Saudi warns Iran over Yemeni rebel airport attack
AFP, Riyadh
Riyadh accused its arch-foe Tehran on Thursday of ordering a Yemeni rebel missile strike which wounded 26 people at a Saudi airport and warned of “grave consequences”.
“The continuation of the Iranian regime’s aggression and reckless escalation, whether directly or through its militias, will result in grave consequences,” deputy defence minister Prince Khaled bin Salman tweeted.
Ecuador’s highest court approves same-sex marriage
AFP, Quito
Ecuador’s highest court on Wednesday approved same-sex marriage in a landmark ruling in the traditionally Catholic and conservative South American country.
LGBT and human rights activists erupted in celebration in Quito and the port city of Guayaquil, waving the rainbow flags that symbolize the gay rights movement.
Cyclone veers away from Indian coast
AFP, Ahmedabad
A cyclone that had been heading for western India has veered away, forecasters said Thursday, although costal areas were still expected to be hit by winds gusting up to 160 kilometres (110 miles) per hour.
Vayu, classified as a very severe cyclonic storm, moved north-northwestwards in the night over the Arabian Sea, and was around 110 kilometres from the coast of Gujarat state.
Second patient dies of Ebola in Uganda
AFP, Bwera
A 50-year-old woman who tested positive for Ebola in Uganda has died, a health ministry official told AFP Thursday, the second fatality since the virus spread from neighbouring Democratic Republic of Congo.
“The deceased has been confirmed as the grandmother of the five-year-old boy who died. Both victims had attended the burial of an Ebola patient in Congo, but returned to Uganda”, the official told AFP on condition of anonymity.
Afghan govt frees 490 Taliban prisoners
AP, Kabul
The Afghan government says it has freed 490 Taliban prisoners from jails across the country in a gesture of good will as part of efforts to move a stalled peace process forward.
Feroz Bashari, government media center chief, told The Associated Press on Thursday that the freed Taliban insurgents were either ailing or had less than a year remaining on their prison sentence.
Israel’s Labour Party leader stepping down
AFP, Jerusalem
Israeli Labour Party leader Avi Gabbay has announced he is stepping down after a disappointing finish in April 9 elections and will not run for parliament in new polls in September.
Labour dominated Israeli politics in the decades after the country’s 1948 founding, but has struggled in recent years.
and won only six seats in the 120-seat parliament in April. Gabbay, 52, is a former businessman and environment minister who became head of the party in 2017.
