Labour leader clouds U.K. politics
LONDON — U.K. opposition Labour Party leader Ed Miliband said he’d rather not be prime minister than do a deal with the separatist Scottish National Party after the May 7 general election.
“If the price of a Labour government was coalition or a deal with the Scottish National Party, it’s not going to happen,” Mr. Miliband said in a BBC television questionand-answer session in Leeds, northern England, Thursday evening.
The SNP, set to be the third-largest party in a Parliament in which neither Mr. Miliband nor Prime Minister David Cameron’s Conservatives has a majority, has vowed to back a Labour administration and oppose a Tory one.
Nepal aid needs persist
KATHMANDU, Nepal — Nearly a week after a massive earthquake killed more than 6,200 people and collapsed buildings, temples and homes, Nepal still urgently needs basic aid like shelter and food, while remote villages remain cut off from help.
Aid workers still face “immense logistical challenges,” U.N. humanitarian chief Valerie Amos said Friday.
The U.N. has estimated the magnitude-7.8 quake that struck April 25 affected 8.1 million people — more than a fourth of Nepal’s population of 27.8 million.
Iranian politician derided
TEHRAN, Iran — Iranian activists dismissed Foreign Minister Mohammad Javad Zarif as a political “Pinocchio” after he said on the Charlie Rose show on PBS on Wednesday, when asked about the trial of a Washington Post reporter based in Tehran, that the Islamic Republic doesn’t imprison journalists or dissidents over their views.
The reporter in question, American citizen Jason Rezaian, has been in detention for over nine months. The newspaper reported April 20 that Mr. Rezaian is being charged with espionage.
Clashes in Maldives
MALE, Maldives — Clashes broke out in the Maldives on Friday after thousands of supporters of the tropical archipelago’s jailed former president took to the streets to call for his release.
Police stopped crowds from entering the high-security government zone in the capital Male, a police spokesman said.
The protest was the largest since former President Muhammad Nasheed was imprisoned in March for his role in ordering the arrest of a judge in a trial the United Nations said was politically motivated.
Mexico drug violence
MEXICO CITY — Gunmen shot down a Mexican military helicopter Friday in the western state of Jalisco, killing three soldiers, and set fire to buses, blocked roads and attacked banks and gas stations in a sharp escalation of anti-government violence.
In the past few months, the New Generation drug cartel has been ratcheting up its attacks against the government, including an ambush last month that killed 15 state police.
Also in the world …
China on Friday pledged new steps to encourage entrepreneurship and boost job creation, as economic growth slows and employment pressures rise. … Macedonia’s main opposition leader, Zoran Zaev, has been formally indicted on charges of wiretapping and anti-government activities after months of political turmoil following his release of transcripts of what he said pointed to corruption, prosecutors said.