News in brief
AP, Sindh
At least ten people died on Friday after drinking toxic alcohol in Jhelum.
Deaths were reported in Jhelum’s Christian Colony area which, widely known as ‘sharab ghot’ amongst locals, is notorious for its production of alcohol.
Amongst those who have died were guests attending a wedding celebration last night.
Sisi promises to reexamine protest law
AFP, Cairo
Egyptian President Abdel Fattah al-Sisi has said the government will look into revising an anti-protest law and take recommendations on releasing jailed youths.
Sisi’s comments came at the end of a two-day “youth conference” on Thursday, an effort to reach out to young Egyptians as the country braces for austerity reforms to salvage its battered economy.
Reading a series of conclusions at the end of the conference, Sisi said the government would look into revising the law passed in 2013, months after the former army chief overthrew his Islamist predecessor Mohamed Morsi.
Japan, US, S Korea to step up pressure on N Korea
AP, Tokyo
Senior officials from Japan, the United States and South Korea agreed Thursday to step up pressure on North Korea as they stick to their goal of persuading the communist state to abandon its nuclear weapons.
Their pledge comes just two days after U.S. National Intelligence Director James Clapper publicly called that goal a “lost cause.” He said the best hope is capping its capability instead.
The deputy foreign ministers who held talks in Tokyo made clear that North Korea now poses a new level of threat and requires broader international pressure and tougher sanctions.
