Angela Merkel arrives in Moscow for talks with Putin

German Chancellor Angela Merkel has arrived in Moscow for talks with Vladimir Putin and to pay tribute to the soldiers of the Red Army who fought Nazi Germany in WWII. The talks will focus on the bilateral relations and on Minsk agreements over the crisis in Ukraine.

​11 arrested in China for smashing halal shop

At least 11 people have been arrested in Xining, the capital of Qinghai province, China, for vandalizing a halal shop in May. A group of people broke into a halal food shop and smashed it after they discovered that non-halal products had been transported along with halal food, which is a violation of regulations. China must“protect the legal interests of religious groups,” Wang Zuoan, the head of China’s State Administration for Religious Affairs, told a local newspaper.

​17 arrested at anti-austerity demo in London

At least 17 people have been arrested during heavily-policed protests against the newly-elected Conservative government outside the Houses of Parliament in Westminster, Scotland Yard said. “No more f**king Tory cuts!” and “Tories – scum!” slogans were chanted repeatedly by a crowd of anarchists, left-wingers and Scottish National Party (SNP) supporters. According to Metropolitan Police Service, five police officers were injured, two of them were taken to hospital.

Nepalese search efforts halted due to fresh avalanches

The search and rescue effort following the earthquake in Nepal has been put on hold due to fresh avalanches, according to the AP. The events took place over the weekend, forcing rescuers to move to higher ground, according to government administrator Gautam Rimal. These conditions were made worse by fog and continued rainfall, the official added. More than 8,000 lives were lost to the devastating 7.8 quake of April 25, which struck the Himalayan region. A further 16,000 were injured. Bodies are still being pulled out – 120 were recovered in a village about 35 miles north of the capital Kathmandu. Numbers of trapped are still not clear for places where mudslides occurred.

At least 725 militants killed in Egypt in 6 months

Egypt’s security forces have made big strides in tackling the threat posed by Islamist militants – at least 725 have been killed in the last six months in the area of North Sinai, according to army sources speaking to Reuters. Spokesman Mohamed Samir says nearly 1,900 were detained in the period from October to April 30. Another 200 were apprehended, while security forces also managed to find and destroy almost 2,000 terrorist hideouts.The volatile Sinai Peninsula has become even more dangerous for Egypt’s government forces ever since the Muslim Brotherhood’s Mohamed Morsi lost power in July 2013.

Chinese aircraft veers off runway, 5 injured

Chinese carrier Joy Air said one of its planes has swerved off a runway upon landing in the southeastern city of Fuzhou, AP reported. Five people have suffered minor injuries. Joy Air released a statement saying it is investigating Sunday’s accident of the aircraft, which was identified as a Modern Ark 60, a turboprop made by China’s state-owned Xi’an Aircraft Industrial Corp. The Chinese carrier also apologized to the 45 passengers and seven crew members on board the flight.

House shooting in Switzerland, several killed

Police in Switzerland’s Aargau canton said several dead bodies with gunshot wounds were discovered after reports of gunshots in the town of Wuerenlingen, a community of some 4,500 people northwest of Zurich, late Saturday night. The bodies were found in the same house and all were adults. Police said they are working on identifying the victims and clarifying the circumstances of their deaths.
Local radio station Pilatus reported that the person responsible for the shooting was probably among the dead.

​Beijing blasts Pentagon report on Chinese military

The Chinese Defense Ministry rejected the assessments of its military made in the latest Pentagon report on the issue, Xinhua news agency reported. The report trumpeted “China’s military threat” in disregard of facts and China’s commitment to peaceful development, a spokesperson for the ministry said. The US report gave an overview of China’s military build-up, including what it called the development of counter-satellite weapons.

​Poland votes for new president

Voting started in Poland to elect a new president, with more than 27 polling stations open throughout the country for 30 million eligible voters to cast their ballots. Eleven candidates, including incumbent Bronisław Komorowski, who is leading in opinion polls, are running for the office. His main rival is Andrzej Duda, of the conservative Law and Justice party.

Thousands evacuated in Philippines as Typhoon Noul approaches

An evacuation is underway for more than 11,000 villagers on Saturday in the northeastern part of Philippine’s main island of Luzon less than a day before Typhoon Noul is expected to make landfall, ABC News reported. The storm is predicted to reach category four with winds reaching 195 kilometers an hour. After lashing the north-eastern Philippines on Sunday, the storm is expected to head northwest towards Japan. Officials warned that heavy rainfall from the storm could cause potentially dangerous mud flows around Mount Bulusan, a volcano that has been spewing ash this week in the eastern province of Sorsogon. “With regards to the amount of rainfall, our recommendation is again vigilance and readiness of communities in predetermined lahar hazard zones,” Philippine volcanology research specialist Winchelle Sevilla said.

Switzerland allocates more than $2 million for UN’s Yemen aid

Switzerland has allocated more than $2 million toward the UN-managed humanitarian fund for war-torn Yemen, set up to support relief projects. Yemen has been in the grip of sectarian violence ever since the Shiite Houthi rebels pushed out forces loyal to President Abd Rabbuh Mansur Hadi in January, forcing him to go into exile. A coalition campaign led by Saudi Arabia has been pummeling the country with air-strikes since March, causing greater devastation. The air offensive was meant to give way to peace talks in April, as the first phase of the campaign came to a halt, but this has not happened, and the strikes have continued.