Tag: politics

US Senate gun measures gain support despite limited scope

  by Paul Handley Agence France-Presse WASHINGTON, United States (AFP) — Two horrific massacres in recent weeks have succeeded in bringing Democrats and Republicans close to the most significant federal legislation addressing US gun violence in three decades. Twenty senators — 10 from each party — reached a deal Sunday to put through legislation that would tighten some rules on gun sales and put more resources toward mental health treatment. The 10 Republicans are just […]

URGENT: Canada PM Trudeau says contracted Covid a second time

Canadian Prime Minister Justin Trudeau has tested positive for Covid-19 for a second time in less than five months, he said Monday, adding that he feels fine but is isolating. “I’ve tested positive for Covid-19. I’ll be following public health guidelines and isolating,” the Canadian leader said on Twitter, adding: “I feel okay.” Trudeau, who has received three doses of the Covid vaccine, also tested positive for the virus at the end of January. I’ve […]

US Capitol riot probe puts Trump at heart of ‘attempted coup’

by Frankie Taggart  Agence France-Presse WASHINGTON, United States (AFP) — A congressional panel investigating last year’s mob assault on the US Capitol laid out its case Thursday that Donald Trump and his claims of a stolen election were at the heart of what amounted to an “attempted coup” to remain in power. In a prime-time presentation of its findings from a year-long probe, the special committee sought to persuade a divided country of the existence […]

Schoolgirl tells Congress of playing dead to survive Texas massacre

by Frankie TAGGART An 11-year-old who smeared herself with her murdered friend’s blood to play dead during last month’s school shooting in the US state of Texas relived the horror of her ordeal before a panel of lawmakers on Wednesday. Miah Cerrillo, a fourth grader at Robb Elementary School in Uvalde, Texas, recounted in terrifying detail the moments when 19 of her schoolmates and two teachers were killed by an 18-year-old gunman. She recalled how […]

Taiwan’s Apple Daily finds buyer after Hong Kong edition shuttered

The Taiwan edition of Hong Kong’s Apple Daily newspaper has found a buyer which would retain most of its staff, the firm said Wednesday, pledging to continue to “speak out against any injustice”. Popular news outlet Apply Daily shut down in Hong Kong last year after its newsroom was raided and assets frozen under a sweeping national security law Beijing imposed on the Chinese city to clamp down on dissent. Its Taiwanese edition has continued […]

Matthew McConaughey urges ‘gun responsibility’ at White House podium

  Actor Matthew McConaughey took the podium at the White House on Tuesday to deliver an emotional appeal for “gun responsibility” following the massacre at an elementary school in his hometown of Uvalde, Texas. “We are in a window of opportunity right now that we have not been in before, a window where it seems like real change, real change can happen,” the 52-year-old McConaughey told reporters. https://youtu.be/56ljcNkGtOs McConaughey, who visited Uvalde and met with […]

Merkel defends Russia legacy, says ‘nothing to apologize for’

by Michelle Fitzpatrick  Agence France-Presse FRANKFURT, Germany (AFP) — Former German chancellor Angela Merkel on Tuesday defended her years-long policy of detente towards Moscow, saying she had “nothing to apologize for” even as the Ukraine war casts a pall on her legacy. In her first major interview since stepping down six months ago, Merkel insisted she had not been naive in her dealings with Russian President Vladimir Putin. “Diplomacy isn’t wrong just because it hasn’t […]

Russia jails four Jehovah’s Witnesses for six years

A Russian court sentenced four members of the Jehovah’s Witnesses, the US-based evangelical movement, to six years in prison for “extremism”, investigators said Tuesday. The four adherents of the Jehovah’s Witnesses, who hail from the city of Chita in eastern Siberia, were found guilty of organising “extremist” activities between 2017 and 2020, the Investigative Committee said. They organised meetings, collected donations and distributed religious literature, investigators said in a statement. The court sentenced two of […]

Hong Kong not becoming ‘police state’, says city’s top cop

Hong Kong is not becoming a “police state”, the city’s top law enforcement officer said Tuesday, days after his officers stamped out the city’s once-permitted commemorations marking Beijing’s deadly Tiananmen crackdown. The Chinese business hub is preparing for an upcoming leadership change as well as the 25th anniversary of the city’s handover from Britain, for which President Xi Jinping is widely expected to visit. Speaking to local outlet HK01 about beefed-up security activity around the event, commissioner Raymond […]

Myanmar villagers accuse junta troops of burning spree

Myanmar junta troops have torched hundreds of buildings during a three-day raid in the country’s north, local media and residents said, as the military struggles to crush resistance to its rule. The Sagaing region has seen fierce fighting and bloody reprisals since the coup last year, with local “People’s Defence Force” (PDF) members clashing regularly with junta troops. Analysts say the informal militia has surprised junta forces with its effectiveness, and the military has on […]

President-elect BongBong Marcos, Jr. vows to continue vlogging to raise public awareness

President-elect Ferdinand “Bongbong” Marcos Jr. has vowed to continue vlogging during his presidency to keep the public posted, as well as solicit advice from them through various social media platforms. In his latest vlog uploaded on his official Youtube account on Saturday, Marcos said he has decided to continue posting videos on social media so as not to limit the dissemination of government information to mainstream media. Marcos said vlogging will serve as a bridge […]

Myanmar junta says will carry out first judicial executions in decades

    Myanmar‘s junta will execute a former lawmaker from Aung San Suu Kyi’s party and a prominent democracy activist, both of whom were convicted of terrorism, in the country’s first judicial executions since 1990, a spokesman told AFP on Friday. Four people, including former MP Phyo Zeya Thaw and democracy activist Ko Jimmy, “who were sentenced to death will be hanged according to prison procedures”, junta spokesman Zaw Min Tun told AFP. The junta has […]