AFP, United Nations
The Palestinians on Thursday asked the United Nations to allow their flag to be raised at the world body ahead of next month’s meeting of heads of state.
The move comes as the Palestinians seek to bolster their bid for statehood despite fierce opposition from Israel.
A draft resolution was presented to the General Assembly requesting that the flags of the state of Palestine and the Holy See be hoisted alongside those of the 193 member states.
NATO opens training centre in Georgia
AFP, Tbilisi
NATO on Thursday opened a training centre in Georgia as the ex-Soviet country eyes closer partnership with the Western military alliance amid tensions with Russia.
Georgia has long sought full NATO membership and hopes to be invited to join a Membership Action Plan (MAP), a formal step towards membership, at a NATO summit in Warsaw next year.
But analysts doubt that NATO will grant the small South Caucasus country the membership plan in 2016 for fear of infuriating Russia amid tensions over Ukraine.
Landslides kill 5 in Nepal earthquake zone
AFP, Kathmandu
Landslides triggered by heavy rainfall killed at least five people in central Nepal, four of them in a shelter for survivors of a devastating earthquake, police said Friday.
Rescuers in Nepal’s Nuwakot district are still searching for a nine-year-old boy missing since an overnight landslide crushed two bamboo and tin shelters built for families displaced by the April 25 quake.
“The landslide occurred around 2.00 am, burying the shelters while the victims were sleeping inside,” said district police chief Siddhi Bikram Shah.
Lankan cabinet formation
further delayed
PTI, Colombo
Sri Lanka’s new government has further delayed formation of the Cabinet beyond the already agreed deadline of September 1.
The election was held nearly two weeks ago in which the United National Party (UNP) failed to win the absolute majority of 113 seats in 225-member assembly.
The UNP and the opposition Sri Lanka Freedom Party decided to form a national unity government following which there were serious negotiations and disagreements over the sharing of key portfolios.
US and S Korea troops stage massive live-fire drill
AFP, South Korea
South Korean and US troops staged their biggest-ever joint live-fire drill on Friday, including a simulated mechanised assault deep into North Korean territory, just days after the two Koreas ended a tense military standoff.
The exercise, conducted in several stages, envisaged an initial North Korean provocation, followed by an escalating clash, and culminating in a counter-attack across the border.
