Tag Archives: politics

Libreville, Gabon | AFP | Gabon’s President Ali Bongo on Monday addressed his compatriots for the first time since suffering a stroke on October 24, in a New Year’s message recorded in Morocco and distributed via social and traditional media. “It is true that I have been through a difficult …

Brasília, Brazil | AFP | Brazil entered a new chapter in its history on Tuesday, embracing a far-right president, Jair Bolsonaro, whose determination to break with decades of centrist rule has raised both hopes and fears. The former paratrooper and longtime lawmaker was starting his four-year mandate on January 1 …

Jerusalem, Undefined | AFP | Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu said Monday he would not resign if prosecutors moved to indict him on corruption charges, as authorities probe several cases involving him ahead of April polls. Netanyahu said he would not step down in the event of being summoned for …

Washington, United States | AFP | A US judge who ruled earlier this month that Obamacare is unconstitutional has said the health care law can stand while his decision is appealed. In a stay order issued Sunday, Texas-based Judge Reed O’Connor said that while he was confident his ruling would …

Johannesburg, South Africa | AFP | A former finance minister of Mozambique, who approved secret loans that plunged the country into a crisis, has been arrested in South Africa awaiting extradition to the United States, police said Monday. Manuel Chang, 63, was “arrested on Saturday for… USA extradition”, national police …

Washington, United States | AFP | A senior Republican senator said Sunday that President Donald Trump had promised to stay in Syria to finish the job of destroying the Islamic State group — just days after announcing he would be withdrawing troops immediately. “The president understands the need to finish …

Washington, United States | AFP | Outgoing White House chief John Kelly said in an interview published Sunday that he had “nothing but compassion” for undocumented migrants crossing into the US, and undercut President Donald Trump’s claims to be building a “wall” at the Mexico border. As a partial government …

Rio de Janeiro, Brazil | AFP | Brazil is about to experience its moment of truth with its new president, Jair Bolsonaro, who takes power on Tuesday as an untested leader vowing a crackdown on crime and corruption and ideological opposition to the left. The 63-year-old former paratrooper, long an …

Seoul, South Korea | AFP | North Korean leader Kim Jong Un vowed to meet the South’s President Moon Jae-in “frequently” next year to discuss denuclearisation of the peninsula in a rare letter sent to Seoul, Moon’s office said Sunday. The leader of the isolated North met with Moon three …

Manila, Philippines | AFP | Philippine President Rodrigo Duterte drew outrage Sunday after saying he “touched” his maid when he was a teenager, with women’s rights groups accusing him of attempted rape and encouraging sexual abuse. Duterte frequently sparks uproar with his comments on women, including rape jokes and boasting …