News of the Day From Around the World, April 18
Jordan’s prime minister on Monday said his government has decided to call off a plan to install surveillance cameras at Jerusalem’s most sensitive holy site, derailing a U.S.-brokered pact to ease tensions at the volatile compound.
In a deal brokered by U.S. Secretary of State John Kerry, Jordan offered to install the cameras last fall after clashes between Palestinian protesters and Israeli security forces.
Flash floods in northern Afghanistan have killed at least 38 people, officials said Monday.
3 Ukraine fighting: A Ukrainian court on Monday sentenced two Russian servicemen captured last year to 14 years each in prison after finding them guilty of terrorism and waging a war in eastern Ukraine.
Moscow has denied sending troops to Ukraine, where Russian-backed separatists have been fighting government troops since April 2014.
Officials urged people to wear masks to avoid inhaling fine grit that covered houses and cars.
Yemen’s Shiite rebels backed out of U.N.-brokered peace talks just hours before the negotiations were to start Monday in Kuwait, demanding an immediate halt to air strikes by the Saudi-led coalition that has waged a yearlong war against them, officials said.
Authorities in Thailand said Monday that 442 people died in traffic accidents during the just-concluded traditional New Year holiday — a 21 percent rise over the same period last year despite efforts to curb drunken and unsafe driving.