News in Brief
Ex-PM gets bail from anti-terrorism court
AP – Pakistan’s former Prime Minister Imran Khan on Tuesday pressed his legal battle before a court in Islamabad, which granted him protection from arrest until early next month in several cases including terrorism charges for inciting violence.
The development came as authorities have been cracking down on the supporters of Khan, now Pakistan’s top opposition leader. Thousands staged violent protests and attacked public property and military installations following Khan’s arrest earlier this month. The violence subsided only days later, after Khan was released on the orders of the country’s Supreme Court.
Animal health emergency declared in Brazil
REUTERS – Brazil on Monday declared a state of animal health emergency for 180 days in response to the country’s first ever detection of the highly pathogenic avian influenza virus in wild birds, in a document signed by Agriculture Minister Carlos Favaro.
Infection by the H5N1 subtype of avian flu in wild birds does not trigger trade bans, based on guidelines of the World Organization for Animal Health. However, a case of bird flu on a farm usually results in the entire flock being killed and can trigger trade restrictions from importing countries.
Germany summons Turkish envoy over ‘press freedom’ row
AFP – Germany on Tuesday summoned the Turkish ambassador in Berlin and rejected Ankara’s complaints of breaching press freedom with the alleged arrest of two pro-government reporters in Frankfurt.
Ankara last week had called in Germany’s envoy after claiming that two Turkish reporters were detained in the German business capital, ratcheting up diplomatic tensions ahead of Turkey’s pivotal runoff election.