News In Brief

Africans fail to get UN support for AU-UN envoy for Libya
AP, United Nations
African members of the Security Council tried unsuccessfully Wednesday to appoint a joint African Union-United Nations envoy for conflict-torn Libya, in an apparent attempt to replace current U.N. envoy Ghassan Salame.
South Africa, Ivory Coast and Equatorial Guinea were following up on decisions by the AU High Level Committee on Libya on July 8 and the AU Peace and Security Council on Sept. 27 in New York calling for a joint envoy.

Turkey assault in northeastern Syria
displaced 300,000
AFP, Beirut
Turkey’s week-old offensive against Kurdish-controlled areas of northeastern Syria has displaced more than 300,000 people, a war monitor said Thursday.
“More than 300,000 civilians have been displaced since the start of the offensive,” Rami Abdel Rahman, head of the Syrian Observatory for Human Rights, said.

UK Labour MP resigns over
‘anti-Jewish racism’
AFP, London
An MP for Britain’s opposition Labour Party has resigned, accusing leader Jeremy Corbyn of allowing anti-Semitism to flourish in the party.
Louise Ellman warned that, with a possible general election upcoming, a Corbyn premiership could pose a “threat” to the country.

Two Americans detained in east China
AFP, Beijing
Two Americans who run an English teaching business in China have been detained in the east of the country, according to their company, which said they were being held on “bogus” charges.
Jacob Harlan, a father of five, and Alyssa Petersen were nabbed in Jiangsu province last month, their Idaho-based company China Horizons said on its Facebook page. A gofundme.com page set up to raise money for Petersen’s legal fees says she was formally charged with “illegally moving people across borders”.