Australia’s government set to lose majority in landslide by-election defeat
The Australian government is poised to lose its one-seat majority in parliament with almost half the votes counted in a crucial by-election late on Saturday, threatening the ability of the center-right coalition to govern.
Saudi senior scholars praise king’s decisions on Khashoggi death
Saudi Arabia’s highest religious body, the Council of Senior Scholars, on Saturday said the king’s decisions on the death of Jamal Khashoggi “achieve justice and equality in accordance with Islamic law”, according to a statement on state news agency SP…
Trump a reluctant critic of Saudi Arabia despite pressure to act
Six days after Saudi journalist Jamal Khashoggi disappeared, U.S. President Donald Trump tried to play down the crisis, saying “hopefully that will sort itself out”.
Australia withdraws from Saudi investment summit over Khashoggi death
Australia has pulled out of an investment summit in Saudi Arabia in protest at the killing of journalist Jamal Khashoggi, Australian government minister said on Saturday.
Thousands rally in Taiwan, call for referendum on independence from China
Several thousand pro-independence demonstrators rallied in Taiwan’s capital on Saturday to protest against Beijing’s “bullying” and called for a referendum on whether the self-ruled island should formally declare independence from China.
Six Sweida hostages freed from Islamic State: Syrian state media, Observatory
Six hostages were freed on Saturday from Islamic State, which has held several women and children captive since it attacked Syria’s Sweida city three months ago, state media and a monitor said.
U.S., China, others tentatively agree to multilateral air encounter code
Several countries including the United States and China agreed “in principle” on Saturday to multilateral guidelines to manage unexpected encounters between their military aircraft, joining 10 Southeast Asian nations already in the pact.
Slovakia threatens to freeze relations with Vietnam over kidnapping case
Slovakia has threatened to freeze relations with Vietnam over the case of a Vietnamese businessman who Germany says was kidnapped by Vietnamese agents and smuggled back home through Slovakia, the Slovak foreign ministry said on Saturday.
Greek PM says Macedonian vote opens ways for an ‘historic’ name deal
Greek Prime Minister Alexis Tsipras said on Saturday that the approval by Macedonia’s parliament of a proposal to change the country’s name on Friday opens the way for the implementation of an “historic” deal between the two countries.
Afghanistan extends election to Sunday due to chaos at polling stations
Voting in Afghanistan’s parliamentary election will be extended to Sunday in some constituencies after technical and organizational problems stopped voters casting their ballot in some polling centers on Saturday, government officials said.
