UN Security Council approves US resolution on Gaza

Today's headlines: Vietnam orders the arrest of a journalist in Berlin for anti-state activities; 45 Indian pilgrims killed in a bus accident while travelling from Mecca to Medina; Taiwan arrests Chinese citizen for espionage; In Singapore, a 24-year-old Malaysian man is charged with fraud amounting to .5 million.

GAZA - UN

The UN Security Council has approved the US resolution endorsing Trump's 20-point plan for Gaza with 13 votes in favour and China and Russia abstaining. It provides for the establishment of an International Stabilisation Force (ISF) with the tasks of maintaining security at the borders and disarmament; several Arab countries will cooperate with Israel and Egypt. Hamas rejected the resolution. A transitional governing body called the Peace Board (BoP) was also approved, which will oversee the government of a technocratic and apolitical Palestinian committee and supervise the reconstruction of Gaza - to be financed by a trust fund supported by the World Bank - and the provision of humanitarian aid.

VIETNAM

Vietnam has issued an arrest warrant for a journalist from a Berlin-based news site, Thoibao.de, known for its critical articles about Hanoi's leaders. The Communist Party in Vietnam maintains strict censorship of the media, particularly in the run-up to its five-yearly congress, scheduled for January. Le Trung Khoa, 54, who claims to be a German citizen, is accused of producing “information, materials and objects for the purpose of opposing the state”. The newspaper has described the action as “cross-border criminalisation without the presence of the accused”.

INDIA - SAUDI ARABIA

45 Indian Muslim pilgrims were killed after the bus they were travelling in caught fire in an accident near Medina, Saudi Arabia. The bus was carrying 46 passengers, adding that one man who survived the accident was admitted to the intensive care unit of a local hospital. Most of the victims were from Hyderabad, in the southern state of Telangana. The pilgrims were travelling from Mecca to Medina.

TAIWAN - CHINA

Taiwan said it had arrested a Chinese citizen on espionage charges after foiling an operation to persuade serving and retired military personnel to provide confidential information. Taiwan, which is democratically governed and considered by China to be part of its territory, has denounced Beijing's intensified espionage activities on the island, including within the presidential office, and has taken measures to try to stop them.

SINGAPORE - MALAYSIA

Bernard Goh Yie Shen, a 24-year-old Malaysian, was charged in court with overseeing the operations of a scam centre in Cambodia that targeted victims in Singapore. He is charged under the Organised Crime Act. His supervision of a telephone scam centre in Phnom Penh allegedly facilitated the illegal activities of a local organised crime group. He is responsible for at least 438 cases of fraud, with losses of at least US.5 million.

RUSSIA

The Orthodox Metropolitan of the Russian city of Saratov, Ignatij (Deputatov), has appointed his priests as assistants to the 17 women's counselling centres in state hospitals in the region and the two perinatal centres in the city of Saratov, in southern Russia, with the aim of “doing everything possible to combat the practice of abortion” and to provide ‘spiritual assistance to patients and medical staff’ with the aim of ‘eliminating destructive tendencies and Western ideals that promote any form of moral deviation’.

ARMENIA - USA

US Deputy Assistant Secretary of State for Political Affairs Allison Hooker arrived in Armenia to support President Donald Trump's plans for peace and security in the Caucasus region, meeting with Prime Minister Nikol Pashinyan, Foreign Minister Ararat Mirzoyan, Security Council Secretary Armen Grigoryan and Armenia's special envoy for normalising relations with Turkey, Ruben Rubinyan.

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