World Briefing

Israel


A recent report by an Israeli non-governmental organization says 5,000 Palestinian children in East Jerusalem will not be able to attend classes this year because there are not enough classrooms.

The Arab neighborhoods of East Jerusalem lack more than 1,000 classrooms needed to accommodate schoolchildren, according to the report issued by the Association for Civil Rights in Israel (ACRI) and Ir Amim, an Israeli nonprofit that promotes coexistence in the city.
Iran
Iranian MPs have approved the first woman minister in the 30-year history of the Islamic republic.
She was one of 18 nominations for President Mahmoud Ahmadinejad's new cabinet to be approved. Two other women were among three rejected nominees. The president's choice for defense minister, Ahmad Vahidi, who is wanted by Argentina over a deadly 1994 bombing of a Jewish centre, won strong backing. The vote follows months of wrangling after disputed elections in June.


Somalia


The aid agency Oxfam has decried the conditions in which hundreds of thousands of refugees from the conflict in Somalia are being forced to live.
It says the overcrowded and badly managed camps in Somalia, Ethiopia and Kenya are "barely fit for humans". Dadaab camp in north-eastern Kenya was meant to hold 90,000 refugees, but is now home to almost 300,000 people, and a further 8,000 arrive each month. Oxfam has called on Kenya's government to urgently allocate more land.


Indonesia

At least 46 people have died and thousands of people have been forced into emergency shelters after a powerful earthquake struck off the coast of Indonesia's Java Island, rescue officials say.
The magnitude 7 quake, which hit on Wednesday afternoon local time, caused widespread damage. With rescue and recovery efforts under way on Thursday, officials said the death toll was likely to rise further. Some coastal areas remained out of contact.
SA
A 22-year-old South African man who committed suicide after being refused identity documents he needed to start a job is being buried in KwaZulu-Natal.
Home Affairs Minister Nkosazana Dlamini-Zuma will address the mourners at Skhumbuzo Mhlongo's funeral. The minister broke down in tears before journalists earlier this week when she was telling them about the case. She is expected to announce the outcome of an investigation. She said she suspected an official expected a bribe.
Russia
A journalist has fled Russia after suggesting the Arctic Sea cargo ship that was apparently hijacked in July may have been carrying illegal weapons.
Mikhail Voitenko said he had been told to leave Moscow or face arrest. The editor of Sovfracht, an online maritime journal, fled on Wednesday, saying he may not be able to return as his life would be in danger. Eight men, mainly from Estonia, have been charged with hijacking and piracy over the case.