Africa
Mali Prime Minister resigns after army arrest
Cheick Modibo Diarra, the prime minister of Mali, has resigned on state television hours after being arrested by soldiers who were behind a military coup in March. Mr Diarra was detained on Monday at his home in the capital Bamako, reportedly on the orders of the coup leader, Capt Amadou Sanogo. He had been due to travel to France. Mr Diarra was made prime minister of an interim government in April after the military officially handed power back to civilians. The 60-year-old astrophysicist had backed plans to send a West African intervention force into the northern half of Mali, which was seized after the coup by Islamists and Tuareg separatists. But tensions between the soldiers who led the coup and the civilian prime minister they were forced to appoint have been mounting in recent weeks, with many in Mali’s military opposing foreign intervention, saying they only need financial and logistical support. Mr Diarra would be held until a new prime minister was appointed by the interim president, said military spokesman Bakary Mariko.
Nelson Mandela has lung infection
South Africa’s first black President Nelson Mandela is being treated for a lung infection, the president’s office has said. Mr Mandela, 94, was rushed to a military hospital in the nation’s capital, Pretoria, on Saturday. Tests showed a “recurrence of a previous lung infection”, presidential spokesman Mac Maharaj said. He added that Mr Mandela is responding to his treatment.
Asia
Death penalty for three plane hijackers in China’s Xinjiang
A court in China’s restive Xinjiang region has sentenced three men to death for attempting to hijack a plane in June, state media report. The court also found a fourth man guilty of the incident and jailed him for life. No further details of the incident were given in the short report. In June, state media reported a hijacking in Xinjiang on a Tianjin airlines plane from Hotan bound for Urumqi, and said the police detained six hijackers, all members of the Muslim Uighur minority. Two of those hijackers were reported to have died from injuries sustained in a fight as they tried to break into the plane’s cockpit.
‘Long way to go’ on justice for Afghan women – UN report
Afghan women victims of violence are still being failed by the justice system, according to a new UN report. Although there had been some progress in implementing a 2009 anti-violence law, overall use of the law “remained low”, the report said. It identifies cultural pressures and inconsistent police practices as factors hampering implementation of the law. The report follows a spate of high-profile cases of violence against Afghan women: last month, two men were arrested in Kunduz province for allegedly beheading a girl after her father rejected a marriage proposal for her, but details of the killing remain unclear and there are conflicting reports about what happened. Also last month, four Afghan policemen were jailed for 16 years for raping a young woman, also in Kunduz province. The case drew attention after Lai Bibi, 18, reported the attack – Afghan victims of sexual abuse rarely speak out.
Middle East
Syrian rebels overrun Aleppo military base
Rebel fighters are reported to have captured large parts of a major military base in northern Syria, the latest in a string of losses by government forces. The attack on Base 111 at Sheikh Suleiman, about 15 miles west of the city of Aleppo, on Sunday, was said to have been led by Islamist militants. Video posted online showed them seizing military vehicles, including a tank. The assault came as UN envoy Lakhdar Brahimi said he had held “constructive” talks with US and Russian officials. They had “explored avenues to move forward a peaceful process and mobilise greater international action in favour of a political solution”, the diplomat added.
Europe
HSBC to pay $1.9bn in US money laundering penalties
UK-based bank HSBC has confirmed it is to pay US authorities $1.9bn (£1.2bn) in a settlement over money laundering, the largest paid in such a case. A US Senate investigation said the bank had been a conduit for “drug kingpins and rogue nations”. HSBC admitted having poor money laundering controls and apologised, with HSBC group chief executive Stuart Gulliver saying in a statement: “we accept responsibility for our past mistakes… we have said we are profoundly sorry for them, and we do so again.”
Berlusconi criticises Mario Monti
Italy’s former Prime Minister Silvio Berlusconi has launched a pre-election attack on his successor, Mario Monti, saying the country is now worse off. He accused Mr Monti of following policies which benefitted Berlin, saying Germany has lowered its own borrowing costs at the expense of other states. Mr Monti is due to resign after Mr Berlusconi’s party withdrew its support for his government on Thursday. Mr Berlusconi will run in the February election, but Mr Monti has not decided – it is speculated he could stand by forming a new party or joining forces with a centrist grouping.
North America
Obama takes ‘fiscal cliff’ plan to Michigan
US President Barack Obama has addressed Michigan car workers to build support for his plan to raise taxes on the rich in an effort to avert the looming “fiscal cliff”. The visit follows face-to-face meetings with Republican House Speaker John Boehner at the White House on Sunday. After their first private talks since President Obama won re-election, both sides said communication lines “remain open”. President Obama’s plan would increase taxes for the rich while extending Bush-era tax cuts for everyone else. He told auto-workers that he “won’t compromise” on tax rises, but avoided direct criticism of Republicans that have frustrated his efforts to pass the measures. The “fiscal cliff” is the label for the deep spending cuts and tax rises due to take automatic effect on 1 January, along with the expiration of extended benefits for the long-term unemployed and a cut to payroll taxes. The cliff threatens the USA’s economic recovery, and international observers such as Christine Lagarde, head of the International Monetary Fund, have warned of a ripple effect for the rest of the world.
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