North America

Obama says Trump soon to face sobering ‘reality’ check

by Andrew BEATTY President Barack Obama cautioned against dire predictions for Donald Trump’s presidency Monday, saying his Republican successor faces a reality check if he tries to enact his most controversial campaign promises. The outgoing Democratic leader made his comments at a wide-ranging news conference before he embarked on a farewell visit to Europe to reassure worried allies about a man he once warned was “unfit” to lead the United States. Trump’s election win last […]

Facebook had tool to weed out fake news: report

WASHINGTON, United States (AFP) — Facebook had a tool to weed out fake news circulating on the social network this year but declined to deploy it for fear of offending conservatives, a report said Monday. The report by the online news site Gizmodo comes with Facebook under fire for allowing hoaxes and misinformation to go viral and — according to some critics — boost the efforts of Republican Donald Trump in his successful presidential run. […]

Obama leaves US on final foreign trip — to Greece, Germany and Peru

WASHINGTON, United States (AFP) — US President Barack Obama headed across the Atlantic late Monday on his final foreign trip while in office — a farewell tour of Europe and a summit with Asia-Pacific leaders to reassure concerned allies after Donald Trump’s election. Obama will first go to Greece, his first trip to the birthplace of democracy, where he will visit the Parthenon and hold talks with the country’s leaders. Security will be tight in central […]

EU split on defence plans after Trump win

  by Bryan McManus BRUSSELS, Belgium (AFP) – Sharp differences surfaced Monday as EU foreign ministers debated ambitious plans to boost the bloc’s military role, amid fears Donald Trump’s election jeopardises Washington’s historic security guarantee. US president-elect Trump has shocked Europe by casting doubt over US commitments to NATO unless European allies increase defence spending, sparking calls for the European Union to press ahead on its own. Britain has long opposed any such plans as […]

Trump vows to immediately deport up to three million immigrants: interview

WASHINGTON, United States (AFP) — Donald Trump will keep his vow to deport millions of undocumented migrants from the United States, he said in an interview to be broadcast Sunday, saying as many as three million could be removed after he takes office. “What we are going to do is get the people that are criminal and have criminal records, gang members, drug dealers, where a lot of these people, probably two million, it could […]

Obama on farewell tour to Europe fearful of ‘Trump effect’

by Jerome CARTILLIER WASHINGTON, United States (AFP) — Barack Obama will travel Monday to Greece and Germany in a final official visit designed, in a strange bit of political contortion, at reassuring worried Europeans about a man he once warned was “unfit” for the presidency: Donald Trump. The irony is cruel: In the name of a peaceful transition, the American president, having thoroughly denounced the billionaire Republican during the recent campaign, must now do his […]

Trump seeks to calm protests — and reassure own camp

NEW YORK, United States (AFP) — Donald Trump sought in his first televised interview as president-elect to reassure Americans fearful of a crackdown on minorities — while assuring his core supporters he will not let them down on gun rights, abortion or immigration. The Republican billionaire — whose shock election on a populist and anti-immigration platform has spurred days of protests — told demonstrators they have no reason to fear his presidency. “Don’t be afraid. We […]

Trump and his aides plan next moves as protests spread

  by Thomas Urbain New York, United States | AFP | — President-elect Donald Trump was expected to huddle with advisers at his Manhattan residence Sunday, plotting next moves after thousands of protesters besieged Trump Tower and marched in other US cities for a fourth day. The demonstrations have become daily affairs following Trump’s upset defeat of rival Hillary Clinton, who blamed FBI director James Comey for her loss during a conference call to campaign […]

Zuckerberg sure fake news on Facebook didn’t sway election

SAN FRACISCO, United States (AFP) — Facebook chief Mark Zuckerberg on Thursday rejected the idea that bogus stories shared at the social network paved a path of victory for President-elect Donald Trump. “The idea that fake news on Facebook, which is a very small amount of the content, influenced the election in any way I think is a pretty crazy idea,” Zuckerberg said during an on-stage chat at a Technonomy technology trends conference in California. […]

New Yorkers vent Trump anger on subway Post-it notes

NEW YORK, United States (AFP) — New York commuters are venting anger and frustration over Donald Trump’s shock victory by indulging in collective therapy — writing messages on Post-it notes and sticking them on a subway wall. “Am I the only one who is scared?” “I need a hug” and “I am angry” number among the thousands of messages written on multicolored squares of paper fixed to a tiled wall in a tunnel at Union […]

Fresh protests erupt in several US states over Trump win

      LOS ANGELES, United States (AFP) — Hundreds of people, many of them students who skipped classes, staged fresh protests on Thursday in several US cities in anger at Donald Trump’s election as president. Some 1,000 students, most of them high schoolers, marched through San Francisco’s financial district toward City Hall chanting “Not my president!” and blocking traffic. “We are protesting because we want to stand up for our rights and we deserve […]