2500, France | AFP | Shortly after coming to power last year, Emmanuel Macron mused to a friend about the role of president. “You go through stages,” he said. “Innocence is not allowed.” On Friday night, like British Prime Minister Theresa May, he ordered his first major military intervention. Early …
Read More »Russia, Egypt resume direct flights two years after attack
Moscow, Russia | AFP | Russia and Egypt are to resume direct flights on Wednesday following a more than two-year hiatus after a bomb downed a Russian charter over the Sinai peninsula in 2015. Moscow officials stopped direct flights citing security concerns after the attack, in a major blow for …
Read More »Mexican president orders review of cooperation with US
Mexico City, Mexico | AFP | Mexican President Enrique Pena Nieto has ordered his government to carry out a sweeping review of its cooperation with the neighboring United States, his office said Monday, as tensions rise with the Donald Trump administration. The move comes days after Trump ordered thousands of …
Read More »Ambassador Hyuha presents credentials to Indonesia president
Jakarta, Malaysia | THE INDEPENDENT | Ambassador Dorothy Samali Hyuha on Wednesday presented her credentials to President of Indonesia Joko Widodo at a brief ceremony at the Presidential Palace (Istana Merdeka), Jakarta. Hyuha, takes charge of Indonesia but with residence in Kuala Lumpur, Malaysia where she is Uganda’s High Commissioner. According to …
Read More »Russia promises ‘tough response’ to US sanctions
Moscow, Russia | AFP | Moscow on Friday promised a “tough response” to new US sanctions imposed on seven of Russia’s most influential oligarchs following the diplomatic crisis sparked by the poisoning of former spy Sergei Skripal. “We will not let the current attack, or any new anti-Russian attack, go without …
Read More »UN chief urges ‘extreme caution’ from Israel over Gaza
United Nations, United States | AFP | The UN Secretary General Antonio Guterres on Thursday urged Israel to exercise “extreme caution” on the eve of expected protests in Gaza, a week after Israeli troops killed 18 Palestinians. “I particularly urge Israel to exercise extreme caution with the use of force in …
Read More »‘Threats, disrespect’ unjustified, Mexican president tells Trump
Mexico City, Mexico | AFP | Mexican President Enrique Pena Nieto lashed out at his US counterpart Donald Trump on Thursday amid growing tensions over migration and border security, saying “threatening or disrespectful attitudes” were unjustified. Speaking after Trump ordered National Guard troops to secure the US-Mexican border, Pena Nieto …
Read More »US to update Saudi Arabia artillery for record $1.31 billion
Washington, United States | AFP | The United States on Thursday approved a contract to sell Saudi Arabia 180 self-propelled artillery systems for $1.31 billion, in the latest stage of perhaps the world’s biggest arms deal. When US President Donald Trump visited Riyadh last year he boasted that the desert …
Read More »Rouhani angers Israel with ‘support for terrorists’ jibe
Jerusalem, Undefined | AFP | Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu hit out at Iran on Wednesday after President Hassan Rouhani accused Israel of supporting “terrorists” in Syria. “Absurdity has no limits: Iran’s terrorist regime that sends tentacles of terror across the region accuses Israel of terrorism,” Netanyahu wrote on Twitter. “If …
Read More »Lavrov says spy poisoning could be ‘in interests’ of UK govt
Moscow, Russia | AFP | Russian Foreign Minister Sergei Lavrov on Monday suggested that the poisoning of a former double agent could benefit the British government by distracting attention from problems around Brexit. The March 4 attack on Skripal and his daughter in the English city of Salisbury has triggered …
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