UN says 519 dead in two weeks of Yemen fighting
Some 519 people have been killed and nearly 1,700 injured in two weeks of fighting in Yemen, the UN aid chief said today, raising alarm over the fate of civilians.
Valerie Amos expressed her extreme concern over the violent attacks via her personal Twitter account, appealing to armed factions to do their utmost to protect ordinary Yemenis.
Gravely concerned about escalating violence in #Yemen. Those fighting have a legal obligation to protect civilians. They mustn't be targeted
— Valerie Amos (@ValerieAmos) April 2, 2015The violence has sharply escalated in Yemen following a Saudi-led air campaign launched on 26 March to stop an advance by Shiite Houthi rebels that forced President Abed Rabbo Mansour Hadi to flee to Saudi Arabia.
Aid groups have expressed alarm over the mounting toll of civilian casualties following an air strike on a camp for displaced people and the bombing of a dairy. Dozens were killed in both attacks.
10% rise in Easter passengers expected at Dublin Airport
More than 285,000 passengers are expected to travel through Dublin Airport this Easter bank holiday weekend - a 10% increase on the same period last year.
Dublin Airport spokesperson Siobhán O'Donnell said: "Over 2,000 flights are expected to arrive and depart this Easter bank holiday weekend and we're expecting a 10% increase in passenger numbers compared to Easter last year."
The Canary Islands, Turkey and France are the popular sunshine destinations this Easter for passengers in search of warm weather, she added.
North Korea expels chief of German food aid organisation
North Korea has expelled the country director of Welthungerhilfe, one of the few foreign aid groups to operate in the isolated country, the German organisation has said.
A devastating famine in the 1990s left hundreds of thousands of North Koreans dead or dying from starvation. The food situation has improved since, but Pyongyang still relies on support from foreign aid organisations.
Without warning or saying why, North Korea asked Welthungerhilfe Country Director Regina Feindt to leave the country in late February, the non-government body said in a statement.
Ms Feindt's colleague Karl Fall, who had worked in the country for 12 years, left of his own volition the next month, it said.
PSNI renews appeal over constable murder
The PSNI has renewed its appeal for information about the murder of Constable Ronan Kerr who was killed in a booby trap bomb attack in Omagh, Co Tyrone four years ago.
The killing was blamed on dissident republicans.
Eighteen people have been arrested and questioned but no-one has yet been charged in connection with the murder.
