Yemen to expand al-Qaida offensives
SANAA, Yemen – Yemeni President Abed Rabbo Mansour Hadi says his country is an “open war” with al-Qaida as one of the country’s largest offensive against the terror group in south has been pushing militants out of their strongholds.
Hadi made the remarks in a statement aired on state television Thursday. He said that the military will expand its operations to include areas other than Shabwa and Abyan, the southern provinces which witnessed a strong al-Qaida presence before the offensive, to include others like Baida and Marib.
Turks outraged by video of aide’s attack
ANKARA, Turkey – A video showing an aide to Turkey’s prime minister kicking a protester held on the ground by special forces police sparked outrage Thursday, tarnishing the Turkish leader’s image ahead of his expected run for president.
Turkish newspapers also published photographs showing the adviser kicking the protester and identified him as Yusuf Yerkel, a deputy chief of staff at Prime Minister Recep Tayyip Erdogan’s office and adviser to the prime minister.
The incident occurred during Erdogan’s visit Wednesday to a coal mine in the western town of Soma where at least 283 miners were killed in Turkey’s worst mining disaster. Scores of others are still missing.
U.S. threatens Russia with more sanctions
LONDON – The U.S. hopes Russia will play a constructive role in the May 25 presidential election in Ukraine, but if Moscow or its proxies disrupt it, the U.S. and European Union will move to impose heavier economic sanctions, Secretary of State John Kerry said Thursday.
“I’m not going to get into announcing today what the sanctions are,” Kerry said after a meeting in London.
Associated Press
