Blast near Yemen defence ministry in Sanaa

An explosion and fighting have been reported near Yemen`s defence ministry building in the capital Sanaa. Smoke was seen rising from the complex in Bab al-Yaman district, at the entrance to the old city, reports the BBC. Witnesses heard gunshots as an ambulance rushed to the scene. The cause of the blast is not yet clear. Yemeni security forces are fighting regional rebels and al-Qaeda militants, while struggling to control lawlessness and divisions within the army.

Iran, powers to meet next week on nuclear deal

DHAKA: Envoys of Iran and six world powers will meet next week to start working out steps to implement a deal under which Tehran is to curb its nuclear program in return for some respite from sanctions.

A top Iranian negotiator said, reports The Jerusalem Post.

The landmark November 24 interim accord between the Islamic Republic and the United States, France, Germany, China, Russia and Britain is seen as a first step towards resolving a decade-old dispute that has stirred fears of a new Middle East war.

Iranian deputy foreign minister Abbas Araqchi was quoted by the state-run news agency Fars as saying in a television interview that Tehran was expecting to hear from senior European Union diplomat Helga Schmid soon.

‘Schmid is supposed to call us this week and it’s likely our experts will negotiate in the coming week in Geneva or Vienna to find a mechanism for implementation,’ he said.

But, underlining years of mutual distrust, Araqchi said the deal was not legally binding and Iran had the right to undo it if the powers failed to hold up their end of the bargain.

Thai ‘Red Shirt’ rally ends after violence

DHAKA: Leaders of the pro-government ‘Red Shirts’ on Sunday ordered tens of thousands of their supporters to end a mass rally in Bangkok after violence left at least one person dead and dozens more wounded.

‘In order to avoid further complicating the situation for the government, we have decided to let people return home,’ Thida Thavornseth told protesters gathered in a Bangkok stadium, reports The Straits Times.

One person was shot dead and at least 35 wounded late Saturday as anti-government demonstrators clashed with Red Shirts in the area around the stadium, according to emergency services.

Tensions in the Thai capital remained high on Sunday after reports of fresh violence near the stadium and threats by opposition demonstrators to try to enter key government buildings, including the headquarters of embattled Thai premier Yingluck Shinawatra.

On Saturday, police said protesters hurled bottles at officers near the stadium in the Ramkhamhaeng district, where more than 70,000 Red Shirts were gathered.

Gunshots were later fired near the stadium, claiming the first life in the recent protests, according to police, although the circumstances of the fatality were unclear.

The opposition demonstrators, who want to replace prime minister Yingluck’s government with an unelected ‘people’s council’, have mounted the kingdom’s biggest street rallies since political violence in Bangkok three years ago left dozens dead in a military crackdown.

China hails lunar probe ‘Chang’e-3’ as successful

DHAKA: China launched its first ever extraterrestrial landing craft into orbit en route for the moon in the early hours of Monday, in a major milestone for its space programme.

‘The probe has already entered the designated orbit,’ the official Xinhua news agency quoted Zhang Zhenzhong, director of the launch centre, as saying, ‘I now announce the launch was successful’, reports The Straits Times.

‘We will strive for our space dream as part of the Chinese dream of national rejuvenation,’ he added.

The ‘Chang’e-3’ lunar probe, which includes the Yutu or Jade Rabbit buggy, blasted off on board an enhanced Long March-3B carrier rocket from the Xichang Satellite Launch Centre in China’s south-western Sichuan province at 1.30am local time.

Suu Kyi urges ‘freedom from fear’

DHAKA: Nobel laureate Aung San Suu Kyi called on World Aids Day for an end to discrimination against those living with the disease as experts warned against complacency in fighting the global scourge.

Speaking as the UNAids global advocate for people living with HIV/Aids, Suu Kyi drew parallels between the plight of sufferers and her own struggle for democracy.

‘The fight against discrimination is an extension of our fight for freedom from fear,’ said the Myanmar opposition leader and democracy icon, The Straits Times publishes this report on Monday.

‘My simple message as the global ambassador for zero discrimination is it all starts in the mind and in the heart. There must be less calculation and more warmth, more love, more affection, more compassion.’

UN main office, schools, offices shut in Bangkok

                                                                 

  DHAKA: The United Nations closed its main office in Bangkok, dozens of schools closed and many civil servants stayed away from work on Monday as the Thai capital braced for more violence in a spiraling political crisis.

After a weekend of chaos in pockets of Bangkok, protesters vowed to push ahead with plans to topple prime minister Yingluck Shinawatra by occupying her office compound along with other key government buildings.

Police again used tear gas on thousands of protesters on Monday after repeatedly driving them back with similar attacks throughout Sunday.

In an e-mailed statement to its staff, the United Nations’ security department said ‘there could be violence (Monday) on a large scale...staff should avoid government offices’ and other protest locations.

Many of the offices and schools closed on Monday were located near the Government House, in the historic quarter of the capital, where police over the weekend fought off mobs of rock-throwing protesters armed with petrol bombs.

At least three people were killed and 103 injured in skirmishes over the weekend, reports The Straits Times.

The French Embassy issued one of the strongest warnings of dozens of foreign governments, urging citizens to ‘stay inside’ to avoid the conflict on Bangkok’s streets.

The French School is located in a north-eastern Bangkok neighbourhood where gunshots rang out over the weekend during clashes between Yingluck’s supporters and opponents. It was one of at least 60 schools closed in Bangkok on Monday.

Iran, powers to meet next week on nuclear deal

Envoys of Iran and six world powers will meet next week to start working out steps to implement a deal under which Tehran is to curb its nuclear program in return for some respite from sanctions.

A top Iranian negotiator said, reports The Jerusalem Post.

The landmark November 24 interim accord between the Islamic Republic and the United States, France, Germany, China, Russia and Britain is seen as a first step towards resolving a decade-old dispute that has stirred fears of a new Middle East war.

Iranian deputy foreign minister Abbas Araqchi was quoted by the state-run news agency Fars as saying in a television interview that Tehran was expecting to hear from senior European Union diplomat Helga Schmid soon.

‘Schmid is supposed to call us this week and it’s likely our experts will negotiate in the coming week in Geneva or Vienna to find a mechanism for implementation,’ he said.

But, underlining years of mutual distrust, Araqchi said the deal was not legally binding and Iran had the right to undo it if the powers failed to hold up their end of the bargain.