Tag: politics

Trump defends Supreme Court pick after sex assault allegation

  by Paul Handley Agence France Presse WASHINGTON, United States (AFP) — US President Donald Trump stood firmly by his Supreme Court pick Brett Kavanaugh Monday after allegations that the conservative judge sexually assaulted a woman when they were teenagers threatened to derail the nomination process. Senate Judiciary Committee Chairman Chuck Grassley canceled a vote on Kavanaugh planned for Thursday and said the nominee and his accuser, California university professor Christine Blasey Ford, would both […]

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Brazil election frontrunner leaves intensive care after surgery due to stab wound: hospital

  SAO PAULO, Brazil (AFP) — Brazil’s far-right presidential frontrunner Jair Bolsonaro was released from intensive care Sunday after undergoing surgery for complications from a stab wound he suffered while campaigning. The candidate, who had surgery to remove an intestinal blockage on Wednesday, has been moved to a “semi-intensive care unit,” doctors at Sao Paulo’s Albert Einstein hospital said. A leftwing assailant stabbed Bolsonaro, 63, on September 6 during a campaign walkabout in the town […]

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Spain PM defends sending weapons to Saudis after U-turn

MADRID, Spain (AFP) — Spain’s prime minister on Sunday defended his government’s controversial decision to go ahead with the delivery of 400 laser-guided bombs to Saudi Arabia, saying it was needed to preserve good ties with the Gulf state. His Socialist government announced earlier this month that it would block the delivery of the weapons amid concerns that they could harm civilians in Yemen where Saudi Arabi is engaged in a bloody conflict. But on Thursday Foreign […]

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College professor speaks out about ‘sexual assault’ by Trump Supreme Court pick

  WASHINGTON, United States (AFP) — A college professor has gone public for the first time to accuse President Donald Trump’s Supreme Court pick of sexually assaulting her in the 1980s, prompting calls by the opposition to postpone the nomination vote. Christine Blasey Ford, a professor at Palo Alto University, initially detailed the allegations about Brett Kavanaugh in confidential letters to her congresswoman and later to California Senator Diane Feinstein, a senior Democrat on the […]

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Bezos calls Trump’s attacks on media ‘dangerous’

WASHINGTON, United States (AFP) — Jeff Bezos, founder of Amazon and owner of the Washington Post newspaper, warned Thursday that President Donald Trump’s attacks on media are dangerous for the country. Bezos, during a question-answer session at a dinner hosted by the Economic Club of Washington, said Trump’s attacks risk eroding protections and social norms important for democracy. “It’s dangerous to demonize the media,” Bezos said. “It’s dangerous to call the media lowlifes. It’s dangerous […]

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Sweden seeks new government as nationalist influence grows

by Gaël  Branchereau and Camille Bas-Wohlert Agence France Presse STOCKHOLM, Sweden (AFP) — Sweden is headed for a period of uncertainty after legislative elections saw the far-right make gains, raising three questions: Who won? Who will govern? And with whom? The prime minister is usually the leader of the party with the most votes, but Sweden’s fragmented political landscape after Sunday’s election makes it impossible to guess who will form the next government. As expected, […]

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Abe launches bid for party leader vaunting economy, constitution

TOKYO, Japan (AFP) — Japan’s Shinzo Abe Monday defended his economic record and pledged a controversial reform of the country’s post-war constitution, as he launched his campaign for another term as head of his ruling LDP party. Abe is seen comfortably winning the September 20 vote against his sole challenger — former defense minister Shigeru Ishiba, which would put him on track to become Japan’s longest-serving premier. A victory would effectively keep the hawkish Abe […]

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Attacker stabs Brazil’s right-wing presidential frontrunner

https://youtu.be/CcpAS1L3WmY   RIO DE JANEIRO, Brazil (AFP) — Brazil’s right-wing presidential front runner Jair Bolsonaro was stabbed and seriously injured while campaigning Thursday, with police saying the suspect claimed to be acting on orders from God. It was the latest bizarre twist in a presidential race in which the most popular candidate, former president and leftist hero Luiz Inacio Lula da Silva, is trying to run from prison. The Supreme Court disqualified Lula on Thursday. First […]

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Lost generation? 2008 crisis still weighs on Millennials

by John BIERS Agence France Presse NEW YORK, United States (AFP) — Marco Saavedra had just graduated from college in 2011 three years after the global financial crisis erupted and just as the Occupy Wall Street movement was picking up steam. Like many in his generation, Saavedra faced slim pickings for jobs after college, a fate that has left millennials with a wealth gap that economists fear they won’t ever recover. It has also left […]

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Trump to skip Asian regional summits, Pence to travel instead

  WASHINGTON, United States (AFP) — US President Donald Trump will not attend regional summits with Asian allies in November but will send Vice President Mike Pence instead, the White House announced Friday. Pence will travel to Singapore to attend the Association of Southeast Asian Nations (ASEAN) summit and the East Asia Summit, it said. He will then go on to Papua New Guinea for Asia Pacific Economic Cooperation (APEC) meetings, the White House said. […]

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Deposed Australian PM Turnbull quits parliament

SYDNEY, Australia (AFP) — Deposed Australian prime minister Malcolm Turnbull officially resigned from parliament Friday, sparking a by-election for his Sydney seat that could threaten the government’s slim one-seat majority. Moderate Turnbull, 63, was ousted a week ago in a Liberal party coup driven by a hardline conservative faction and he indicated at the time he would not move to the backbench. New Prime Minister Scott Morrison paid tribute to his “legacy of great achievement”. […]

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Suu Kyi should have ‘resigned’ over Myanmar crackdown: UN rights chief

  BANGKOK, Thailand (AFP) — Nobel Laureate Aung San Suu Kyi should have resigned as Myanmar’s de facto leader over last year’s brutal army campaign against the Rohingya, the outgoing UN human rights chief has told the BBC. A military crackdown in response to attacks by Rohingya militants drove around 700,000 of the Muslim minority from Rakhine state into Bangladesh, where they have given accounts of widespread rape, murder and arson targeting their villages. Suu […]

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