Ahmadinejad demands punishment for Syria massacre
Iranian President Mahmoud Ahmadinejad has said that those responsible for last week's massacre in Syria should be punished. Ahmadinejad declined to say who he believed was behind the attack. “It seems unbelievable to me that a government would engage in killing its own people,” he told France 24 on Wednesday, adding that he was “not excluding anyone from this responsibility.” UN investigators blame pro-government gunmen for at least some of the carnage in Houla.
Seven killed in militant attack on Yemeni town
At least seven people were killed when Al-Qaeda-linked militants attacked Yemeni troops guarding the town of Radda. Four militants and three soldiers died during the attack late on Wednesday night, the Yemeni Defense Ministry said, as cited by Reuters. The town in the al-Baydah province 170 km southeast of the capital, Sanaa, was briefly seized by the militants earlier this year. The attack came as the Yemeni army is continuing major offensive on militant strongholds in the south.
Two American tourists kidnapped by Sinai Bedouins – Egypt officials
Two American tourists have been kidnapped while traveling in Egypt's Sinai Peninsula, security officials said. Armed Bedouins snatched the two while the men, aged in their early 30s, were traveling by car from Dahab to the resort of Nuweiba early on Thursday, AP reports. Bedouins have kidnapped tourists recently to pressure authorities to release detained relatives or to improve living conditions in their areas.
‘Time to give Syrian opposition weapons’ – McCain
US Senators John McCain and Joe Lieberman, who are on a visit to Malaysia, said Thursday it was time to arm Syria's opposition. “It's time to act,” the Republican McCain said in Kuala Lumpur, as cited by AFP. “It's time to give the Syrian opposition the weapons in order to defend themselves. It's not a fair fight,” he said. During their talks with the Malaysian leadership, McCain and Lieberman, an independent, expressed “repugnance and anger and disgust” at the behavior of Syrian President Bashar al-Assad and the recent massacre in Houla.
Number of Afghan civilians killed drops 36% – UN
The number of Afghan civilian fatalities has dropped 36 per cent so far this year compared with last, according to UN officials. The office of the senior UN envoy for the country, Jan Kubis, said that 579 civilians were killed in the first four months of this year, down from 898 in the same period of 2011. The number of wounded dropped from 1,373 to 1,216 in the January to April period, AP said. The envoy called the trend promising, but warned that too many civilians are still being caught up in the violence.
Hundreds detained in Tibet after two self-immolations
Chinese officials have detained about 600 Tibetans in Lhasa after two protesters against Chinese rule over Tibet set themselves on fire on Sunday. One of the men died according to Xinhua. The protests have continued through Wednesday. The total number of those detained could not be independently confirmed because foreign journalists are barred from entering Tibet, Reuters reports.
Suspect in Seattle shootings kills himself
The man suspected of a deadly shooting and carjacking a Seattle has killed himself, police say. Three people died after the gunman opened fire in a café in the city’ University District and a woman died in the carjacking an hour later on Wednesday. Two more people have been seriously injured.
Israel urges tougher action against Damascus
In the wake of the Houla massacre in Syria which saw more than 100 civilians killed Israeli Defense Minister Ehud Barak has called for tougher actions against the regime of President Bashar Assad, Reuters reports. "These events in Syria compel the world to take action, not just talk, but action. These are crimes against humanity and the international community must not stand on the sidelines," Barak said in a speech at the Institute for National Security Studies in Tel Aviv. Meanwhile Israel has also voiced concern about the possible outcome of the Assad government’s collapse.Major-General Yair Golan said that Israeli military was making preparations along its border with Syria in case the regime falls, an event which could provide Islamist militants with a "warehouse of weapons" and a new operating base. "Syria is in civil war, which will lead to a failed state, and terrorism will blossom in it," he told a conference at Bar Ilan University. "Syria has a big arsenal."
Age can be detected by smell – study
US scientists from the Monell Chemical Senses Centre in Philadelphia have concluded that catching a whiff of someone's body odour can tell you whether they are young, middle aged or elderly without even seeing the person. It appears that young people have a stronger and more unpleasant scent. The smell of elderly people is the most distinctive but referred to by a group of volunteers as less intense and unpleasant. Researchers say the change in our smell is driven by the chemicals that our body releases and the changes in our skin’s bacterial flora. Their conclusions are based on a series of samples from three groups of 12 to 16 donors, aged 20 to 30, 45 to 55 and 75 to 95.
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