Stockholm, Sweden | AFP | Former US National Security Agency contractor Edward Snowden on Monday downplayed the importance of President-elect Donald Trump and again defended his decision to leak documents showing massive surveillance of US citizens’ communications. “Donald Trump is just the president. It’s an important position. But it’s one …
Read More »Kanye scraps US tour after rant about Jay Z, Beyonce
Los Angeles, United States | AFP | Rap superstar Kanye West has pulled the plug on his North American tour, organizers said Monday, two days after a rambling onstage tirade against fellow artists Jay Z and Beyonce. The “Saint Pablo Tour” was set to run through December 31 but all …
Read More »Leave Trump’s tweets alone, says advisor
Washington, United States | AFP | President-elect Donald Trump’s habit of firing off tweets, even at such critical times as when forming a new government, is a harmless and legitimate way to “cut through the noise,” one of his top advisors said Monday. Trump was known during the campaign for …
Read More »Britain mulls inviting Trump to meet queen
London, United Kingdom | AFP | Queen Elizabeth II could host Donald Trump within months of him becoming United States president, with the British government confirming Monday that it was considering a state visit next year. Royal officials said that the government was responsible for organising state visits, and a …
Read More »Sarkozy knocked out of French presidential race
Paris, France | AFP | Former French president Nicolas Sarkozy crashed out of the presidential election on Sunday, suffering a humiliating defeat in the first round of the rightwing primary. Sarkozy was beaten into third place after a stunning upset by Francois Fillon, who served as his prime minister, with …
Read More »Mama Merkel: Austerity queen to democratic torch-bearer
Berlin, Germany | AFP | A Protestant pastor’s daughter who grew up behind the Iron Curtain, Angela Merkel rose to become the “chancellor of Europe” who has outlasted a generation of world leaders. Unlike her one-time partners on the global stage, George W. Bush, Tony Blair, Jacques Chirac and Silvio …
Read More »Merkel to seek fourth term to defend threatened ‘values’
Berlin, Germany | AFP | German Chancellor Angela Merkel said Sunday she would seek a fourth term in elections next year to defend democratic principles in the face of looming threats at home and abroad. Predicting her toughest campaign to date, Merkel said the forces of populism as well …
Read More »Obama declares parts of Arctic off-limits for oil drilling
Washington, United States | AFP | US President Barack Obama on Friday declared portions of the Arctic off-limits for oil exploration for the next five years, dealing a blow to Republican efforts to expand fossil fuel extraction. The decision means new oil and gas exploration leasing in the Chukchi Sea …
Read More »Uganda’s political parties share Shs3 billion
The Ministry of Finance, Planning and Economic Development has confirmed it has released Shs3billion for political parties with representation in Parliament. The Electoral Commission Spokesperson Jotham Taremwa said the money had been wired to four political parties that are also members of the Inter Party Organization for Dialogue (IPOD). National …
Read More »France’s Le Pen, Trump are ‘identical phenomena’
Washington, United States | AFP | US President-elect Donald Trump and France’s far-right leader Marine Le Pen are part of “identical phenomena” that have swept the two countries, the mayor of Paris said Friday. Mayor Anne Hidalgo, who was in Washington accepting an environmental award from Foreign Policy magazine, added …
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