Palestinians open solar plant to
reduce dependence on Israel
JERICHO, May 22: Palestinian officials say they have inaugurated their first solar panel plant as part of a plan to reduce their dependence on Israeli power supply. Mohammed Mustafa, head of the government's investment fund, says that Tuesday's plant opening in the ancient West Bank city of Jericho is one of four planned plants. One has been donated from China. He says the Palestinians rely almost entirely on power imported from Israel and the new plants are part of a long-term project to reduce that by 50 per ceny over the next decade. — AP
Duterte tightens grip on power
MANILA, May 22: Allies of President Rodrigo Duterte stormed to a landslide victory in midterm polls, final results showed Wednesday, dissolving a last check on his controversial rule. Loyalists won both houses of the legislature, shutting out all opposition candidates in the Senate, which had served as a buffer against Duterte's most contentious plans. The results open a path for Duterte - who has remarkably high approval ratings - to make good on his call to bring back the death penalty and advance his project to re-write the constitution. — AFP
UK faces UN defeat over Chagos islands
UNITED NATIONS, May 22: Britain is bracing for a crushing defeat at the United Nations on Wednesday when the General Assembly is expected to adopt a measure demanding that London cede the British-ruled Chagos islands, home to an important military base. The Indian Ocean archipelago has been at the center of a decades-long dispute over Britain's decision to separate it from Mauritius in 1965 and set up a joint military base with the US on Diego Garcia, the largest of the islands.
—AFP
Myanmar president urges for proper
preparation of upcoming election
YANGON, May 22: Myanmar President U Win Myint has urged for proper preparation of the holding of a free and fair general election in 2020, according to the Union Election Commission (UEC) on Wednesday. Meeting with the UEC, led by its Chairman U Hla Thein, in the capital of Nay Pyi Taw Tuesday, the president called for preparation of voters list, formation of all levels of election sub-commissions systematically, proper assignment of election officials, full security of the stations and demarcation of constituencies as well as ensuring that constituents have full voting rights. — Xinhua
Quake shakes northern Netherlands
THE HAGUE, May 22: A magnitude 3.4 earthquake has shaken the northern Dutch province of Groningen, the latest in a series of tremors blamed on decades of gas extraction from underground reserves. The country's meteorological institute says the quake early Wednesday near the village of Westerwijtwerd was one of the most powerful ever to hit the Netherlands. There were no immediate reports of any injuries. The lucrative Groningen gas field is one of the world's largest natural gas reserves but quakes caused by extraction have damaged thousands of homes. — AP
Netanyahu given Oct deadline
for pre-trial hearing
JERUSALEM, May 22: Israel's attorney general on Wednesday extended until October the deadline for Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu's pre-trial hearing on corruption allegations, but rejected a request for a 12-month delay. Netanyahu won a fifth term in office in a general election last month but now faces the prospect of becoming the first sitting Israeli premier to be indicted. — AFP
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