Yemen opposition rejects UN talk calls

‘Saleh should first transfer power to his Vice President’ :

The Yemeni opposition has rejected requests by a visiting United Nations envoy to hold talks with the country’s ruling party, insisting that Ali Abdullah Saleh must step down. “The leaders of the opposition Joint Meeting Parties (JMPs) told the UN envoy Jamal bin Omar that Saleh should first transfer power to his Vice President Abd-Rabbu Mansour Hadi before the commencement of any dialogue between the JMPs and Saleh’s ruling party General People’s Congress,” Xinhua quoted an opposition official as saying on Saturday on the condition of anonymity.

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New warning on human-animal hybrids

British scientists have called for an ethical watchdog to devise regulations to closely monitor the creation of human-animal hybrids. The Academy of Medical Sciences of the UK published a report on the use of Animals containing human material (ACHM) in scientific research, saying that scientists may not be far from turning animals into monsters, The Telegraph reported on Friday.

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Belgium implements burqa ban law

A Belgian law banning women from wearing burqas in public has come into force, making Belgium the second European Union nation after France to implement discriminatory laws against Muslims. The law was initially passed by a vote of 136 to 1 with two abstentions in the lower house of the Belgian parliament in April 2010.

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