RAMALLAH: A decision by President Mahmoud Abbas to form a Supreme Judicial Council headed by himself has caused anger among Palestinian human rights institutions and opposition political parties.

Human rights experts told Arab News that Abbas was exploiting the absence of the Palestinian Legislative Council to dish out legislation that served the interests of influential groups both within the Palestinian Authority and businesses.

KHARTOUM: Some 3,000 protesters in Khartoum on Saturday rejected UN mediation efforts between civilian and military leaders as “foreign interference” and called for religious rule in Sudan, an AFP correspondent said.

A military coup led by army chief Gen. Abdel Fattah Al-Burhan last year derailed a fragile transition to civilian rule after the 2019 ouster of long-time autocrat Omar Bashir.

CAIRO: The Egyptian government has provided 210 environmentally friendly buses to transport delegates during the 2022 United Nations Climate Change Conference — COP27 — which will take place in Sharm El-Sheikh from Nov. 7-18.

One hundred of the buses will run on natural gas, while the rest are electric. 

“The buses are equipped with Wi-Fi, phone chargers, display screens and a ramp for people with disabilities,” Ahmed Fayez, one of the supervisors of the transportation process, told Arab News.

LONDON: The Arab League is seeking a new start for joint Arab action and global developments should not affect the pursuit of solving Arab issues, said Algerian Foreign Minister Ramtane Lamamra on Saturday.
His comments came during an Arab Ministerial Council meeting in Algeria, where Lamamra took over the rotating presidency of the 31st Arab Summit from his Tunisian counterpart Othman Al-Jarandi.

BEIRUT: Lebanon’s president settled scores with political opponents as he prepared to leave office, criticizing parliament for failing to elect his replacement and stating that the caretaker government was happy to see the country remain paralyzed.

Michel Aoun also railed against a “hostile” media, claimed he was “conspired against” in efforts to tackle corruption, and held Najib Mikati, the caretaker prime minister, responsible for failing to form a government before the end of his presidential term.