Opposition lawmakers in Nauru's Parliament ousted President Rene Harris' government yesterday in a vote of no-confidence and elected Ludwig Scotty as leader in the latest twist in this tiny Pacific island nation's political turmoil.
The change may break a deadlock in the 18-member legislature over how to deal with the country's economy, which is on the verge of bankruptcy. Nauru has been financially crippled from corruption and waste of its natural resources for years.
PHOTO: AFP
Harris' ouster came while he was in Australia negotiating a deal with creditors on payment of US$172 million owed to US firm General Electric Capital Corp.
The no-confidence vote was taken after Finance Minister Kinza Clodumar dropped his support for Harris in Parliament and backed Scotty, Nauru Embassy official Helen Bogdan said.
"They've elected Ludwig Scotty as president, and he appointed Mr. Clodumar as finance minister in his government," she said.
It was not immediately clear why Clodumar switched sides, but Bogdan said the finance minister was "obviously not happy with the government of Rene Harris."
Leadership of Nauru has switched numerous times in the past decade -- last year, it changed three times in a single month. Allegiances are made by politicians individually and Harris' collection of allies had not even formed a party.
Harris, who was in Melbourne yesterday, told reporters, "I'm not disappointed in losing power, that doesn't last forever, but I'm disappointed in my dear friend who crossed the floor, whom I thought was a friend, but not so."
Former Justice Minister Russel Kun said Monday that Harris had planned to dissolve Parliament and call fresh elections because the legislature was at an impasse.
"Government can't legislate or anything, the house can't legislate or whatever. No business is going forward," Kun told Radio New Zealand.
Airlines in Australia, Hong Kong, India, Malaysia and Singapore yesterday canceled flights to and from the Indonesian island of Bali, after a nearby volcano catapulted an ash tower into the sky. Australia’s Jetstar, Qantas and Virgin Australia all grounded flights after Mount Lewotobi Laki-Laki on Flores island spewed a 9km tower a day earlier. Malaysia Airlines, AirAsia, India’s IndiGo and Singapore’s Scoot also listed flights as canceled. “Volcanic ash poses a significant threat to safe operations of the aircraft in the vicinity of volcanic clouds,” AirAsia said as it announced several cancelations. Multiple eruptions from the 1,703m twin-peaked volcano in
A plane bringing Israeli soccer supporters home from Amsterdam landed at Israel’s Ben Gurion airport on Friday after a night of violence that Israeli and Dutch officials condemned as “anti-Semitic.” Dutch police said 62 arrests were made in connection with the violence, which erupted after a UEFA Europa League soccer tie between Amsterdam club Ajax and Maccabi Tel Aviv. Israeli flag carrier El Al said it was sending six planes to the Netherlands to bring the fans home, after the first flight carrying evacuees landed on Friday afternoon, the Israeli Airports Authority said. Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu also ordered
Former US House of Representatives speaker Nancy Pelosi said if US President Joe Biden had ended his re-election bid sooner, the Democratic Party could have held a competitive nominating process to choose his replacement. “Had the president gotten out sooner, there may have been other candidates in the race,” Pelosi said in an interview on Thursday published by the New York Times the next day. “The anticipation was that, if the president were to step aside, that there would be an open primary,” she said. Pelosi said she thought the Democratic candidate, US Vice President Kamala Harris, “would have done
Farmer Liu Bingyong used to make a tidy profit selling milk but is now leaking cash — hit by a dairy sector crisis that embodies several of China’s economic woes. Milk is not a traditional mainstay of Chinese diets, but the Chinese government has long pushed people to drink more, citing its health benefits. The country has expanded its dairy production capacity and imported vast numbers of cattle in recent years as Beijing pursues food self-sufficiency. However, chronically low consumption has left the market sloshing with unwanted milk — driving down prices and pushing farmers to the brink — while
RSS