US declines to speculate on Pak coup threats
The White House has said that it would not like to speculate if Pakistan was next after Turkey to have a military coup and reiterated its desire to continue a productive relationship with the country.
The possibility of a military coup in Pakistan was explored at a Washington think-tank this week and it resurfaced at the White House news briefing on Monday afternoon when an Indian journalist referred to this debate and asked if Pakistan was next.
Thousands rally to support Mugabe
AP, Harare
Tens of thousands of supporters of Zimbabwe’s ruling party are marching in the capital, Harare, in response to a series of recent protests against the government of 92-year-old President Robert Mugabe.
The supporters sang and chanted slogans Wednesday in support of Mugabe, who has been in power for 36 years.
Heavy rain disrupts trains, flights in Beijing
Reuters, Beijing
Persistent heavy rain on Wednesday caused widespread disruption in the Chinese capital, Beijing, forcing the delay and cancellation of hundreds of flights and the closure of some subway stations.
Beijing’s steamy summer months are often marked by dramatic rainstorms, one of which in 2012 killed 37 people.
EU chief calls for Brexit ‘velvet divorce’
AFP, Brussels
EU chief Donald Tusk told Britain’s new Prime Minister Theresa May on Tuesday that they should work towards a “velvet divorce” as the country seeks to exit the European bloc.
The European Council president said in a tweet that he had told May that “we need an orderly, calm #Brexit, something like a “velvet divorce”.
Nearly 100 executed in S Arabia this year
AFP, Riyadh
Saudi authorities executed two men on Tuesday, bringing to 98 the number of executions carried out in the ultra-conservative Muslim kingdom so far this year.
Saudi citizen Ali Assiri, who was found guilty of stabbing a fellow tribesman to death, was executed in the southwestern region of Asir, the interior ministry said.
Armed man holed up in French hotel arrested
Paris, Reuters
The man who was holed up for more than 12 hours in a hotel room in the southern French town of Bollene on Tuesday was arrested in the evening, a spokeswoman for the local police said.
The man had shut himself up in a low-budget hotel with a suspected bomb and knife after a spat with the manager, police said. His motives were not known.
Palestinian boy killed
AP, Jerusalem
A Palestinian hospital official says a 12-year-old boy was killed after clashes erupted between Israeli forces and protesters in the West Bank.
Ramallah hospital director Ahmad Bitawi says the boy was killed Tuesday by a bullet to the chest. Israeli police deny that live fire was used against protesters.
