CHINA: Hong Kong protesters face arrest

Hong Kong Chief Secretary Carrie Lam warned yesterday that demonstrators still camped out on main streets in Hong Kong for more than six weeks face arrest.

She said that there was no room for further dialogue with protesters, who she said had hardened their position.

Her comments followed a Hong Kong High Court decision extending injunctions requiring protesters to leave two of the three protest sites and authorising bailiffs to ask police for help in clearing them.

TUNISIA: France to help stop flow of jihadists

France’s Interior Minister Bernard Cazeneuve announced yesterday that his country will work with Tunisia to stop their nationals from travelling to fight in Syria and Iraq.

Mr Cazeneuve announced new measures after meetings with his Tunisian counterpart Lotfi Ben Jeddou and Prime Minister Mehdi Jomaa.
They include strengthening border controls and increasing police and intelligence co-operation between the two countries.

SYRIA: UN man calls for truce in Aleppo

UN envoy to Syria Staffan de Mistura called for a truce in Aleppo yesterday as a possible step to a wider resolution of the country’s civil war.

His public call for a ceasefire followed President Bashar al-Assad’s announcement on Monday that the suggestion was worth studying.
“Aleppo is not far from a possible collapse,” said Mr de Mistura, adding that a truce would be a “building block for a political process.”

RUSSIA AND IRAN: Countries agree deal for new reactors

Moscow signed a deal yesterday to build two more nuclear reactors in Iran to be followed by possibly another six.

Nuclear officials from the two countries concluded a contract for building two reactors at Iran’s first Russia-built nuclear plant in Bushehr.

As with Bushehr’s first reactor, which became operational in 2013, Russia will supply uranium fuel for the reactors and then take it back for reprocessing.

ZAMBIA: Over 50,000 attend Sata’s funeral

Over 50,000 mourners attended the funeral of President Michael Sata yesterday in a football stadium in the capital Lusaka.

Mr Sata, who had served as head of state since 2011, died in a London hospital on October 28 after a long illness.

Zimbabwe’s President Robert Mugabe and Kenya’s President Uhuru Kenyatta were in attendance, along with heads of state from Namibia and Madagascar, South Africa, Tanzania and Swaziland.

VATICAN: Pope to set up child abuse panel

The Holy See announced yesterday that Pope Francis is setting up a panel to examine appeals against clergy found guilty of molesting children.

The church claims to be cracking down on priests who sexually abuse children, but critics accuse the Vatican of moving too slowly to decide the ultimate fate of these priests.

Bishops accused of molesting children will still have preferential treatment and will not have their cases expedited by the new panel.

PAKISTAN: US drone strike kills six militants

Intelligence officials announced yesterday that a US drone strike on the town of Datta Khel in the North Waziristan tribal region had killed six militants.

North Waziristan was considered a strong base for local and foreign militants until June 15 when Pakistan’s army launched a major operation there to eliminate those accused of orchestrating acts of terrorism.

The army claims to have cleared the militants from more than 80 per cent of the region.

ARGENTINA: Citigroup ruling questioned

Government official Jorge Capitanich questioned US District Judge Thomas Griesa’s impartiality yesterday after he ruled that Citigroup can process a December 31 $85 million interest payment due on bonds issued under local Argentinian laws.

Mr Capitanich said that the decision by the judge in New York was additional proof that he sides with “vulture funds.”