Senior Iraqi cleric urges more protests for reforms

Here is a round-up of global news developments:

• Leader of Iran’s Islamic Revolution Ayatollah Seyyed Ali Khamenei says arrogant powers have lined up against the country to stop it from achieving nuclear technology. Ayatollah Khamenei says if given an inch, arrogant powers will soon start attempts to obstruct Iran’s progress in other areas such as nanotechnology and biotechnology.
   
• Yemen’s Ansarullah movement and their allies are set to send a delegation to the delayed UN-backed peace talks in Kuwait. Ansarullah representative Saleh al-Sammad says they made the decision after receiving assurances from U-N Envoy for Yemen, Ismail Ould Cheikh Ahmed, over respecting the ongoing ceasefire.
   
• Israeli troops have clashed with Palestinians in Qalandiya refugee camp in the occupied West Bank. The clashes erupted after troops demolished a house belonging to a Palestinian man who was accused of attacking an Israeli settler. At least eight Palestinians were injured in the violence.
   
• The head of the United Nations Educational, Scientific, and Cultural Organization calls on Israel to respect the Al-Aqsa Mosque compound in Jerusalem al-Quds. UNESCO Chief Irina Bokova says Jerusalem al-Quds is a holy land for three monotheistic religions and nothing should threaten its integrity and authenticity.
   
• The death toll from Tuesday’s bomb attacks in the Afghan capital Kabul has passed 60. According to the Afghan Interior Ministry, nearly 350 people were wounded in the blast, which was the deadliest Taliban attack in Kabul since 2011. Most of the victims are said to be civilians.
   
• Iraq’s powerful Shia cleric Moqtada al-Sadr has called for more peaceful protests to press for reforms in the country. The call was made after Iraqi parliamentarians missed a deadline Sadr gave them to vote on a cabinet of technocrats introduced by Prime Minister Haider al-Abadi.
   
• Germany has trimmed down its growth forecast for next year citing fragile global outlook. Economy Minister Sigmar Gabriel says the government expects economic growth to slow to 1.5 percent, slightly down from what was predicted in October. The forecast for 2016 is unchanged at one-point-seven percent.
   
• The death toll from Japan’s devastating quake has risen to 48 after two more aftershocks hit southern parts of the country. According to officials, hundreds of thousands have left their homes with most of them currently living in abysmal conditions. Many of them are said be facing food and water shortages.

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