Tag: politics

Trump’s military parade plan sparks backlash

by Michael Mathes and Andrew Beatty  © Agence France-Presse WASHINGTON, United States (AFP) — President Donald Trump’s dream of hosting a military parade in Washington was met with widespread derision Wednesday, with critics seeing evidence of creeping authoritarianism. White House and military officials confirmed preliminary planning was already underway, but said a date had not yet been decided. “I think we’re all aware, in this country, of the president’s affection and respect for the military,” said Defense […]

Continue Reading →

Poland’s president signs controversial Holocaust bill into law

by Mary Sibierski  © Agence France-Presse VARSOVIE, Poland (AFP) — President Andrzej Duda on Tuesday signed into law a controversial Holocaust bill intended to safeguard Poland’s image abroad but which has instead triggered an unprecedented diplomatic row with Israel and tensions with the US and Ukraine. Duda also said he would send the legislation, which now comes into force, to the Constitutional Tribunal to rule on whether it conforms with guarantees for freedom of speech. The law sets […]

Continue Reading →

Maldives chief justice arrested: police

MALE, Maldives (AFP) — Maldives Chief Justice Abdulla Saeed and another Supreme Court judge were arrested at dawn Tuesday, hours after President Abdulla Yameen declared a state of emergency, police said. Justices Saeed and Ali Hameed were arrested along with the court’s top administrator Hassan Saeed after security forces stormed the court complex in Male, with police citing complaints of corruption against them in a brief statement. The high profile arrests followed the arrest Monday […]

Continue Reading →

Puigdemont or plan B? Catalan separatists divided

by Daniel Bosque © Agence France-Presse BARCELONA, Spain (AFP) — Catalonia’s separatist parties have to decide in the coming days whether to set their differences aside and back ousted, exiled leader Carles Puigdemont or seek an alternative. Unlike other major independence movements in Scotland and Quebec, concentrated in one party, three different groupings make up Catalonia’s separatist camp, united in their will to break with Spain but often at odds with each other. These quarrels burst into […]

Continue Reading →

Fidel Castro’s eldest son commits suicide: Cuba state media

HAVANA, Cuba (AFP) — The eldest son of the late Cuban president Fidel Castro committed suicide on Thursday, state media reported. He was 68 years old. “Fidel Castro Diaz-Balart, who had been treated by a group of doctors for several months due to deep depression, took his life this morning,” Cuba’s official newspaper Granma reported. “Fidelito” — as he was known on island nation — had initially been hospitalized for his condition and then continued […]

Continue Reading →

Trump backs release of memo alleging FBI abuses

WASHINGTON, United States (AFP) — US President Donald Trump is set to approve the release of an explosive memo alleging abuse of power in the FBI’s probe of his election campaign, a White House official said Thursday. Rejecting entreaties from the Justice Department and Federal Bureau of Investigation to block the document on the grounds it could expose top secret counterintelligence data, the official told AFP the president’s green light would likely come on Friday. “The president is […]

Continue Reading →

Britain’s Suffragettes: five things to know

LONDON, United Kingdom (AFP) — The Suffragettes were instrumental in securing the vote for British women 100 years ago, at a time when women had few rights and no role in national politics. The name Suffragettes was the derogatory name given in 1906 by the Daily Mail newspaper to the Women’s Social and Political Union (WSPU), one of the groups that had been pushing for women’s suffrage for decades. The organization was formed three years […]

Continue Reading →

FBI challenges White House over explosive Russia case memo

WASHINGTON, United States (AFP) — The FBI warned Wednesday it has “grave concerns” over the accuracy of a secret Congressional memo that could depict the agency as deeply politicized, as President Donald Trump’s top aide signaled the White House would allow the document’s release. Based on highly classified information, the four-page memo —  written by Republican lawmaker Devin Nunes, the chairman of the House Intelligence Committee — suggests that the Justice Department and the FBI abused their […]

Continue Reading →

May arrives in China eyeing post-Brexit trade links

by Ben Dooley Agence France-Presse BEIJING, China (AFP) — British Prime Minister Theresa May arrived in China on Wednesday as she seeks to bolster her country’s global trade links ahead of its contentious divorce with the European Union. May began her visit in the central industrial city of Wuhan and will be in China until Friday in what the Chinese foreign ministry has touted as a “historic visit.” Later on Wednesday, May will head to […]

Continue Reading →

Egypt opposition urges boycott of presidential election

CAIRO, Egypt (AFP) — Opposition parties and figures in Egypt called Tuesday for a boycott of the March presidential election in which incumbent Abdel Fattah al-Sisi looks set to romp to victory. Branding the poll a “charade”, the coalition of eight parties and 150 public figures announced a campaign under the slogan “Stay at home” ahead of voting on March 26-28. “No to participation in this charade,” said Hamdeen Sabbahi, a presidential candidate in 2012 and 2014. […]

Continue Reading →

Catalan separatists split as Puigdemont’s comeback bid delayed

by Diego Urdaneta with Marianne Barriaux in Madrid © Agence France-Presse BARCELONA, Spain (AFP) — Divisions in Catalonia’s separatist bloc burst into the open Tuesday after the region’s parliamentary speaker postponed a crucial vote to reappoint ousted president Carles Puigdemont. Roger Torrent, who like Puigdemont is pro-independence but hails from a different party, announced last minute he had delayed the parliamentary session to ensure it could later go ahead in an “effective” way after Spain’s Constitutional Court […]

Continue Reading →

London attack accused hoped to kill Corbyn

LONDON, United Kingdom (AFP) — A man accused of deliberately driving a van into a group of London Muslims told his trial on Tuesday that he wanted to kill the British opposition leader Jeremy Corbyn. Darren Osborne said killing the leftist Labour leader would have been “one less terrorist off our streets,” while killing Labour London Mayor Sadiq Khan as well “would have been like winning the lottery.” Osborne is accused of murdering 51-year-old Makram Ali and […]

Continue Reading →
1 … 188 189 190 191 192