Briefly

BELGIUM

4 arrested over plan to kidnap minister

Police arrested four suspects at the weekend over what Belgium's justice minister described as a plan to kidnap him. Vincent Van Quickenborne, who is also mayor of Kortrijk city in western Flanders, appeared to blame a "drug mafia" in a video message run by state broadcaster RTBF. He said a federal prosecutor had warned him of a kidnap plan targeting him in a phone call on Thursday. On Saturday, federal prosecutors said police had beefed up security for Van Quickenborne, citing a serious "threat".

IRAN

14 indicted for scientist's death

Ali Salehi, chief prosecutor of Teheran, said on Sunday that his office has filed criminal charges against 14 individuals for their involvement in the assassination of the country's high-ranking nuclear physicist Mohsen Fakhrizadeh. The prosecutor said the individuals have been accused of "corruption on earth", intelligence and espionage cooperation with Israel, collusion with the aim of compromising Iran's security, and acting against national security. Fakhrizadeh, who was head of the Iranian Defense Ministry's Organization of Defensive Innovation and Research, died from severe injuries in a hospital in 2020 following an armed attack on his car.

YEMEN

Peace discussions held with UN chief

Rashad Al-Alimi, chairman of Yemen's Presidential Leadership Council, has met with United Nations Secretary-General Antonio Guterres over peace efforts to end the civil war in Yemen. The meeting took place on Saturday on the sidelines of the 77th Session of the UN General Assembly in New York. The Yemeni leader briefed Guterres on the latest developments in the Yemeni situation and peace efforts. He also welcomed the UN's efforts to stop the civil war in Yemen and end the suffering of the Yemeni people.

Xinhua - Agencies