Paris, France | AFP | France’s new President Emmanuel Macron named Edouard Philippe, a little-known centre-right mayor, as prime minister on Monday, in his first major decision since taking power on a promise to lead a French “renaissance”. Philippe, a 46-year-old MP and mayor of the northern port of Le Havre, …
Read More »FRANCE: Hollande hands over power to Macron
Macron takes power as French president Paris, France | AFP | Emmanuel Macron became France’s youngest ever president on Sunday, promising at his inauguration to restore the country’s lost confidence and relaunch the flagging European Union. Macron, a 39-year-old centrist, took the reins of power from Socialist Francois Hollande at …
Read More »French president Macron’s top quotes at inauguration
French president Macron’s top quotes at inauguration Paris, France | AFP | Emmanuel Macron took over as French president on Sunday, promising to heal the country’s divisions and breathe new life into the European Union. Here are quotes from his inauguration speech: – On France – “The time has come for …
Read More »Sacked South Sudan army chief Malong returns to Juba
Juba, South Sudan | AFP | Sacked South Sudanese army chief Paul Malong, returned to the capital Juba on Saturday claiming he had been asked to return by the authorities and insisting that he’d never had any intention of rebelling. “If I want to rebel I can rebel here (in …
Read More »Brigitte Macron: French president’s teacher-turned-wife
Paris, France | AFP | Once his high school drama teacher, now wife of incoming French president Emmanuel Macron, 64-year-old Brigitte Macron stepped into the spotlight long before her husband was elected. The 25-year age difference and the extraordinary way they met — he pursued her when he was her …
Read More »Portuguese crooner wins Eurovision as conflict mars Kiev’s party
Kiev, Ukraine | AFP | Portugal won the Eurovision Song Contest for the first time ever early Sunday with a melancholy ballad performed by a singer who suffers from a serious heart condition. The fado-tinged song “Amar Pelos Dois” was performed by 27-year-old Salvador Sobral, who is awaiting a heart …
Read More »ANALYSIS: Tumultuous week puts Trump presidency on perilous path
Washington, United States | AFP | Another self-inflicted crisis has left Donald Trump’s critics outraged and some of his Republican allies dismayed, but a bedrock of support for the billionaire US leader means the political endgame is far in the distance. A few weeks ago, only Trump’s most rabid opponents …
Read More »Trump warns sacked FBI chief over media leaks
Washington, United States | AFP | President Donald Trump on Friday warned his sacked FBI director against “leaking” information to reporters, as the White House refused to deny that the president records his conversations with visitors. Capping a week in which Trump faced a slew of criticism for firing the …
Read More »Kiir seeks to assert South Sudan authority after sacking army chief
Juba, South Sudan | AFP | South Sudan’s president insisted Friday that the security situation was “normal” and that people had no reason to worry, three days after dismissing powerful army chief Paul Malong. President Salva Kiir’s dismissal of Malong on Tuesday night has raised concern among the population who …
Read More »Macron’s party unveils Rwanda-born candidate for French parliamentary polls
Macron’s party unveils new faces for French parliamentary polls, including Rwanda-born candidate Paris, France | AFP | French president-elect Emmanuel Macron’s party on Thursday unveiled more than 400 candidates who will stand in parliamentary elections in June, with half of them newcomers to politics and half of them women. It …
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