Tag: politics

France gripped by strikes, protests against pension reform

by Alice HACKMAN Agence France-Presse PARIS, France (AFP) — More than a million people marched in France on Thursday to protest pension reforms, with some demonstrators clashing with police in Paris, as strikes disrupted public transport, schools and much of the civil service. The interior ministry put the total number of protesters marching against President Emmanuel Macron’s plan to extend the retirement age at 1.2 million, including 80,000 in Paris. The hard-left CGT union said […]

Thousands march in Peru capital to demand president step down

by Carlos MANDUJANO / Luis Jaime CISNEROS Agence France-Presse LIMA, Peru (AFP) — Thousands of protesters began marching through Peru’s capital Thursday to demand the president’s resignation and fresh elections, following weeks of violent unrest that have left 44 people dead. Police said they were on “maximum alert” and have deployed 11,800 officers in Lima ahead of expected trouble from demonstrators demanding that President Dina Boluarte step down. Some small scuffles were already breaking out […]

New Zealand PM Ardern announces she will resign next month

Wellington, New Zealand | AFP | Thursday 1/19/2023 New Zealand Prime Minister Jacinda Ardern announced Thursday she will resign next month. “For me it’s time,” she said at a meeting of members of her Labour Party. “I just don’t have enough in the tank for another four years.” Ardern, who became prime minister in a coalition government in 2017, then led her centre-left Labour Party to a comprehensive victory in an election three years later, […]

Vietnam president resigns amid major anti-graft purge

Hanoi, Vietnam (AFP) Vietnam President Nguyen Xuan Phuc has resigned, state media said Tuesday, after days of rumours he was about to be sacked as part of a major anti-corruption drive that has seen several ministers fired. The sudden departure is a highly unusual move in communist Vietnam, where political changes are normally carefully orchestrated, with an emphasis on cautious stability. Only one other Communist Party president has ever stepped down, and that was for […]

Nurses in England launch fresh strikes over pay

London, United Kingdom (AFP) – Nurses in England began two days of strikes over pay Wednesday, as officials warned of disruption for thousands of patients in the UK’s state-run health service. It comes after nurses held an unprecedented strike last month, joining a wave of industrial action by public sector workers hit by the cost-of-living crisis. The main nursing union accuses the government of failing to negotiate seriously on improving their pay deal for the […]

UK vows more action against Iran after execution

LONDRES, United Kingdom (AFP) — Britain on Monday vowed more reprisals against what it said was Tehran’s “weakened and isolated regime” after it executed a UK-Iranian dual national. Following the killing of Alireza Akbari on Saturday, the UK summoned Iran’s most senior diplomat and recalled its own ambassador. But despite slapping sanctions on Iran’s prosecutor general Mohammad Jafar Montazeri it stopped short of opposition demands to ban the Islamic Revolutionary Guard Corps (IRGC). Faced with […]

Peru closes tourist hub airport as nationwide protests persist

LIMA, Peru (AFP) — Weeks-long protests that have left dozens dead across Peru continued on Thursday, with escalating tensions in Andean city Cusco prompting the government to preemptively close the tourist hub’s airport. Supporters of ousted president Pedro Castillo have marched and barricaded streets around the South American country demanding new elections and the removal of current leader Dina Boluarte. The demonstrations have at times turned violent, and clashes with security forces have left 42 […]

Blame the voting machines: Brazil riots fit global pattern

by Anuj Chopra, with Luiza Queiroz in Sao Paulo and Rossen Bossev in Sofia Agence France-Presse WASHINGTON, United States (AFP) — Mobs of rioters who stormed Brazil’s seats of power raised conspiracy-laden slogans against voting machines, a prime target of disinformation campaigns seeking to undermine trust in electoral systems around the world. Far-right ex-president Jair Bolsonaro’s supporters, who invaded the presidential palace, Congress and Supreme Court in the capital Brasilia on Sunday, demanded access to […]

Classified docs discovery leaves White House squirming

by Sebastian Smith Agence France-Presse WASHINGTON, United States (AFP) — The White House faced aggressive questioning Wednesday over the discovery of classified documents apparently mislaid by President Joe Biden, a case complicating the authorities’ probe into a far bigger scandal involving Donald Trump. NBC News, followed by other US outlets, reported Wednesday that Biden aides had discovered “at least one additional batch” of unsecured documents. So far, the White House has confirmed that a “small […]

Jill Biden goes into hospital for lesion removal

Washington, United States (AFP) The US first lady, Jill Biden, flew from the White House on Wednesday to a military hospital for a minor surgical procedure to remove a skin lesion. Accompanied by President Joe Biden, she flew on the Marine One helicopter to Walter Reed National Medical Center in the suburbs of Washington. The White House confirmed that she had a “scheduled outpatient procedure, commonly known as Mohs surgery.” The procedure is done with […]

Brazil rioters trash priceless artwork in stormed capital buildings

by Louis GENOT Agence France-Presse BRASÍLIA, Brazil (AFP) — Slashed canvas on a modern masterpiece, graffiti spray-painted on statues, a smashed Louis XIV clock: the horde of supporters of far-right former president Jair Bolsonaro who invaded Brasilia’s hubs of power at the weekend ransacked everything in their path, including priceless works of art. The three vandalized buildings — the presidential palace known as the Planalto, the Supreme Court and Congress — are themselves treasures of […]

New US speaker faces first major test with rules vote

by Frankie TAGGART Agence France-Presse WASHINGTON, United States (AFP)  — Divisive new Speaker Kevin McCarthy faced the first test of his ability to lead the chaotic US House of Representatives Monday as lawmakers met to approve a rules package determining how the Republicans will govern. The vote on the blueprint — described by top Democrat Jim McGovern as a “ransom note to America from the extreme right” — came on the heels of one of […]