Washington, United States | AFP | Talks aimed at ending a partial US government shutdown which entered its third week on Saturday made little progress but were to continue on Sunday, President Donald Trump said. An impasse with lawmakers over Trump’s demand for billions of dollars to pay for …
Read More »Trump warns could force long-term shutdown over border wall
Washington, United States | AFP | A defiant President Donald Trump said Friday he was prepared to keep the US government shut down for as long as it takes — months or even years — to secure funding from Congress for a border wall with Mexico. “This is national security …
Read More »Somalia refuses to take back expelled UN envoy
United Nations, United States | AFP | Somalia’s president told UN chief Antonio Guterres on Friday that he will not reverse a decision to expel a UN envoy who raised human rights concerns, diplomats said. Guterres spoke by phone with President Mohamed Abdullahi Mohamed on Friday — his second call …
Read More »Democratic lawmaker makes profanity-laced vow to impeach Trump
Washington, United States | AFP | A Democratic congresswoman kicked off her term with an expletive-laced vow to impeach US President Donald Trump, triggering Republican outrage and testing party discipline a day after Democrats regained the House. As a clip of Michigan Democrat Rashida Tlaib’s animated comments circulated widely on …
Read More »Massive data leak targets German officials including Merkel
Berlin, Germany | AFP | Private data stolen from hundreds of German politicians, including Chancellor Angela Merkel, have been released online, the government said Friday. The information, which comprised home addresses, mobile phone numbers, letters, invoices and copies of identity documents, was published via Twitter in December but inexplicably only …
Read More »Trump, Pelosi era could see fireworks in Washington
Washington, United States | AFP | He’s in the White House. She’s in Congress. For the next two years, Donald Trump and Nancy Pelosi will have to work together. It won’t be easy. Trump, the Republican president, will need to deal with Pelosi, the Democratic speaker of the House of …
Read More »Trump turns to ‘Game of Thrones’ to push for border wall
Washington, United States | AFP | US President Donald Trump turned Thursday to “Game of Thrones” — a hit TV show that features a massive ice wall — to push for his controversial barrier on the Mexican border. “THE WALL IS COMING,” Trump wrote in a post on Instagram that …
Read More »Sudan protests biggest threat yet to Bashir: analysts
Paris, France | AFP | Deadly protests that have grown across Sudan in recent weeks are the biggest threat to President Omar al-Bashir’s iron-fisted rule since he swept to power in a 1989 coup, experts said. Clashes have killed at least 19 since demonstrations began two weeks ago, initially in …
Read More »Arrest of French ‘yellow vest’ leader sparks outrage
Paris, France | AFP | One of the leaders of the “yellow vest” demonstrations in France was detained by police in Paris, signalling a harder line from the government that sparked a wave of criticism from opponents on Thursday. Eric Drouet — who already faces a trial for carrying a …
Read More »Somalia tells UN not to interfere after expelling envoy
United Nations, United States | AFP | Somalia on Thursday told the UN Security Council not to interfere in its national affairs after expelling a UN envoy who questioned the government’s decision to arrest an al-Shabaab defector running for election. Somali Ambassador Abukar Dahir Osman did not specifically mention his …
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