Washington, United States | AFP | It may not yet be a full-blown divorce, but the relationship between Donald Trump and the Republican Party is fast unraveling, threatening the president’s prospects of steering legislation through Congress. Trump took barely 18 months to conquer the party of Abraham Lincoln and Ronald Reagan, …
Read More »Abbasi, loyal placeholder for Pakistan’s Sharif dynasty
Islamabad, Pakistan | AFP | Shahid Khaqan Abbasi, elected as Pakistan’s new prime minister Tuesday, is expected to act as a placeholder for the Sharif dynasty after three-time premier Nawaz Sharif was ousted by the Supreme Court. Considered highly intelligent and a long-time Sharif loyalist, the 58-year-old is the former federal …
Read More »Scaramucci’s White House — and other — woes
Washington, United States | AFP | After months of being blocked by political rivals, Anthony Scaramucci had finally landed his coveted White House job. Just 10 days later, the fast-talking Wall Street financier was unceremoniously fired, his wife had filed for divorce and he’d missed the birth of their child. And …
Read More »S.Africa’s vexed land reform scores a rare success
Hoedspruit, South Africa | AFP | It was a hard-fought victory for South Africa’s black community seeking to reclaim land, and for the Moletele ethnic group it has become a surprising model of wider racial cooperation. After a 10-year legal battle, the Moletele have taken back the land from which …
Read More »SAfrican activist jumped to death, ex-guard tells apartheid probe
Pretoria, South Africa | AFP | A South African policeman present when an anti-apartheid operative plunged to his death more than 40 years ago insisted on Monday that the victim had jumped to his death. But the judge hearing the inquest into the death of Ahmed Timol warned him that he …
Read More »US risks being seen as ‘kleptocracy’ under Trump: former ethics chief
Washington, United States | AFP | The United States is at risk of being viewed as a “kleptocracy” under President Donald Trump, the former head of the US government ethics office said in an interview published Monday. “His actions create the appearance of profiting from the presidency, and the appearance here …
Read More »Trump brings in new chief of staff in bid to reset White House
Washington, United States | AFP | Donald Trump installed retired Marine Corps general John Kelly as his new chief of staff Monday, hoping to bring order and discipline to a White House beset by scandal, infighting, low approval ratings and legislative defeats. Trump confidently predicted the 67-year-old combat veteran — who …
Read More »White House admits Trump ‘weighed in’ on son’s Russia statement
Washington, United States | AFP | The White House admitted Tuesday that Donald Trump helped draft a misleading statement about his son’s meeting with a Kremlin-connected lawyer — deepening the president’s entanglement in the saga over his team’s ties to Russia. White House spokeswoman Sarah Huckabee Sanders said Trump had …
Read More »US Senate confirms Christopher Wray as FBI director
Washington, United States | AFP | The US Senate overwhelmingly confirmed Christopher Wray as the new director of the FBI on Tuesday, three months after President Donald Trump fired his predecessor James Comey. The high-flying criminal lawyer was an uncontroversial choice for the post, winning widespread bipartisan backing after telling …
Read More »XI JINPING: China will protect its sovereignty
Beijing, China | AFP | China will fiercely protect its sovereignty against “any people, organisation or political party”, President Xi Jinping warned Tuesday, as the country celebrated the 90th anniversary of its military. The message comes as the ruling Communist Party (CCP) faces political resistance in semi-autonomous Hong Kong, where …
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