Ramped up security, less partisan political rancor, a different media focus: political analyst Aaron Kall talks to AFP about the implications of the wounding of Donald Trump in an assassination attempt against the former US president at an election rally Saturday in Pennsylvania. “It’s hard to predict long-term,” Kall tells AFP during an online interview. “Any politician in a situation like this, you want to go on as business as normal and not allow this […]
Tag: Rally
Bloodied Trump survives assassination bid (UPDATES with shooter identified)
By Gregory WALTON BUTLER, United States, July 14, 2024 (AFP) -Donald Trump was hit in the ear in an assassination attempt by a gunman at a campaign rally Saturday, in a chaotic and shocking incident set to supercharge political tensions ahead of the polarising US presidential election. The 78-year-old former president was rushed off stage with blood streaked across his face after the shooting in Butler, Pennsylvania, while the shooter and a bystander were killed […]
At least 9 dead as stage collapses at Mexico election rally
By Yussel GONZALEZ MEXICO CITY, May 23, 2024 (AFP) – An election rally in northern Mexico descended into tragedy after a gust of wind sent the stage careening into the crowd on Wednesday night, killing at least nine people, including a child, authorities said. At least 50 other people were injured in the accident, some seriously, according to Nuevo Leon Governor Samuel Garcia. Footage of the incident showed a chaotic scramble as people screamed and […]
Moscow warns against protests after Navalny death
MOSCOW, Feb 16, 2024 (AFP) – Moscow on Friday warned people against taking to the streets to protest, hours after the death of leading Kremlin critic Alexei Navalny. Images on social media showed people laying flowers at memorials to victims of political repression in honour of Navalny, who Russian authorities said had died on Friday in the Arctic prison colony where he was serving a 19-year sentence. The prosecutor’s office in the Russian capital said […]
Hundreds of thousands protest against far right in Germany
By Pauline CURTET, with Sebastien ASH in Berlin MUNICH, Germany, Jan 21, 2024 (AFP) – Hundreds of thousands joined rallies against the far-right AfD party in Germany on Sunday, capping a week-long wave of protest that has seen demonstrators turn out in unusually large numbers across the country. Between Friday and Sunday alone, protests were organised in some 100 locations, with organisers Campact and Fridays for Future estimating that over 1.4 million people had gone […]
Tens of thousands rally against Covid curbs in Europe and Australia
by Danny Kemp and Julie Capelle, with AFP bureaus DEN HAAG, Netherlands (AFP) — Tens of thousands took to the streets in cities across Europe and Australia Saturday as anger mounted over fresh Covid restrictions imposed against a resurgent pandemic. And Dutch police faced a second night of rioting — this time in The Hague — after the previous night’s violence in the port city of Rotterdam. Clashes erupted after a day of mainly […]
Police wounded, hundreds arrested in Melbourne anti-lockdown protest
MELBOURNE, Australia (AFP) — Several police officers were wounded and hundreds of protesters were arrested in Australia’s second-most-populous city Saturday in violent clashes at an anti-lockdown march. Officers used pepper spray and made over 200 arrests in Melbourne as several hundred attendees flouted stay-at-home orders and marched through an inner-city suburb. The illegal gathering comes as the city goes through its sixth lockdown since the pandemic started, with the wider state of Victoria reporting […]
Thousands in Brazil rally for Bolsonaro, ignoring virus
BRASILIA, Brazil (AFP) — Several thousand Brazilians marched Saturday in support of far-right president Jair Bolsonaro, ignoring a surging pandemic even as government opponents took their own protests online. There were rallies in Brasilia, Sao Paulo and Rio de Janeiro, with many demonstrators wearing the yellow, blue and green of the country’s flag. Brazil, with more than 403,000 Covid-19 deaths, is second only to the United States in that grim category, and Bolsonaro faces […]
More than 20 protesters arrested in Thailand
BANGKOK, Thailand (AFP) — Thai police arrested more than 20 people under sweeping new emergency measures Thursday, with pro-democracy activists reporting a handful of high-profile leaders were among those detained. The arrests came after thousands gathered in Bangkok, including on the route of a royal motorcade, with many raising a defiant three-fingers. The salute, borrowed from the “Hunger Games” books and films, has been harnessed by the youth-led movement as a symbol calling for […]
US biker rally may have led to 260,000 new Covid-19 cases: study
WASHINGTON, United States (AFP) — A massive motorcycle rally held in the US state of South Dakota last month may have been responsible for 260,000 new coronavirus cases, according to an analysis published Tuesday. This figure, which came from a paper that hasn’t yet been peer-reviewed, would represent the biggest Covid-19 spreading event documented in the US to date. The study was published by the Institute of Labor Economics and conducted by economists at the […]
Thousands rally against Spain virus response, urge PM to quit
MADRID, Spain (AFP) — Thousands of Spaniards answered a call on Saturday from far-right party Vox to protest against lockdown measures and the increasingly beleaguered government of leftist Pedro Sanchez. Motorists thronged the roads of central Madrid, tooting their horns as others held placards and shouted “Sanchez, resign” and “freedom”. Vox called demonstrations in dozens of cities with its leader Santiago Abascal alleging the government “has been incapable of protecting its people, its elderly […]
US anti-confinement protesters demand economic freedom
by Catherine TRIOMPHE Agence France Presse The incessant clang of car horns rang out in the US state of Pennsylvania Monday as hundreds of vehicles circled the Capitol building in a protest against confinement measures aimed at combatting the coronavirus. During the rally that lasted about three hours, many drove pick-up trucks decorated with American flags or slogans like “shelter in place isn’t freedom!” The Harrisburg demonstrators, arguing that public health regulations unduly threaten […]





