Washington, United States | AFP | A threatened shutdown of the US government would see hundreds of thousands of federal employees furloughed and many more working without pay. President Donald Trump warned Friday that a shutdown could last a “very long time” unless Democrats in the Senate join Republicans and …
Read More »Committee recommends scrapping of political head title from KCCA Act
Kampala, Uganda | THE INDEPENDENT | The Presidential Affairs committee of Parliament has recommended the scrapping of the title “political head of the Capital City” from Kampala Capital City Authority (KCCA) 2010 Act. The committee which has been scrutinising the amendment bill of the KCCA Act says the title, political head …
Read More »Zimbabwe says will not extradite Grace Mugabe
Harare, Zimbabwe | AFP | Zimbabwe on Friday said it would not extradite Grace Mugabe, wife of former president Robert Mugabe, after an arrest warrant was issued in South Africa for her alleged assault of a model in 2017. The 53-year-old reportedly attacked Gabrielle Engels using an electrical extension cord …
Read More »US govt shuts down at midnight as House adjourns with no deal
Washington, United States | AFP | The US House of Representatives adjourned Friday without Congress passing a spending deal, assuring a partial government shutdown at midnight as President Donald Trump and lawmakers remain at odds over border wall funding. Operations for several key agencies will cease in the early hours …
Read More »Trump’s foreign policy in spotlight after military withdrawals
Washington, United States | AFP | US politicians and international allies scrambled Friday to make sense of President Donald Trump’s momentous foreign policy decisions for Syria and Afghanistan — epic reversals that prompted Defense Secretary Jim Mattis to quit. Trump’s historic moves to pull out of Syria and slash troop …
Read More »No Christmas miracle expected as US govt shutdown looms
Washington, United States | AFP | President Donald Trump on Friday gave the clearest signal yet that the US government will partially shut down at midnight, likely leaving hundreds of thousands of federal employees with coal in their Christmas stockings instead of paychecks. Concern — and frustration — in Washington …
Read More »Jim Mattis: the ‘Mad Dog’ with a big library
Washington, United States | AFP | Defense Secretary Jim Mattis, a softly spoken but battle-hardened former Marine, always stood in uneasy contrast with President Donald Trump, his brash businessman boss who avoided any military service. On Thursday, after months of speculation and following Trump’s stunning decision to pull out of …
Read More »France boosts pay for police in wake of ‘yellow vest’ protests
Paris, France | AFP | The French government will give police officers a long-sought raise after a strike called in the wake of the “yellow vest” anti-government protests, which have strained security forces already on high alert after years of jihadist terror attacks. The accord was announced just before midnight …
Read More »Putin says wants to push Russia into top five economies
Moscow, Russia | AFP | Russian President Vladimir Putin said Thursday that he wants to see his country’s economy in the world’s top five. “The main thing is that we need to get into a new league economically,” Putin told his annual press conference, adding: “We could very well take …
Read More »Facebook defends data sharing after new report on partner deals
Washington, United States | AFP | Facebook defended its data sharing practices Wednesday after a report revealing that certain partners of the social network had access to a range of personal information about users and their friends. The New York Times late Tuesday reported that some 150 companies — including …
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