Paris, France | AFP | French President Emmanuel Macron on Sunday spelled out the questions underpinning his “great national debate”, a public consultation aiming to quell “yellow vest” anger after nearly two months of sometimes violent protests. Macron made his appeal in a “letter to the French” released on Sunday, …
Read More »Maroon 5 announced as Super Bowl half-time performers
New York, United States | AFP | Three-time Grammy Award-winning band Maroon 5 was named Sunday as the headline act of next month’s Super Bowl 53 half-time show, a performance that has aroused controversy and protest petitions. The league and pop music band announced they will perform in the National …
Read More »Funding shortage leads to World Food Programme cuts for Palestinians
Jérusalem, Undefined | AFP | The World Food Programme has suspended or reduced aid for some of its Palestinian beneficiaries in the occupied West Bank and Gaza Strip due to funding shortages, an official with the organisation said Sunday. Some 27,000 Palestinians are no longer receiving aid through the United …
Read More »Trump under fresh scrutiny over relationship with Russia’s Putin
Washington, United States | AFP | US President Donald Trump faced uncomfortable new questions Sunday about his relationship with Vladimir Putin despite his angry dismissal of a report that he has kept top aides in the dark about his private conversations with the Russian leader. Republican lawmakers generally defended the …
Read More »May warns MPs against ‘catastrophic’ failure to deliver Brexit
London, United Kingdom | AFP | British Prime Minister Theresa May on Sunday warned MPs preparing to vote down her EU divorce deal that failing to deliver Brexit would be a “catastrophic and unforgivable breach of trust in our democracy”. May, who is fighting to save her withdrawal agreement negotiated …
Read More »Netanyahu confirms weekend strike by Israel on Iran target in Syria
Jerusalem, Undefined | AFP | Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu said Sunday that Israel had at the weekend carried out an air strike on Iranian weapons in Syria, a rare public confirmation of such attacks. “Just in the last 36 hours the air force attacked Iranian warehouses containing Iranian weapons in …
Read More »US shutdown sends economy into uncharted waters
Washington, United States | AFP | The US government shutdown on Saturday became the longest in history and is taking a growing bite out of the world’s largest economy with each passing day, economists say. While most of the 21 “lapses” in government spending since 1976 left barely a scratch …
Read More »Hundreds of ‘yellow vest’ protesters rally in central London
London, United Kingdom | AFP | Hundreds of demonstrators wearing yellow vests took to the streets of London on Saturday, in the largest protest yet in Britain copying the “yellow vest” protests rocking France. Protesters opposed to the government’s austerity programme and demanding a general election marched through the centre …
Read More »Government shutdown becomes longest in US history
Washington, United States | AFP | The partial US government shutdown entered a record 22nd day Saturday, as President Donald Trump remains steadfast in his demand for $5.7 billion to build a Mexico border wall and Democrats in Congress determined to refuse the funds. The impasse has paralyzed Washington, with the president retaliating by refusing …
Read More »Obama protege Julian Castro set to join 2020 race
San Antonio, United States | AFP | Former mayor of San Antonio, Texas and Obama-era cabinet member Julian Castro is expected Saturday to launch his bid to become the nation’s first Hispanic president, scheduling his announcement in a border state central to America’s immigration debate. Castro would become the most …
Read More »