Fighters from the Shia group Hezbollah helped the Syrian army defeat oppositon rebels in Qusayr [Reuters]
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Syrian rebels have attacked a village in the
country's east, killing dozens of Shias, mostly pro-government fighters,
activists said. On Wednesday, a Syrian government official denounced the attack, saying Tuesday’s attack was a “massacre'' of civilians. The Britain-based Syrian Observatory for Human Rights said at least 60 people were killed in the village of Hatla in the oil-rich province that borders Iraq. A video posted to Youtube by the Observatory showed masked fighters shouting, “Here are the Mujahidin [Islamist fighters] celebrating entering the homes of the rejectionists, the Shias.”
The killings, which took place in the eastern Deir al-Zour province, highlight the sectarian nature of Syria's conflict that has killed more than 80,000 people, according to the UN. Thousands of rebels took part in the attack and at least 10 of them were killed in the fighting, said the Observatory. In Damascus, a government official told the AP news agency the rebels “carried out a massacre against villagers in which older people and children were killed.'' The official spoke on condition of anonymity because he was not authorised to speak to the media. The fighting in Deir al-Zour came a week after Syrian troops, backed by Lebanon's Shia Hezbollah group, captured the strategic town of Qusayr near the Lebanese border after nearly three weeks of fierce battles that killed dozens of troops, rebels and Hezbollah members. |
The world's oldest person and the oldest man ever to have lived has died of natural causes aged 116.
THE world's oldest person and the oldest man ever to have lived has died of natural causes aged 116 years.
Japan's Jiroemon Kimura, who was born in 1897, died in hospital
early on Wednesday morning, Kyodo News cited the local government as
saying.Kimura, from Kyotango in Kyoto Prefecture, was recognised by Guinness World Records as the world's oldest living person in December 2012 when a woman from the United States died at 115.
On the 28th day of that month he broke another record, when he became the oldest man ever verified to have lived when he reached 115 years and 253 days.
However, he was well off the all-time record set by French woman Jeanne Calment, who died in 1997 at 122, making her the longest living person in history.
Kimura, who was born the same year as American aviation pioneer Amelia Earhart, celebrated his 116th birthday in April, receiving a pre-recorded video greeting from Japan's Prime Minister Shinzo Abe.
The centenarian had seven children, 14 grandchildren, 25 great-grand children and 14 great-great grandchildren.
He worked at a post office for about 40 years. After retiring he took up farming which he continued to do until the age of 90.
Encouraged by Kimura and 94 other people in Kyotango's 60,000-strong population who will this year be 100 years old or more, the city has launched a research project to examine their diets and find the secrets of their longevity.
