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ISTANBUL, Turkey (AFP) — Turkey’s embattled lira, which had lost some 20 percent in value against the dollar this year, on Monday surged some three percent in value against the greenback following President Recep Tayyip Erdogan’s decisive election victory. The lira was trading at 4.54 to the dollar, a gain in value of 2.9 percent on the day. It was trading at 5.3 to the euro, a gain in value also of 2.9 percent. Erdogan won […]
by Gokan Gunes © Agence France-Presse ISTANBUL, Turkey (AFP) — One hundred people listen to presentations crammed into a room in Istanbul, defying the oppressive summer heat and attentively taking notes. Their aim — to ensure Sunday’s elections in Turkey are not marred by election fraud. Opposition parties, associations and members of the public have united in an unprecedented way to organise monitoring of the polling stations to check for any irregularities. With President Recep Tayyip […]
by Luana Sarmini-Buonaccorsi and Stuart Williams in Istanbul © Agence France-Presse ANKARA, Turkey (AFP) — President Recep Tayyip Erdogan on Sunday faces the biggest ballot box challenge of his 15-year grip on Turkey, seeking to overcome a revitalized opposition against the background of an increasingly troubled economy. A self-styled heavyweight champion of campaigning, Erdogan has won successive elections since his Islamic-rooted ruling party came to power in 2002, transforming Turkey with growth-orientated economic policies, religious conservatism […]
CARACAS, Venezuela (AFP) — Venezuela’s highest court refused Wednesday to consider a lawsuit challenging President Nicolas Maduro’s re-election victory in May. The elections chamber of the Supreme Court announced its decision on Twitter, and did not give the reasoning behind it. The court is widely accused of being biased in favor of the president. On May 20, Maduro was re-elected for a second six-year term with 68 percent of the vote in a poll boycotted […]
SEOUL, South Korea (AFP) — South Korea’s ruling Democratic Party (DP) won a landslide victory Wednesday in local elections held the day after a historic summit between the United States and North Korea. The triumph in the first elections since President Moon Jae-in took office around a year ago is widely seen as a boon to the country’s leader, who helped bring together the Cold War foes for an unprecedented meeting. Exit polls by […]
LIMA, Peru (AFP) — Peru’s congress suspended lawmaker Kenji Fujimori late Wednesday over corruption allegations but lacked a quorum to dismiss him as part of a fight with his sister for control of their father’s political dynasty. After 11 hours of debate, 61 lawmakers voted to suspend the youngest son of former president Alberto Fujimori. But the speaker of the chamber, Luis Galarreta, then suspended the session citing a lack of quorum — 67 lawmakers […]
by Jocelyne Zablit © Agence France-Presse LOS ANGELES, United States (AFP) — Voters cast ballots in eight US states for key primary elections on Tuesday, with all eyes on California, where the outcome could swing the balance of power in Congress. Democrats in the country’s most populous state are battling to ensure they come out on top in several congressional districts that voted for Hillary Clinton over Donald Trump in the 2016 presidential election. However, […]
UNITED NATIONS, United States (AFP) — The United States will “unquestionably veto” a UN draft resolution calling for the protection of Palestinians in Gaza and the West Bank, US Ambassador Nikki Haley said ahead of a Security Council vote on Thursday. Haley described the text put forward by Kuwait on behalf of Arab countries as a “grossly one-sided approach that is morally bankrupt and would only serve to undermine ongoing efforts toward peace between the […]
by Maria Isabel Sanchez Agence France Presse CARACAS, Venezuela (AFP) — President Nicolas Maduro was unsurprisingly declared winner of Venezuela’s election Sunday in a poll rejected as invalid by his rivals, who immediately called for fresh elections to be held later this year. Reeling under a devastating economic crisis, only 46 percent of voters turned out to cast ballots in an election boycotted by the opposition and condemned by much of the international community, but […]
CARACAS, Venezuela (AFP) — Venezuela’s main opposition, which boycotted Sunday’s presidential election, urged the two candidates who opposed President Nicolas Maduro not to recognize the results, calling the poll a fraud. “We want the candidates who presented themselves to take a step forward and not recognize a result that is already cooked,” said Victor Marquez of Frente Amplio, one of the main opposition parties. Opposition lawmaker Juan Andres Mejia called on former governor Henri Falcon […]
by Sarah Benhaida Agence France Presse BAGHDAD, Iraq (AFP) — An alliance spearheaded by nationalist cleric Moqtada Sadr looked on the course Monday for a surprise triumph at Iraq’s first nationwide election since the defeat of the Islamic State group. In a further political upset, the rival Conquest Alliance of pro-Iranian former fighters appeared to be coming in second, squeezing internationally favored prime minister Haider al-Abadi into third. The outcome throws open the race to […]
MEXICO CITY, Mexico (AFP) — The Lima Group of countries seeking a peaceful solution to the spiralling crisis in Venezuela urged President Nicolas Maduro on Monday to cancel weekend elections that the group has denounced as undemocratic. The group “calls for the last time on the Venezuelan government to suspend the general elections” scheduled for Sunday, Mexican Foreign Minister Luis Videgaray told a press conference after the countries met in Mexico City. The elections were called […]
