The Saudi-led coalition fighting Houthi militants in Yemen said it would step up attacks after offering a 5 day humanitarian ceasefire to the militants.

The spokesperson for the coalition, Ahmed Asseri, explaining the retractment of the ceasefire offer, said,

“The Houthis are now targeting the borders of the kingdom and the situation is that we will defend our citizens. Coalition forces will deliver a harsh response starting this moment, so that those who carried out this operation will pay the price.”

The Conservative party became the first majority Conservative government in almost 20 years, with the Conservatives reaching an unexpected majority of 331 seats in parliament, as the UK 2015 General Election vote count drew to a close on Friday.
 
The results shocked most political commentators as polls in the run up to the election suggested a hung parliament to be the most likely outcome.

The US has launched an investigation into Baltimore’s police department, in order to determine whether it engages in routine bias or uses excessive force, the BBC reports.

Mayor Stephanie Rawlings-Blake requested the inquiry by the justice department after the death of Freddy Gray, an unarmed black man who died after his arrest, which sparked days of protests.

US Secretary of State John Kerry and Saudi Arabian Foreign Minister Adel al-Jubeir, announced that a 5 day ceasefire would be put in place in Yemen, but warned that it was conditional.

The ceasefire, which is to come into force on May 12, could be extended “if it works out” said Mr Jubeir. “It is our hope that the Houthis will come to their senses,” Mr Jubeir said. “The ceasefire will be throughout Yemen, or nowhere in Yemen”.

A Pakistani army helicopter has crashed in northern Pakistan killing several foreign diplomats, including the ambassadors of Norway and the Philippines.

The Pakistani Taliban immediately claimed credit for the attack, but the government of Pakistan has said a technical fault caused the accident.

Israel’s top football officials met the FIFA president Sepp Blatter on Wednesday, in an attempt to stop a vote being held to suspend Israel form the world football body.

Palestine’s Football Association (PFA), have submitted an Israeli suspension proposal to be vote on at the FIFA general assembly on May 29.

For the proposal to be passed, a 75 percent approval vote would be required to fully implement the proposal, reports Haaretz.