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 …
Read More »Isolated Qatar signs agreements with Oman
Muscat, Oman | AFP | Qatar signed a memorandum of understanding with Oman on the development of bilateral investment and trade Sunday, nearly eight months into a crisis between the emirate and its Arab neighbours. The Omani news agency ONA said the agreement signed in Muscat covers a wide range …
Read More »Trump says US ‘deeply respects’ Africa in letter to AU
Addis Ababa, Ethiopia | AFP | President Donald Trump said the United States “deeply respects” Africans and will dispatch its top diplomat to the continent, in a letter to African leaders seen by AFP on Sunday. The letter sent last week comes after Trump provoked a firestorm of indignation among …
Read More »Mattis wants to keep pressure on N. Korea
Honolulu, United States | AFP | The United States and South Korea are going to keep tightening the screws on Pyongyang so that the hermit state gives up its nuclear program, Pentagon chief Jim Mattis said Friday. “As two peace-loving nations, the Republic of Korea and America welcome the Olympic …
Read More »Burundi claims diplomatic win with hosting of regional summit
Nairobi, Kenya | AFP | Burundi’s government claimed a diplomatic victory Friday with the announcement that it would host a regional trade summit later this year. The tiny central African nation has been in the cold since President Pierre Nkurunziza’s run for a controversial third term in 2015 plunged the …
Read More »Dodging bad headlines and boos, Trump tries to charm Davos
Davos, Switzerland | AFP | President Donald Trump on Friday reached out to the global business and political elite in Davos with a sales pitch for the US economy, but provoked boos for attacking the media after waking up to another round of adverse headlines. In a 15-minute speech at …
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