Washington, United States | AFP | Former FBI director James Comey will testify on June 8 before a congressional panel probing allegations of Russian interference in last year’s US election, the Senate Intelligence Committee said Thursday. Comey was fired by President Donald Trump early last month as the FBI’s own …
Read More »REMATCH: Trump and Hillary trade jabs in Twitter skirmish
Washington, United States | AFP | President Donald Trump has taken a swing on Twitter at one of his favorite punching bags, Democrat Hillary Clinton — and his former presidential rival has hit back with her own zinger. The trouble started Wednesday when Clinton raised questions over whether Trump’s campaign …
Read More »British PM boycotts TV debate as election looms
London, United Kingdom | AFP | British Prime Minister Theresa May boycotted a primetime television debate Wednesday, just days before the June 8 general election, prompting accusations of a floundering campaign as polls slashed her ruling Conservative party’s lead. The pound wobbled overnight after a shock projection forecast that May …
Read More »Comedian sacked by CNN, isolated over grisly Trump stunt
New York, United States | AFP | US comedian Kathy Griffin may have hoped to make art in holding up a prop depicting Donald Trump’s bloodied, severed head. But the stunt cost her a job with CNN and achieved the unthinkable — uniting conservatives and liberals in outrage. The president …
Read More »Saudi king earns more retweets than Trump, Twiplomacy study says
The pope and Canadian Prime Minister Justin Trudeau have engaged with Trump via subtweets, a form of posting typically used for criticism Geneva, Switzerland | AFP | Donald Trump may be lighting up Twitter with strange new words and attacks on allies but in the battle for most attention per …
Read More »LONDON: We can confirm that ‘covfefe’ is not an English word. Yet
Trump cryptic tweet ‘covfefe’ trends on Twitter Washington, United States | AFP | Not for the first time, a Donald Trump tweet has lit up the internet. But this time, users the world over have been left scratching their heads over “covfefe”: a bizarre word apparently created by the president. …
Read More »S. Korea military ‘hid missile launchers from president’
Seoul, South Korea | AFP | South Korean military officials deliberately withheld information from the president about the arrival of new launchers for a controversial US anti-missile system, his office said Wednesday. Documents submitted to Moon Jae-In shortly after he came to office this month were redacted to remove mention …
Read More »Nigeria’s first lady goes to visit ailing Buhari
Abuja, Nigeria | AFP | Nigeria’s first lady left for London on Tuesday to join President Muhammadu Buhari, who has been in the British capital receiving treatment for an undisclosed illness. Aisha Buhari’s office released a brief statement saying she was going to Britain to “spend some time” with her …
Read More »Shut-down for 50th anniversary of Biafra declaration
Onitsha, Nigeria | AFP | Shops, schools and businesses were shut in southeast Nigeria on Tuesday, 50 years to the day since an independent republic of Biafra was declared, sparking a brutal civil war. In Onitsha, the economic hub of Anambra state on the banks of the River Niger, most …
Read More »Burundi ‘peace run’ attracts 8000, say organisers
Nairobi, Kenya | AFP | More than 8,000 people on Saturday took part in a “Burundi Peace Run” through the capital Bujumbura, organisers said, in a bid to show the country has overcome more than two years of political crisis. A heavy military and police contingent was on hand for …
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