More than 30 missing in Yemen shipwreck
Aden: More than 30 people were missing off the Yemeni island of Socotra after a cargo vessel carrying islanders home from the mainland sank in the Indian Ocean, authorities said. At least 26 passengers were rescued from the water after a major search operation in the early hours, President Abedrabbo Mansour Hadi said in a statement on the official sabanew.Net website. The ship sank northwest of Socotra — around 350 kilometres from Yemen’s south coast — which has been hit by rare tropical cyclones in recent months. Hadi called for “doubling efforts to broaden rescue operations to reduce the scope of the catastrophe that has struck the inhabitants of Socotra.” Officials declined to say if inclement weather was behind the disaster but Yemeni Fisheries Minister Fahd Kavieen earlier told reporters that the vessel had “an accident.”
China warns US on Taiwan’s planned transit
Beijing: China on Wednesday accused Taiwanese President Tsai Ing-wen of seeking to use a planned transit stop in the US to score diplomatic points, amid Chinese rancor over an unprecedented phone call between Tsai and Donald Trump.
New portrait of Ambedkar unveiled in UK
london: A portrait commemorating the 125th birth anniversary of Dalit rights activist and principal architect of the Indian Constitution Bhimrao Ramji Ambedkar by award-winning artist Hazel Morgan has been unveiled in london.
Kerry, Russia’s lavrov to meet to discuss Syria
Moscow: A spokeswoman for Russia’s Foreign Ministry today said US Secretary State John Kerry and Russian Foreign Minister Sergey lavrov are meeting for talks later in the day.
France slams Russia’s systematic obstruction
Paris: French President Francois Hollande denounced “systematic obstruction” by Russia at the UNSC after the failure of a resolution calling for a seven-day ceasefire in the Syrian city of Aleppo.
ISIS launches ‘Agony Uncle’ show for jehadis
Washington: The Islamic State’s (ISIS) radio station has reportedly launched an ‘Agony Uncle’ phone-in show where terrorists and the terror group’s sympathisers can get answers to their personal problems. Al-Bayan, which broadcasts in Iraqi territories controlled by the militant organisation, recently launched the programme that translates as ‘Fatwas Over the Airwaves’ programme in which clerics provide answers to questions presented to them on a variety of topics concerning Islamic law, according to a research.