Briefly

UNITED STATES

Number of migrants arrested hits record high

Border authorities in the United States arrested 210,000 migrants attempting to cross the border with Mexico in March, the highest monthly total in two decades and underscoring challenges in the coming months for US President Joe Biden. The March total is a 24 percent increase from the corresponding month a year earlier, when 169,000 migrants were picked up at the border, the start of a rise in migration that left thousands of unaccompanied children stuck in border patrol stations for days while they awaited placement.

PAKISTAN

Ashraf sworn in as lower house speaker

Raja Pervaiz Ashraf took oath on Saturday as the 22nd speaker of Pakistan's National Assembly, or the lower house of the country's parliament. Ashraf is former prime minister of Pakistan and a prominent lawmaker of the Pakistan Peoples Party. The speaker was the lone contender for the position.

MIDDLE EAST

Clashes erupt again near flashpoint holy site

Israeli police on Sunday entered the Al-Aqsa Mosque compound in Jerusalem's Old City to secure the way for Jewish visitors to the flashpoint holy site, fueling clashes that left 17 Palestinians wounded, according to Palestinian medical workers. The unrest happened just two days after clashes with Palestinians at the same site. Violence in Jerusalem between Israeli security forces and Palestinian demonstrators a year ago escalated into an 11-day Gaza conflict.

Xinhua - Agencies