News in Brief
Israeli air force suspends senior reservists
PRESS TV – Chief of Israel’s air force has suspended a number of senior military reserve forces amid persisting protests against prime minister Benjamin Netanyahu’s far-right cabinet and its policies, including the so-called judicial overhaul plan.
Major General Tomer Bar agreed to suspend the service of several brigadier generals, without identifying them or revealing the number of sacked officers, Israeli media outlets reported, Press TV reported.
Thousands flee raging wildfire in Canada
AP – The capital of Canada’s Northwest Territories was virtually deserted after nearly all the residents of the city of just over 20,000 fled as a huge wildfire burned nearby.
To the south, in British Columbia, thousands more people were told to leave their homes while firefighters battled a growing fire that set homes ablaze.
Officials in Northwest Territories said Friday evening that about 19,000 people had left Yellowknife in less than 48 hours, with about 15,000 driving out in convoys and 3,800 leaving on emergency flights.
N Korea slams UN HR meeting as a US ‘scheme’
REUTERS – North Korea slammed a recent United Nations meeting about its human rights record, asserting the United States used the international organisation for a “scheme” against Pyongyang, state media KCNA reported on Saturday.
The UN Security Council discussed human rights abuses in North Korea on Thursday, with the US ambassador criticising leader Kim Jong-un for using “repression and cruelty” to develop nuclear weapons and missiles.