Pittsburgh, United States | AFP | Hillary Clinton and Donald Trump battled for votes on a frenzied final day of campaigning Monday, telling Americans the country’s fate rides on who they choose as the next US president. Clinton, the front-running Democrat, aimed to nail down her narrow lead with stops …
Read More »Voter turnout ‘explodes’ among Blacks, Hispanics in US
Miami, United States | AFP | Voter turnout among African American and Hispanic voters in the United States has surged in early voting, and this swell of minority participation could spell trouble for Donald Trump’s White House hopes. On Sunday — the last day of early voting before Election Day …
Read More »No change to FBI advice not to charge Clinton over email
Washington, United States | AFP | The FBI’s review of new emails did not uncover any wrongdoing by Democratic presidential nominee Hillary Clinton and the bureau has not changed its July recommendation not to charge her, Director James Comey told lawmakers Sunday. Since late October, when Comey dropped a bombshell …
Read More »ANALYSIS: Arabs view US election with indifference or loathing
Cairo, Egypt | AFP | In Cairo, capital of the most populous Arab country, the US election is met with self-absorbed indifference or loathing for one, and sometimes both, candidates Hillary Clinton and Donald Trump. The staff at a barber shop in Cairo’s middle class Dokki neighbourhood looked at one …
Read More »Trump rushed off stage by secret service in false gun scare
Reno, United States | AFP | White House Republican candidate Donald Trump was bundled off stage by security officers Saturday after a false gun scare during a campaign appearance. The US Secret Service, which provides security for presidential candidates, later said someone in the crowd had shouted “gun” but that …
Read More »Gambia’s first female presidential candidate bows out
Banjul, Gambia | AFP | The Gambia’s first ever female presidential candidate has withdrawn from the race and will endorse the single opposition candidate challenging President Yahya Jammeh, she said Saturday. In a statement sent to AFP, Isatou Touray said she was dropping out of the contest “so as to …
Read More »In Africa, little enthusiasm for US vote after Obama
Nairobi, Kenya | AFP | “The dream becomes reality”, “Our son, our hope”: the headlines in the Kenyan press in 2008 captured pride and excitement after the election of Barack Obama. Eight years later, enthusiasm for the outgoing president has faded on a continent that he is accused of forsaking. …
Read More »Meet the comedians trolling the US presidential campaign
Los Angeles, United States | AFP | One day in mid-March, Fox News ran a story about a pair of Donald Trump supporters sporting Nazi-style armbands emblazoned with their candidate’s last initial. “Armbands are a fairly new phenomenon in American presidential politics. And so is Donald Trump,” the station’s reporter …
Read More »‘Bots’ step up for 2016 election news coverage
Washington, United States | AFP | If you’re reading about the US election, some of that news is likely to come to you from a “bot.” Automated systems known as “bots” or “robo-journalism” have been around for years, but they are playing a bigger role in coverage this year amid …
Read More »ANALYSIS: Does Trump have enough ‘hidden’ supporters to win?
Washington, United States | AFP | Does Donald Trump have enough “hidden” support among Americans reluctant to publicly express they will vote for him to win the presidency on Tuesday? These undeclared backers might just be Trump’s secret weapon — potentially making the difference in an extremely close race against …
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