Police arrest women in anti-India protest
SRINAGAR, India -- Police in Indian-controlled Kashmir arrested 13 women for holding an anti-India protest, and two suspected militants fatally shot a truck driver near an apple orchard where he had picked up fruit boxes, police said Tuesday.
The women, carrying placards reading "Respect Fundamental Rights" and "Why downgrade Jammu and Kashmir," assembled Tuesday in a park in Srinagar, the main city in the region.
Police whisked them away to a nearby police station as they tried to march through the main business area of Lal Chowk. Police said they were arrested and sent to a prison for "apprehension for breach of peace."
The shooting of the truck driver on Monday came during the apple season. Apple sales are more than 20% of Kashmir's economy, and police in the region say insurgent groups are pressuring traders and truck drivers to avoid the apple trade as part of anti-India protests.
Top police officer Muneer Ahmed Khan said the masked gunmen hijacked the truck from outside the orchard, where the vehicle was loaded with 800 apple boxes. They killed the driver after he had driven them about half a mile from the spot, Khan said.
He said the gunmen set the man's truck on fire and fled from Sindoo Shirmal, a village in southern Kashmir.
Yemen: Saudi troops take airport, ports
SANAA, Yemen -- Yemeni officials say Saudi Arabian troops have taken control of the airport and ports in the interim capital of Aden from separatists backed by the United Arab Emirates.
They said the move is part of a settlement between President Abed Rabbo Mansour Hadi and the Southern Transitional Council, which controls Aden.
They said the separatists in southern Shabwa Province also handed over arms to the Saudi-led coalition, paving the way for Hadi's government to fully control Shabwa and other southern provinces.
The officials spoke Tuesday on condition of anonymity because they were not authorized to brief the media.
The United Arab Emirates-backed separatists clashed with forces loyal to Hadi's government in August and took control of Aden.
The two sides are allies in the Saudi-led coalition that has been battling Iran-aligned Houthis since 2015.
Police seek arrest of ex-prime minister
CANBERRA, Australia -- Papua New Guinea police said Tuesday that they were seeking the arrest of former Prime Minister Peter O'Neill for official corruption but that he was refusing to cooperate.
But the Australian Broadcasting Corp. reported from the capital, Port Moresby, that O'Neill said he was cooperating with police and looked forward to proving his innocence in court.
Police have released no details of the allegations against O'Neill, who led the South Pacific island nation for seven years.
Acting Police Commissioner David Manning said in a statement that O'Neill had been found in a hotel in the Port Moresby on Tuesday but was not cooperating.
"Whilst I cannot reveal any specific details at this point in time due to the sensitivity of the investigations, I can confirm that police investigators, in an ongoing investigation, applied to the district court for the arrest warrant for Mr. O'Neill which was granted last Friday," Manning said.
O'Neill resigned as prime minister in May after weeks of high-profile defections from his government to the opposition.
Residents flee as fires spread in Lebanon
DAMOUR, Lebanon -- Wildfires spread through parts of Lebanon on Tuesday after forcing some residents to flee their homes in the middle of the night, while others were stuck inside as the flames reached villages south of Beirut, authorities said.
A heat wave in the region coupled with strong winds intensified the fires that began a day earlier in mostly pine forests around the country and three provinces in neighboring Syria. There were no reports of fatalities from the fires -- among the worst to hit Lebanon in years.
Fire crews were overwhelmed by the flames in the Mount Lebanon region early Tuesday, forcing the Interior Ministry to send riot police with engines equipped with water cannons to help. Two small aircraft were sent from the nearby Mediterranean island of Cyprus to help put out the flames.
Lebanese Prime Minister Saad Hariri said an investigation will be opened to find out what caused the fires.
The state has been widely criticized by residents because Lebanon bought three aircraft several years ago to be used in extinguishing fires, but they have been parked at Beirut's airport with no money to maintain them.
Lebanese Interior Minister Raya El Hassan said Greece would send two aircraft in response to a request from Lebanon, adding that Jordan has also expressed readiness to send assistance.
A Section on 10/16/2019