Hanoi / AFP Vietnam’s rubber-stamp parliament approved 21 new minister positions on Saturday, state media reported, finishing off a leadership reshuffle among Communist top brass ahead of a visit by US President Barack Obama next month. The National Assembly approved three new deputy prime ministers and 18 other cabinet members, according to the legislature’s official website, concluding a change in ...

Washington / AFP Donald Trump may have a difficult but not improbable route to the Republican presidential nomination. When it comes to ultimate victory in November’s general election, however, the real estate tycoon faces a far more forbidding path. He still needs to repel the late revolt by rival Ted Cruz as the two gallop toward the campaign season’s final ...

Sudan / AFP Sudan’s conflict-hit Darfur region starts voting on Monday on whether to unify its five states, a long-standing demand of rebels seeking greater autonomy, but ongoing instability means insurgents are boycotting the referendum. The three-day vote is expected to maintain the five-state system, which President Omar Al Bashir’s ruling party says is more efficient but which observers say ...