News in Brief (12-2-2019)

Fierce fighting for last IS foothold in Syria
BEIRUT, Feb 11: A Syrian war monitoring group and a Kurdish news agency say fierce fighting is underway between US-backed Syrian forces and Islamic State militants around the extremists' last foothold in eastern Syria. The Syrian Observatory for Human Rights says the push by the Kurdish-led Syrian Democratic Forces has been slow due to land mines, sniper fire and suicide car bombs used by the Islamic State group, which is also using civilians as human shields. — AP
Indonesia cops use snake to terrorise man
JAKARTA, Feb 11: Indonesian police have acknowledged officers terrorized a Papuan man with a live snake after a video of the incident circulated online showing the man screaming in fear and his interrogator laughing. Police in Indonesia's easternmost Papua region apologised but also attempted to justify the officers' actions by saying the snake was not venomous and that they hadn't resorted to beating the man, who was suspected of theft. — AP
Oman, WHO team discuss health sector budget
MUSCAT, Feb 11: A team from the World Health Organisation (WHO) and officials from the Omani Ministry of Health discussed aspects of health spending in Oman on Sunday. The two sides discussed ways to enhance the resources of the financial sector and identify the challenges, obstacles and financial risks facing them, said a statement of the ministry. The statement said that the team reviewed the objectives, which is focused on a deep analysis of the health expenditure in Oman. The meeting was attended by Omani Minister of Health Ahmed Mohammed Al-Saidi, the ministry's deputies and representatives of the WHO. — Xinhua
New Zealand wildfire conditions improve
WELLINGTON, Feb 11: About 3,000 people who fled as a wildfire threatened a New Zealand town were allowed to return home Monday as firefighting conditions improved. Another 400 residents living in valleys near the fire aren't yet able to return, although officials hope they will be able to soon. Firefighters say they've gained the upper hand over the blaze thanks to favourable weather conditions. — AP
Ukrainian official faces acid attack charge
KIEV, Feb 11: Ukrainian prosecutors said Monday they had charged a high-ranking regional official with organising a deadly acid attack on a prominent anti-corruption activist. Vladyslav Manger, the head of the local council in the southern region of Kherson, is accused of "organising the murder of Kateryna Gandzyuk," Ukraine's Prosecutor General Yuriy Lutsenko said. — AFP
Australian drug lord stabbed in prison
SYDNEY, Feb 11: A notorious crime boss who was once Australia's most wanted man has been stabbed in prison, reports said on Monday, months after revelations his lawyer was a police informant cast doubt on his criminal convictions. Tony Mokbel, who masterminded a drug trafficking empire, was a central figure in Melbourne's gangland war which began in the late 1990s. The violence claimed dozens of lives and was later immortalised in the hugely popular Australian TV series "Underbelly". — AFP
China rejects Turkey criticism on Uighurs
BEIJING, Feb 11: China hit back on Monday against Turkish criticism over its treatment of ethnic Uighurs and denied Ankara's claim that a renowned poet from the Muslim minority had died in custody, calling it an "absurd lie". "China has already made solemn representations toward Turkey. We hope the relevant Turkish persons can distinguish between right and wrong and correct their mistakes," Foreign Ministry spokeswoman Hua Chunying said during a daily press briefing. — AFP