News in brief
Reuters, Berlin
Nearly 55,000 migrants who were not eligible for or were likely to be denied asylum left Germany voluntarily in 2016, up by 20,000 from the number who left of their own volition in 2015, the government said on Wednesday.
“That’s a considerable increase from last year,” Interior Ministry spokesman Harald Neymanns told a news conference, saying the 2016 figure had climbed to 54,123 through Dec 27.
India second biggest arms buyer: Report
Dawn.com, New Delhi
A report commissioned by the United States (US) Congress has placed India as the second largest arms buyer among developing nations, and the claim looked vindicated on Wednesday when outgoing Indian Air Force chief Arup Raha said the country needed 200 Rafale-type war planes instead of the 36 the country had purchased from France.
“Saudi Arabia was the leading developing world arms purchaser from 2008-2015, with agreements totalling USD 93.5 billion. India was the second largest developing world arms purchaser from 2008 to 2015, making arms transfer agreements totaling USD 34 billion during these years.
China police kill 4 in Xinjiang attack
AFP, Beijing
Chinese police have shot dead four people who allegedly attacked a Communist Party office in the restive Xinjiang region on Wednesday, state media said, in the bloodiest such incident in months.
The four “rioters” drove up to a local party office and “detonated (an) explosive device”, killing one person and injuring three others, the official Xinhua news agency reported, citing a statement from the local authorities.
Oman joins Saudi ‘anti-terror’ coalition
AFP, Riyadh
Oman, which generally stays neutral in the face of regional disputes, has joined a Saudi-led military coalition aimed at “fighting terrorism,” official media in Riyadh said Thursday.
The Gulf sultanate, which maintains good ties with rival powerhouses Iran and Saudi Arabia, becomes the 41st nation in the alliance announced last year by the Saudi defence minister, Deputy Crown Prince Mohammed bin Salman.
