Washington, United States | AFP | The United States hopes to make “significant progress” during high-stakes trade talks with Chinese officials this week, US Treasury Secretary Steven Mnuchin said Tuesday. Beijing and Washington have a month remaining in a 90-day truce declared in December before US tariffs on hundreds of billions in Chinese exports are …
Read More »Race for ‘hypersonic’ weapons heats up as France joins fray
Paris, France | AFP | World powers are vying to develop so-called “hypersonic” weapons that travel several times the speed of sound, with France the latest to join a field led so far by Russia and China. Hypersonics are like missiles that travel at over five times the speed of …
Read More »Businesses struggle as cracks appear in China’s economy
Beijing, China | AFP | Cracks are opening in China’s mighty economy: investors are backing away from deals, factories are moving abroad and companies are shedding jobs. The world’s second-largest economy is losing steam, hitting its slowest growth in almost three decades last year, and flagging further in recent months. …
Read More »US court blocks Trump rule that limited abortion access
Washington, United States | AFP | A judge in the United States on Monday blocked an order by President Donald Trump’s administration that would have stripped free birth control from some American women. In October 2017, the Trump administration annulled an Obamacare provision that obliged employer health plans to pay for contraception. The move extended …
Read More »Government shutdown becomes longest in US history
Washington, United States | AFP | The partial US government shutdown entered a record 22nd day Saturday, as President Donald Trump remains steadfast in his demand for $5.7 billion to build a Mexico border wall and Democrats in Congress determined to refuse the funds. The impasse has paralyzed Washington, with the president retaliating by refusing …
Read More »US begins withdrawing gear from Syria, but not troops
Washington, United States | AFP | The US military has begun moving non-essential gear out of Syria but is not withdrawing troops for now, defense officials said amid uncertainty over America’s planned exit from the war-battered nation. President Donald Trump last month claimed the Islamic State group had been defeated in Syria and said all …
Read More »DNA request made in Cristiano Ronaldo rape case
Los Angeles, United States | AFP | Las Vegas police have asked football star Cristiano Ronaldo to submit a DNA sample as part of their investigation into rape allegations made against him. The five-time world player of the year — who plays for Italian league champions Juventus — has vehemently denied the accusations, and his …
Read More »US, China disagree on South Sudan
China has disagreed with the United States, its major economic rival on how to ensure peace in South Sudan. Whereas the US has persistently called for sanctions against Uganda’s northern neighbour in a way of preventing the intermittent fighting that breaks out in the country, China, has said placing sanctions …
Read More »America versus Museveni
Ambassador Malac redefines the rules Can someone be defined by their hair? Possibly, in the case of U.S ambassador to Uganda, Deborah Malac. As President Yoweri Museveni discovered recently at his most recent swearing-in ceremony, Malac can be as edgy, unconventional, and anti-establishment as her low cut punky blonde head. …
Read More »“Riek Machar is going to come. But when?”
Juba, South Sudan | AFP and agencies | For the second day in a row South Sudan’s rebels have failed to organise their leader’s much-anticipated return to the capital, Juba, after more than two years of war. The government has blamed Riek Machar (see statements below), accusing him of wanting …
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