Pompeo, Mattis to brief US senators on Saudi as concerns mount
AFP, Washington
Secretary of State Mike Pompeo and Pentagon chief Jim Mattis will brief US senators Wednesday on developments related to Saudi Arabia, amid mounting bipartisan concern about the kingdom, a senior Republican lawmaker said Monday.
President Donald Trump’s emphatic support of Riyadh in recent weeks has rankled some Republicans. And the continuing brutal Saudi-led war in neighboring Yemen, which has caused an urgent humanitarian crisis, has also triggered concern.
Defeated GOP Rep. Mia Love slams Trump
AP, Salt Lake City
The first and only black Republican woman in Congress delivered a sharp rebuke Monday to President Donald Trump and her party’s relationship with African-Americans in her first remarks since her midterm defeat.
Mia Love was narrowly defeated by Democrat Ben McAdams for the suburban Salt Lake City House seat. The Associated Press called the race for McAdams on Nov. 20. At a post-Election Day news conference earlier this month, Trump prematurely declared Love the loser, grouping her with other embattled Republican incumbents who failed to fully embrace him in their re-election bids
Stranded Syrian refugee leaves
airport for Canada
AFP, Kuala Lumpur
A Syrian refugee who spent several months in limbo in a budget terminal at a Malaysian airport has been granted permanent residency by Canada and is en route to Vancouver, his lawyer said Tuesday.
Hassan al-Kontar’s plight became widely known after he shared posts on social media that showed him surviving on donated airline meals, washing and giving himself a haircut in the toilets at Kuala Lumpur International Airport’s Terminal 2.
Stage set for fresh polls in Australia in May
AFP, Sydney:
Australia is set for a May election showdown after the Prime Minister today announced a budget date in the new year and his weakened liberal party staggers on following another defection.
Prime Minister Scott Morrison announced a new national spending plan for 2 April, promised a fiscal surplus and hailed his party’s custodianship of a booming economy in remarks effectively firing the starter’s gun for the 2019 election campaign.
12 militants killed in South Afghanistan
Xinhua, Tirin Kot
A total of 12 militants were confirmed dead as Afghan fighting aircrafts targeted Taliban hideouts in Deh Rawad district of the southern Uruzgan province, an army statement said here Tuesday.. A Taliban key commander Mullah Janan was among those killed in the strikes, the statement added. The armed Taliban outfit has yet to make comments on the report.
