Five charged for 'hate crime' in London

AFP, London

British police said yesterday they had charged five people over a suspected hate crime attack on a 17-year-old Kurdish Iranian asylum-seeker in south London. The teenager was badly beaten by a group of around 20 people while he was at a bus stop with two friends outside a pub in Croydon on Friday night. Police said the teenager's condition was "serious but stable and is not believed to be life-threatening."

Somali pirates seize Indian ship, 11 crews AFP, Mogadishu

Somali pirates have seized an Indian vessel carrying 11 crew members, the ship's owner said yesterday, the third such hijacking in less than a month as piracy resurges in the country. The "Al Kausar" cargo ship was carrying items such as wheat and sugar from Dubai via Yemen to Somalia's Bossaso port when it came under attack, owner Isaak Them told AFP.

UK minister voices support for Gibraltar AFP, London

Brexit minister David Davis voiced Britain's "steadfast" support for Gibraltar in talks with Spain's foreign minister in Madrid yesterday amid a bitter sovereignty row over the tiny outcrop. Davis's visit to Spain had been planned for weeks, Prime Minister Theresa May's spokesman told reporters in London, although it had not been made public.

Serbia elects PM Vucic as president

AFP, Moscow

Russian President Vladimir Putin yesterday congratulated Serbian Prime Minister Aleksandar Vucic on his "convincing" win in Sunday's presidential election as the countries strive to boost their already close ties. A hardline nationalist who became a proEuropean, Vucic wants to negotiate Serbia's accession to the EU but keep close ties with the country's traditional ally, Moscow.

Philippine soldiers kill 'more than 10'militants

Reuters, Manila

Philippine soldiers killed "more than 10“ Islamic State-linked Abu Sayyaf militants in an attempt to free Vietnamese captives held on a remote southern island as troops fired howitzer shells on rebel positions, an army general said yesterday. The small but violent militant group is holding more than two dozen captives on Jolo island.