News in Brief - Mon, Aug, 31, 2015 - 04:30 GMT

1. Israel's former foreign minister says Tel Aviv should have allowed a hunger striking Palestinian prisoner to die in prison. Avigdor Lieberman believes Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu acted weakly in handling the case of Mohammed Allaan, who refused to eat for over two months in protest at his detention without charge or trial.

2. Boko Haram terrorists have killed about 70 villagers in a remote area in the northern Borno state. Residents fleeing from Baanu village say the Takfiri terrorists attacked them on Friday night. The governor of Borno has confirmed the attack without providing more details.

3. In Turkey, hundreds of protesters clash with security forces in Istanbul after the military launches operations in several towns in the country’s Kurdish-majority southeast. Turkey has been the scene of confrontation between security forces and protesters after the military resumed its airstrikes against PKK militants in July.

4. ISIL terrorists have partly destroyed a temple in Syria’s ancient city of Palmyra. The so-called Syrian Observatory for Human Rights says the terrorists targeted the Temple of Bel, a Roman-era structure in the central desert city. It is the second temple Daesh has targeted in Palmyra this month.

5. Egypt will hold long-awaited parliamentary elections in two phases starting on October 18 and 19. The second phase of voting will take place in November. Egypt has been without a parliament since June 2012 when a court dissolved the democratically elected main chamber, dominated by the now outlawed Muslim Brotherhood.

6. Malaysian Prime Minister Najib Razak says he would not bow to the pressure of those asking him to step down over an alleged financial scandal. His remarks come as former Malaysian premier Mahathir Mohamad urged the anti-government protest movement to remove Najib from power. Najib has denied any wrongdoing.

7. US Democratic Senator Jeff Merkley has announced his support for the outcome of nuclear talks between Iran and the P5+1, becoming the thirty-first senator to back President Barack Obama on the issue. Obama needs 41 votes in favor of the Joint Comprehensive Plan of Action to block a disapproval resolution at Congress.

8. In Iran, two people have been sentenced to 10 years in jail after being convicted of spying for the United States and Israel. Judiciary Spokesman Gholam Hossein Mohseni-Ejei says the two were sentenced by a Revolutionary Court, which handles national security cases.

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