In brief: Arab coalition troops land in Yemen

SANAA, Yemen – With helicopter gunships hovering overhead, at least 20 troops from a Saudi-led Arab coalition came ashore Sunday in the southern port city of Aden on what military officials called a “reconnaissance” mission, as fighting raged between Iranian-backed Shiite rebels and forces loyal to the nation’s exiled president.

It was the first ground landing by coalition forces since the start of the Saudi-led air campaign against the rebels and their allies –forces loyal to ousted President Ali Abdullah Saleh – who have captured most of northern Yemen and marched on southern provinces over the past year.

In Cairo, meanwhile, Egypt, a key coalition member that has been named as a likely participant in any ground offensive in Yemen, acknowledged for the first time that it has deployed troops in the Gulf region and the Red Sea as part of the Saudi-led coalition.

Israeli Ethiopian protest turns violent

TEL AVIV, Israel – Several thousand people from Israel’s Jewish Ethiopian minority protested in Tel Aviv against racism and police brutality on Sunday, shutting down a major highway and clashing with police on horseback long into the night.

The protest was mostly peaceful during the day, but by nightfall became violent with at least 20 officers hurt and “multiple protesters” arrested, police spokesman Micky Rosenfeld said.

Italy rescues hundreds of migrants

ROME – Italy’s coast guard and navy as well as tugs and other commercial vessels joined forces to rescue migrants in at least 16 boats Sunday, saving hundreds of them and recovering 10 bodies off Libya’s coast, as smugglers took advantage of calm seas to send packed vessels across the Mediterranean.

The Italian coast guard said the bodies were found in three separate rescue operations off Libya’s coast. The coast guard was being aided by a tug and a merchant ship in at least some of the rescue efforts. In one of those rescues, a cargo ship found three migrants dead and 105 survivors on a dinghy in the waters north of Tripoli, Libya.

S. Korea urges North to release student

SEOUL, South Korea – South Korea today urged North Korea to quickly free a South Korean student of New York University detained in the North for illegally entering the country.

Pyongyang’s state media said Saturday it arrested Won Moon Joo on April 22 when he illegally entered North Korea by crossing the Amnok River from the Chinese border town of Dandong. The North said Joo, who has permanent residency in the U.S., has admitted his violation of a law and was being investigated by authorities.

Seoul’s Unification Ministry said today that Joo is a South Korean national and it’s “very regrettable” for North Korea to be detaining him without providing any prior explanation to the South Korean government and his family. Spokesman Lim Byeong Cheol told reporters that South Korea strongly demands that North Korea release Joo immediately.

A spokesman for New York University, John Beckman, confirmed that Joo was a junior at NYU’s Stern School of Business, but that he was not taking classes this semester and that the university was unaware of his travels.

IS claims car bomb attack that killed 19

BAGHDAD – The Islamic State group claimed responsibility Sunday for a late-night car bomb attack in the heart of Baghdad that killed at least 19 people, saying it was targeting a Shiite militia.

The extremist group, however, did not shed any light on accusations by Yazidi lawmakers that it had executed at least 25 prisoners from the minority community in the northern city of Tal Afar.

The two car bombs in Baghdad went off about 10 minutes apart late Saturday in the Karrada district, known for its restaurants, cafes and ice cream parlors. Police said the dead and wounded were mainly shoppers and people commemorating the birth of Imam Ali, a key figure in Shiite Islam. Two traffic policemen were among those killed.