World News Roundup: Morales' exit in Bolivia; Pinochet-era constitution to be rewritten and more


Devdiscourse News Desk | Updated: 11-11-2019 18:51 IST | Created: 11-11-2019 18:30 IST
World News Roundup: Morales' exit in Bolivia; Pinochet-era constitution to be rewritten and more
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Following is a summary of current world news briefs.

Morales' exit in Bolivia leaves violence and political vacuum

Buildings were set alight in Bolivia's capital La Paz overnight in apparent retaliatory attacks after Evo Morales, president since 2006, resigned under pressure from anger over his disputed re-election last month. A report from the Organization of American States (OAS) released on Sunday had said the election should to be annulled and rerun because "clear manipulations" of the voting system called into question Morales' win.

Spain faces tough government talks after inconclusive vote boosts far right

Spain's acting prime minister, Socialist leader Pedro Sanchez, faced the prospect of hard bargaining to form a government on Monday after his gamble on holding Spain's second election this year resulted in no clear winner but a surge for the far right. A polarized electorate awarded neither right nor left-wing parties enough seats to govern with a majority although the Socialists won most seats.

Chile to re-write Pinochet-era constitution in win for protesters

The Chilean government has agreed to write a new constitution to replace one dating back to the Pinochet dictatorship, bowing to the demands of protesters who have taken to the streets in often violent demonstrations in recent weeks. Interior Minister Gonzalo Blumel said the president, cabinet members and political allies had agreed Congress should lead the process of re-writing the constitution. The document would be put to a public referendum.

Brexit Party's Farage says will not challenge PM Johnson's Conservatives in 317 seats

Brexit Party leader Nigel Farage said on Monday that his party would not contest 317 Conservative Party seats in the Dec. 12 election but would contest nearly all other seats, a significant boost for Prime Minister Boris Johnson. Farage said he did not want anti-Brexit parties to win the election so was standing down candidates in the seats won by the Conservatives in the 2017 election.

Europe should mull renewed sanctions on Iran over nuclear breaches, Germany suggests

Britain, France and Germany must be ready to react to Iran's breaches of its 2015 nuclear deal and this could mean reimposing international sanctions on Tehran, though Europe still wants to save the accord, the German foreign minister said on Monday. Iran said last week it had resumed low-grade uranium enrichment at its underground Fordow nuclear plant and at the weekend said it could refine up to 60% of fissile purity, not far off the 90% level needed for nuclear bomb fuel - its most significant breaches of the deal with world powers.

Sistani backs UN ideas to ease Iraq crisis, concerned elites not serious: UN official

Iraq's top Shi'ite cleric is concerned the political elite is not serious about enacting promised reforms to defuse mass unrest and believes protesters will not go home without concrete steps to realize their demands, a senior U.N. official said. More than 280 people have been killed in protests that erupted in Baghdad on Oct. 1 and spread to the southern Shi'ite heartland, seeking an overhaul of a corruption-ridden sectarian political system, more jobs and functioning public services.

Hong Kong violence prompts reminder that China troops close at hand

Hong Kong police shot and critically wounded a protester and a man was set on fire on Monday in violence that prompted leader Carrie Lam to denounce "enemies of the people" and which drew a chilling warning from a senior Chinese newspaper editor. Protesters threw petrol bombs at police after a weekend of clashes across the Chinese-ruled territory, marking a dramatic escalation in more than five months of often violent pro-democracy unrest.

One Semafo worker still missing after deadly Burkina convoy attack: CEO

One worker is still missing in Burkina Faso after last week's attack on a convoy carrying employees of Canadian gold miner Semafo, its chief executive, Benoit Desormeaux, said at a briefing in the Burkinabe capital on Monday. He had been asked how many workers were still unaccounted for following the ambush on the Semafo convoy in the eastern region of Est last Wednesday. At least 39 were killed, making it the worst such attack for years in a country plagued by jihadist violence.

German pensions deal shows coalition is working: ruling parties

A deal on a higher basic pension for low-income workers that Germany's ruling parties clinched on Sunday shows their alliance can deliver results and should carry on governing, senior officials from both camps said. Disagreement over the basic pension, or Grundrente, was the latest issue to test the awkward coalition between Chancellor Angela Merkel's conservatives and their Social Democrat (SPD) partners until they broke the deadlock on Sunday.

Austrian conservative leader Kurz backs coalition talks with Greens

Austrian conservative leader Sebastian Kurz said on Monday he plans to hold formal coalition talks with the Greens, but warned that a deal bringing the left-wing party into government for the first time was uncertain and would require unusual creativity. Kurz and his People's Party (OVP) came first in a parliamentary election on Sept. 29, but need a coalition partner to form a government that commands a majority in parliament. Exploratory talks with the Greens aimed at laying the groundwork for fully fledged coalition talks ended on Friday.

(With inputs from agencies.)

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