Tag: politics

10,000 protesters defy Thai crackdown after emergency decree, arrests

by Thanaporn PROMYAMYAI and Lisa MARTIN BANGKOK, Thailand (AFP) — Some 10,000 Thai protesters gathered Thursday in defiance of a sweeping crackdown after authorities moved to crush months of pro-democracy demonstrations by imposing emergency powers and rounding up leading activists. Protesters chanted “Prayut get out!” and “Free our friends!” as they confronted police at Ratchaprasong, a busy junction in central Bangkok, despite a new decree that bans gatherings of more than four people — aimed […]

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More than 20 protesters arrested in Thailand

  BANGKOK, Thailand (AFP) — Thai police arrested more than 20 people under sweeping new emergency measures Thursday, with pro-democracy activists reporting a handful of high-profile leaders were among those detained. The arrests came after thousands gathered in Bangkok, including on the route of a royal motorcade, with many raising a defiant three-fingers. The salute, borrowed from the “Hunger Games” books and films, has been harnessed by the youth-led movement as a symbol calling for […]

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Ten million Americans have already voted in election: tracker

WASHINGTON, United States (AFP) — More than 10 million Americans have already cast their ballots in the US presidential contest, a tracking group said late Monday, a record pace three weeks before election day November 3. “Voters have cast a total of 10,296,180 ballots in the reporting states,” the US Elections Project of the University of Florida reported on its website. The project said the early-vote count is multiple times higher than it was at […]

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Organizers cancel Oct 15 US presidential debate

  WASHINGTON, United States (AFP) — The Commission on Presidential Debates said Friday it has cancelled next week’s showdown between Donald Trump and his challenger Joe Biden, after the president said he would not participate in a virtual format. “Each (candidate) now has announced alternate plans for that date,” the commission said in a statement, adding “it is now apparent there will be no debate on October 15.” The move leaves just one more debate […]

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Kyrgyz president ‘ready to resign’

BISHKEK, Kyrgyzstan (AFP) — Kyrgyz President Sooronbay Jeenbekov is “ready to resign” in a bid to end post-vote chaos enveloping the Central Asian country, he said in an address published Friday on his website. Jeenbekov said he could resign once a date for fresh elections had been set and changes in government had been confirmed by parliament and his office. “After legitimate executive authorities are approved and we are back on the path of lawfulness, […]

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Yoo Myung-hee: Glass-ceiling breaker aiming for WTO chief

by Kang Jin-kyu SEOUL, South Korea (AFP) — South Korean Trade Minister Yoo Myung-hee, one of the two women vying to be the next head of the World Trade Organization, is known at home as a glass-ceiling breaker in still male-dominated society. An English literature graduate of the elite Seoul National University, she set aside her dreams of a literary career to become a trade ministry civil servant in 1995. “There were no veteran trade […]

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After White House, Covid-19 breaches Pentagon

  by Sylvie LANTEAUME Agence France Presse WASHINGTON, United States (AFP) — The US commander-in-chief has Covid-19 and the top military brass are isolating as the coronavirus pandemic takes a toll on the national security establishment of the most powerful nation in the world. As Covid-19 breached the walls of the Pentagon, the Defense Department was quick to stress on Tuesday that there had been “no change to the operational readiness or mission capability of […]

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Singapore PM’s defamation suit against blogger begins

  SINGAPORE (AFP) — Singapore’s leader criticized “malicious and baseless” claims in an article linking him to a corruption scandal, as he testified on Tuesday at the start of his defamation suit against a blogger. Prime Minister Lee Hsien Loong is suing Leong Sze Hian after the blogger shared an article on Facebook linking the premier to the money-laundering scandal at state fund 1MDB in neighbouring Malaysia. Leaders in the tightly controlled city-state have frequently […]

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Close Trump aide Hope Hicks tests positive for Covid-19: US media

WASHINGTON, United States (AFP) — One of President Donald Trump’s closest advisors, Hope Hicks, has tested positive for Covid-19, US media reported Thursday. The White House would not officially confirm the reports from The New York Times, Bloomberg and other outlets that Hicks has the virus. The spotlight will immediately turn to Trump himself, since Hicks was traveling with him on Air Force One just this Tuesday to fly to Cleveland for the first presidential […]

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US Senate passes stopgap to prevent government shutdown

  WASHINGTON, United States (AFP) — The US Senate passed a budget bill Wednesday that avoids an imminent government shutdown and extends funding weeks beyond the November 3 presidential election, after Democrats reached a deal with the White House and Republicans. The bipartisan text, which easily cleared the Senate 84 votes to 10 a week after it passed the House of Representatives, now goes to the White House. President Donald Trump would need to sign […]

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Kuwait to swear in new emir after death of ruler

by Salima Lebel KUWAIT CITY, Kuwait (AFP) — Kuwait prepared Wednesday to swear in its new emir, Sheikh Nawaf al-Ahmad Al-Sabah, and to receive the body of his half-brother, the late ruler Sheikh Sabah who died in the US at the age of 91. The body of Sheikh Sabah al-Ahmad Al-Sabah, an acclaimed diplomat and mediator who ruled for 14 years, is expected to arrive in Kuwait City later on Wednesday. He died the day […]

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Kuwait’s emir Sheikh Sabah dies at age 91: palace

KUWAIT CITY, Kuwait (AFP) — Kuwait’s emir Sheikh Sabah al-Ahmad Al-Sabah, regarded as the architect of the nation’s modern foreign policy, died on Tuesday at the age of 91, according to the royal court. “With great sadness and sorrow, we mourn… the death of Sheikh Sabah al-Ahmad al-Jaber Al-Sabah, Emir of the State of Kuwait,” said Sheikh Ali Jarrah Al-Sabah, the minister in charge of royal affairs, in a televised statement. State television had cut […]

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