International

Trump pushes immigration plan as Senate mulls narrower path

WASHINGTON, United States (AFP) — President Donald Trump on Wednesday was on a collision course over immigration with US senators including some within his own party, as they struggled to reach a solution protecting 1.8 million immigrants from deportation. With senators racing against a self-imposed deadline to strike a deal this week, Trump demanded the chamber rally around his proposal, which puts the “Dreamer” immigrants who were brought to the country illegally as children on a pathway […]

At least 19 migrants killed in Libya truck crash: hospital

TRIPOLI, Libya (AFP) — At least 19 migrants were killed on Wednesday and more than 100 injured when the truck transporting them crashed in Libya, a hospital said. Over 300 migrants, mostly Eritrean and Somali nationals, were on board the vehicle which overturned near the town of Bani Walid. A child was among the at least 19 migrants killed in the accident, the head of the town’s hospital, Mohamad al-Mabrouk, told AFP. The hospital, which had earlier given […]

Ramaphosa: Trade unionist, tycoon and S.Africa’s likely next leader

by Gregory Walton © Agence France-Presse CAPE TOWN, South Africa (AFP) — Cyril Ramaphosa’s long and eventful career has taken him from trade union activist to multi-millionaire — and is now likely to become president of South Africa. After South Africa dismantled apartheid, Ramaphosa saw his hopes for the country’s top job apparently dashed. True to his pragmatic character, he opted instead for life in business — a move that brought him spectacular wealth. But Wednesday’s announcement […]

Zimbabwe opposition leader Tsvangirai dies at 65

by Fanuel Jongwe  © Agence France-Presse HARARE, Zimbabwe (AFP) — Morgan Tsvangirai, the veteran Zimbabwean opposition leader who confronted Robert Mugabe’s regime for many years, died on Wednesday after a battle with cancer, a party official said. He was 65. Tsvangirai, who founded the Movement for Democratic Change (MDC) party in 1999, was among the most prominent critics of Mugabe, the long-time authoritarian leader who was ousted from power in November. “It is sad for me to […]

Egypt arrests ex-presidential candidate Abul Fotouh: officials

CAIRO, Egypt (AFP) — Egyptian police arrested on Wednesday a leading government critic and party leader Abdel Moneim Abul Fotouh along with five of his aides, security officials said. The reason for the arrest of Abul Fotouh, a candidate in the 2012 presidential election, was not immediately clear. It comes after the arrest of a party deputy leader and a call by Abul Fotouh and several other politicians for a boycott of next month’s election. President Abdel […]

S.Africa’s Zuma resigns ‘with immediate effect’

PRETORIA, South Africa (AFP) — South African President Jacob Zuma announced his immediate resignation on Wednesday after the ruling ANC party threatened to eject him from office via a parliamentary vote of no confidence. Scandal-tainted Zuma said in a 30-minute national television address that he had “come to the decision to resign as president of the republic with immediate effect.” “I have served the people of South Africa to the best of my ability. I am forever […]

Oxfam faces South Sudan abuse claim as sex scandal widens

  by Dario Thuburn Agence France Presse LONDON, United Kingdom (AFP) — Scandal-hit British charity Oxfam was reeling Tuesday after fresh claims of sexual assault and cover-up in South Sudan, as Haiti’s president condemned the behavior of some of its staff in his country as “undignified and dishonest”. The latest revelations by Helen Evans, former global head of safeguarding, heaped pressure on chief executive Mark Goldring just hours after his deputy resigned over a scandal […]

Saakashvili forced out of Ukraine, but for how long?

by Ania Tsukanova Agence France-Presse KIEV, Ukraine (AFP) – By deporting him to Poland, President Petro Poroshenko may have managed to get rid of his arch-enemy Mikheil Saakashvili for now. But the speed and brutality of the former Georgian president and current opposition leader’s arrest and exile may damage the Ukranian government’s reformist image in the West. Putting an end to the latest chapter of a high-profile, months-long saga, Saakashvili was arrested Monday by masked men at […]

In German political chaos, ‘rubble woman’ to the rescue

by Frank Zeller Agence France-Presse BERLIN, Germany (AFP) – Germany’s chaos-wracked Social Democrats have named Andrea Nahles as their designated next leader, meaning women will soon be in the driver’s seats of the two biggest parties and shifting a long-skewed gender balance in politics. Alongside Chancellor Angela Merkel, Nahles is set to join a growing band of women heading, or co-leading, German political parties despite the fact that female lawmakers still account for fewer than one third […]

Boris Johnson warns against Brexit ‘betrayal’

LONDON, United Kingdom (AFP) – British Foreign Secretary Boris Johnson will on Wednesday use a major speech to warn that attempts to frustrate Brexit would lead to “ineradicable feelings of betrayal.” Johnson, who was one of the leading campaigners behind Brexit, will also urge those who voted to leave the European Union to make peace with those who wanted to stay in the bloc, with the issue still the cause of deep divisions in British society. During […]

Prince Henrik, husband of Denmark’s Queen Margrethe II, dies

STOCKHOLM, Sweden (AFP) — Prince Henrik, the French-born husband of Denmark’s Queen Margrethe II, has died, the palace announced Wednesday. He was 83. “His Royal Highness Prince Henrik died Tuesday, February 13 at 23:18 at Fredensborg Castle,” a royal residence about 40 kilometers (25 miles) north of Copenhagen, surrounded by his wife and their two sons, the palace statement said. The palace had warned Tuesday that the prince, who had been in hospital since January […]

France threatens Syria strikes if chemical attacks proven

PARIS, France (AFP) – France will launch strikes if proof emerges that the Syrian regime has used banned chemical weapons against its civilians, President Emmanuel Macron said Tuesday. “We will strike the place where these launches are made or where they are organized,” Macron told the presidential press corps. “But today our services have not established proof that proscribed chemical weapons have been used against civilian populations,” he added. “As soon as such proof is established, […]