Tag Archives: politics

Seoul, South Korea | AFP | North Korea ruled out talks and threatened to increase its nuclear arsenal in a fresh warning to Donald Trump’s administration Saturday as the US President set off on a tour of Asia. Trump departed for his first presidential trip to Asia Friday, with tensions …

Riyadh, Saudi Arabia | AFP |  Saudi Arabia’s newly formed anti-corruption commission arrested 10 princes and dozens of former government ministers on Saturday, Saudi-owned Al Arabiya television reported, citing unnamed sources. The arrests came soon after the commission, headed by powerful Crown Prince Mohammed bin Salman, was established by royal …

Beirut, Lebanon | AFP | Lebanese Prime Minister Saad Hariri announced his resignation on Saturday, citing Iran’s “grip” on the country and threats to his life. The surprise move risks plunging the small and already fragile Middle Eastern country deeper into turmoil. “I announce my resignation from the post of prime …

Juba, South Sudan | AFP |  South Sudan’s capital Juba was tense on Saturday as more than 100 soldiers surrounded the residence of powerful former army chief Paul Malong in a bid to disarm his bodyguards. Streets across the city were largely empty as people stayed at home for fear …

San José, Costa Rica | AFP |  Seven candidates to become Costa Rica’s next president went behind bars to hold an unusual debate in a prison where they answered inmates’ questions about their election platforms. “I hope you feel at home,” one of the prisoners said as the seven politicians …

Johannesburg, South Africa | AFP |  South Africa’s spy agency threatened on Friday to seek a banning order for a newly released book that makes a series of corruption allegations against President Jacob Zuma. The State Security Agency issued a legal letter, seen by AFP, accusing author Jacques Pauw of …

  Harare, Zimbabwe | AFP |  Zimbabwean police arrested a US citizen on Friday for allegedly tweeting that President Robert Mugabe is a “goblin whose wife and step-son bought a Rolls-Royce,” lawyers said. Zimbabwe Lawyers for Human Rights (ZLHR) said officers detained Martha O’Donovan in a dawn raid at her …

Washington, United States | AFP |  Twitter said it had boosted security measures Friday in response to a rogue employee’s move cutting off Donald Trump’s account, an 11-minute outage which drew mocking praise from the president’s critics but also warnings of a dangerous precedent. The US social network initially said …

Andrews Air Force Base, United States | AFP |  President Donald Trump departed Washington for an almost two week trip to Asia Friday, leaving in his wake a trail of scandal and invective that risks overshadowing efforts at top-level diplomacy. Trump left Joint Base Andrews, just outside Washington, bound for …

Madrid, Spain | AFP | A Spanish judge was set Friday to issue an arrest warrant for Catalonia’s deposed leader Carles Puigdemont over his region’s contested independence drive, in a move likely to further escalate tensions in Spain’s worst political crisis in decades. The European arrest warrant was due a …