Tag Archives: politics

Moscow, RUSSIAN FEDERATION | AFP | Russian President Vladimir Putin gave an order to shoot down a passenger plane he believed would be used in a terror attack at the Sochi 2014 Winter Olympics, he said in a new documentary. The plane was travelling from Ukraine to Turkey when Putin …

Moscow, Russia | AFP | Russian President Vladimir Putin has said that under no circumstances would he give Crimea back to Ukraine, speaking in a new documentary released Sunday ahead of his expected re-election in next week’s poll. “What, have you gone mad?” he told a journalist who asked him if …

Istanbul, Turkey | AFP | Turkish President Recep Tayyip Erdogan on Sunday angrily lashed out at NATO, accusing the Western military alliance of failing to back Turkey’s campaign against Kurdish militia in Syria. Erdogan’s latest comments were among the toughest he has directed in recent times against NATO, which Turkey joined …

Riyadh, Saudi Arabia | AFP | Saudi King Salman has ordered specialised anti-corruption units to be established in the public prosecutor’s office, the government said Sunday, several weeks after a sweeping anti-graft purge of the kingdom’s elite. The move was intended to “increase effectiveness” and accelerate the process of combating corruption, …

Jerusalem, Undefined | AFP | Members of Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu’s coalition accused the embattled premier on Sunday of perpetuating a “fake crisis” over a political dispute to potentially force early elections. The dispute comes as Netanyahu faces a possible indictment on bribery charges in the coming months. Polls suggest …

Nairobi, Kenya | AFP | Burundi’s ruling party has bestowed the title of “eternal supreme guide” on President Pierre Nkurunziza, a party official confirmed Sunday, as critics claimed he wants to lock in power for life. “He is our elder, our father, our adviser,” CNDD-FDD secretary general Evariste Ndayishimiye said in …

Valparaíso, Chile | AFP | Conservative billionaire Sebastian Pinera was sworn in Sunday to his second term as president of Chile, replacing socialist Michelle Bachelet in the office for the second time in eight years. An emotional Bachelet helped Pinera put on the sash of office, gave him a kiss and …

Centurion, SOUTH AFRICA | AFP | South African President and ruling ANC leader Cyril Ramaphosa stepped up the charm offensive Sunday to lure firebrand Julius Malema back to the party he was expelled from in 2012. Ahead of a general election due in 2019, a weekend-long voter registration drive was …

Bogota, Colombia | AFP | Colombians went to the polls Sunday to elect a new Congress with a resurgent right, bitterly opposed to a peace deal that allows leftist former rebels to participate, expected to poll strongly. The election is set to be the calmest in half a century of …

Paris, France | AFP | The Chinese Communist Party’s decision to give President Xi Jinping a mandate to rule for life is further evidence of the world’s slide towards more nationalist, authoritarian regimes, analysts said. China’s rubber-stamp parliament, meeting in the imposing Great Hall of the People for an annual …