Bariloche, Argentina | AFP | President Donald Trump and Secretary of State Rex Tillerson were both addressing drug smuggling and immigration across the southern US border. But their stark difference in tone during separate Friday meetings underlined a divide that has some asking: “Who speaks for America?” Trump was in Virginia, …
Read More »Turkey says Assad must go ‘at some point’
Istanbul, Turkey | AFP | Turkey on Saturday said that Syrian President Bashar al-Assad should leave office “at some point” in the future but denied there was any kind of contact between Ankara and Damascus over ending the seven year civil war. Ankara has been a prime foe of Assad throughout …
Read More »Mediators say Togo talks to start February 15
Lome, Togo | AFP | Mediators announced Friday that Togo will enter talks on controversial constitutional reform February 15, in a move aimed at ending a crippling political stalemate. However, opposition supporters said they would push ahead with a protest march, scheduled for Saturday. A rolling series of demonstrations against …
Read More »Rihanna presses leaders to fund global education
New York, United States | AFP | Rihanna on Thursday used her star power to urge key governments to commit to ensuring education for the world’s poorest as she takes part in an international conference in Senegal. The chart-topping singer arrived in the capital Dakar where she on Friday will …
Read More »Tillerson: China, Russia roles in Americas ‘alarming’
Austin, United States | AFP | Secretary of State Rex Tillerson warned Thursday that China and Russia are assuming “alarming” roles in Latin America and urged regional powers to work with the United States instead. “Latin America doesn’t need new imperial powers that seek only to benefit their own people,” Tillerson …
Read More »British PM says she is ‘not a quitter’: reports
London, United Kingdom | AFP | British Prime Minister Theresa May batted away critics of her leadership on Wednesday, saying she was “not a quitter”, according to media reports. May is under pressure from across her Conservative party over her Brexit strategy and her domestic policy programme, with one veteran …
Read More »Kremlin says will analyse US ‘Putin list’ without ‘giving into emotions’
Moscow, Russia | AFP | The Kremlin on Tuesday said it would take its time to study a new US Treasury list of Russian officials and business leaders eligible for sanctions, while refraining from giving into “emotions”. “We have to analyse this publication, analyse specifically this list that includes members …
Read More »US releases ‘Putin list’ of Russians eligible for sanctions
Washington, United States | AFP | The US Treasury released a long-awaited list of Russian officials and business leaders eligible for sanctions under a law designed to punish Moscow for its alleged meddling in the election that brought Donald Trump to power. The list published shortly before midnight Monday features …
Read More »Trump blasts EU for trading with US ‘very unfairly’
London, United Kingdom | AFP | The European Union trades with America “very unfairly”, President Donald Trump said in an interview aired Sunday, warning that his many problems with Brussels “may morph into something very big”. “The European Union has treated the United States very unfairly when it came to …
Read More »Iran grants US citizen four-day release from prison
Washington, United States | AFP | Iranian authorities granted a four-day leave on humanitarian grounds Sunday to Baquer Namazi, the oldest of a group of American citizens known to be held in the Islamic Republic. His lawyer Jared Genser said that Namazi, an 81-year-old former UNICEF official, cannot leave Iran …
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