NEWS OF THE DAY
1 Yemen conflict: Fighting resumed in southern Yemen between Emiratibacked separatists and the internationally recognized government, officials said Wednesday. The renewed violence comes after the separatists suspended participation in talks to implement a Saudibrokered peace deal. The secessionist Southern Transitional Council, an umbrella group of militias backed by the UAE, said it informed Saudi Arabia of the suspension, accusing the government of Yemeni President Abed Rabu Mansour Hadi of mobilizing forces in the southern province of Abyan. Yemen’s descent into turmoil started in 2014 when Iranianbacked Houthi rebels overran the capital, Sanaa, and much of the country’s north, driving Hadi’s government into exile.
2 Mass grave: Archaeologists have dug up the remains of more than 1,500 people, many of them believed to have died in an epidemic, who were buried in a 19th century mass grave that is being excavated for a city development project in Osaka in western Japan. Officials studying the remains said Wednesday that they believe they are of young people who died in the late 1800s. All of the remains have been removed from the excavation site, and experts will examine them and other artifacts in hopes of finding more details related to the deaths. Some experts have cited the possibility of an epidemic of syphilis, which was rampant then in populated areas such as Osaka.
3 Israeli stabbed: A Palestinian who entered Israel from the occupied West Bank on a work permit stabbed an Israeli to death on Wednesday and was later arrested, Israeli police said. The stabbing took place at a junction near Petah Tikva, in central Israel. Police said the suspect, a 46yearold man from Nablus, fled after stabbing a 39yearold Israeli man. Palestinians have carried out a series of stabbing, shooting and carramming attacks in recent years. Most of the attackers have been young men in their teens or 20s acting alone, and most of the attacks have happened in and around Jerusalem and the West Bank city of Hebron.
4 Hong Kong arrests: Hong Kong police arrested 16 people Wednesday on charges related to antigovernment protests last year, including two opposition lawmakers. Prodemocracy legislators Ted Hui and Lam Cheukting announced their arrests on social media. Posts on Lam’s Twitter account said he had been arrested on charges of conspiring with others to damage property and obstructing justice during a protest in July 2019. The tweets said he has also been accused of rioting on July 21, 2019. That was the day a group of more than 100 men clad in white attacked protesters and passengers with steel rods and rattan canes in a subway station. Protesters and many from the opposition camp have accused the police of colluding with the attackers, as they arrived late to the scene and did not make arrests that night.
5 U.S. air strike: The U.S. military says it killed six alShabab extremists with an air strike in Somalia after the al Qaedalinked group attacked Somali forces while U.S. forces were nearby. The U.S. Africa Command statement said this week’s air strike was carried out in southern Somalia’s Lower Shabelle region after alShabab fighters attacked from a building in the area. The statement said three alShabab fighters were also wounded. No U.S. forces were killed or wounded, the statement said, dismissing an alShabab claim of U.S. casualties. AlShabab remains the most active Islamic extremist group in Africa, and the U.S. under President Trump has increased the number of air strikes against it. The U.S. Africa Command calls the group a “danger to Africa and the United States.”