Chicago, United States | AFP | A refugee from Myanmar’s tyrannized Rohingya minority, Lila Mubarak embodies perfectly the “poor, huddled masses” welcomed to the United States for more than a century by a bronze plaque at the foot of the Statue of Liberty. The 27-year-old beams as she recounts her difficult …
Read More »US intel chief replaced as casualties of Trump purge mount
Washington, United States | AFP | Donald Trump replaced his intelligence chief Thursday as reports emerged that the US president was furious with the official over a briefing given to lawmakers about Russian interference in the 2020 election campaign. Trump erupted in anger at acting director of national intelligence (DNI) Joseph …
Read More »Trump ally to be sentenced amid firestorm over presidential meddling
Washington, United States | AFP | Donald Trump’s longtime aide Roger Stone will be sentenced Thursday in a case that has caused a stir in Washington following meddling by the US president and his attorney general. Stone, one of the Republican leader’s allies and “oldest friends,” was convicted in November of …
Read More »Bezos launches $10 bn fund to combat climate change
Washington, United States | AFP | His company is often criticized for its environmental record, but Jeff Bezos, CEO of Amazon and the world’s richest man, said Monday that he was committing $10 billion to a new fund to tackle climate change. In a post to his 1.4 million followers on …
Read More »In US politics, height matters and Trump knows it
Washington, United States | AFP | When Donald Trump literally belittles his perceived enemies — by mocking their stature — he is weaponizing a long-standing maxim of US presidential politics: taller guys tend to win the White House. Trump — who stands at about 6’3″ (1m90) depending on which source you …
Read More »Justice chief blasts Trump for making job ‘impossible’
Washington, United States | AFP | US Attorney General Bill Barr on Thursday delivered a highly unusual public rebuke of Donald Trump, saying the president’s tweets were making his job at the Justice Department “impossible.” “I have a problem with some of the tweets,” Barr said in an interview with ABC …
Read More »Trump under fire for intervening in Roger Stone case
Washington, United States | AFP | US President Donald Trump faced fresh accusations of abuse of power Tuesday after appearing to pressure the Justice Department to seek a lighter prison sentence for his longtime political aide Roger Stone. Stone was convicted in November last year of lying to Congress, tampering with …
Read More »Sanders wins in New Hampshire as Biden crashes and burns
Manchester, United States | AFP | Bernie Sanders won New Hampshire’s high-stakes Democratic primary on Tuesday, according to US network projections, leaving rivals including party stalwart Joe Biden in his wake as he staked his claim to challenge President Donald Trump in November. Sanders, the flag-bearer for the party’s progressive wing, …
Read More »Top hopefuls Buttigieg, Sanders under fire in Democratic debate
Manchester, United States | AFP | White House hopefuls Bernie Sanders and Pete Buttigieg — riding neck-and-neck in the polls ahead of the next Democratic primary contest — come under sustained attack on the debate stage from rivals seeking to challenge Donald Trump in November. Buttigieg, a former mayor of South …
Read More »Trump impeachment witnesses lose their jobs
Washington, United States | AFP | US President Donald Trump on Friday fired two of the highest profile witnesses in his impeachment probe, sparking accusations that he is on a campaign of revenge. Trump recalled his ambassador to the European Union, Gordon Sondland, just hours after Lieutenant Colonel Alexander Vindman, a …
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