U.S. CUTS $25 MN AID TO EAST JERUSALEM HOSPITALS SERVING PALESTINIANS

WASHINGTON: US President Donald Trump has ordered that $25 million earmarked for the care of Palestinians in East Jerusalem hospitals be directed elsewhere as part of a review of aid, a state department official said on Saturday. Trump called for a review of US assistance to the Palestinians earlier this year to ensure that the funds were being spent in accordance with national interests and were providing value to taxpayers. “As a result of that review, at the direction of the president, we will be redirecting approximately $25 million originally planned for the East Jerusalem Hospital Network,” the state department official said. “Those funds will go to high-priority projects elsewhere.” REUTERS

Japan PM visits quakehit Hokkaido as toll rises to 42

TOKYO: Japanese Prime Minister Shinzo Abe visited the quake-hit northern region of Hokkaido on Sunday as officials confirmed more deaths, bringing the toll to 42. Abe toured the city and commercial hub of Sapporo, where Thursday’s 6.6-magnitude jolt has left houses tilted and roads cracked. He also visited hard-hit Atsuma, a small rural town which has seen most of the deaths caused by the quake.

Australia to ditch climate targets bill after PM ousting

SYDNEY: Australia’s new prime minister will not revive plans to embed carbon emissions targets in law, a thorny issue that triggered the ousting of his predecessor in a party coup. Scott Morrison won a Liberal Party ballot to replace Malcolm Turnbull — who struggled to get his colleagues to support the National Energy Guarantee — as leader. Australia is considered one of the world’s worst per capita greenhouse gas polluters, and is a heavy user of coal-fired power.

Far right expect gains as Sweden goes to polls

STOCKHOLM: Swedes voted in legislative elections on Sunday with the far right expected to make big gains as voters unhappy about immigration punish the left-wing governments. Social Democratic Prime Minister Stefan Lofven has called the election a “referendum on the future of the welfare state” but the far-right Sweden Democrats have presented it as a vote on immigrants and their integration, after Sweden took in almost 400,000 asylum seekers since 2012.

Pakistan cancels Ishaq Dar’s diplomatic passport

ISLAMABAD: Pakistan has cancelled the diplomatic passport of former finance minister Ishaq Dar, who has been declared an absconder in a graft case linking to the Panama Papers leak. The Supreme Court last week initiated proceedings for extradition of

Dar, who left the country after a court began hearings against him in a graft case filed in line with the apex court’s July 2017 Panama Papers verdict. AGENCIES