WASHINGTON, United States (AFP) — The Obama administration came under fire Thursday over the disappearance of a former Guantanamo Bay inmate in Uruguay, as Republican lawmakers voiced fears he and others freed from the military prison could again threaten America. Jihad Diyab — a 44-year-old Syrian who was resettled in Uruguay in 2014 along with five other ex-detainees — went off the South American country’s radar several weeks ago after apparently evading border controls and […]
Tag: Republican
Obama blasts isolationism, with Trump in sights
by Jerome CARTILLIER OTTAWA, Canada (AFP) — US President Barack Obama warned Wednesday against isolationist tendencies in America and elsewhere, calling it “the wrong medicine” to fix legitimate concerns about globalization. While Obama did not mention Donald Trump by name, he took a clear swipe at the Republican presidential candidate’s heated anti-trade rhetoric during a “Three Amigos” summit with his Canadian and Mexican counterparts. “Even if we wanted to we can’t seal ourselves off from […]
Clinton swipes at Trump over Brexit
WASHINGTON, United States (AFP) — Democrat Hillary Clinton on Sunday took a swipe at Republican rival Donald Trump’s stance on Brexit, saying that “bombastic comments” do more harm than good during such times. Trump has hailed Britain’s vote to leave the European Union as “fantastic,” telling reporters during a visit to Scotland on Friday that he thinks the Brexit is “a great thing.” Clinton, who was speaking to the US Conference of Mayors, did not […]
US House Democrats stage sit-in to demand action on guns
WASHINGTON, United States (AFP) — In one of the most extraordinary scenes in years on the US House floor, Democrats staged a dramatic sit-in Wednesday, demanding that the Republican-led Congress address gun violence following the Orlando nightclub massacre. The lawmakers’ action, which earned praise from President Barack Obama, signaled what is likely to be a protracted election-year battle over firearms — perennially a hot-button campaign issue in the United States. “We have to occupy the […]
US Senate rejects gun control measures after Orlando
by Ivan Couronne WASHINGTON, United States (AFP) — Following the Orlando club massacre, the Republican-controlled US Senate voted down four measures Monday aimed at reducing gun violence, confirmation of the issue’s toxicity especially during 2016’s heated election climate. With a month to go before Republicans and Democrats formally nominate their White House hopefuls, lawmakers failed to cross the aisle and compromise on one of the most sensitive hot-button issues in America. Senators, nevertheless seeking to […]
Under pressure, senators formulate gun control compromise
(Reuters) Some Republican senators tried on Friday to craft a compromise bill to impose limited gun restrictions in the face of pressure from Democrats and public rage over the Orlando mass shooting, the deadliest in modern U.S. history. A gunman killed 49 people at the Orlando, Florida, gay nightclub last Sunday, sparking a scramble over competing gun measures in the U.S. Senate. While past gun-control measures have failed to clear Congress, the massacre, coupled with […]
Clinton wins D.C. primary ahead of meeting with Sanders
(Reuters) WASHINGTON – Democrat Hillary Clinton won the District of Columbia primary on Tuesday, capturing the party’s last presidential nominating contest as Democrats turn their focus to the Nov. 8 election against presumptive Republican nominee Donald Trump. Clinton, who secured enough delegates to clinch the Democratic presidential nomination last week, is to meet in private later on Tuesday with rival Bernie Sanders as the sometimes bitter political combatants search for common ground in the […]
Trump calls for increased military response after Orlando shooting
(REUTERS) Donald Trump on Monday said the United States needs to increase its military response against Islamic State in the wake of the Orlando nightclub shooting over the weekend, including additional bombings. The presumptive Republican nominee, in an interview on Fox News, said that he would address acts of terrorism in his speech at 2 p.m. EDT in New Hampshire, which he had earlier planned to use to target Democratic presidential candidate Hillary Clinton. […]
Trump says he was right about ‘radical Islamic terrorism’, blames Obama
Reuters — In the wake of the deadliest shooting in U.S. history, likely Republican presidential nominee Donald Trump said he was “right on radical Islamic terrorism” and called for toughness and vigilance. Trump made the statement on Twitter after the attack in an Orlando, Florida nightclub which 50 killed people and wounded 53. “Appreciate the congrats for being right on radical Islamic terrorism, I don’t want congrats, I want toughness & vigilance,” Trump tweeted. “We […]
Stung by criticism, Trump vows to work for ethnic harmony
(Reuters) U.S. Republican presidential candidate Donald Trump offered a message of ethnic harmony on Friday at a Christian evangelical conference as he sought to calm concern about his criticism of a Mexican-American judge. In a departure from his usual freewheeling style, Trump read a carefully scripted speech from a teleprompter as part of a new push by his campaign to tone down the outspoken New Yorker’s harsh rhetoric. Trump’s remarks included a wide-ranging attack […]
Trump would speak to N.Korean leader: report
WASHINGTON , United States (AFP) — Donald Trump on Tuesday said he would speak with North Korean leader Kim Jong-Un, in what would be a dramatic shift in US policy. “I would speak to him, I would have no problem speaking to him,” the Republican presumptive presidential nominee told Reuters in an exclusive interview. Until now, the US strategy has been to try and isolate Pyongyang. “I would put a lot of pressure on China […]
Obama defends economic legacy, rebukes ‘fantasy’ Republicans
WASHINGTON , United States (AFP) — In the twilight of his presidency, Barack Obama has moved to defend his economic legacy and handling of the 2008 crisis, saying the financial system is now “substantially more stable.” Obama, in an interview published Thursday in The New York Times Magazine, also dismissed the “fantasy” economic platforms of Republican presidential candidates vying to succeed him at the November general election. The financial sector “is bigger, absorbs more resources […]





