Briefly

SWITZERLAND

UN calls for 'reboot' of refugee response

The United Nations urged governments, businesses and others on Tuesday to "reboot" the world's response to refugees as the number of people fleeing their homes rises along with hostility to migrants. The first Global Refugee Forum, being hosted in Geneva by the UN and Switzerland on Tuesday and Wednesday, is meant to draw pledges to pave the way for a fairer and more coordinated approach to hosting and integrating refugees worldwide. At the end of 2018, nearly 71 million people were living in forced displacement due to war, violence and persecution, including nearly 26 million people who had fled across borders as refugees.

LEBANON

Shiites vent anger after political delay

Supporters of Lebanon's two main Shiite groups, Hezbollah and Amal, clashed with security forces and set cars alight in the capital Beirut early on Tuesday. The violence was apparently triggered by a video circulating online that showed a man insulting Shiite figures. Police used tear gas and water cannons to disperse them. It was the third consecutive night of violence, and came hours after Lebanon's President Michel Aoun postponed talks on naming a new prime minister, further prolonging the turmoil and unrest in the Mediterranean country.

THE PHILIPPINES

3-vehicle accident claims 9 lives

At least nine people were killed and 10 others injured in a crash involving three vehicles on a highway early on Tuesday morning in the town of Cardona in Rizal Province, east of Manila, police said. The accident, which happened around 5:30 am local time, involved a dump truck, a trailer truck and a passenger jeepney. The brakes of one of the trucks may have failed while negotiating a curve, causing it to plunge into several houses on a ravine, while the other truck collided with a jeepney, according to the police.

THAILAND

Fishermen protest tough regulations

Several thousand Thai fishermen protested outside the Agriculture Ministry on Tuesday over strict regulations aimed at combating illegal and unregulated fishing which they say are driving them out of business. Thailand, one of the world's largest seafood exporters, began cracking down on illegal, unreported and unregulated fishing four years ago after the European Union threatened to ban its seafood exports.

MIDDLE EAST

Egypt deal makes Israel a gas player

Israel became a major energy exporter for the first time on Monday after signing a permit to export natural gas to Egypt. The announcement came just days before a lucrative Israeli gas field in the Mediterranean Sea is expected to go online. Israeli Energy Minister Yuval Steinitz called the permit a "historic landmark" for Israel. He said it's the most significant economic cooperation project between the neighboring countries since they signed a peace deal in 1979.

SOUTH KOREA

Income inequality hits record low

Income inequality in South Korea hit a record low last year on the government's income-led economic policy to bolster earnings of the low-income bracket, government data showed on Tuesday. The Gini coefficient, also called Gini index, stood at 0.345 in 2018, down 0.009 from the previous year, according to joint data from Statistics Korea, the Bank of Korea and the Financial Supervisory Service. It was the lowest since relevant data began to be compiled in 2011.