UN: Yemen clashes displace100,000 people

An UN agency says a recent surge in fighting between the Yemeni government and fighters has forced more than 100,000 people, many of them children, to leave their homes.

The United Nations Children's Fund (UNICEF) voices "serious concern" over the impact of the escalating violence on women and children in the northwestern Saada province.

"It is estimated that over 100,000 persons have been displaced by the latest round of fighting, (and) many of them are children," Reuters quoted Aboudou Karimou Adjibade, UNICEF representative in Yemen, as saying.

The warning comes as government forces have killed 100 anti-government Houthi fighters and arrested 300 others in the province in the past few days.

The Houthis belong to the Zaydi branch of Shia Islam.

Marie Okabe, a UNICEF spokesman, also announced that the agency is trying to supply the refugees with water filters, jerry cans and hygiene kits, as well as 300,000 water purification tablets.

Alongside with UNICEF, the World Food Program (WFP) also decided to boost its food aide to 150,000 Yemenis compared with 95,000 who had received help last month.

The UN High Commissioner for Refugees (UNHCR) estimated that some 35,000 people displaced in just past two weeks as a result of the conflict in Yemen.

Fighting between Yemeni troops backed by fighter aircraft and Shia fighters has killed dozens, mostly fighters, since the government launched a wide offensive against Shia tribes earlier in the month.

Yemen's government officials accuse opposition groups of trying to reinstall a religious reign, toppled by a 1962 military coup in northern Yemen.

In addition, government officials on August 13 announced 6 conditions for halting their offensive.

These included the opposition's withdrawal from all districts of Sa'ada and mountainous sites and giving up the military hardware they had seized from the army.

Record low turnout mars EU elections

Record low turnout mars EU elections. Turnout across Europe for the parliamentary elections fell to a record low as slightly over 40 percent of all eligible voters cast their ballots.

An EU estimate shows that only 43% of 375 million eligible voters exercised their democratic right, down from the previous low of 45.5% in 2004.

Analysts mainly attribute the record low turnout to wide spread voter indifference across the European Union, as well as growing public dissatisfaction with mainstream parties and skepticism towards EU institutions.

"I think the low turnout shows a lack of confidence by too many voters in Europe and that we have not found the right responses for our citizens," Francis Wurtz President of the European United Left told,.

The outcome of the election, meanwhile, shows no significant shift in the composition of the general assembly, as the center-right European People's Party won 267 seats in the 736-seat parliament.

The Socialists -- Europe's second largest political party -- came second, grabbing 159 seats, while the Liberals came third followed by the Green Party.

The results spared leaders of most big EU national governments from embarrassing defeats. However, exit polls show significantly weakened support for the ruling parties in Britain, Ireland, Latvia, Greece, Hungary, Bulgaria and Spain.

The victory of center-right forces is likely to help Jose Manuel Barroso, a conservative, win a new term as president of the EU's executive European Commission -- a post that requires the parliament's approval.