Sanders warns of convention row

UNITED STATES: Democratic presidential hopeful Bernie Sanders threatened a row at the party’s summer convention yesterday if its committees are stuffed with Hillary Clinton supporters.

He wrote to Democratic National Committee chair Debbie Wasserman Schultz arguing that standing committees should reflect the support that he and Ms Clinton received in primaries and caucuses.

Mr Sanders warned he could challenge key policies.

Kenny keeps power as coalition agreed

IRELAND: Discredited right-wing Taoiseach Enda Kenny was narrowly re-elected yesterday, after 70 days of deadlock, by 59 votes to 49 in Ireland’s 158-member parliament.

His Fine Gael-led government will survive confidence votes only by virtue of support from its historical opponent Fianna Fail, which abstained.

Mr Kenny has assembled a shaky coalition with independents, three of whom will get cabinet jobs.

Island handover critic locked up

EGYPT: Human rights lawyer Malek Adly, who had raised a legal challenge to President Abdel-Fattah el-Sissi’s decision to hand two Red Sea islands to Saudi Arabia, was arrested yesterday.

He was ordered to be held in custody for two weeks, pending inquiries into a list of allegations, including plotting a coup.

Mr Adly, a member of the April 6 youth movement that helped topple autocrat Hosni Mubarak in 2011, has appeared on TV condemning the islands’ handover.

Militants claim they bombed oil facility

NIGERIA: Militants boasted yesterday of having attacked a major Chevron oil and gas facility, forcing the US transnational to shut production there.

A new group called the Niger Delta Avengers said it bombed Chevron’s Okan platform on Wednesday, warning foreign firms: “The Nigerian military can’t protect your facilities.

“This is what we promised the Nigerian government. Since they have refused to listen, we are going to bring the country’s economy to zero.”

US admits aiding Hadi supporters

YEMEN: US officials admitted yesterday that the Pentagon has been giving military support, intelligence, ships and special forces to help the deposed government of Abed Rabbo Mansour Hadi.

Washington is providing Yemeni, Emirati and Saudi-led coalition forces with what the Pentagon called “limited support” in battle against al-Qaida in the Arabian Peninsula, recently recapturing the port city of Mukalla from extremist control.

Jets hit back after Gaza mortar fire

ISRAEL: The military announced yesterday that its warplanes had bombed infrastructure in Gaza used by Islamist resistance group Hamas in response to mortar fire against its border forces.

It claimed that Palestinian attacks had intensified after Israel found a tunnel on Thursday stretching from Gaza into Israel.

A military spokesman said “repeated attacks” on efforts to find and destroy cross-border tunnels “will not be tolerated.”

Venezuelan MP begins libel case

UNITED STATES: Former Venezuelan National Assembly president Diosdado Cabello began a lawsuit against Dow Jones on Thursday, claiming to have been libelled in a Wall Street Journal article.

The article said US officials were investigating MP Mr Cabello and other Venezuelan socialists for alleged cocaine-trafficking and money-laundering.

He said he would never hurt young Venezuelans and challenged his accusers to prove their case.

Iohannis backs loan to bail out Moldova

ROMANIA: President Klaus Iohannis approved a €150 million (£119m) loan to neighbouring Moldova yesterday to pay public-sector wages and pensions.

Parliament approved it last month in return for a Moldovan pledge to reform its banking and justice sytems and name a new central bank governor.

Moldova, which saw months of protests after over €1 billion (£790m) disappeared from three banks before the 2014 elections, has had six prime ministers in a year.