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 …
Read More »Kabila under pressure, names new government under power-sharing deal
Kinshasa, DR Congo | AFP | Congolese President Joseph Kabila named an expanded new government on Tuesday, with almost all his old team retained, as part of power-sharing deal to end a crisis over his wish to remain in power. The presidential list of 60 ministers, read out on television, …
Read More »Landslide win for Moon in South Korea election: exit poll
Seoul, South Korea | AFP | Left-leaning former human rights lawyer Moon Jae-In won South Korea’s presidential election by a landslide Tuesday, according to an exit poll, sealing the momentum for change after a tumultuous scandal. The ballot was called to choose a new president after Park Geun-Hye was ousted …
Read More »North Korea congratulates France’s Macron for election victory
Seoul, South Korea | AFP | North Korea on Tuesday congratulated Emmanuel Macron on his victory in the French presidential election, expressing hopes that the new leader will achieve “development and prosperity”. France has no formal diplomatic relations with the nuclear-armed North. The message was sent by North Korea’s ceremonial …
Read More »‘Bibi’ and ‘Manu’ Macron: the unorthodox new power couple
Paris, France | AFP | It is an image that will long live in French political memory. As incoming president Emmanuel Macron stood in front of his cheering supporters at the Louvre on Sunday night to savour his election victory, his wife Brigitte took his hand and kissed it, tears …
Read More »ANALYSIS: Far right a fixture in France despite Le Pen defeat
Paris, France | AFP | Despite Marine Le Pen’s drubbing in the French presidential election, her far-right National Front party expanded its footprint in the political landscape — and confirmed its move into the mainstream. Her anti-immigrant, anti-Europe stance won a record 34 percent of ballots cast on Sunday, which …
Read More »French election: what you need to know
Paris, France | AFP | Pro-EU centrist Emmanuel Macron takes on far-right candidate Marine Le Pen in the second-round run-off of France’s presidential election on Sunday. – Why is it important? – France is the eurozone’s second-biggest economy as well as a global military and diplomatic heavyweight, with veto power as …
Read More »Macron team blasts ‘massive hacking attack’ after document release
Paris, France | AFP | The campaign team of French presidential candidate Emmanuel Macron on Friday blasted a “massive and coordinated hacking attack” after internal documents including emails and accounting papers were released online. “The files circulating were obtained several weeks ago due to the hacking of the personal and professional …
Read More »Security jitters as campaigning for French election ends
Paris, France | AFP | French presidential candidates Emmanuel Macron and Marine Le Pen wrapped up campaigning Friday ahead of this weekend’s election as security concerns emerged again following the arrest of a suspected extremist. Both centrist Macron and far-right Le Pen visited cathedrals and gave interviews as they sought …
Read More »Macron age gap ‘unusual’ to French, titillates abroad
Paris, France | AFP | Brigitte Macron, as the 64-year-old wife of the man tipped to become France’s youngest-ever president, is getting used to being in the media spotlight. But the elegant blonde is also having to endure unwelcome scrutiny from a foreign press fascinated by the age gap between …
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