Amnesty calls for halt to arms sales to Saudi-led coalition
AP, Cairo
An international rights group urged Western governments on Wednesday to stop supplying weapons to parties to the conflict in Yemen after reports that they were ending up in the hands of extremist groups.
Amnesty International’s arms control and human rights researcher Patrick Wilcken said in a statement that “the proliferation of unaccountable, UAE-backed militias is worsening the humanitarian crisis and posing a growing threat to the civilian population.”
Trump seeks to “eliminate HIV” in US within 10 years
AFP, Washington
President Donald Trump used his State of the Union address on Tuesday to call for a bipartisan commitment to eradicate AIDS in the United States within a decade.
“Scientific breakthroughs have brought a once-distant dream within reach,” Trump said in his annual address to Congress.
NATO leaders to meet in London in Dec
AFP, Brussels
The leaders of NATO’s 29 countries will gather in London in December for a special meeting to mark the alliance’s 70th anniversary, Secretary General Jens Stoltenberg announced Wednesday.
Stoltenberg tweeted that the British capital was “the ideal setting to mark 70 years of transatlantic military cooperation, as the home of NATO’s first HQ back in 1949”.
Egypt oppon rejects move to extend Sissi’s rule
AP, Cairo
Egyptian opposition parties have formed a coalition against proposed changes to the constitution that would allow President Abdel-Fattah el-Sissi to stay in office well beyond the end of his current term in 2022.
Egypt’s parliament has given its preliminary approval to the changes, but they would also need to be put to a national referendum.
Stormy drops defamation claim against Cohen
Reuters, Washington
A federal judge has granted adult film actress Stormy Daniels’ request to dismiss a defamation claim against U.S. President Donald Trump’s former lawyer Michael Cohen, while letting her pursue her lawsuit against Trump and Cohen to end a hush money settlement.
In a decision made public on Tuesday, U.S. District Judge James Otero in Los Angeles said federal rules permitted Daniels, whose real name is Stephanie Clifford, to amend her lawsuit, and there was “nothing wrong” with her request to drop the defamation claim.
Hindu temple in Pakistan vandalised
PTI, Islamabad
A Hindu temple was vandalised in Pakistan’s Sindh province by a group of men who set the holy books and idols on fire. The incident drew a strong reaction from Pakistan’s Prime Minister Imran Khan who ordered swift and decisive action against the perpetrators.
The incident happened last week in Kumb, a town in Khairpur district. The unidentified assailants fled the area after vandalism.
