World Glance
Egypt’s el-Sissi warns Iran to stop ‘meddling’ in region
SHARM EL-SHEIKH, Egypt — Egyptian President Abdel-Fattah el-Sissi said Wednesday that Iran must stop “meddling” in the Middle East and the security of Arab Gulf countries must not be threatened, but he underscored that he does not want war and believes dialogue can resolve the region’s crises.
With his comments, elSissi threw his support behind Egypt’s Gulf ally Saudi Arabia amid the kingdom’s mounting tensions with Iran. But he avoided the increasingly aggressive rhetoric that has come from Riyadh in recent days.
Over the weekend, Saudi Arabia blamed Iran for a missile fired toward its capital by rebels in Yemen and warned that it could be considered an act of war. At the same time, Saudi officials accused Iran’s Lebanese ally Hezbollah of “declaring war.” The kingdom appears to have orchestrated the collapse of Lebanon’s government, which included Hezbollah, by pushing its prime minister to resign.
The Egyptian leader told reporters that he did not want more tensions in the region, but that doesn’t mean threats to Arab countries can be tolerated.
Dozens of men describe rape, torture by Sri Lanka government
LONDON — One of the men tortured in Sri Lanka said he was held for 21 days in a small dank room where he was raped 12 times, burned with cigarettes, beaten with iron rods and hung upside-down.
Raped, branded or beaten repeatedly, more than 50 men from the Tamil ethnic minority seeking political asylum in Europe say they were abducted and tortured under Sri Lanka’s current government. The previously unpublished accounts conjure images of the country’s bloody civil war that ended in 2009 — not the palm-fringed paradise portrayed by the government.
One by one, the men agreed to tell their stories to The Associated Press and to have the extensive scars on their legs, chests and groins photographed in July and August. The AP reviewed 32 medical and psychological evaluations and conducted interviews with 20 men. The strangers say they were accused of trying to revive a rebel group on the losing side of the civil war. Although combat ended 8 years ago, the torture and abuse occurred from early 2016 to as recently as July this year.
Sri Lankan authorities deny the allegations.
Catalonia strike is muted but protesters block roads, trains
MADRID — A general strike in Catalonia was muted Wednesday, but proindependence protesters blocked roads and stopped trains in Spain’s northeastern region to protest the jailing of ousted Catalan government officials and secessionist activists.
Big traffic jams were reported on roads leading to Catalan cities, including the regional capital Barcelona, and on major highways.
But the strike wasn’t backed by Spain’s two main unions and wasn’t reported to be having any major effect on industry or in the region’s prized tourism sector.
National railway operator Renfe said services were halted on dozens of local lines as protesters blocked railway lines.
Big cruise ships visiting Venice to be re-routed
ROME — The Italian government and Venice officials have agreed on a plan to block giant cruise ships from steaming past the lagoon city’s iconic St. Mark’s Square and instead re-route them to a nearby industrial port.
The agreement reached Tuesday, the latest in a years-long debate and still subject to final details, seeks to balance the environmental concerns of Venice’s delicate ecosystem with tourism and maritime jobs.
Transport Minister Graziano Delrio said the plan, to be phased in over threefive years, calls for cruise ships over 55,000 tons to dock at the mainland’s Marghera port and avoid transiting through the Giudecca canal, one of the main waterways through Venice that empties into the St. Mark’s basin.