Putin to address Russia’s crisis-hit ruling party
AFP, Moscow
Russian leader Vladimir Putin is set Saturday to address a United Russia convention as the ruling party struggles to overcome a crisis amid the public’s growing desire for change. United Russia, which was established in 2001 and turns 18 next weekend, has been a legislative powerhouse, enjoying a constitutional majority in parliament’s lower house since 2007.
US military loses drone over Libyan capital
AP, Cairo
The U.S. military said Friday it lost an unmanned drone aircraft over the Libyan capital, Tripoli, where rival armed groups have been fighting for control of the city for months.
The U.S. Africa Command said the drone was lost Thursday while assessing the security situation and monitoring extremist activity. AFRICOM did not give a reason for the drone’s loss, but said it was investigating. It said drone operations in Libya were “fully coordinated with appropriate government officials.”
Ethiopia’s ruling coalition unites to form single party
AFP, Addis Ababa
Ethiopia’s ruling ethnic-based coalition has merged into a single party, Prime Minister Abiy Ahmed said, but a key faction boycotted the vote. Three out of four members of the Ethiopian People’s Revolutionary Democratic Front (EPRDF) agreed on Thursday to form a single party ahead of general elections in May.
Mexico arrests judge linked by US to notorious cartel
AP, Mexico City
A Mexico judge whom the U.S. Treasury Department accuses of ties to Jalisco New Generation, one of the country’s bloodiest drug cartels, was arrested in the city of Guadalajara on Friday, judicial authorities said. Mexico’s General Council of the Judiciary, which announced the arrest of 59-year-old Isidro Avelar Gutiérrez and said he was being taken to Mexico City, had filed a complaint against him with federal prosecutors in May over purported “asset irregularities and additional income.”
