BANGKOK, Thailand (AFP) — Southeast Asian nations may soon have to “choose sides” between the US and China in their ongoing trade war, the political heir to Cambodia’s strongman ruler Hun Sen warned Wednesday in rare public comments. Impoverished Cambodia has become an unlikely staging ground for geopolitical influence in Asia. In recent years it has turned into a key China ally, heading off criticism of the superpower over its claims to disputed seas […]
Tag: politics
US Army unfurls miles of fencing along border with Mexico
by Thomas Watkins Agence France Presse LAREDO, United States (AFP) — They started work in the cool of the morning and moved quickly, uncoiling reel after reel of vicious-looking fencing and tying it with barbed wire to green poles hammered into the ground. Over the course of three days, a gleaming, shoulders-high barrier of concertina-wire emerged like a silver snake along a lush riverbank, stretching as far as the eye could see. This was […]
Michael Bloomberg donates $1.8 bn for college education
NEW YORK, United States (AFP) — Former New York mayor Michael Bloomberg said Sunday he’s giving $1.8 billion for financial aid at Johns Hopkins University, believed to be the largest ever donation to a post-secondary institution. Bloomberg said he was making the gift to help qualified low-and middle-income students more easily afford access to university in a country where post-secondary education fees at elite schools often exceed $50,000 a year, a prohibitive barrier for most […]
Chilli, punches thrown as Sri Lanka parliament brawls for second day
COLOMBO, Sri Lanka (AFP) — Sri Lanka’s parliamentary speaker had to be escorted into the chamber ringed by police Friday as violence broke out for a second day, with lawmakers throwing chilli powder and furniture in the melee between rival factions in the island’s constitutional crisis. The Indian Ocean nation has been paralyzed since October 26 when President Maithripala Sirisena sacked Ranil Wickremesinghe as premier and replaced him with former strongman Mahinda Rajapakse. Speaker […]
British PM fights rebellion over Brexit deal
by James PHEBY Agence France Presse LONDON, United kingdom (AFP) — British Prime Minister Theresa May battled to salvage a draft Brexit deal and her political future on Thursday, as ministers resigned and members of her own party plotted to oust her. The Conservative leader said she believed with “every fibre of my being” in the Brexit course she had set, hours after facing a hostile parliament and seeing four ministers, including Brexit Secretary Dominic […]
Thais take ASEAN chair, haunted by past summit chaos
by Martin Abbugao and Jerome Taylor Agence France-Presse SINGAPORE (AFP) — Protests, broken windows and dignitaries forced to flee by helicopter — Thailand’s last stint as host of Southeast Asia’s biggest summit was devoured by political chaos. But as the chairmanship of the Association of Southeast Asian Nations (ASEAN) passed Thursday from Singapore to Thailand, Bangkok is hoping unrest will not spoil its year in the spotlight. The annual ASEAN summit has become a major […]
Mattis visits troops on US border, says mission ‘necessary’
WASHINGTON, United States (AFP) — Defense Secretary Jim Mattis said Wednesday that the military operation to harden the US-Mexico frontier was clearly necessary, as he visited troops deployed on the controversial mission. President Donald Trump ordered the deployment in the build-up to last week’s midterm elections, with critics assailing the move as a costly political stunt to mobilize his conservative base. According to Mattis, some 5,900 troops are now at the border. The mission could […]
Facebook shuts more accounts aimed at political meddling
SAN FRANCISCO, United States (AFP) — Facebook on Tuesday said it shut down more accounts aimed at influencing the US midterm election and that it is exploring a possible link to Russia. “As we’ve continued to investigate, we detected and removed some additional Facebook and Instagram accounts,” head of cybersecurity policy Nathaniel Gleicher said in an update posted at the social network. While stressing the challenge of identifying the culprits, he noted that a website […]
Local gov’t officials na dawit sa iligal na droga, kakasuhan ng DILG
(Eagle News) — Tuloy na ang pagsasampa ng kaso ng Department of Interior and Local Government (DILG) laban sa mga local government officials na dawit at protektor ng iligal na droga. Katunayan, sinabi ni DILG Secretary Eduardo Año na tuloy-tuloy ang case build up laban sa may siyamnapu’t anim na mga LGU. Kinabibilangan ito ng mga gobernador, kongresista at mga alkalde. Gusto raw nilang patunayan na may basehan ang kanilang mga report at hindi ito […]
Democrats gain US Senate seat as Arizona Republican concedes
WASHINGTON, United States (AFP) — Arizona Republican Martha McSally conceded her razor-thin US Senate race Monday, providing Democrats a key pickup in a state that has not elected a Democrat to the Senate in three decades. “I just called Kyrsten Sinema and congratulated her on becoming Arizona’s first female senator after a hard-fought battle,” McSally said in a video statement posted on her Twitter account. US networks Fox and CNN called the race in Sinema’s […]
PNP nakahandang arestuhin si Cong. Imelda Marcos – Albayalde
(Eagle News) — Idinepensa ni Philippine National Police (PNP) Chief Oscar Albayalde ang tila pagiging malambot ng PNP sa nakatakdang pag-aresto kay dating First Lady Imelda Marcos na hinatulang guilty ng Sandiganbayan sa pitong kaso ng graft. Ikinukumpara kasi ito sa pagiging agresibo ng PNP sa pag-aresto kay Senador Antonio Trillanes IV noong Oktubre. Ayon kay Albayalde, ikinokonsidera nila ang pagiging babae, may edad at ang kalusugan ng dating unang ginang. “Wala tayong nakikitang magiging […]
After midterms, US Democrats chart their course for 2020
by Elodie CUZIN Agence France Presse WASHINGTON, United States (AFP) — Colorful campaign placards still dot front yards across America after this week’s midterm elections, but Democrats have already turned their attention to the next goal: winning the presidency in 2020. “We’re going to keep organizing, mobilizing, and fighting,” said party chairman Tom Perez, minutes after Democrats claimed victory in their bid to win majority control of the House of Representatives on Tuesday. “And that’s […]
