News in Brief -(07-05-2019)

May 07, 2019 00:00:00

Hafter asks troops to press fight to take Tripoli

CAIRO, May 06: A Libyan army commander whose forces are advancing on Tripoli is rallying his fighters on, despite UN calls for a weeklong cease-fire. Commander Khalifa Hafter urged his troops late on Sunday "to teach the enemy a greater and bigger lesson ... till we uproot them from our beloved land." — AP

Millions hungry as drought grips Somalia

NAIROBI, May 06: Drought has left nearly two million Somalis in desperate need of food, a humanitarian agency warned Monday, as poor rainfall pushes communities to the brink across East Africa. The Norwegian Refugee Council said hundreds of thousands of children were already suffering malnutrition in Somalia and millions had abandoned their homes in search of food in the arid, conflict-torn nation.--AFP

Pakistan arrests over 4,000 outlaws in four months

ISLAMABAD, May 06: Police have arrested over 4,000 criminals during separate raids in Pakistan's capital Islamabad during the past four months, local media reported on Monday. The federal capital's police also recovered valuables worth more than 281 million rupees (about 1.9 million US dollars) including jewelry, cash and vehicles from the outlaws, local newspaper the Nation quoted a spokesperson of Islamabad police as saying. —Xinhua

Freak weather claims two lives in Italy, France

ROME, May 06: Two people died and another person went missing on Sunday as high winds and heavy rain pummelled Italy and neighbouring France. In Sicily, an unexpected gust of wind killed a 65-year-old German kitesurfer on the Islands of the Stagnone nature reserve, smashing him against a parked car as he tried to go into the sea, Italian media reported. —AFP

Pope tells refugees they bear cross of humanity

SOFIA, May 06: Pope Francis has met with refugees in Bulgaria's showcase refugee center and told them they are bearing the "cross of humanity," after he urged the migrant-skeptic government to not close its eyes to their suffering during a visit to the Balkan nation. Refugee children from Iraq, Pakistan and elsewhere sang for Francis on Monday at the Vrazhdebna center, located in a refurbished school on the outskirts of Sofia, the Bulgarian capital. — AP