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NEW YORK, United States (AFP) — A top aide to New York governor Andrew Cuomo resigned Sunday, US media reported, as the net closed further around a once-influential politician now facing the possibility of criminal charges over claims he sexually harassed 11 former and current state employees. Melissa DeRosa had served as secretary to the embattled governor since 2017 and had long been described by New York media as one of his closest confidants. But […]
by Karim Abou Merhi / Amir HAVASI TEHRAN, Iran (AFP) — New President Ebrahim Raisi takes the oath before parliament Thursday, with Iran facing an economy battered by US sanctions, a grinding health crisis and thorny negotiations on its nuclear programme. The ultraconservative former judiciary chief officially began his four-year mandate on Tuesday when he was inaugurated by supreme leader Ayatollah Ali Khamenei. Raisi takes over from moderate Hassan Rouhani, whose landmark achievement during his […]
SINGAPORE, Singapore (AFP) — The Association of Southeast Asian Nations on Wednesday appointed an envoy to Myanmar after a months-long delay in diplomatic efforts to resolve the coup-hit country’s political crisis. ASEAN’s foreign ministers said in a joint statement, delayed by internal wrangling, that they welcomed the appointment of Brunei Second Foreign Minister Erywan Yusof as the bloc’s special envoy. Member state Myanmar has been in political chaos since the military junta ousted Aung San […]
KUALA LUMPUR, Malaysia (AFP) — Malaysian Prime Minister Muhyiddin Yassin refused to yield to mounting calls to quit Wednesday but said he would face a no-confidence vote in parliament in September. Political tensions have been escalating in the country after the king rebuked the administration for misleading parliament and hundreds staged a rare anti-government protest last weekend. The latest blow came Tuesday when several members of the United Malays National Organisation (UMNO), the biggest party […]
BRASILIA, Brazil (AFP) — President Jair Bolsonaro lashed out Tuesday at electoral authorities for ordering an investigation of his campaign against Brazil’s electronic voting system, saying he refused to be “intimidated” and that the country “is under attack.” The far-right president, who is up for re-election next year, has recently stepped up his long-time criticism of Brazil’s voting system, claiming — without evidence — that it is riddled with fraud and insisting there will be […]
MADRID, Spain (AFP) — Spain’s cabinet approved Tuesday the extension of measures to protect the most vulnerable from economic effects of the coronavirus pandemic, including a moratorium on home evictions until November. Socialist Prime Minister Pedro Sanchez’s coalition government first approved the package of social measures in March 2020 during the height of the first wave of the pandemic in Spain, one of Europe’s hardest-hit nations. The so-called “social shield” includes a ban on leaving […]
BANGKOK, Thailand (AFP) — More than 100 protesters have been charged under Thailand’s royal insult laws since last July, when rallies across the kingdom began demanding reforms to the unassailable monarchy, a lawyer representing the activists and an AFP tally showed Tuesday. A mostly youth-led movement kicked off last summer, fuelled by discontent with the government of Thai Premier Prayut Chan-O-Cha, a former military chief who first came to power in a coup in 2014. […]
WASHINGTON, United States (AFP) — US President Joe Biden on Monday urged the imposition of a new ban on evictions to prevent a wave of homelessness as the more infectious Delta variant of the coronavirus takes hold. But just a day after a nationwide eviction moratorium expired, Biden acknowledged the administration does not have the legal authority to help renters stay in their homes. That leaves the White House with few tools to deal with […]
KUALA LUMPUR, Malaysia (AFP) — Malaysian political heavyweights Mahathir Mohamad and Anwar Ibrahim put aside long-running animosity and joined an opposition protest Monday against the shutdown of parliament and demand the country’s embattled premier resign. The final day of a parliament session, due to take place Monday, has been cancelled after the discovery of several coronavirus cases in the legislature. But rivals accused Prime Minister Muhyiddin Yassin of using Covid-19 as an excuse to dodge […]
Myanmar’s junta chief said Sunday that elections would be held and a state of emergency lifted by August 2023, extending the military’s initial timeline given when it deposed Aung San Suu Kyi six months ago. The country has been in turmoil since the army ousted the civilian leader in February, launching a bloody crackdown on dissent that has killed more than 900 people according to a local monitoring group. A resurgent virus wave has also […]
US President Joe Biden on Tuesday accused his Russian counterpart of seeking to disrupt the 2022 congressional elections by spreading “misinformation.” “Look at what Russia is doing already about the 2022 elections and misinformation,” Biden said during a trip to the office of the director of national intelligence near Washington, referring to information he receives during his daily briefing. “It’s a pure violation of our sovereignty.” He also lashed out at Russian President Vladimir Putin. […]
JAKARTA, Indonesia (AFP) — Virus-wracked Indonesia said Sunday that small businesses and some shopping malls could reopen despite warnings that loosening curbs could spark another devastating Covid-19 wave, even as it moved to extend a web of restrictions launched this month. President Joko Widodo said measures imposed in early July would continue until August 2 as the highly infectious Delta variant tears across the Southeast Asian archipelago, which has been overtaking battered India and Brazil […]
