In perhaps the first show of his diplomatic side, Trump called the Mexican President as a “friend” and termed the meeting a “great honour”
WORLD
Indian Prime Minister Narendra Modi’s address to the Joint Session of US Congress
Mr. Speaker, Mr. Vice President, Distinguished Members of the U.S. Congress Ladies and Gentlemen. I am deeply honoured by the invitation to address this Joint Meeting of the U.S. Congress. Thank you, Mr. Speaker for opening the doors of this magnificent Capitol. This temple of democracy has encouraged and empowered other democracies the world over. […]
A War Between Two Worlds
By George Friedman The murders of cartoonists who made fun of Islam and of Jews shopping for their Sabbath meals by Islamists in Paris last week have galvanized the world. A galvanized world is always dangerous. Galvanized people can do careless things. It is in the extreme and emotion-laden moments that distance and coolness are […]
Abe wins re-election in Japan’s snap polls
Japanese Prime Minister Shinzo Abe got a shot in the arm with his ruling coalition winning a new two-thirds majority in the elections held on Sunday. The win, in which Abe’s Liberal Democratic Party (LDP) retained its majority in the House of Representatives, is seen as a referendum on his economic policy, known as Abenomics. […]
The ticking nuclear bomb
The threat of use, or misuse, of nuclear weapons is real and the consequences of such an event will be catastrophic, the Vienna Conference on the Humanitarian Impact of Nuclear Weapons warned. The two-day conference, which ended on December 9, 2014 in the Austrian capital, sought to draw global attention to the impact of nuclear […]
Senate report puts CIA in the dock
The interrogation methods used by the US Central Intelligence Agency (CIA) on detainees were ineffective, much harsher than previously revealed and often produced wrong information, according to the executive summary of a report de-classified by the Senate Select Committee on Intelligence released on Tuesday. Only the 528-page summary has been de-classified. The full report of […]
Obama names Ashton Carter as new defence secretary
US President Barack Obama picked the man who described the US as “the single most important provider of security in the world” as the new defence secretary. The nomination of Ashton Carter as Pentagon Chief comes about a week after Obama reportedly pressured former defence secretary Chuck Hagel to resign. The Senate still needs to confirm […]
Chuck Hagel bears the burden of America’s disillusionment with Obama
OPINION By EMILY SCHAUER Last week it was announced that Chuck Hagel submitted his resignation to President Obama. In the ensuing days, there was more speculation than fact rolling around the wires as America decided how it felt about this news. Since his announcement, there has been significant talk over why—and especially why now—Hagel is […]
Obama announces unilateral immigration reform
By EMILY SCHAUER On Thursday, US President Barack Obama announced his plan to act unilaterally on the hot-button immigration issue by issuing an Executive Order. Opponents, primarily members of the Republican Party, decry his action as unlawful, and to some, it is an impeachable offence. In his speech announcing the reforms, Obama was less than […]
Rajapaksa seeks third term as Sri Lankan president
Seeking a third term, Sri Lankan President Mahinda Rajapaksa on Thursday announced presidential elections ahead of schedule. The decision to hold presidential polls, expected in January next year, comes two years before the expiry of 69-year-old Rajapaksa’s current six-year term. “I am declaring a secret today. I have signed the proclamation calling for the election, […]