News in Brief --(30-01-2018)

Lebanon's PP sues ad-Diyar editor over insulting Saudi King

BEIRUT, Jan 29: Lebanon's public prosecutor (PP) has filed a lawsuit against ad-Diyar newspaper and its owner and editor-in-chief Charles Ayoub on charges of insulting Saudi King Salman, the daily said on Sunday. The prosecution has demanded a one-year's jail term and a fine for Ayoub, ad-Diyar said. According to the newspaper, Ayoub had likened the Saudi monarch to controversial medieval Muslim theologian Ibn Taymiyyah and called Saudi minister Thamer al-Sabhan an "Israeli agent." Ayoub's article was published during the Lebanese-Saudi crisis that followed Prime Minister Saad Hariri's controversial resignation while in the kingdom. — Xinhua

Critic of Zambia president to face fraud trial

LUSAKA, Jan 29: A former Zambian minister and fierce critic of President Edgar Lungu will face trial after pleading not guilty to fraud charges on Monday following his arrest last week. Investigators accuse ex-foreign minister Chishimba Kambwili of forging a signature on an official document and he appeared in court surrounded by hundreds of police officers who blocked access to the hearing. — AFP

Turkey detains over 300 for 'terror propaganda'

ANKARA, Jan 29: Turkish authorities have detained 311 people suspected of disseminating "terror propaganda" over Ankara's offensive against a Kurdish militia in Syria, the interior ministry said on Monday. The suspects have been taken into custody since the operation against the Syrian Kurdish People's Protection Units (YPG) militia began on January 20. Ankara views the YPG as a "terrorist" offshoot of the Kurdistan Workers' Party (PKK), which has been waging a three-decade insurgency against the Turkish state. — AFP

Infectious diseases kill 2,198 in China in Dec

BEIJING, Jan 29: A total of 2,198 people died as a result of infectious diseases on the Chinese mainland in December 2017, official data showed. According to the National Health and Family Planning Commission, there were 699,850 cases of infectious diseases reported on the mainland in December. One person died from plague while no cases of cholera were reported in December. A total of 294,397 cases were classified as Class B infectious diseases, resulting in 2,187 deaths. — Xinhua