North Korea, China top Pompeo agenda on Asia trip
AP, Washington
Secretary of State Mike Pompeo heads to Asia next week with an agenda dominated by a stalemate in the Trump administration’s nuclear talks with North Korea and impasses with China over trade, Taiwan and the South China Sea.
Pompeo travels to Thailand on Tuesday for the Association of Southeast Asian National Regional Forum where North Korea’s launch of medium-range missiles this week and increasingly assertive Chinese maritime actions will be major issues. U.S. officials declined Friday to say if Pompeo plans specific meetings on either matter in Bangkok but acknowledge they are major concerns.
Bahrain executes two Shiites on terror charges
AFP, Dubai
Bahrain executed two Shiite citizens by firing squad Saturday on terror charges, officials said, despite appeals for clemency from international human rights groups.
The prosecutor announced the first such executions in the Gulf kingdom for more than two years but did not identify the pair. The two – named by rights groups as Ali al-Arab, 25, and Ahmad al-Malali, 24 – were both Shiites, judicial sources said, without confirming the names.
American held in Syria freed after two months
AFP, Washington
A 30-year-old American held captive in Syria for two months was attempting to visit every country in the world, US media reported Friday, after he had been freed.
Sam Goodwin was released by Syrian officials following the mediation of Abbas Ibrahim, the head of Lebanon’s internal security, Goodwin’s family told The New York Times and The Washington Post. His disappearance had not been previously reported and the exact date of his release remained unclear.
Six killed in Yemen flood
AP, Sanaa
Yemeni officials say at least six people were killed when floods swept through much of the country’s south following heavy rainfall.
The officials said Saturday that at least three people are still missing in the Abyan and Shabwa provinces hit by heavy rains over the past 24 hours. The officials say rushing muddy water flooded dozens of farms, cutting off roads and sweeping away cars and cattle in parts of both provinces. They added that power outages have also engulfed entire areas in Abyan and Shabwa.
Palestinian killed by Israeli fire in Gaza
AFP, Gaza City
A Palestinian was killed by Israeli army fire during clashes on the Gaza border, the health ministry in the Hamas-run enclave said Saturday. The ministry said Ahmed Qura, 23, died “as a result of wounds sustained (from) the Israeli occupation forces’ fire” on Friday. He had been hit in the stomach during demonstrations along the border fence east of Khan Yunis in southern Gaza.
