US expelling dozen Saudi military trainees after Florida base shooting
Reuters, Washington
More than a dozen Saudi servicemen who are training at US military bases will be expelled from the United States in the aftermath of a Pentagon review prompted by the deadly December 6 shooting by a Saudi Air Force officer at an American naval base in Florida, CNN reported on Saturday.
The Saudi personnel being expelled are not accused of aiding the Saudi Air Force second lieutenant who killed three American sailors at the Pensacola installation, CNN reported, quoting unnamed sources.
Syrian airstrikes kill 10 in rebel-held area despite truce
AP, Beirut
Syrian government warplanes struck several rebel-held areas in the country’s northwest on Saturday, killing at least 10 people and wounding dozens, opposition activist said.
A cease-fire supposedly went into effect Thursday, according to Russia’s Defense Ministry. But Turkey’s Defense Ministry said the truce will go into effect on Sunday, without giving an explanation for the differing dates.
Gambian exiled ex-president demands return in leaked recording
AFP, Banjul
Former Gambian dictator Yahya Jammeh, forced into exile in 2017, has been heard in a leaked recording demanding that his right to return be respected by the authorities. Jammeh has hardly been heard from since fleeing to Equatorial Guinea. His comments were made public in a recording of a conversation between him and an official of his party broadcast on social media.
French PM opens to scrapping raising retirement age to 64
AP, Paris
The French prime minister informed the unions behind a crippling railway strike over pension reform Saturday that he is open to backing down on one of the most controversial proposals: raising the full pension eligibility age to 64.
Prime Minister Edouard Philippe wrote to unions one day after the French government and labor representatives engaged in talks that had seemed to end in a stalemate after more than a month of strikes and protests..
