisoning of ex-spy Sergei Skripal and his daughter Yulia in the English city of Salisbury.
The Crown Prosecution Service said the men, known to British investigators as Alexander Petrov and Ruslan Boshirov, are charged in absentia with conspiracy to murder, attempted murder and use of the nerve agent Novichok.
Ebola fear empties DR Congo village schools
AFP, Mangina
In the village of Mangina, where dozens have died of Ebola at the epicentre of Democratic Republic of Congo’s latest outbreak, children are to be seen everywhere-except in school, because their parents fear they will be infected in class.
“The children are not here today. It’s the parents who are keeping them at home,” primary school teacher Christian Muhindo said as he paced between empty desks. “They think that the children will be easily contaminated at school.”
Israel court okays demolition of W Bank village
AFP, Jerusalem
Israel’s top court on Wednesday upheld an order to raze a Palestinian Bedouin village in the occupied West Bank, after debating petitions challenging the decision.
There has been strong international pressure on Israel to reverse its plans to raze Khan al-Ahmar, which the Israeli authorities say was built illegally.
Pakistan protests Indian killing in Kashmir
AP, Islamabad
Pakistan’s Foreign Ministry on Wednesday summoned India’s deputy high commissioner in Islamabad to protest the killing of a Pakistani villager in “unprovoked firing” by Indian troops in the Himalayan region of Kashmir.
Abdul Rauf was fatally shot by Indian security forces Tuesday in the Kotkoterra Sector while grazing animals, according to a Pakistani military statement.
The Foreign Ministry summoned the Indian diplomat and condemned what it said was an unprovoked cease-fire violation by Indian forces.
Trump to chair UN SC meeting on Iran
AP, United Nations
US President Donald Trump will chair a United Nations Security Council meeting on Iran this month during the annual gathering of world leaders in New York, diplomats and US Ambassador Nikki Haley said on Tuesday.
The United States, which holds the council presidency for September, has unsuccessfully pushed the UN to add sanctions on Iran. Haley has regularly attacked Iran, accusing it of meddling in the wars in Syria and Yemen.
