ISRAEL: A top Israeli Cabinet minister headed to Washington yesterday for talks with United States officials, sparking a rebuke from Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu, according to an Israeli official, in a sign of widening cracks in Israel’s wartime government.

An official from Mr Netanyahu’s Likud party said Benny Gantz’s visit was without authorisation from the Israeli leader. 

The official said Mr Netanyahu had a “tough talk” with Mr Gantz about the trip and told him the country has “just one prime minister.”

PAKISTAN: Lawmakers in Pakistan’s National Assembly yesterday elected Shehbaz Sharif as the country’s new prime minister for the second time.

Allies of imprisoned former premier Imran Khan in parliament shouted in protest against his appointment, alleging rigging in last month’s election.

LIBYA: German charity SOS Humanity yesterday accused the Libyan coastguard of threatening its crew members who were rescuing migrants in the Mediterranean Sea, causing at least one migrant to drown.

The German charity said that the Libyan coastguard used violence and fired live bullets into the water during its “life-threatening intervention” on Saturday.

Libyan authorities have not commented on the incident.

SERBIA: A key vote for control of Serbia’s capital Belgrade, which has been a focal point of widespread fraud reports after last December’s elections, is to be rerun later this year, officials said yesterday.

The right-wing Serbian Progressive Party was declared the winner of the December 17 election. But the main opposition alliance, Serbia Against Violence, has insisted it was robbed of victory and that the parliamentary vote that took place at the same time was also marred by widespread irregularities.