News in Brief

US drone kills Yemen Qaeda No 2
Afp, Sanaa

Al-Qaeda in the Arabian Peninsula (AQAP) has confirmed the death in a US drone strike of its deputy leader Saeed al-Shehri, whose killing has been announced several times by Sanaa. Shehri was released from Guantanamo Bay in Cuba in 2007 and was flown to Saudi Arabia, where he was put through a rehabilitation programme. After completing the programme, the militant leader disappeared only to resurface later as AQAP's number two.

Armed man arrested near White House
Afp, Washington

A Texas man carrying a pistol and two knives was arrested Tuesday in the park across from the White House and has been charged with a firearms violation, officials said.
It was not clear if the suspect intended to try to harm President Barack Obama, who was at the White House on Tuesday.

Israel's threat makes Rohani laugh!
Afp, Tehran

Iran's president-elect Hassan Rowhani has brushed off threats of military action against the Islamic republic by Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu, saying such warnings only made him "laugh", media reported Wednesday. Netanyahu on Sunday renewed his threat to take unilateral military action to halt Iran's nuclear programme, disparagingly referring to Rowhani as "a wolf in sheep's clothing" who would "smile and build a bomb".