News summary for Monday, December 4, 2017

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By BNO NEWS

A quick look at the most important news of the last 24 hours:

  • Former Yemeni President Ali Abdullah Saleh, who ruled the country for more than 3 decades before being forced to resign, has been shot dead near the capital Sana’a after he appeared to split with the Houthi militia. The capital Sana’a has been rocked by a wave of fighting between Houthis and Saleh loyalists, killing at least 125 people.

  • Police in Malta have arrested 10 suspects in connection with the murder of investigative journalist Daphne Caruana Galizia, who was known for her reporting on corruption and the Panama Papers. She was killed in October when a bomb in her car exploded. All of the suspects are from Malta and have criminal records, according to officials.

  • The United States and South Korea have launched a major air force drill involving more than 200 planes and 12,000 U.S. forces. They will operate under various wartime scenarios, including simulated airstrikes on mock North Korean nuclear and missile targets. The drills have been condemned by North Korea, which views it as a threat.

  • The United Kingdom and the European Union have failed to reach a deal that would allow them to open talks on post-Brexit free trade. The failure to reach a deal is in large part due to a row over the Irish border. The talks are expected to resume later this week. The UK is set to leave the EU in March 2019.

IN BRIEF

  • The U.S. Supreme Court has allowed Trump’s latest travel ban to take full effect, overturning a lower court’s temporary restriction. The ban affects mostly Chad, Iran, Libya, North Korea, Syria, and Yemen.

  • The top contenders for TIME Magazine’s Person of the Year includes North Korean leader Kim Jong Un, the #MeToo movement, President Donald Trump, and Saudi Crown Prince Mohammed bin Salman.

  • Trump has endorsed Roy Moore for next week’s Senate election despite allegations of sexual misconduct, telling his supporters that the Republican Party needs his vote to pass critical legislation.

  • Six members of Catalonia’s sacked government have been released, but two senior members remain in jail on charges of sedition, rebellion and misuse of public funds.

  • John Anderson, who served in the U.S. Congress for 20 years before a failed attempt to run for president in 1980, has died at age 95.

  • A 69-year-old man originally from the Philippines has been arrested in Florida over an alleged plot to carry out a mass shooting at an Islamic center in Jacksonville.

  • Former U.S. Congresswoman Corrine Brown (D-FL) has been sentenced to 5 years in prison for her role in raising more than $800,000 for a bogus charity. She served in congress from 1993 until January of this year.

UPCOMING EVENTS

  • Until Friday: U.S. and South Korea stage joint air force drill involving more than 230 aircraft and 12,000 U.S. personnel. North Korea considers such exercises to be a threat.

  • Tuesday-Friday: Senior UN official Jeffrey Feltman will visit North Korea to discuss with North Korean officials “issues of mutual interest and concern.” He will also meet with the UN Country Team and members of the diplomatic corps, as well as visit UN project sites.

  • Wednesday: TIME Person of the Year announcement.

  • Thursday: Second round of parliamentary elections in Nepal. First parliamentary polls since 1999.

  • Friday: Previous deal to fund the U.S. government expires. Congress is expected to pass a short-term funding bill to avoid a government shutdown until at least December 22.

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