AP, United Nations
A United Nations investigator accused Myanmar of discrimination and urged the government to take immediate action to allow minorities and migrants to vote in November elections.
Yanghee Lee, the special rapporteur on human rights in Myanmar, also urged the country’s Election Commission to establish an independent process to review the disqualification of candidates, many of them Muslims – including two current members of parliament.
40 killed in missile attack on Syrian town
Reuters, Beirut
At least 40 people were killed and about 100 wounded after Syrian government forces fired missiles into a market place in a town near Damascus, a conflict monitor and a local rescue group said on Friday.
The Syrian Observatory for Human Rights said government forces fired 12 missiles at Douma, 10 miles (15 km) northeast of Damascus.
UN seeks to revive Israeli-Palestinian talks
AFP, United Nations
A draft UN resolution aimed at reviving Israeli-Palestinian peace talks calls for a freeze on Jewish settlements and halting moves to prosecute Israel at the International Criminal Court.
The text drafted by New Zealand has been circulated to the 15 Security Council members, as well as Israel and the Palestinians, diplomats said Thursday.
The measure is the latest attempt by the UN’s top body to try to forge a consensus on the way forward in the Middle East peace process amid a new flareup of violence.
Baluch rebels lay down arms in Pakistan
AFP, Quetta
Thirty Baluch rebels and two commanders on Thursday surrendered to the Pakistan authorities, a provincial government minister said, the latest insurgents to lay down their arms in troubled Baluchistan province.
The 32 militants were from two separatist groups, the Baluch Liberation Army and the United Baluch Army, which have long been fighting government forces in gas rich Baluchistan which borders Iran and Afghanistan.
Indian airline blocks woman in short dress from flight
AFP, New Delhi
A female passenger was prevented from boarding a domestic flight in India because she was showing too much leg, the budget carrier IndiGo and newspaper reports said on Thursday.
The woman travelling from the western city of Mumbai to India’s capital New Delhi was not allowed to board Monday’s flight because her dress was too short, the Indian Express reported.
An official at IndiGo, who asked not to be named, told AFP that the dress had stopped above the knee, in violation of rules issued to employees and relatives of staff.
