Hezbollah getting chemical arms: Israel lawmaker

Jerusalem: A former Israeli defense minister alleged on Monday that Syria's chemical weapons are "trickling" to the Lebanese militant group Hezbollah. It was the first such claim by a senior politician in Israel, but he did not supply evidence to support his assertion.

Binyamin Ben-Eliezer, a retired general who is now a lawmaker from the opposition Labor party, told The Associated Press: "The process of weapon transferal to Hezbollah has begun."

He told Israel Radio that he "has no doubt" that Syrian President Bashar Assad has already used chemical weapons and that that "these weapons are trickling to Hezbollah."

Thousands of Yemenis deported from Saudi Arabia

Sana: Saudi Arabia has begun deporting thousands of Yemeni labourers following new regulations requiring foreigners to work only for their sponsors, a Yemeni official said on Monday, a move that could “significantly damage” the poor country’s economy.

Some two million of Yemen’s 25 million citizens work abroad, more than half of them in larger and richer neighbour Saudi Arabia. Remittances bring in $2 billion (Dh7.34 billion) a year to Yemen, a country still grappling with revolt, a separatist movement and an Islamist insurgency.