Tag: Leader

Pentagon confirms death of two Qaeda leaders in Afghanistan

WASHINGTON, United States (AFP) — A US strike against a senior Al-Qaeda leader in Afghanistan in October also killed two other senior operatives, the Pentagon said Monday. The Defense Department had already announced the death of Farouq al-Qahtani, Al-Qaeda’s emir for northeastern Afghanistan, who was killed in the October 23 drone strike in Kunar province. On Monday, Pentagon Press Secretary Peter Cook confirmed the strike also killed Bilal al-Utabi, Qahtani’s deputy, as well as Abd […]

Presidents attending, skipping Castro’s funeral rites

HAVANA, Cuba (AFP) — African and Latin American heads of state will attend funeral rites for Cuba’s communist icon Fidel Castro on Tuesday, but US President Barack Obama and several European leaders are staying away. Three days after his death at age 90, the list of attendees and absentees highlights the polarizing effect of the major Cold War player. Western absences – Barack Obama: While the US leader and Fidel’s brother, Cuban President Raul Castro, […]

N. Korea leader Kim Jong-Un gets new ‘top post’

by Park Chan-Kyong PYONGYANG, North Korea (AFP) — North Korea has created a new, supreme governing commission with leader Kim Jong-Un as its chairman, underlining the 33-year-old’s absolute control over every aspect of state policy in the isolated, nuclear-armed nation. The country’s legislative body, the Supreme People’s Assembly (SPA), unanimously voted Kim as head of the State Affairs Commission on Wednesday, the North’s official KCNA news agency said. The new agency replaces the National Defence […]

UK Labor leader clings to power, blasts ‘manoeuvring’

by Michael THURSTON LONDON, United Kingdom (AFP) — Britain’s opposition leader Jeremy Corbyn condemned Monday “internal manoeuvring” after more than half his top team resigned in barely 24 hours, but insisted he would not go himself despite a rising tide of criticism of his role in the Brexit crisis. Twenty members of the Labour leader’s shadow cabinet have so far resigned in a rolling series of departures triggered by Corbyn’s weekend sacking of his foreign […]

UK Labor leader defies revolt over Brexit strategy

by Michael THURSTON LONDON, United Kingdom (AFP) — Britain’s opposition Labor party leader Jeremy Corbyn has insisted he will not quit despite the resignation of 11 members of his top team Sunday over his handling of the EU referendum campaign. Corbyn, widely criticized for his lukewarm support for the Remain camp, said he will not betray the trust of the party members who elected him, and vowed to “reshape” his shadow cabinet starting on Monday. […]

Marine Le Pen hails Brexit, calls for French referendum

PARIS, France (AFP) — French far-right leader Marine Le Pen on Friday hailed Britain’s decision to leave the European Union and called for a similar referendum in France. “Victory for Freedom! As I have been asking for years we must now have the same referendum in France and EU countries,” the National Front (FN) leader tweeted. The eurosceptic, anti-immigration FN has accused the EU of suffering a “democratic deficit” and has long urged all members […]