Washington / AFP With his shock victory in the race for the White House, President-elect Donald Trump at last is in position to deliver on one of his most strident campaign promises: to repeal Obamacare. With fellow Republicans in control of the US Congress, Trump has the means and ostensibly a mandate from his party to gut the law. But ...

  Seoul / AFP South Korean prosecutors said on Sunday that President Park Geun-Hye colluded with her close confidante in a corruption and influence-peddling scandal that has sparked massive nationwide protests and calls for her impeachment. Park’s longtime friend Choi Soon-Sil was charged on Sunday with coercion and abuse of power, as was one of the president’s former aides. Another presidential ...

  Paris / AFP France’s right-wing presidential hopefuls kick off their nominating contest on Sunday as a sudden tightening of the race cast doubt on ex-president Nicolas Sarkozy’s chances of regaining the Elysee Palace. A late surge by the third-placed Francois Fillon, who was prime minister under Sarkozy, catapulted him into pole position for the first-round primary vote. A voter survey ...

  Berlin / AFP German Chancellor Angela Merkel told her party on Sunday she will seek re-election next year, a move likely to be welcomed in many capitals as a sign of stability following poll triumphs for Brexit and Donald Trump. After months of feverish speculation, Merkel said at a meeting of her conservative Christian Democrats (CDU) that she would run ...

  Istanbul / AFP President Recep Tayyip Erdogan says Turkey should not be “fixated” on joining the EU and has reiterated the idea of joining Russia and China in a Eurasian security group, local media reported on Sunday. His comments come as Turkey’s decades-long hopes of joining the European Union have reached a nadir, driven by the aftermath of the ...

  DUBAI / Reuters Saudi Arabia’s government has made payments of 40 billion riyals ($10.7 billion) that it owed to private sector companies, the kingdom’s Arab News newspaper quoted a senior construction industry executive as saying. With its oil revenues slashed by low crude prices, the government of the world’s largest oil exporter has cut spending sharply this year and ...

  Riyadh / Emirates Business The Kingdom of Saudi Arabia is realizing Saudi Vision 2030 energy goals with advanced offshore construction technology, experts announced on Sunday in the build-up to ADIPEC 2016. Saudi Vision 2030 aims to increase oil and gas localization from 40 percent to 75 percent. Supporting these energy goals, leading Middle East’s leading firms are driving investment ...

  DUBAI / Reuters Iranian Oil Minister Bijan Zanganeh expressed optimism on Saturday about an upcoming OPEC meeting and said crude prices could jump to $55 a barrel if an agreement is reached and non-OPEC producers cooperate. “We are receiving positive signals that increase the likelihood of agreement at the meeting … and I’m optimistic about the situation,” Zanganeh told ...

  Dubai / Emirates Business USGBORAL ME, the renowned manufacturer of interior finishing products, has begun production of metal ceiling panels from its Dammam factory in Saudi Arabia, the newest and latest plant for metal ceiling in the region for the past 5 years. The move marks a major expansion of the company’s product portfolio, which comprises plasterboard, ceiling lining ...

  Aleppo / AFP Syria’s regime on Sunday pursued a relentless assault of rebel-held east Aleppo that has killed more than 100 civilians in recent days, as the UN’s peace envoy arrived in Damascus for talks. Air strikes, artillery fire and barrel bomb attacks continued through the night and into Sunday morning as the army pressed a new offensive that ...