Tag: politics

S. Korea’s Moon replaces defense chief in cabinet reshuffle

SEOUL, South Korea (AFP) — South Korean President Moon Jae-in on Thursday replaced his defense chief and four other ministers in a cabinet reshuffle after falling approval ratings in recent weeks. Moon has driven a rapid diplomatic rapprochement with nuclear-armed North Korea, but defense minister Song Young-moo came under fire for mishandling a controversy over a defense intelligence unit. In March, documents emerged detailing military plans to impose martial law against protesters demanding the ouster […]

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Venezuelans in Peru take up Maduro’s offer to fly home

  by Carlos Mandujano Agence France-Presse LIMA, Peru (AFP) — Nearly 100 migrants on Monday took up an offer by Venezuelan President Nicolas Maduro to fly them home from Lima, citing xenophobia against Venezuelans and difficulties in getting work. The move is part of the socialist government’s “Return to the Homeland” scheme to counter a mass exodus and woo back young Venezuelans to work in the crisis-torn country. Ninety-seven migrants — including 22 children and four […]

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Sessions bites back as Trump says impeachment would sink economy

by Maggy Donaldson Agence France Presse WASHINGTON, United States (AFP) — US President Donald Trump has warned the US economy would collapse if he were impeached, as legal chaos roiling the White House had experts saying his presidency is under threat. Speaking on the eve of a closely watched meeting of central bank chiefs Friday, Trump also took aim again at his Attorney General, Jeff Sessions, prompting a rare retort from the embattled justice department […]

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Scott ‘Stop the boats’ Morrison: Australia’s latest PM

by Glenda KWEK Agence France Presse SYDNEY, Australia (AFP) — Evangelical Christian Scott Morrison, who emerged as prime minister after a bun fight in Australia’s ruling party Friday, is an ambitious man who has always dreamed of the top job. Behind the scenes of a battle for the leadership of the Liberal party that erupted this week between ousted Malcolm Turnbull and right-wing former policeman Peter Dutton, Morrison was quietly canvassing support among his colleagues. […]

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Pompeo to return to N. Korea with new special envoy

by Francesco Fontemaggi Agence France Presse WASHINGTON, United States (AFP) — US Secretary of State Mike Pompeo on Thursday named a Ford Motor Co. executive as special envoy for North Korea and said they would both travel to the nuclear-armed country next week. Stephen Biegun, 55, who is retiring as Ford’s vice president for international governmental affairs, had been considered for the post of President Donald Trump’s national security advisor before it went to John […]

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Team Trump warns impeachment would prompt revolt, economic crash

  by Andrew Beatty  Agence France-Presse   WASHINGTON, United States (AFP) — US President Donald Trump and his allies tried to head off mounting talk of his impeachment Thursday, warning it would sink the world’s largest economy and spark a public “revolt.” After Trump was implicated as a co-conspirator in two campaign finance violations, both of them federal felonies, he and his closest advisors offered dire words of caution about the consequences of removing him from […]

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Australia braces for new prime minister after bitter coup

  by Martin Parry Agence France-Presse SYDNEY, Australia  (AFP) — Australia was bracing for yet another change of prime minister Friday after a revolt against Malcolm Turnbull by hardline conservatives in his Liberal party, with his near three-year reign hanging by a thread. Former home affairs minister Peter Dutton, an ex-police officer and right-winger, has been the stalking horse seeking to unseat Turnbull after a party backlash against his more moderate approach to politics. Turnbull survived […]

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Australia PM Turnbull in crisis with second leadership challenge

  by Martin Parry Agence France Presse SYDNEY, Australia (AFP) — Australian Prime Minister Malcolm Turnbull’s tenuous grip on power was under intense pressure Thursday with the man who wants his job launching a second leadership challenge in a week and senior ministers defecting. Former home affairs minister Peter Dutton, an ex-police officer and right-wing conservative, said he was confident he now had the numbers to unseat Turnbull, considered a moderate. “Earlier this morning I […]

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Two Trump lieutenants found guilty, president implicated

  by Laura Bonilla Cal / with Will Dunlop in Alexandria and Andrew Beatty in Washington Agence France Presse NEW YORK, United States (AFP) — Donald Trump stood accused of conspiring to commit campaign finance fraud and two of his closest aides faced jail time Tuesday, after court proceedings delivered a legal and political one-two punch to his embattled presidency. In a drama that played out simultaneously across two US cities, a court found one […]

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US congressman charged in $250,000 corruption case

  LOS ANGELES, United States (AFP) — A Republican congressman from California and his wife were indicted by a federal grand jury Tuesday over the suspected misuse of $250,000 of campaign funds, authorities said. Duncan and Margaret Hunter are accused of syphoning the cash over seven years for family vacations to Hawaii and Italy, dental bills, theater tickets and numerous other non-campaign expenses. US Attorney Adam Braverman said in a statement that Hunter, 41, and […]

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N. Korea urges Trump to be ‘bold’ on denuclearization

  SEOUL, South Korea (AFP) — North Korean state media blamed Donald Trump’s political opponents for the “deadlock” over denuclearization on Saturday, urging the US President to act boldly to make progress on the thorny issue. Trump and the North’s leader Kim Jong Un held a groundbreaking summit in Singapore in June, which the US leader touted as a historic breakthrough. At the meeting the pair struck a vague agreement to denuclearize the Korean peninsula, […]

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China sacks regional officials as vaccine scandal mounts

BEIJING, China (AFP) – China’s Communist Party has sacked a dozen provincial and local officials and vowed to punish a pharmaceutical firm over a vaccine scandal that inflamed public fears over the safety of domestically produced drugs. The government has been struggling to shore up public confidence in the pharmaceutical sector following the revelation last month that a major Chinese manufacturer of rabies vaccines was found to have fabricated records and was ordered to cease […]

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