The World in Brief

100,000 Cambodia workers flee Thailand

Rights groups said more than 100,000 undocumented Cambodian workers have fled Thailand amid fears of a crackdown, while the military junta denied issuing an order to expel laborers from neighboring countries.

"There's a lot of fear, a lot of rumors and not a lot of information from the Thai side," Joe Lowry, a spokesman for the International Organization for Migration, said by phone from the Thai-Cambodian border Sunday.

As of late Saturday, an estimated 87,000 Cambodian workers had left Thailand since the military took control in a May 22 coup, most in the past week, he said. With more people crossing every hour, the number probably passed 100,000 Sunday afternoon, he said.

Thailand's Ministry of Foreign Affairs said in a statement Sunday that reports of a military crackdown and forced repatriation of Cambodian workers were "groundless," as were "allegations of them being mistreated with some possibly injured or killed by Thai authorities."

5 slain in Libyan advance on Benghazi

CAIRO -- Troops loyal to a rogue general launched airstrikes Sunday against Islamist militias in Benghazi, a Libyan security official said, in what appeared to be a new push into the city as part of his ongoing offensive against the fighters.

The strikes followed a ground assault with infantry and clashes earlier in the day that left five dead. Both actions seemed to be part of a plan by Gen. Khalifa Hifter and his forces to seize control of the eastern city.

Hifter said the new push followed attacks by militias against his forces on the outskirts on the city.

"Our eyes are open," he said.

He said his forces had tried to ease military operations ahead of elections expected later this month, but the militants prompted the recent clashes.

Libya is scheduled to hold parliamentary elections June 25.

An official said Hifter's forces lost four fighters while a member of an Islamist militia also died in the fighting.

Egypt seizes newsletter, arrests printer

CAIRO -- Egyptian security forces confiscated copies of a human rights group's newsletter and arrested a print shop worker, saying the publication threatened the government.

Gamal Eid, of the Arab Network for Human Rights Information, said police seized 1,000 copies of the publication from the printers the night before. Lawyers said investigators accused the worker of illegally printing material that advocates the overthrow of the government and of belonging to a terrorist group, in reference to the Muslim Brotherhood, said Rawda Ahmed, a lawyer for the group.

The government declared the Brotherhood a terrorist organization last year and has cracked down on its members and activities.

It was not clear whether the Arab Network for Human Rights Information itself or the content of the newsletter was the source of the accusations, Ahmed said.

In a statement, the group said the worker is not responsible for the published material and denied it was "seditious." The worker will continue to be held pending further investigation from the national security agency, Ahmed said.

8 die in Yemeni gunman's attack on bus

SANA, Yemen -- A gunman opened fire on a bus transporting military hospital staff members in the southern Yemeni city of Aden on Sunday, killing eight people, including two women, and wounding a dozen others, security officials and witnesses said.

The attack on the bus in the commercial district of Sayla took place early in the day before rush hour. Shaher Mohammed Ali, a worker in the district, said he saw a lone masked gunman open fire on the bus after it slowed down before a ramp. The gunman then fled the scene in a car, Ali said.

Security officials earlier said more than one gunman was involved in the attack.

The officials said the bus was carrying 20 nurses, pharmacists, cleaners and other staff working in the military hospital in Aden. Five of the wounded are in serious condition, the officials said, speaking on condition of anonymity because they were not authorized to speak to the media.

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A Section on 06/16/2014

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