Geneva, Switzerland | AFP | An independent UN expert has apologised for misspeaking during a news conference in Geneva this week, correcting his claim that more than 100,000 children were being held in migration-related US detention. AFP and a range of other media outlets were forced to retract their stories after …
Read More »Democrat debate exposes divides despite united front on Trump
Atlanta, United States | AFP | Divides between Democrats vying to challenge President Donald Trump in the 2020 election were laid bare in a bruising debate Wednesday, as the campaign’s rising star Pete Buttigieg acknowledged he faced challenges in attracting black voters. Buttigieg, the contest’s youngest candidate who is running in …
Read More »Top diplomat implicates Trump in explosive impeachment testimony
Washington, United States | AFP | A senior US diplomat directly implicated President Donald Trump Wednesday in a scheme to force Ukraine to probe a political rival, in bombshell testimony to a televised impeachment hearing. Gordon Sondland, the US envoy to the European Union and a Trump ally, told lawmakers he …
Read More »US authorizes ‘several’ firms to sell to Huawei amid sanctions
Washington, United States | AFP | US officials said Wednesday they have agreed to grant licenses to “several” firms to provide components to Chinese tech giant Huawei, which faces sanctions imposed over national security concerns. A Commerce Department spokesman said the agency had granted “narrow licenses to authorize limited and specific activities which do not …
Read More »US extends license for businesses to work with Huawei by 90 days
Washington, United States | AFP | The United States on Monday granted another 90 days for companies to cease doing business with China’s telecoms giant Huawei, saying the move would allow service providers to continue to offer coverage in rural areas. President Donald Trump in May effectively barred Huawei from American …
Read More »Is America ready for a gay president? Buttigieg surge poses question
New York, United States | AFP | As young Democrat Pete Buttigieg emerges as a genuine contender in the 2020 White House race, his rise poses the question of whether America is ready for an openly gay president. When Buttigieg announced in January that he was considering a presidential run, few …
Read More »Trump says will ‘strongly consider’ testifying in impeachment probe
Washington, United States | AFP | President Donald Trump said Monday he is “strongly” considering accepting a challenge from opposition Democrats to testify in his own impeachment investigation. After the speaker of the lower house, Nancy Pelosi, upped the ante by suggesting that Trump come forward to tell the “truth,” the …
Read More »North Korea ‘no longer interested’ in summits with US: KCNA
Seoul, South Korea | AFP | North Korea is “no longer interested” in summits with the US unless Washington offers new concessions in their nuclear negotiations, Pyongyang said Monday, hours after Donald Trump hinted at the prospect. “You should act quickly, get the deal done,” Trump tweeted Sunday, referring to North Korean leader Kim Jong …
Read More »Trump to attend NATO summit in London, days before UK vote
Washington, United States | AFP | US President Donald Trump will visit Britain for NATO’s 70th-anniversary summit next month, the White House said Friday, in a trip falling days before the country votes in a general election. British Prime Minister Boris Johnson is seeking to retain power in the December 12 …
Read More »North Korea calls Biden ‘rabid dog’ that ‘must be beaten to death’
Seoul, South Korea | AFP | North Korea has launched a visceral diatribe against US Democratic presidential candidate Joe Biden, calling the former vice-president a “rabid dog” — while also borrowing the terminology of Donald Trump. Pyongyang is renowned for its vitriol, but the verbal deluge was unusually ferocious even by …
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