Greek farmers block roads in anti-austerity demo

Here is a round-up of global news developments:

• Amnesty International has warned that Turkey’s military operations in the Kurdish-dominated regions are threatening the lives of tens of thousands of people. The rights group has described the operations launched under curfews as collective punishment. Amnesty has also accused Turkish forces of using excessive lethal force in the southern regions.
• Greek farmers have used their tractors to block traffic on major roads to protest new austerity cuts and pension reforms. They also demand a reduction in the price of petrol. The action coincided with the second day of a 48-hour strike by the seamen.
• A group of British doctors are seeking to expel Israel from the World Medical Association. The move would prevent Israelis from participating in medical conferences and publishing in journals. It would further halt funding of research in Israeli institutions. It comes amid a growing campaign to boycott Israel.
• The health situation of hunger-striking Palestinian journalist Mohammad al-Qiq is deteriorating in an Israeli jail. His lawyer says Qiq has lost considerable weight and now weighs only 30 kilograms. He’s feared to starve to death before the court hears his case on February 25.
• The world’s major humanitarian organizations are encouraging people around the globe to join their appeal for an end to the conflict in Syria. UN agencies for refugees, children, food, and humanitarian action are among nearly a hundred signatories of the appeal.
• Doors of refugee homes in the northeast England have been marked with red color. Authorities say the homes in Middlesbrough were marked so that employees of the housing company, Jomast, know which are occupied by refugees. Critics have condemned the policy, calling it secret apartheid.
• At least four police officers have been killed in Egypt when a roadside bomb blast targeted a police caravan in Egypt’s restive Sinai Peninsula. The bomb went off in el-Arish, the capital of Northern Sinai province. Four officers were also injured in the blast.
• Yemeni rights activists say they are finalizing the needed documents for a lawsuit against Saudi Arabia at the International Criminal Court. They say the Saudis’ use of cluster bombs in Yemen amounts to war crimes. Cluster bombs are banned from being used, traded or stockpiled.