Tokyo, Japan | AFP | Prime Minister Shinzo Abe is to become the first Japanese leader to visit Pearl Harbor, announcing Monday a trip to the site of his country’s surprise attack that launched World War II in the Pacific. News of the journey comes just two days ahead of …
Read More »Putin says ‘clever’ Trump will soon grasp weighty role
Moscow, RUSSIAN FEDERATION | AFP | President Vladimir Putin in an interview aired Sunday called US President-elect Donald Trump intelligent and predicted he would quickly grasp his new level of responsibility and act accordingly. “Since he managed to achieve success in business, that shows he is a clever person,” the …
Read More »Mocked for his tweets, Trump fires back – on Twitter
Washington, United States | AFP | President-elect Donald Trump sent a dismissive tweet in response to a comedy sketch that mocked his penchant for sending tweets. Trump again lambasted the show “Saturday Night Live,” on which he is played by actor Alec Baldwin. But whereas on other occasions Trump has …
Read More »Trump builds his team -and isn’t changing his style
Washington, United States | AFP | As a candidate, Donald Trump tore up the political rule book. As the president-elect, the Republican billionaire, who was back at work building his cabinet Friday, is showing no signs of tempering his unconventional style. On the heels of his first “thank you” …
Read More »The Trump administration turning into club for the wealthy
Washington, United States | AFP | The US administration-in-waiting nominated by President-elect Donald Trump is a circle of multimillionaire businessmen and women the public may view as a cabinet whose wealth is unprecedented in US history. Himself a billionaire real estate developer, Trump could entrench this characteristic should he choose …
Read More »Internet Archive heads to Canada to be ‘safe’
Washington, United States | AFP | The Internet Archive, which keeps historical records of Web pages, is creating a new backup center in Canada, citing concerns about surveillance following the US presidential election of Donald Trump. “On November 9 in America, we woke up to a new administration promising radical …
Read More »Rule by tweet: Trump cultivates new ‘bully pulpit’
Washington, United States | AFP | US presidents are normally wary that their words alone can move armies and markets, but for President-elect Donald Trump, incendiary early morning tweet-bombs are a style of governance. Since his shock win on November 8, the septuagenarian mogul has used Twitter to wade neck-deep …
Read More »Drake dominates Spotify for another year
New York, United States | AFP | Rap superstar Drake has dominated Spotify for the second straight year, ending 2016 as the most streamed artist and with both the most heard album and song. The world’s leading streaming service, releasing figures Thursday for the past one-year period, said that its …
Read More »Trump vows to put aside doubts over business empire
New York, United States | AFP | Donald Trump tried Wednesday to head off criticism that his vast business empire poses an unprecedented conflict of interest for an incoming US president, even as he comes under attack for packing his cabinet with fellow billionaires. In one of his trademark pre-dawn …
Read More »Steven Mnuchin: From Wall St to Hollywood to Washington
New York, United States | AFP | Steven Mnuchin is hardly a household name, but US President-elect Donald Trump’s new pick for Treasury secretary has close ties to Wall Street that could prove a double-edged sword in the current populist era. A former Democratic Party donor, the 53-year-old surprised his …
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