Politics

  Los Angeles / AFP Hillary Clinton captured the Democratic White House nomination hours before Tuesday’s last major primaries of 2016, according to US delegate counts, taking a monumental step toward becoming America’s first female commander-in-chief. Passing the milestone of 2,383 delegates secures Clinton’s status as the presumptive nominee, and marks a dramatic political resurgence for a highly experienced but ...

  YANGON / AFP A BBC reporter in Myanmar has been jailed for three months with hard labour after being convicted of assaulting a police officer while covering a student protest, his lawyer said on Tuesday. The ruling marks the first time a journalist has been convicted under Myanmar’s new government, run by former political prisoner Aung San Suu Kyi. ...

  CANBERRA / AP Australia’s prime minister and opposition leader have agreed to hold the country’s first-ever online election campaign leaders’ debate. Prime Minister Malcolm Turnbull said Tuesday that he had reached an agreement with Facebook and News Corp. Australia to stream the debate early next week in a bid to reach more voters. Opposition leader Bill Shorten later agreed ...

  Caracas / AFP Venezuela’s opposition held new protests, seeking to convert widespread anger over food shortages and economic havoc into pressure for a referendum on removing embattled President Nicolas Maduro. Clad in the red, yellow and blue of the Venezuelan flag, hundreds of opposition supporters rallied on a square in eastern Caracas, brandishing messages aimed at the allegedly pro-Maduro ...

  Los Angeles / AFP Hillary Clinton stands poised to claim the Democratic mantle with Tuesday’s primaries including California, overwhelming her rival Bernie Sanders and setting up a historic US presidential election showdown with Republican Donald Trump. The frontrunner is all but assured of locking in her party’s nomination, a monumental step towards fulfilling a dream of returning to the White ...

  Sydney / AFP Wild weather which has smashed into Australia’s east coast and whipped up giant waves on Sydney beaches has left at least three people dead and others missing, police said on Monday as the clean-up began. Ferocious storms pounded the coast over the weekend, causing flooding in New South Wales while huge seas resulted in coastal erosion, ...

  Sydney / AFP Australia’s election campaign took a personal turn on Monday, with Prime Minister Malcolm Turnbull telling voters how his father raised him alone after his mother walked out. The multi-millionaire from Sydney’s wealthy eastern suburbs posted an emotional online video tribute to his late father Bruce, saying: “I wouldn’t be where I am today without my dad.” ...

  Washington / AFP President Barack Obama welcomes India’s Prime Minister Narendra Modi to the White House this week in a low-key nod to the improved ties between the world’s biggest democracies. That the pair would get along was not a given: When Obama came to office in 2009, the Hindu nationalist was banned from entering the United States over ...

  Xalapa / AFP Mexico’s ruling PRI party was trailing early Monday in key races for governor in elections considered as a test for its hopes of retaining the presidency in 2018. Results trickled in slowly late into the night in 12 states, out of 32, that voted on Sunday for new governors following an election day marked by incidents ...

  Berlin / AFP German President Joachim Gauck was expected to reveal on Monday that he will not stand for a second term, creating a political headache for Chancellor Angela Merkel ahead of an election year. The popular Gauck, 76, who has held the largely ceremonial post of head of state since 2012, will give a statement at Berlin’s Bellevue ...