The World in Brief

The World in Brief

307,501 Pakistanis flee embattled region

PESHAWAR, Pakistan -- The number of Pakistanis who have fled a tribal area bordering Afghanistan where the army is fighting militants has risen to 307,501, officials said Saturday.

Since Wednesday when a curfew was relaxed in North Waziristan, 25,242 families have left the area and registered at checkpoints along the way, said Arbab Muhammad Arif, who heads the administration of seven tribal regions along Afghan border.

The figure includes 62,000 people who left the area of operations before Wednesday. He said that displaced families were provided with food, drinks and $50 per family.

The curfew will remain relaxed until today, he said, and the administration is expecting another 100,000 tribesmen and their families to leave. The administration has established camps for displaced people but few have showed up there, preferring to stay with relatives or in rented houses around the border town of Bannu, he said.

Meanwhile, the army said in a statement that soldiers of all ranks would donate a day's worth of pay and food rations to help the displaced families.

Palestinians ask U.N. to halt Israel raids

Palestinians appealed to the United Nations for assistance in stopping Israel's week-long campaign of arrests and airstrikes after the suspected kidnapping of three Israeli teenagers in the West Bank.

Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu also communicated with the U.N., telling Secretary-General Ban Ki-moon he opposes efforts to help Hamas receive money from Qatar to pay its employees in the Gaza Strip. Foreign Minister Avigdor Liberman wants to expel U.N. envoy Robert Serry, Ban's Middle East envoy, from Israel over efforts to transfer $20 million to Hamas from Qatar, Channel 2 television reported.

Serry rejected the allegations about the Qatari money. He said it was "disheartening" to have his integrity challenged.

"We view Serry's behavior very severely," ministry spokesman Yigal Palmor said, without addressing the content of the TV report. "Strong decisions will be called for."

Meanwhile, Israeli forces continued raids in the West Bank, entering 146 homes and arresting 10 members of the Hamas movement, said an army spokesman who spoke on condition of anonymity. Troops also shut down 15 social welfare organizations that Israel said are being used as fronts for Hamas, which Netanyahu has accused of kidnapping the youths.

Sri Lanka shop burns in volatile district

COLOMBO, Sri Lanka -- A fire gutted a Muslim-owned clothing chain in a Sri Lanka district Saturday where days earlier Buddhist mobs attacked Muslim shops in deadly violence condemned by the international community, police said.

Police spokesman Ajith Rohana said an investigation was underway to determine whether the fire was caused by an electrical short-circuit or was a criminal act.

There were no casualties in the fire.

The two-story building burned down in Panadura town in Kaluatara district south of the capital, Colombo. Last Sunday, a mob led by militants from Bodu Bala Sena, or Buddhist Power Force, which rails against the country's Muslim minority, hurled gasoline bombs and looted Muslim homes and businesses in the same district.

The attacks killed three people and wounded more than 50. Muslims shut their shops Thursday to protest the violence and demand justice. The government has promised an impartial investigation, and police have detained more than 30 people in connection with the attacks.

Gunmen wound 6 at Benghazi sea port

CAIRO -- Gunmen in Libya attacked the port of the eastern city of Benghazi on Saturday, firing wildly with small arms into the area for hours, a Libyan security official said.

He said security forces and citizens blocked the city's surrounding roads after the attack, which left six people wounded. He said the attack was likely a reprisal by Islamist militiamen targeted by the forces of renegade Libyan Gen. Khalifa Hifter.

Hifter's forces have been shelling boats smuggling weapons to the militia, said the official, who spoke on condition of anonymity because he was not authorized to brief reporters.

Over the past weeks, forces allied with Hifter have bombed the camps of Islamist militias, which have attacked his troops in return. They also attempted to assassinate Hifter himself, but killed four others instead in the attack.

Benghazi, the birthplace of the 2011 revolt that led to the overthrow and killing of longtime dictator Moammar Gadhafi, has plunged into unrest and violence since then.

Libya is scheduled to hold parliamentary elections on Wednesday, aimed to end a standoff between Islamist and non-Islamist political groups.

-- COMPILED BY DEMOCRAT-GAZETTE STAFF FROM WIRE REPORTS

A Section on 06/22/2014

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