Middle East

‘We are nothing’ without UN agency’s help, says Palestinian refugee

Editorial Bureau December 15, 2019

BETHLEHEM/GAZA- George Salameh’s family has lived in the Palestinian city of Bethlehem for 70 years. Still, he prefers his family be called “al-Yafawi”, meaning “of Jaffa”, an ode to the Mediterranean coastal town his family left in 1948 and still considers home.

Middle East

Ex-premier elected Algerian president; thousands march in protest

Editorial Bureau December 15, 2019

ALGIERS- A former prime minister was elected Algeria’s new president in a vote the authorities hope will end months of turmoil, but protesters who toppled his predecessor marched again on Friday, vowing their movement would not stop. Abdelmadjid Tebboune, 74, campaigned as a technocrat who had proven his integrity by being sacked for falling out […]

Middle East

Qatar sees ‘small progress’ in resolving Gulf dispute, still believes in GCC

Editorial Bureau December 15, 2019

DOHA- There has been small progress in resolving a bitter dispute between Qatar and some of its neighbours, the Gulf state’s foreign minister said on Saturday, just days after its premier visited Saudi Arabia. Saudi Arabia, the United Arab Emirates, Bahrain and Egypt cut diplomatic and trade links with Qatar in June 2017, accusing it […]

Middle East

Hezbollah wants everyone in Lebanon government, insists on FPM

Editorial Bureau December 15, 2019

BEIRUT- Lebanon’s Hezbollah said on Friday the next government must bring together all sides so that it can tackle the country’s worst economic crisis in decades, signalling no progress in talks on a new cabinet. “How can a government of one colour tackle a crisis this dangerous?” Hezbollah leader Sayyed Hassan Nasrallah said in a […]

Middle East

Former Sudan president Bashir sentenced to two years in detention for corruption

Editorial Bureau December 15, 2019

KHARTOUM- A Sudanese court on Saturday convicted former president Omar al-Bashir on corruption charges and sentenced him to two years of detention in a reform facility, the first ruling against the ex-leader ousted by mass unrest. The presiding judge said Bashir, 75, who was deposed by the military in April following months of street protests […]

USA

U.S. envoy arrives in South Korea as Pyongyang ramps up pressure

Editorial Bureau December 15, 2019

INCHEON, South Korea- Stephen Biegun, the U.S. special envoy for North Korea, arrived in South Korea on Sunday as Pyongyang stepped up pressure on Washington to make concessions to revive stalled denuclearisation talks ahead of a year-end deadline. Biegun’s arrival came a day after North Korea said it made another “crucial test” at a rocket […]

USA

Trump impeachment looms as U.S. House committee approves charges

Editorial Bureau December 15, 2019

WASHINGTON- Democrats in the U.S. House of Representatives on Friday took Republican President Donald Trump to the brink of impeachment by approving two charges against him over his efforts to pressure Ukraine to investigate Democratic political rival Joe Biden. A divided House Judiciary Committee voted 23-17 along party lines to approve articles of impeachment charging

USA

Negotiators work through the night to salvage U.N. climate summit

Editorial Bureau December 15, 2019

MADRID- Negotiators worked into the early hours of Sunday to try to salvage a strong global commitment to fight climate change after some of the most vulnerable nations said they were being sidelined at a marathon U.N. summit in Madrid. Talks were scheduled to conclude on Friday but lurched into a second extra day as […]

USA

California governor rejects PG&E bankruptcy reorganisation plan

Editorial Bureau December 15, 2019

 California Governor Gavin Newsom on Friday rejected a bankruptcy reorganisation plan submitted by PG&E Corp, the state’s largest investor-owned utility, saying its proposal fails to meet the requirements of a recently enacted wildfire law. The decision by Newsom, sent to PG&E in a letter, complicates the company’s push to exit bankruptcy and provide

Europe

Deadly eruption hits New Zealand volcano tourist town hard

Editorial Bureau December 15, 2019

WHAKATANE- Helicopter pilot Mark Law did not hesitate to fly out to New Zealand’s White Island volcano immediately after it erupted to carry survivors to hospital, but after a harrowing week he knows his town’s adventure tourism industry faces an uncertain future. As the search continues for the final two missing bodies from Monday’s deadly […]