In brief: Airstrikes kill 120 in Yemeni town

SANAA, Yemen – Saudi-led coalition airstrikes hit a residential area in a quiet Red Sea town in Yemen, killing at least 120 people in the deadliest strike against civilians since the March offensive began, security and medical officials said.

Hours later, the coalition unexpectedly announced that it would start a five-day humanitarian pause today, just before midnight.

The airstrikes late Friday hit workers’ housing for a power plant in Mokha, flattening some of the buildings to the ground, the officials said.

The deadly strike highlights growing concerns that the Saudi-led coalition’s airstrikes are increasingly killing civilians as they continue to target Shiite rebels known as Houthis.

Saudi officials could not be reached for comment, and the government’s official media did not issue a statement about the deadly strike.

It is not clear why the workers’ housing was hit. Yemeni security officials said the closest Houthi outpost to Friday evening’s strike is at least 3 miles away.

Woman sees father killed by shark

HOBART, Australia – A woman watched her father being mauled to death by a large shark on Saturday while the pair were diving off the Australian island state of Tasmania, police said.

The adult woman had returned to their boat with scallops that the pair had collected, then became concerned that her father, in his late 40s, had not surfaced after her, Inspector David Wiss told reporters in the state capital of Hobart.

“His daughter became worried and went down and checked on her father,” Wiss said. “She saw a very large shark. She saw her father being attacked by the shark.”

The attack happened off the east coast near where a 15-foot-long great white shark was seen on Friday, government ranger Peter Lingard told The Examiner newspaper.

Sharks are common off Australia’s beaches, but fatal attacks are rare. The country has averaged fewer than two deadly attacks per year in recent decades.