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World in brief: July 24 2018

GERMANY: Two homeless men were set on fire at a Berlin railway station, leaving them with serious burns, police reported yesterday.

An unknown assailant poured a liquid over the men, aged 47 and 62, before setting them and their possessions alight, in the overnight incident at the Schoeneweide station in suburban Berlin.

Passers-by put out the blaze using a fire extinguisher from a nearby fast food stall.

 

SRI LANKA: President Maithripala Sirisena gave notice yesterday that his government will end its 42-year moratorium on capital punishment despite diplomatic appeals.

He said the decision to implement the death penalty for drug smugglers “will not be changed under any circumstance.”

Rising crime levels, including gang-related killings, narcotics, robberies and sex crimes have sparked a public outcry for executions.

 

BRAZIL: Far-right congressman and former army officer Jair Bolsonaro formally announced his presidential election candidacy on Sunday.

He is currently polling second behind jailed ex-president Luis Inacio Lula da Silva, who faces being banned from running.

Mr Bolsonaro told supporters he would help police crack down on crime by filling his cabinet with military officers and taking Brazil out of the Paris climate accord.

 

PALESTINE: West Bank health officials announced yesterday that Israeli occupation forces shot dead 15-year-old Arkan Mezher on Saturday.

The Israeli military said troops were carrying out an arrest raid in the Dheisheh refugee camp overnight when a “violent riot” began.

It accused Palestinians of throwing petrol bombs and grenades at soldiers who responded by firing live rounds “selectively.”

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