France bracing for more protests
despite retreat on taxes
PARIS, Dec 05: The concessions made by France's prime minister in a bid to stop the huge and violent anti-government demonstrations that have been rocking France over the past three weeks, seem to have so far failed to convince protesters, with trade unions and farmers now threatening to join the fray. A day after Edouard Philippe announced a suspension of planned fuel tax hikes that kicked off protests, the "yellow vest" protest movement showed no sign of slowing down on Wednesday. — AP
Powerful quake off New Caledonia
NOUMEA, Dec 05: A powerful 7.5-magnitude earthquake struck near New Caledonia on Wednesday, triggering a tsunami alert and emergency evacuations across a swathe of the South Pacific, but there were no reports of serious damage or injuries. Authorities said the quake, followed by at least 20 strong aftershocks, was centred about 170 kilometres (100 miles) southeast of New Caledonia's Loyalty Islands at a depth of just 10 kilometres. — AFP
Germany looks beyond Merkel as party elects new chief
BERLIN, Dec 05: A knife-edge vote on Friday will determine Angela Merkel's successor as head of her party after 18 years at the helm, with the German chancellor's own political fate and legacy on the line. Widely seen as Merkel's anointed crown princess is Annegret Kramp-Karrenbauer, 56. Known as AKK for short, she is the CDU's centrist general secretary and former premier of tiny Saarland state. — AFP
Indonesia hunts suspects in Papua mass killing
WAMENA, Dec 05: Indonesian soldiers hunted on Wednesday for rebels suspected of killing a group of construction workers in restive Papua province, as an eyewitness account supplied by the military described a grisly mass execution. The survivor's account detailed the killing of at least 19 people, which if confirmed would mark the deadliest bout of violence in years to hit a region wracked for decades by a low-level independence insurgency. — AFP
NATO stresses support for Libya
TRIPOLI, Dec 05: NATO Secretary General Jens Stoltenberg on Tuesday confirmed NATO's political, military and security support for Libya. Stoltenberg made his remarks during a meeting with Libya's UN-backed Prime Minister Fayez Serraj at NATO's headquarters in Brussels, where the two officials discussed political and security developments in Libya. According to a statement issued by the PM's information office, Stoltenberg said that NATO supports the efforts made by the United Nations (UN) Envoy to Libya Ghassan Salame to reach a solution to the Libyan crisis. — Xinhua
