Tag: politics

School boy, 14, runs for Vermont governor

  NEW YORK, United States (AFP) — Most 14-year-old American schoolboys might be fixated on baseball, chasing girls and dodging their homework. Not Ethan Sonneborn. He’s running for governor in Vermont. The teenager is taking advantage of a quirk in the constitution of the bucolic northeastern state that imposes no age limit on running for governor. Candidates only have to have lived in Vermont for at least four years. Ethan, happily for his campaign, has […]

Romania to probe alleged police violence at anti-corruption protest attended by 80,000

  BUCHAREST, Romania (AFP) — Romania has opened an inquiry into alleged police violence at a mass anti-corruption protest against the left-wing government that left hundreds injured last week, military prosecutors said Monday. Some 80,000 people — many of them Romanians living abroad — demonstrated late Friday in Bucharest, accusing the government of corruption and urging it to resign. Police used water cannon, tear gas, pepper spray and batons to disperse the crowd. More than […]

Koreas hold high-level talks on third leaders’ summit

  SEOUL, South Korea (AFP) — The two Koreas opened high-level talks Monday to prepare for a third summit between the South’s President Moon Jae-in and the North’s leader Kim Jong Un, amid the diplomatic thaw on the peninsula. The exact date and location of their next meeting have yet to be decided, but at their historic April summit in Panmunjom they agreed Moon would visit Kim in Pyongyang during the autumn. Monday’s high-level talks, taking […]

Indonesia president chooses cleric as VP pick in 2019 election race

JAKARTA, Indonesia (AFP) — Indonesia’s 2019 presidential race took shape Friday with incumbent Joko Widodo choosing to run alongside a conservative Islamic cleric against controversial ex-general Prabowo Subianto. Widodo, whose down-to-earth style and ambitious infrastructure drive has made him popular with many Indonesians, picked cleric Ma’ruf Amin as his vice presidential nominee. The decision will bolster the president’s Islamic credentials but could be polarizing among more progressive voters. Amin, 75, is the current chairman the […]

‘Time has come’ for US Space Force, sixth military branch: Pence

by Thomas Watkins Agence France-Presse WASHINGTON, United States (AFP) – Vice President Mike Pence on Thursday unveiled details of plans to build a US Space Force that would become the sixth branch of America’s massive military, saying the time has come to prepare for “the next battlefield.” President Donald Trump ordered the creation of Space Force in June, arguing the Pentagon needs it to tackle vulnerabilities in space and assert US dominance in orbit. Its […]

Zambia deports top Zimbabwe opponent Biti, defying court order: lawyer

  LUSAKA, Zambia (AFP) — Zambian authorities on Thursday defied a court order stopping them from deporting top Zimbabwe opposition figure Tendai Biti, handing him to police across the border, his lawyer said. “They have defied the court order to allow him to seek asylum and as I am speaking to you right now he has been handed over to the Zimbabwean police,” lawyer Gilbert Phiri told AFP. Biti, a veteran figure in the Movement for […]

Venezuela lifts opposition lawmakers’ immunity for drone ‘attack’ trial

  by Alexander Martinez / Esteban Rojas Agence France-Presse CARACAS, Venezuela (AFP) — A super-legislative body loyal to President Nicolas Maduro revoked the immunity of two Venezuelan opposition lawmakers Wednesday, in order to put them on trial for allegedly masterminding a drone “assassination” bid on the leader. Maduro, who has systematically sidelined the opposition as he tightens his grip over his troubled nation, accuses the opposition and Colombia of being behind Saturday’s drone “attack.” He has […]

Canada PM does not back down on rights defense in Saudi spat

  by Michel Comte / with Anuj Chopra in Riyadh Agence France-Presse OTTAWA, Canada (AFP) — Canadian Prime Minister Justin Trudeau on Wednesday refused to apologize for calling out Saudi Arabia on its human rights record, after Riyadh said it was considering further punitive measures against Ottawa over its criticisms of the kingdom. Tensions have been high between the two countries since Monday, when Riyadh expelled Canada’s ambassador, recalled its own envoy and froze all new […]

Malaysian ex-PM Najib charged with money-laundering

  by M. Jegathesan Agence France-Presse KUALA LUMPUR, Malaysia (AFP) — Malaysia’s former prime minister Najib Razak was hit with new charges Wednesday linked to a multi-billion-dollar financial scandal that contributed to his shock election defeat in May. Appearing at a court in Kuala Lumpur, Najib was charged with three counts of money-laundering over claims he pocketed 42 million ringgit ($10.3 million) from a former unit of scandal-hit sovereign wealth fund 1MDB. These are in […]

Nicaragua government blames opposition for 197 protest deaths

  MANAGUA, Nicaragua (AFP) — The Nicaraguan government on Tuesday accused the opposition of “coup-driven terrorism” and blamed it for 197 deaths that have occurred in nearly four months of protests against President Daniel Ortega. Rosario Murillo, who is Ortega’s wife, vice president and chief government spokeswoman, made the allegation to state media. She vowed that protesters and opposition sympathizers who have been convicted over the unrest, would “pay for their crimes.” The 197 death toll […]

Colombia’s new leader plans changes to FARC peace deal

    by Hector Velasco / Rodrigo Almonacid Agence France-Presse BOGOTA, Colombia (AFP) — Colombia’s new President Ivan Duque took office Tuesday, with no shortage of tough issues to tackle, from heightened tensions with neighboring Venezuela to the lingering difficulties of peace-building with the nation’s rebel groups. The right-wing Duque, who is just 42 years old, succeeds Juan Manuel Santos — and could work to undo the deal his predecessor reached with leftist FARC guerrillas to […]

Trump: reining in Iran

  WASHINGTON, United States (AFP) — From the time of his electoral campaign, Donald Trump was one of the biggest opponents of Iran and the hard-won nuclear agreement, which he tore up in May. His stated aim is to stop Iran’s ballistic program and its influence in the Middle East. ‘Nuclear holocaust’  On August 16, 2015, the American billionnaire and Republican presidential frontrunner says that the nuclear accord with world powers will not prevent Iran from […]