DATELINES Health officials: Israeli fire wounds 33 Gaza protesters
UN says civilian casualties in Yemen average 123 per week
The United Nations’ refugee agency said Friday there were nearly 1,500 civilian casualties in Yemen from August through October, the latest grim tally to emerge from a four-year civil war as opposing parties hold talks in Sweden.
The announcement came as Yemen’s Iran-backed Houthi rebels and the internationally recognized government, supported by a Saudi-led coalition, met for a second day for U.N.-sponsored talks aimed at halting the bloodshed.
UNHCR urged the two sides to do more to protect civilians, saying data from Yemen shows an average of 123 civilian killed and wounded every week during the three-month period, in a war that has killed at least 16,000 civilians.
Health officials say Israeli army gunfire has wounded 33 Palestinians protesting along the Gaza-Israel perimeter fence.
Thousands of Palestinians demonstrated Friday despite wintry weather, throwing rocks with slingshots at Israeli troops deployed behind the fence. The soldiers repeatedly fired volleys of tear gas and live fire, witnesses say.
Hamas, the Islamic militant group controlling Gaza, has maintained such protests on a weekly basis since March, accelerating or scaling them down to pressure Israel and mediators into easing Gaza’s crippling blockade.
Some 175 Palestinians and an Israeli soldier have been killed in the demonstrations.
US envoy for Afghanistan holds talks with Russians
The Russian Foreign Ministry says it has hosted a U.S. special envoy for talks on Afghanistan.
The ministry said the U.S. Special Representative for Afghanistan Reconciliation, Zalmay Khalilzad, met Friday with Russia’s Deputy Foreign Minister Igor Morgulov and a presidential envoy for Afghanistan, Zamir Kabulov.
It added that the discussions focused on the current situation in Afghanistan and possible “Russia-U.S. cooperation as part of international efforts to help establish a direct dialogue between warring Afghan parties.”