Inquiry urged in militia abuses in Yemen
CAIRO -- An international rights group on Thursday called for an investigation into reports of disappearances, torture and possible deaths in detention facilities run by the United Arab Emirates and its allied militias in southern Yemen as potential war crimes.
Amnesty International's call comes months after The Associated Press reported that the United Arab Emirates and allied militias were running a network of secret detention facilities where torture and abuses were widespread, outside the control of Yemeni President Abed Rabbo Mansour Hadi's government.
In a report titled "God only knows if he's alive," Amnesty said it documented "egregious violations going unchecked, including systemic enforced disappearance and torture and other ill-treatment amounting to war crimes."
The United Arab Emirates issued a statement Thursday promptly rejecting Amnesty's report, describing it as "politically motivated to undermine" the country's efforts as part of the Saudi-led coalition in support of the Yemeni government.
Pakistan jailing backers of ex-premier
LAHORE, Pakistan -- Pakistani police were detaining scores of supporters of former Prime Minister Nawaz Sharif, his party said Thursday, claiming the arrests were an attempt to prevent them from staging a welcome-home rally upon the ousted leader's return from London.
The Pakistan Muslim League said scores of its members were nabbed in the sweep in eastern Punjab province. The police meanwhile said about 100 were detained "to avoid violence."
Sharif, ousted by the Supreme Court for corruption last July, was convicted last week and sentenced to 10 years over purchases of luxury apartments in London. His daughter, Mariam Nawaz, was sentenced to seven years in a case stemming from documents leaked from a Panama law firm.
Both were sentenced in absentia while in Britain, where Sharif's critically ill wife is hospitalized.
Sharif has not yet appealed his conviction and is likely to be taken into custody as soon as he lands in Lahore, the provincial capital of Punjab where most of the arrests took place Thursday. His brother, Shahbaz Sharif, who now heads the Pakistan Muslim League, said the former premier is due back today.
U.S. soldier killed in Afghan fighting
One American service member was killed Thursday in combat in eastern Afghanistan, the U.S. military said.
The service member's identity was being withheld pending notification of family members, and the U.S. command in Kabul released no details about the incident. In addition to their support for Afghan forces fighting the Taliban, U.S. forces are combating extremist groups in eastern Afghanistan, mainly the Islamic State group's Afghanistan affiliate in the province of Nangarhar.
The U.S. military said one Afghan security force member also was killed and several were wounded in Thursday's fighting.
It was the second U.S. military death in Afghanistan in less than a week. On Saturday, Army Cpl. Joseph Maciel, of South Gate, Calif., was killed by what the U.S. is investigating as a possible attack by a member of the Afghan military.
Thursday's death marked the fourth American service member to be killed in Afghanistan this year. On Jan. 1, Army Sgt. 1st Class Mihail Golin, 34, of Fort Lee, N.J., was killed in fighting in Nangarhar province, and on April 30, Army Spc. Gabriel Conde, 22, of Loveland, Colo., was killed in Kapisa province.
The U.S. has about 15,000 troops in Afghanistan.
Japan's flood evacuees face shortages
TOKYO -- More than 7,000 people were still in evacuation shelters and many more were struggling with basic needs Thursday after severe flooding and landslides last week in western Japan that caused at least 200 deaths.
The disastrously heavy rainfall caused damage over a widespread area, with most of the deaths in and around Hiroshima. Power and water failures were common, and damage to roads and railway tracks disrupted deliveries of food and relief supplies.
Water shortages were even affecting some of the evacuation centers, which are usually priority destinations for relief supplies.
Takao Kusunoki, an evacuee staying at a junior high school in Ehime, said he has not been able to take a bath for four days now, and could clean himself with only a wet towel. "I'm so sweaty, and I want to take a bath as soon as possible," he told the Mainichi newspaper. "We need our water system restored."
Floodwaters have subsided in most places but left behind tons of debris including broken trees, furniture and mangled cars that need to be removed.
A Section on 07/13/2018