Saad al-Hariri is ready to return as prime minister of a new government, a senior official familiar with his thinking said, on condition it includes technocrats and be capable of quickly implementing reforms needed to stave off economic collapse. Hariri’s resignation on Tuesday has left Lebanon with a political vacuum …
Read More »Ukraine starts the withdrawal of troops in the rebel east.
Ukraine’s military said the withdrawal of government and Russian-backed rebel troops started at 12.00 local time (10.00 GMT) on Tuesday in Zolote, a town in the eastern Ukrainian region of Luhansk. Ukrainian forces have fought rebels in the Donbas region in a conflict that has killed more than 13,000 people. …
Read More »At least 22 killed, dozens missing in Cameroon landslide
Rescue teams in Cameroon were scouring the rubble of destroyed houses for survivors on Tuesday after a landslide caused by heavy rainfall killed at least 22 people, state television reported. The police were searching for dozens of more people reported as missing in the town of Bafoussam in the western …
Read More »Police hunt for brothers from Northern Ireland over truck deaths
British police said on Tuesday they were hunting for two brothers from Northern Ireland over the deaths of 39 people discovered in the back of a truck near London last week. The discovery of the bodies in a refrigerated truck on an industrial estate near London has shone a spotlight …
Read More »Lebanese PM Hariri announces resignation amid large-scale protests.
Lebanese Prime Minister, Saad al-Hariri, and his government have resigned after over a week of protests, which paralyzed the country as the people accused the authorities of being corruption and causing an economic collapse. Hariri, who was in the office since December 2016, announced quits during a televised address to …
Read More »ISIS chief al-Baghdadi buried at sea, like bin Laden, but photo & video proof remains classified – Pentagon
The US got rid of Abu Bakr al-Baghdadi’s body mere hours after a swift DNA test confirmed the terrorist’s identity, Pentagon officials said, adding that all evidence of the raid and his burial at sea remains classified. Following the US special forces operation in northwestern Syria, in which Washington claims …
Read More »Brexit election nears as UK opposition backs early poll
Britain was heading towards a December election on Tuesday after Prime Minister Boris Johnson’s bet on breaking the Brexit deadlock with an early vote gained support from opposition parties. As the European Union finalizes the third delay to the divorce that was originally supposed to take place on March 29, …
Read More »Ten killed as storms ravage eastern Japan: NHK
The death toll from torrential rains that caused flooding and mudslides in Japan climbed to 10 on Saturday, with three others missing, public broadcaster NHK reported, just two weeks after the region was hit by a powerful typhoon. Landslides ripped through waterlogged areas in Chiba and Fukushima prefectures, in eastern …
Read More »Lebanon army tries to open roads as nationwide protests hit tenth day.
Protesters trickled back on to the streets across Lebanon on Saturday, despite army efforts to unblock roads, with no end in sight to a crisis that has crippled the country for 10 days. A military statement said army and security commanders met to plan ways to re-open main arteries to …
Read More »Essex police probe ‘wider conspiracy’ amid people-trafficking claims.
Police are investigating whether the deaths of 39 people found in a lorry in Essex were part of a “wider conspiracy” to traffic people, following reports the victims had set out from Vietnam in a larger group. British detectives met with the Vietnamese ambassador to the UK on Saturday, amid …
Read More »Two dead in protests against Ethiopian PM: State media.
At least two people have been killed and dozens injured in violent Ethiopian protests against Nobel Peace Prize laureate and Prime Minister Abiy Ahmed, state media reported Thursday. Demonstrations erupted Wednesday after high-profile activist Jawar Mohammed, a member of the Oromo ethnic group who has been a public critic of …
Read More »Boris Johnson frustrated over choosing Brexit vs. election.
UK PM Boris Johnson has grown frustrated over whether to hold a snap election or try instead to push his Brexit-enabling withdrawal agreement bill through the House of Commons again. Although MPs approved Boris Johnson’s bill during a second reading this week, they rejected his accelerated timetable, saying they needed …
Read More »Protesters block Beirut streets as protests enter 2nd week.
Demonstrators continue to block the streets in downtown Beirut as unprecedented nationwide protests in Lebanon enter their second week.
Read More »Kais Saied sworn in as Tunisia’s new president
Tunisia has a new president. Kais Saied has been sworn in after winning a landslide victory in this month’s election. The low-profile law professor took the presidential oath of office before the parliament on Wednesday. Saied’s victory delivered a heavy blow to the established political elite, who have failed to …
Read More »Russia deploys troops to the Turkey-Syria border.
Russian forces have begun to deploy towards the Turkey-Syria border, as part of a deal to remove Kurdish troops. Units have already entered the two key border towns of Kobane and Manbij. Under the deal agreed by Russia and Turkey, Kurdish fighters were given 150 hours from noon on Wednesday …
Read More »39 dead bodies discovered inside a lorry in Essex, UK, murder suspect arrested
A murder investigation has been launched after 39 people were found dead in a truck at Waterglade Industrial Park in Grays, Essex, in the early hours of Wednesday morning. Emergency services were called to the site at around 1.40 am BST to discover the 39 victims in a truck container. …
Read More »New Silk Road: Kenya’s massive $1.5bn railway funded & built entirely by China.
China has been developing Kenya’s rail service as part of the Belt and Road Initiative to connect Asia, Europe, and Africa. The railway is Kenya’s largest infrastructure project since its independence. The so-called Standard Gauge Railway (SGR) project was launched in 2017. Trains operating on a daily schedule between the …
Read More »Fiery protests erupt as Bolivia says Morales near outright win.
Bolivian President Evo Morales is slated for victory in a highly contentious election after authorities issued a fresh vote tally, prompting claims of fraud from the opposition and chaotic protests across the country. Following a 24-hour pause in the vote count by the Supreme Electoral Tribunal (TSE), the agency updated …
Read More »Norwegian police arrest gunman after ambulance rampage.
Norwegian police said they arrested an armed man who stole an ambulance Tuesday and ran over pedestrians in Oslo, including at least one baby, as the motive was not immediately known. Police said they were searching for a second suspect — a woman described as having fair skin and wearing …
Read More »Johnson threatens nuclear option on Brexit
Prime Minister Boris Johnson has threatened to abandon his Brexit bill, known as the Withdrawal Agreement Bill (WAB) if the House of Commons opposes his proposed three-day ratification timetable. A Downing Street source reportedly briefed the BBC that if MPs tried to block the three-day timetable then the PM will …
Read More »