SANAA, Yemen

Dozens killed as military, armed tribesmen clash

Street battles between Yemeni government forces and armed tribesmen killed dozens of people Wednesday in this country teetering on the brink of civil war, forcing residents to cower in basements or brave gunfire to fetch bread and water.

Nearly four months of mass protests calling for President Ali Abdullah Saleh’s ouster have exacerbated already dire poverty, shuttering businesses and forcing up prices of essential goods. It’s a trend that does not bode well for long-term stability in this gun-ridden corner of the Arabian Peninsula, home to an active al-Qaida branch and other armed Islamist groups.

MEXICO CITY

Government charges 73 after 183 bodies are found in graves

The Mexican government charged 73 suspects Wednesday in the killing of 183 people whose bodies were recovered during April in mass graves near the U.S. border, prosecutors said.

The defendants were booked in different jails in Mexico while waiting to see a federal judge, said Ricardo Najera, spokesman for federal Attorney General’s Office.

UNITED NATIONS

U.S. to boycott conference; cites display of anti-Semitism

The Obama administration said Wednesday it will boycott a world conference against racism being held at U.N. headquarters in September because of concerns about anti-Semitism.

The United States will not participate in the upcoming conference because the Durban process “included ugly displays of intolerance and anti-Semitism,” Joseph E. Macmanus, acting U.S. assistant secretary of state for legislative affairs, wrote in a letter to Democratic Sen. Kirsten Gillibrand.

 

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