New York, United States | AFP | Donald Trump vowed Wednesday to forge ahead with plans for a wall on the southern US border after taking office, and said Mexico would reimburse the United States for the cost. “I could wait about a year and a half until we finish …
Read More »South Africa backs Western Sahara independence at talks
Pretoria, South Africa | AFP | South African President Jacob Zuma on Friday held talks in Pretoria with the leader of Western Sahara’s Polisario Front independence movement, in a show of support for the territory’s struggle against Morocco. Brahim Ghali was making his first visit to South Africa — a …
Read More »Five questions on China-N. Korea relations
Beijing, China | AFP | US president-elect Donald Trump has repeatedly called out China for doing too little to help stop North Korea’s nuclear programme, and on Monday he took to Twitter again to blast Beijing. “China has been taking out massive amounts of money & wealth from the US …
Read More »Abe, Obama lay wreaths at Pearl Harbor memorial
Pearl Harbor, United States | AFP | Japanese Prime Minister Shinzo Abe and US President Barack Obama made a poignant joint pilgrimage to Pearl Harbor Tuesday, laying wreaths for the victims of a stealth attack that triggered America’s entry into World War II. The pair paid homage to the more …
Read More »PUTIN: Nobody believed that Trump would win except us
Putin warms to Trump, flexes muscles on Syria Moscow, Russia | AFP | Russian President Vladimir Putin on Friday appeared to cosy up to US President-elect Donald Trump while asserting his authority as the key powerbroker in Syria. At his annual end-of-year press conference, the confident Kremlin strongman praised Trump …
Read More »Next on Trump’s radar is the UN
After Israel vote, Trump promises change at UN Palm Beach, United States | AFP | US President-elect Donald Trump on Friday vowed that the country’s policies at the United Nations will change after he takes office. “As to the UN, things will be different after Jan 20th,” he said on …
Read More »Burundi summons EU envoys for skipping Nyamitwe meeting
Nairobi, Kenya | AFP | Burundi’s foreign minister on Thursday summoned envoys for the EU and several European nations to rap them over the knuckles for skipping a diplomatic meeting he had invited them to, government sources said. Ambassadors for the EU, France, Germany, Belgium and the Netherlands had been …
Read More »Amina Mohammed, two other women named to top UN posts
United Nations, United States | AFP | Incoming UN Secretary-General Antonio Guterres on Thursday announced the appointment of Nigeria’s Environment Minister Amina Mohammed to be the UN’s number two official and tapped two other women for key leadership posts. Guterres has made gender parity a priority of his tenure which …
Read More »White House backs Congress probe of election hacking
Washington, United States | AFP | The White House on Monday threw its support behind a Congressional investigation into Russian meddling in the US election, saying lawmakers had a “special responsibility” to investigate such an explosive issue. “We have long supported the principle of congressional review of this matter,” said …
Read More »Media – China should build more nuclear arms to prepare for Trump
Beijing, China | AFP | China should “significantly” increase military spending and build more nuclear weapons as a response to US President-elect Donald Trump, an editorial in the nationalistic Global Times newspaper said Thursday. China should “build more strategic nuclear arms and accelerate the deployment of the DF-41 intercontinental ballistic …
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