ADEN, Yemen, Dec. 25 (Xinhua) -- Yemen's internationally-recognized government on Thursday backed Saudi Arabia's call to ease tensions in the country's southern regions, as military movements by the Southern Transitional Council (STC) continue to strain the anti-Houthi alliance.In a statement carried by the state-run Saba news agency, the Yemeni government welcomed what it described as Saudi Arabia's clear, balanced and responsible stance toward the latest developments in Hadramout and Al-Mahrah provinces.The government warned that any security or military actions taken outside state authority and without coordination with the Presidential Leadership Council (PLC), the government, or local authorities represent an unacceptable source of tension and impose additional burdens on the war-ravaged country.Saudi Arabia's Foreign Ministry said earlier Thursday that recent STC troop deployments in the two southern Yemeni provinces constituted an unjustified escalation that undermines Yemeni interests and complicates Saudi Arabia-led coalition efforts.Riyadh announced that a joint Saudi-Emirati military delegation had arrived in Aden to coordinate with the STC on withdrawing its forces from the areas in an orderly and timely manner and transferring military camps to government-affiliated or local forces.Tensions escalated on Dec. 3 when STC forces took control of Hadramout after clashes with pro-government units, accusing them of maintaining ties to the Muslim Brotherhood. The STC also criticized the PLC for failing to launch a serious campaign against the Houthi group.STC forces then expanded into Al-Mahrah without reported resistance, and have since recruited local forces in both provinces despite repeated de-escalation calls from the Yemeni government and Saudi Arabia.Later, STC forces launched a new large-scale military operation in the southern province of Abyan.Earlier this week, the STC gained allegiance from more than a dozen ministers within the central governme...

Tanzania's Civil Aviation Authority (TCAA) on Thursday confirmed that five people were killed on Wednesday after a helicopter crashed at the Barafu Camp on Mount Kilimanjaro, Africa's highest mountain.

JERUSALEM, Dec. 25 (Xinhua) -- The Israel Defense Forces (IDF) said on Thursday that it arrested seven Palestinians during overnight raids on three villages in the occupied West Bank.Four of the detainees were arrested in Jayyous in the western part of the West Bank, who were accused of advancing terrorist activities and planning an attack. The remaining three detainees were apprehended in the nearby villages of Kifl Haris and Deir Istiya for allegedly hurling rocks at a main road, according to an IDF statement.The Israeli domestic security agency Shin Bet is conducting further investigations into the arrests.The IDF said in a separate statement that in a joint operation with Shin Bet, it had targeted a militant in the Ansariyah area in southern Lebanon. It did not disclose the identity of the militant.

Tanzania's Civil Aviation Authority on Thursday confirmed that five people were killed on Wednesday after a helicopter crashed at the Barafu Camp on Mount Kilimanjaro.

Turkish police on Thursday detained 115 suspected members of the Islamic State (IS) group in a large-scale counterterrorism operation over alleged plans to carry out attacks in the country, authorities said.