News in Brief - Mon, May, 18, 2015 - 04:30 GMT

1. Reports coming out of Iraq suggest that Shia groups have now joined the Iraqi troops fighting the ISIL terrorists in the flashpoint city of Ramadi. Hundreds have been killed in fierce clashes in the past few days. The Takfiri terrorists claim they're in full control of the city.

2. Iran rejects a UN expert's statement about alleged rise in executions in the country. The Iranian Judiciary High Council for Human Rights described the report as unsubstantiated based on incorrect information and fabricated sources. The statement was released by UN Rapporteur on Iran human rights situation Ahmed Shaheed and an extrajudicial killings expert.

3. Saudi Arabia carries out fresh airstrikes on Yemen an hour after a five-day ceasefire expired. Yemen’s al-Masira TV says Saudi warplanes fired eight rockets on the southern port city of Aden, targeting the presidential palace of ex-president Ali Abdullah Saleh. Also, a base of Special Forces, aligned with Ansarullah fighters was struck.

4. An Iranian ship, carrying 2,500 tons of humanitarian aid bound for Yemen, has entered the Gulf of Aden. The vessel, chartered by Iran’s Red Crescent Society, is sailing towards Hudaydah port in the Red Sea. Saudi Arabia says it needs to inspect the ship. But, Iran says it won’t allow that.

5. Turkish President Recep Tayyip Erdogan has appeared at a large rally in support of his AKP party. Prime Minister Ahmet Davutoglu also attended the march in Istanbul. The rally was held weeks away from the June 7 general elections. Erdogan fears his party could lose some parliamentary seats.

6. Israeli forces and settlers have clashed with Palestinians in the occupied East Jerusalem al-Quds. The confrontation happened when crowds of Jewish hardliners marched to celebrate what they call reunification of east and western Jerusalem al-Quds. Israel occupied the eastern district of the city in the 1967 Six Day War.

7. European Union Foreign Policy Chief Federica Mogherini says death sentences for Egypt’s former president Mohamed Morsi and dozens of others are flawed. She says the verdict isn’t in line with Egypt’s international obligations. The US has also condemned the ruling, expressing concern about its ramifications.

8. Protesters in the Macedonian capital Skopye have staged a sit-in outside the government headquarters, demanding its immediate resignation. The sit-in, organized by opposition leader Zoran Zayev, comes after an earlier large anti-government rally in the city. The opposition accuses the government of corruption and covering up police brutality.

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