BEIJING, China (AFP) — China is brandishing a wide array of military equipment and weapons as it conducts drills around Taiwan intended to intimidate the self-ruled island. The three-day show of force, which began on Saturday, comes after a visit by Taiwanese President Tsai Ing-wen to the United States sparked China’s ire. Here is a rundown of Beijing’s arsenal: – Aircraft – China has deployed dozens of planes in the airspace around Taiwan over the […]
Tag: politics
Biden weighs in after Tennessee vote to expel Black lawmakers
Washington, United States | AFP | Friday 4/8/2023 by Inès BEL AIBA US President Joe Biden and Vice President Kamala Harris on Friday showered attention on three Tennessee officials targeted for expulsion from the state legislature over their support for gun control, as the fracas escalated into a major national row over race and representation. Biden spoke via phone with the “Tennessee Three” and “thanked them for their leadership in seeking to ban assault […]
China launches three days of military drills in Taiwan Strait
Beijing, China | AFP | Saturday 4/8/2023 by James Edgar with Matthew Walsh in Pingtan China launched military drills around Taiwan on Saturday, in what it called a “stern warning” to the self-ruled island’s government following a meeting between its president and the US House speaker. Dubbed “United Sharp Sword”, the three-day operation — which state media said includes rehearsing an encirclement of Taiwan — will run until Monday, the People’s Liberation Army’s (PLA) […]
China vows ‘resolute’ response to high-level US meet with Taiwan leader
BEIJING, China (AFP) — China’s foreign ministry on Thursday condemned the meeting between US House Speaker Kevin McCarthy and Taiwan president Tsai Ing-wen in California, state media Xinhua reported. Tsai met with a delegation of US politicians from the Republican and Democratic parties during a stopover in the United States on Wednesday after visiting Guatemala and Belize, two of Taipei’s dwindling group of official allies. “In response to the seriously erroneous acts of collusion between […]
US talks show Taiwan ‘not isolated’: President Tsai
by Romain FONSEGRIVES Agence France-Presse SIMI VALLEY, United States (AFP) — US House Speaker Kevin McCarthy welcomed Taiwan’s president in California on Wednesday, in a meeting she said reassured the island’s people they were “not isolated” in the face of rising Chinese anger. Speaking to reporters after talks with the top Republican, Tsai Ing-wen said the welcome from a large delegation of politicians from both sides of the aisle was proof Taipei had friends in […]
Defendant Trump slams criminal charges as ‘insult to our country’
by Gerard Martinez with Frankie Taggart in Washington Agence France-Presse PALM BEACH, United States (AFP) — Donald Trump offered a full-throated defense of his conduct Tuesday in his first public remarks since being charged over hush money payments to a porn star, blasting the criminal prosecution as “an insult to our country.” Hours earlier the 76-year-old former US president pleaded not guilty to 34 felony counts in a dramatic hearing in New York that transfixed […]
Trump charges: hush money paid to porn star, model and doorman
New York, United States | AFP | Tuesday 4/5/2023 Prosecutors laid out a case of lies and cover-ups against Donald Trump on Tuesday over hush-money payments made to a porn star, a Playboy model and a doorman to hide potentially damaging information ahead of the 2016 presidential election. Here’s an explanation of the felony counts against Trump, the first former US president ever to face criminal charges, and what will happen next: – The charges […]
New York case just part of Trump’s legal woes
Donald Trump on Tuesday became the first US president to be arrested on criminal charges — but the 34 felony counts for allegedly falsifying business records are far from the only legal peril threatening the ex-leader as he seeks a return to the White House. The rebellious Republican billionaire has described the charges as being the work of “radical left Democrats” who have “criminalized the justice system” and are seeking to derail his presidential candidacy. […]
Defiant Trump pleads not guilty to 34 felony counts
Donald Trump pleaded not guilty to 34 felony counts inside a packed New York courtroom Tuesday, in a dramatic hearing that transfixed the nation and began the countdown to the first ever criminal trial of an American president. After a stern glare to waiting press, Trump spent about an hour inside a Manhattan courtroom where he voluntarily surrendered to face charges over hush money payments that have already upended the 2024 White House race in […]
Trump leaves Trump Tower to surrender to criminal charges
New York, United States | AFP | Tuesday 4/4/2023 – 19:11 UTC+2 | 58 words Donald Trump left his New York skyscraper amid tight security Tuesday to turn himself in for a historic court appearance on criminal charges that threaten to upend the 2024 White House race. His motorcade departed Trump Tower to drive the six-mile (10-kilometer) journey to the courthouse in Manhattan with police lining the streets and helicopters buzzing overhead. © Agence France-Presse
‘Trump or Death:’ dueling protests outside court mirror US divide
by Maggy DONALDSON and Andrea BAMBINO Dozens of Donald Trump supporters demonstrated outside the courthouse where the former president is due to be arraigned on criminal charges Tuesday, as a handful of vocal counterprotestors shouted an anti-fascist message. Members of the New York Police Department community affairs division stepped in to the fray as the pro-Trump side — many sporting familiar “MAGA” hats and attire emblazoned with the American flag — yelled slurs at their […]
Police, journalists greet Trump but few New Yorkers
by Andrea BAMBINO and Celine GESRET Agence France-Presse NEW YORK, United States (AFP) — Hoards of reporters, police and barriers greeted Donald Trump when he arrived at his Manhattan residence Monday — but only a small group of supporters. Just before midday, authorities closed off Trump Tower to the public, as a heavy police presence and barricades surrounded the building situated on Fifth Avenue. A tiny group of Trump supporters staged a demonstration that relied […]
