RIYADH: No amount of denial by Yemen’s Houthi militia could hide the crime they had been committing against the Yemeni people through their continuing mine-laying operations, the managing director of the Saudi-backed Project Masam demining initiative said on Wednesday.

Ousama Algosaibi, Project Masam’s managing director, said a total of 417,103 landmines, unexploded ordnance (UXO), and improvised explosive devices (IEDs) had been removed in Yemen since June 2018.

The explosives had been indiscriminately planted, posing dangers to civilians, he said.

LONDON: The inaugural Emirates Perfumes and Oud Exhibition will open on Friday, showcasing over 500 local and international brands, Emirates News Agency reported on Wednesday. 

The event, which will take place in Sharjah till Oct. 14, will provide a forum for leading manufacturers, traders and perfume lovers to exchange knowledge and experiences in the fragrance industry.

It will also offer exclusive deals on a variety of high-end Arabian perfumes and oud. 

BEIRUT: Turkish warplanes launched a new round of airstrikes against Kurdish militant targets in Iraq on Wednesday hours after the foreign minister warned that Turkiye would hit the militant group’s positions in Syria and Iraq in retaliation for a suicide bombing in Ankara earlier this week.
The outlawed Kurdistan Workers’ Party, or PKK, claimed responsibility for Sunday’s attack outside the Interior Ministry in Ankara in which one attacker blew himself up and another would-be bomber was killed in a shootout with police. Two police were wounded in the attack.

BEIRUT: Bassam Mawlawi, Lebanon’s caretaker interior minister, said on Wednesday that his country “will not allow the random Syrian presence.”

He claimed that “a large percentage, exceeding 30 percent, of various and major crimes are committed by Syrians in Lebanon” and “cooperation” is required “to preserve our environment and our country’s identity.”

His comments came against the backdrop of growing concern in Lebanon about the increasing numbers of Syrian refugees crossing the border.

GENEVA: Four Western countries floated a proposal Wednesday for the United Nations’ top human rights body to appoint a team of experts to monitor and report on abuses and rights violations in war-wracked Sudan.
Britain, Germany, Norway and the United States are leading the call for the Human Rights Council to name a three-person fact-finding mission to look into possible crimes against refugees, women and children, and others in Sudan.