United Nations, United States | AFP | The Democratic Republic of Congo was elected to the UN Human Rights Council on Monday despite opposition from the United States and a leading rights group. DR Congo was among the 15 countries who won seats during a vote at the UN General …
Read More »Iran move won’t weaken US hand with N.Korea: Tillerson
Washington, United States | AFP | US Secretary of State Rex Tillerson Sunday denied that Donald Trump’s threat to tear up the Iran nuclear deal had weakened America’s chance of reining in North Korea through diplomacy. Asserting that Washington had “unified the international community” on the North Korean threat, Tillerson vowed …
Read More »Iranians mock ‘ridiculous’ Trump speech
Tehran, Iran | AFP | Iranians responded with anger and mockery on Saturday to the bellicose speech against their country by US President Donald Trump and his threats to tear up the landmark nuclear deal. “I was so angry last night,” said Layla, 42, who runs an artisan shop in …
Read More »Trump puts America first, but more and more alone
Washington, United States | AFP | Donald Trump has gambled with US diplomatic credibility by attacking an Iran nuclear deal that his European allies cherish as a benchmark for international cooperation. And in doing so the US president has underlined the risk that his “America First” foreign policy will translate …
Read More »US, Israel pull out of UN cultural body over ‘anti-Israel’ bias
Paris, France | AFP | The United States and its ally Israel said Thursday they were pulling out of the UN’s culture and education body, in a move that underlined Washington’s drift away from international institutions. The US decision, announced in Washington, follows years of tension at the organisation which it …
Read More »Erdogan accuses US of ‘sacrificing’ relations with Turkey
Ankara, Turkey | AFP | President Recep Tayyip Erdogan on Thursday said the US was in danger of “sacrificing” its relations with Turkey, as he blamed the American envoy to Ankara for the crisis in relations between the NATO allies. “It is the ambassador here who caused this,” Erdogan told a …
Read More »Morocco prepares to test ‘fastest train in Africa’
Rabat, Morocco | AFP | Engineers in Morocco are preparing to test the Arab world’s first high-speed railway this week with trains reaching 320 kilometres (200 miles) per hour, the country’s rail office said Monday. One train reached 275 kph (170 mph) on Monday along a stretch of track between …
Read More »Sudan hails end of US trade embargo as ‘positive decision’
Khartoum, Sudan | AFP | Sudan on Friday welcomed the US decision to end its 20-year trade embargo against Khartoum as a “positive decision”. Earlier Friday, Washington announced it was ending the embargo, citing improvements made by Sudan in its human rights record. “The leaders of Sudan, the government of Sudan …
Read More »Saudi king, Putin clinch billion-dollar energy, arms deals on landmark Russia visit
Moscow, Russia | AFP | Saudi Arabia’s King Salman, on a landmark visit to Russia, and President Vladimir Putin on Thursday signed a slew of arms and energy deals as the key US ally seeks to deepen cooperation with Moscow. The leaders of the world’s largest energy exporters discussed an extension …
Read More »North Korea’s Kim ‘very rational’: CIA
Washington, United States | AFP | North Korean leader Kim Jong-Un is a rational politician and the US needs to understand that to deal with the nuclear-armed country, a top Central Intelligence Agency Korea expert said Wednesday. “Beyond the bluster, Kim Jong-Un is a rational actor,” said Yong Suk Lee, the …
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