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MONTREAL, Canada (AFP) — The wife of one of two Canadians imprisoned in China said Sunday she is “disappointed” by Prime Minister Justin Trudeau’s refusal to consider a swap for a detained Huawei executive facing extradition to the United States. Trudeau firmly rejected appeals that he intervene in the extradition proceedings against Meng Wanzhou, Huawei’s chief financial officer, in order to win the release of Canadians Michael Kovrig and Michael Spavor. Trudeau said such a […]
HANOI, Vietnam (AFP) — Vietnam on Friday warned the virus pandemic had swept away years of economic gains as Southeast Asia leaders met online for a summit that will also be dominated by anxiety over Beijing’s moves in the flashpoint the South China Sea. The current chair of the Association of Southeast Asian Nations (ASEAN) also wants to use the summit to inject momentum into talks on a sprawling China-backed trade pact, the Regional Comprehensive […]
by Fiachra GIBBONS Agence France-Presse PARIS, France (AFP) — A top French historian slammed President Emmanuel Macron on Wednesday for trying to shut down debate on the country’s colonial past as a prominent statue linked to slavery was attacked in Paris. Macron all but ignored the wave of Black Lives Matter protests in a major television address last week except to warn that France would not take down statues of controversial historical figures. “The Republic […]
HARARE, Zimbabwe (AFP) — Zimbabwe on Wednesday announced a 150 percent rise in the price of fuel following the launch of a forex auction system which eroded the value of the local currency. The price of a litre of diesel jumped 152 percent to ZW$62.77 ($1.12) from ZW$24.93 while petrol shot up 147 percent to ZW$71.62, the country’s Energy Regulatory Authority said in a notice. The central bank re-introduced forex auctioning on Tuesday, the first […]
WASHINGTON D.C., United States (AFP) — NASA said Wednesday that it will rename its Washington headquarters after its first black female engineer, Mary Jackson, whose story was told in the hit film “Hidden Figures.” “Mary W. Jackson was part of a group of very important women who helped NASA succeed in getting American astronauts into space,” NASA administrator Jim Bridenstine said in a statement. “Mary never accepted the status quo, she helped break barriers and […]
by Jonathan BROWN Agence France-Presse MOSCOW, Russia (AFP) — Columns of tanks and troops will parade through Red Square on Wednesday as President Vladimir Putin oversees grand World War II commemorations to stir up patriotic fervour ahead of a vote on extending his rule. Forced to postpone the country’s traditional May 9 Victory Day celebrations by the coronavirus pandemic, Putin rescheduled the parade for just a week ahead of a July 1 public vote on […]
SINGAPORE, Singapore (AFP) — The Singapore prime minister’s estranged brother said Wednesday he has joined an opposition party ahead of elections next month, presenting a new challenge to the country’s long-ruling government. The city-state’s parliament was dissolved Tuesday for a general election on July 10, even as the country struggles to recover from a major coronavirus outbreak that has swept through migrant worker dormitories. Lee Hsien Yang is locked in a long-running row with his […]
BISHKEK, Kyrgyzstan (AFP) — Kyrgyzstan’s former president was sentenced to 11 years in jail Tuesday over the illegal release of a crime boss, in a case that caused a power struggle with his successor to turn violent. The presiding judge at a court in the capital Bishkek handed Almazbek Atambayev the sentence of 11 years and two months and ruled the ex-leader be stripped of all-state honors as well as his homes and businesses. Atambayev, […]
by Cyril JULIEN Agence France-Presse WASHINGTON D.C., United States (AFP) — As the wave of anti-racism protests rocking the United States brings down monuments to figures linked to the country’s history of slavery, the spotlight is shifting to historic characters long considered untouchable. Although protesters initially focused on removing statues of Confederate generals, the movement has begun to turn its focus to icons of US history, including the nation’s founders Thomas Jefferson and George Washington, […]
by Adrian DENNIS READING, United Kingdom (AFP) — Three people were killed and three seriously injured when an assailant went on a stabbing rampage in a park filled with people relaxing in the southern English city of Reading on Saturday, police said. The Thames Valley Police said they had launched a murder investigation and were not treating the incident as terror-related after making one arrest at the scene. Prime Minister Boris Johnson condemned the “appalling […]
by Tom BARFIELD Agence France-Presse GELSENKIRCHEN, Germany (AFP) — A divisive new monument to Soviet leader Lenin was unveiled in Germany on Saturday, in the middle of a global row over the controversial background of historical figures immortalised as statues. More than 30 years after the post-World War II communist experiment on German soil ended, the tiny Marxist-Leninist Party of Germany (MLPD) installed Lenin’s likeness in the western city of Gelsenkirchen. A few hundred gathered […]
SEOUL, South Korea (AFP) — North Korea said on Monday it has readied thousands of balloons and millions of leaflets in preparation for “retaliatory punishment” against South Korea. The detail, in a state media report, came a day after the North said it was preparing to begin an anti-South leaflet campaign following a series of vitriolic condemnations of Seoul because of anti-North leaflets floated over the border. Defectors in the South send such leaflets which […]
