News in brief
Palestinian prisoners end hunger strike
RAMALLAH, May27 (AFP) - Hundreds of Palestinian prisoners in Israeli jails on hunger strike since April 17 have ended their protest, Palestinian and Israeli sources said on Saturday. Palestinian Prisoners Club chief Qaddura Fares said an agreement had been reached between the strikers and Israeli authorities on improving their conditions. An Israel Prisons Service spokeswoman confirmed the hunger strike was over.
Israeli authorities conceded to one of the prisoners' main demands -- that they should have two family visits a month instead of the one they were entitled to before the strike, the spokeswoman said. The resolution of the strike came hours before the start of the Muslim holy month of Ramadan.
India opens its longest bridge
TINSUKIA, May27 (AFP) - India opened its longest bridge close to the border with China in a move seen as bolstering its defences in a sensitive region. Prime Minister Narendra Modi marked the third anniversary of his rule by inaugurating the 9.1 kilometre long DholaSadiya bridge over the Brahmaputra river that will link Assam and Arunachal Pradesh states. Modi has launched a drive to improve infrastructure in the isolated region, which comprises seven states linked to mainland India by a sliver of land that arches over Bangladesh.
The structure in mountainous Arunachal Pradesh will help farmers transport crops and herbs to markets in Assam.
Experts say the $318 million project will consolidate New Delhi's defences in the region. Earlier governments refused to construct roads near the border, fearing they could be used by Chinese troops in a conflict.
China arrests Taiwanese activist
BEIJING, May27 (AFP) - China has arrested a visiting Taiwanese rights activist on suspicion of subverting state power, according to reports. Lee Ming-che, a 42-yearold NGO worker, had been unreachable since March 19 after he entered the southeastern Chinese city of Zhuhai from Macau, according to Taiwan's government. On Friday China's official state news agency Xinhua reported that he was in detention and had “confessed” following interrogation.
28 dead as militias clash in Libya capital
TRIPOLI, May27 (AFP) - At least 28 people were killed and nearly 130 wounded in fierce clashes in the Libyan capital Friday between forces loyal to the UN-backed unity government and rival militiamen, the health ministry said. Health ministry spokesman Anwar Frajallah gave a provisional toll of 28 dead and 128 wounded but could not say if they included any civilians.
Hashem Bishr, a security official for the Government of National Accord (GNA), separately gave a toll of 23 loyalist forces killed and more than 29 wounded. Medical sources were not immediately available to confirm the figures.
Dozens dead in Afghanistan violence
KABUL, May 27 (REUTERS) - A suspected suicide bomber killed at least 14 people in Afghanistan on Saturday and fighting between militants and security forces left at least 36 people dead on the first day of Islam's holy Month of Ramadan.
In eastern Khost province, an attacker detonated a car bomb near a football field that is close to a military base, officials said. At a local hospital, doctors received at least 14 dead bodies and eight wounded people, said Gul Mohammaddin Mangal, head of the public health department in Khost.
In the north-western province of Badghis, militants attacked security forces in Qadis district, sparking fighting that killed 22 insurgents, six security forces, and eight civilians, said Zahir Bahand a spokesman for the provincial governor.
Who welcomes most refugees?
NEW YORK, May 25 (Thomson Reuters Foundation) - People surveyed on five continents mistakenly think wealthy Western countries are welcoming most refugees as the world grapples with its worst migration crisis in decades, a survey showed on Thursday.
With more people than ever fleeing home since World War Two, most respondents thought the United States, France and Germany accepted the largest number of refugees over the last decade, the survey by the Aurora Humanitarian Initiative (AHI) found. However, Pakistan, Iran and Turkey welcomed most refugees and asylum seekers over that time period - some 10 million people, according to data by the UN refugee agency (UNHCR) cited as part of the findings.