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By Chris Lefkow and Selim Saheb EttabaWASHINGTON, Dec 20, 2023 (AFP) – The US Supreme Court played a critical role in deciding the 2000 presidential election when it halted a vote recount in Florida with Republican George W. Bush holding a razor-thin edge over Democrat Al Gore. The stage is set for the nation’s highest court to figure prominently again in a White House race as it mulls a pair of cases involving Donald Trump, […]
NEW YORK, Dec 19, 2023 (AFP) – Meta’s independent oversight board on Tuesday criticized the social media titan of removing posts that showed human suffering in the Middle East conflict. The board, set up by Meta in 2020 as a supreme court of sorts for the social media titan, overturned two post removal decisions, and urged the company to respond more quickly to changing circumstances in the war between Hamas and Israel. One case involved […]
MOSCOW, Dec 17, 2023 (AFP) – Russian President Vladimir Putin on Sunday vowed to make Russia “sovereign and self-sufficient” in the face of the West, in his first campaign speech before a March vote to extend his long rule until at least 2030. Putin will stand for a fifth Kremlin term in an election with no real opposition that will come just over two years since he launched the seismic Ukraine offensive. The 71-year-old came […]
GENEVA, Dec 18, 2023 (AFP) – A United Nations rights expert said Monday that the “enforced disappearance” of Russian opposition leader Alexei Navalny was alarming, demanding that Moscow immediately release him. The Kremlin critic’s lawyers have been prevented from meeting him since December 6, and he did not appear for a scheduled court hearing last Friday. “I am greatly concerned that the Russian authorities will not disclose Mr. Navalny’s whereabouts and well-being for such a […]
By Xinqi SU and Holmes CHAN HONG KONG, Dec 18, 2023 (AFP) – Pro-democracy tycoon Jimmy Lai went on trial in Hong Kong Monday on national security charges that could see him jailed for life, with the United States and Britain demanding his release. Lai, 76, is accused of “collusion” with foreign forces under a sweeping national security law that Beijing imposed on the finance hub in 2020. He is the founder of the now-shuttered […]
TAIPEI, Dec 18, 2023 (AFP) – Two Chinese balloons flew across the sensitive median line separating Taiwan from China, the self-ruled island’s Defence Ministry said on Monday, the second time it has reported a sighting this month. Chinese balloons became a politically fraught topic in February when the United States shot down what it called a spy balloon, but that Beijing said was a civilian airship blown off course. While China has in recent years […]
By Jing Xuan TENG SHANGHAI, Dec 15, 2023 (AFP) – Chinese social media users reported on Friday that they had been warned against posting “pessimistic” views about the economy, in a sign of growing political sensitivity as China struggles to boost growth. China’s economy is battling headwinds on multiple fronts and Beijing’s leadership said this month its recovery was confronting “difficulties and challenges”. Several people told AFP that social media platform Weibo had sent them […]
BEIJING, Dec 14, 2023 (AFP) – Beijing said on Thursday it had mediated a temporary ceasefire in fighting between the Myanmar junta and ethnic minority armed groups in the north of the country close to the Chinese border. Recent talks between Myanmar’s military and the groups, facilitated by China, resulted in several agreements “including the temporary ceasefire and maintaining the momentum of dialogue”, Chinese Foreign Ministry spokeswoman Mao Ning said in a statement. Clashes […]
MANILA, Dec 15, 2023 (AFP) – Philippine President Ferdinand Marcos said Friday he has ordered a study on whether the country’s constitution needed to be revised to draw more foreign investment. In his first public comments on the politically charged issue since becoming president last year, Marcos said certain laws drawn from the constitution either ban or discourage foreign investors from some parts of the economy. The Philippines adopted its new constitution in 1987, limiting […]
BEIJING, Dec 15, 2023 (AFP) – China lashed out at Britain and the United States Friday after they condemned Hong Kong police for offering bounties for information leading to the capture of five overseas activists. Hong Kong authorities said Thursday that the five, who fled the city after Beijing imposed a national security law in 2020, would be pursued “till the end” and offered HK$1,000,000 ($128,000) bounties for help catching them. The move was strongly […]
By Holmes CHAN HONG KONG, Dec 14, 2023 (AFP) – Hong Kong police on Thursday offered HK$1 million bounties for information leading to the capture of five overseas activists accused of national security crimes, adding they would be pursued “till the end”. All five are living abroad after Beijing imposed a sweeping national security law on the financial hub in 2020 to quash dissent after massive pro-democracy protests. Thursday’s bounties were the second batch […]
TOKYO, Dec 14, 2023 (AFP) – Three Japanese government ministers tendered their resignations on Thursday over a major corruption scandal in the ruling party, media reports said. The scandal surrounds allegations of kickbacks of 500 million yen ($3.4 million) within the Liberal Democratic Party, which has governed the world’s third-largest economy almost uninterrupted for decades. Those resigning were Economy and Industry Minister Yasutoshi Nishimura, Internal Affairs Minister Junji Suzuki and Agriculture Minister Ichiro Miyashita, the […]
