Beijing, China | AFP | State support for private firms is crucial in China’s market, the head of the mainland’s online search giant Baidu said Thursday, following complaints from European businesses that Beijing-backed firms are pushing out foreign competitors. “I think state support of private companies is absolutely necessary. In the …
Read More »Gambia coalition near collapse over legislative election
Banjul, Gambia | AFP | Gambian coalition parties which united last year to deliver the first new president in 22 years are unlikely to run together for legislative elections next month, a senior government source told AFP. President Adama Barrow said in January his coalition government would “continue as a …
Read More »Republican plan to replace Obamacare: what’s new in it?
Washington, United States | AFP | Congress is currently debating long-awaited legislation endorsed by US President Donald Trump that replaces his predecessor’s health care reforms with what supporters hail as a more free-market, patient-centered system. How would it work? Trump insisted Friday it was time to “act now to save …
Read More »Sudan summons US envoy to protest new Trump travel ban
Khartoum, Sudan | AFP | Sudan summoned on Thursday US charge d’affaires Steven Koutsis to protest President Donald Trump’s revised travel ban which bars its citizens from entering the United States. “The US charge d’affaires was informed of Sudan’s discontent over the decisions issued by the American adminstration on March 6,” …
Read More »Shuttered: EU ditches summit ‘family photo’
Brussels, Belgium | AFP | The EU has ditched the traditional “family photo” of leaders at Brussels summits as it seeks a more modern image for the bloc, European sources said. Until the end of last year, the 28 European Union leaders gathering for their regular meetings would pose together …
Read More »Nigeria’s Buhari returns but VP will stay in charge until Monday
Abuja, Nigeria | AFP | President Muhammadu Buhari on Friday returned to Nigeria after nearly two months’ medical leave in Britain but did little to quell fears about the state of his health by saying he would not start work again immediately. The 74-year-old, who has been in London since …
Read More »Buhari back in Nigeria after 2 months leave
Abuja, Nigeria | AFP | President Muhammadu Buhari arrived back in Nigeria on Friday after nearly two months in London receiving treatment for an undisclosed ailment. The 74-year-old landed at the airport in the northern city of Kaduna at about 7:40 am (0640 GMT) and was flown by helicopter to the …
Read More »More than 730 change gender on NY birth certificates
New York, United States | AFP | More than 730 people aged five to 76 have changed gender on New York birth certificates since 2015, an explosion in applications after rules were relaxed two years ago, officials said Thursday. The 731 gender-change applications approved since January 2015 come in stark …
Read More »South Korean president sacked by top court
Seoul, South Korea | AFP | South Korean President Park Geun-Hye was fired by the country’s top court on Friday, as it upheld her impeachment by parliament over a wide-ranging corruption scandal. The unanimous decision brought to a climax months of political turmoil that brought millions of people onto the streets …
Read More »ANALYSIS: Trump takes risk in targeting critical Republican
Washington, United States | AFP | President Donald Trump took aim at a fellow Republican who opposes his healthcare reform plan Wednesday, in a bid to squash dissent that presents a major test to his presidential punch. After years of Republican efforts to rip up Barack Obama’s emblematic healthcare law, …
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