Reuters, Madrid
Spain will go ahead with the sale of 400 laser-guided bombs to Saudi Arabia, Foreign Minister Josep Borrell said on Thursday, after the deal was halted amid concerns over the Saudi role in the war in Yemen.
“The decision is that these bombs will be delivered to honor a contract that comes from 2015, and was made by the previous government,” Borrell told Onda Cero radio.
Ghana bids farewell to Kofi Annan
Reuters, Accra
Ghana bid farewell to former U.N. Secretary-General Kofi Annan on Thursday in a state funeral attended by African leaders and international statesmen who hailed his record as an advocate for humanity and world peace.
Annan, a Ghanaian national and Noble laureate, died in a Swiss hospital last month at the age of 80. His body was flown to Accra on Monday for burial in his homeland, where he is seen as a national hero.
EU urges release of Myanmar jailed journos
AP, Brussels
European Union foreign policy chief Federica Mogherini is urging Myanmar’s authorities to free two journalists jailed on charges of possessing state secrets in connection with their reporting about massacres against Rohingya Muslims.
Mogherini demanded Thursday that “the prison sentences be reviewed and the two journalists be released immediately and unconditionally.”
Sri Lanka to ban animal sacrifices at Hindu temples
AFP, Colombo
Animal sacrifices at Hindu temples could be banned in Sri Lanka under new plans announced Wednesday, after growing protests over the rituals from the country’s Buddhist majority as well as moderate Hindus.
The cabinet approved a proposal put forward by the Hindu Religious Affairs minister to outlaw the ancient practice that is still observed at several temples across the country. “The legal draughtsman was asked to prepare a bill to ban animal and bird sacrifices at Hindu temples,” the government said in a statement.
