RAMALLAH, West Bank – A Palestinian gunman ambushed a family traveling in a car in the West Bank on Friday, killing an Israeli man and wounding his wife and two teenage children in an assault that prompted the military to send hundreds of troops to the area – the largest operation in the territory in two years.
The army also imposed a closure on the Hebron district, a flashpoint area where many of the recent attacks have stemmed from.
Additionally, Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu said Israel will reduce the amount of tax revenues it collects on behalf of the Palestinians each month, saying that some of the money was being given to families of attackers.
VIENNA – In a move that could turn into the next blow to the EU after Britain’s exit vote, Austria’s highest court on Friday ordered a rerun of the country’s presidential election. The landmark decision gives a right-wing candidate the chance to turn his narrow defeat into victory.
Unprecedented in Austria’s post-war history, the court ruling also appeared to be unique within the European Union and is looming large in the wake of Britain’s vote to leave the 28-nation bloc.
The decision, announced by Constitutional Court Chief Judge Gerhart Holzinger, represents a victory for the right-wing Freedom Party, which had challenged the May 22 runoff on claims of widespread irregularities. It comes just a week before independent politician Alexander Van der Bellen was to be sworn in as president and 40 days after he was declared the winner of the vote.
A chance by Freedom Party candidate Norbert Hofer to turn his loss into a win would boost not only his party but also far-right and nationalist movements elsewhere in Europe who are all lobbying for a weaker EU or an outright exit from the bloc.
HONG KONG – Tens of thousands of Hong Kongers took to the southern Chinese city’s streets for an annual pro-democracy protest march Friday, as tensions persisted over the high-profile case of a bookseller secretly detained in the mainland.
Protesters waved placards calling for Hong Kong’s independence from China and signs with photos of the bookseller, Lam Wing-kee, whose revelations last month about his ordeal rekindled concerns about Beijing’s tightening grip on the semiautonomous city.
Lam is one of five booksellers who went missing for months only to turn up later in mainland China, either detained or involved in investigations.
Their disappearances sparked international concern that Beijing was eroding Hong Kong’s considerable autonomy and rule of law.
Associated Press
