Macron vows to help restart Serbia-Kosovo dialogue
AFP, Belgrade
French President Emmanuel Macron on Monday vowed to help restart dialogue and reach a long-lasting agreement between Serbia and Kosovo, former war foes who have been locked in a diplomatic spat for months.
Visiting Serbia’s capital Belgrade, Macron said that he would organise a meeting in the coming weeks with the leaders of Serbia and Kosovo as well as German Chancellor Angela Merkel “in order to find a global and sustainable solution”.
Duterte ‘seriously considering’ cutting ties with Iceland
AP, Manila
Philippine President Rodrigo Duterte is “seriously considering” cutting diplomatic ties with Iceland, which spearheaded a resolution that asked the U.N.’s top human rights body to look into the thousands of deaths of suspects under his anti-drug crackdown.
Presidential spokesman Salvador Panelo told reporters late Monday that the Iceland-initiated resolution, which was adopted by the U.N. Human Rights Council in a vote last week in Geneva, showed “how the Western powers are scornful of our sovereign exercise of protecting our people from the scourge of prohibited drugs.”
Quake off Indonesia’s Bali causes minor damage, sparks panic
AFP, Denpasar
A strong earthquake struck off the Indonesian holiday island of Bali on Tuesday, the United States Geological Survey said, causing residents to flee their homes and damaging several buildings.
The quake, which had a magnitude of 5.7, hit at 7.18am local time (0018 GMT) and was centred 82.1 kilometres (50.9 miles) southwest of the island’s capital Denpasar, according to the USGS.
Kuwait deports 8 arrested Islamists to Egypt
AP, Cairo
A leading rights group says Kuwait has deported eight arrested Egyptian members of the Muslim Brotherhood group, convicted at home on terrorism charges. Human Rights Watch says Monday the eight were “unlawfully returned”, “despite the serious risk of torture and persecution they face in Egypt.”
Kuwait last week said it detained members of the Brotherhood, with some sentenced in Egypt to 15 years behind bars. The country’s state-run KUNA news agency said Sunday authorities deported “the wanted Egyptians.”
Yemen’s warring sides meet over flashpoint Port city
AP, Sanaa
Yemen’s warring sides concluded an overnight meeting on Monday that discussed the redeployment of forces from the flashpoint port city of Hodeida, officials said.
This was the first meeting since February between the Shiite rebel group, known as the Houthis, and the forces loyal to the internationally recognized government.
Under a December cease-fire agreement, both sides were to redeploy their forces from Hodeida, something considered an important first step toward ending the civil war.
Hodeida is the main entry point for humanitarian aid to Yemen, where over four years of war have spawned the world’s worst humanitarian crisis.
