Washington, United States | AFP | A prominent US senator on Saturday fired his chief of staff for improper relations with subordinates, as US lawmakers increasingly grapple with the issue of sexual harassment. Republican Senator Marco Rubio said he received by Saturday “sufficient evidence to conclude that while employed by this …
Read More »Music industry hails Jay-Z before Grammys
New York, United States | AFP | Jay-Z, who once boycotted the Grammys as biased against hip-hop, was hailed Saturday by the music industry’s power brokers ahead of the latest awards where he leads nominations. The rapper who rose from a broken home to become a hip-hop multimillionaire was contrite …
Read More »Trump says US ‘deeply respects’ Africa in letter to AU
Addis Ababa, Ethiopia | AFP | President Donald Trump said the United States “deeply respects” Africans and will dispatch its top diplomat to the continent, in a letter to African leaders seen by AFP on Sunday. The letter sent last week comes after Trump provoked a firestorm of indignation among …
Read More »California wants 5 million ‘green’ cars on roads by 2030
Los Angeles, United States | California Governor Jerry Brown Friday signed an executive order detailing aims to have five million electric cars on the state’s roads by 2030 — by accelerating the production of such vehicles using financial incentives and rebates. The $2.5 billion, eight-year plan also involves the installation …
Read More »Mattis wants to keep pressure on N. Korea
Honolulu, United States | AFP | The United States and South Korea are going to keep tightening the screws on Pyongyang so that the hermit state gives up its nuclear program, Pentagon chief Jim Mattis said Friday. “As two peace-loving nations, the Republic of Korea and America welcome the Olympic …
Read More »Germany asks US court to drop Namibian genocide suit
Berlin, Germany | AFP | The German government said Friday it had asked a US court to throw out a lawsuit brought by indigenous groups from Namibia seeking reparations for the genocide of their peoples under German colonial rule. It was the first time Berlin has formally responded to the …
Read More »US sees most active flu season since 2009 ‘swine’ pandemic
Miami, United States | AFP | Flu is sweeping the United States, killing at least 37 children as influenza sends the most people nationwide in search of medical care since the 2009 “swine flu” pandemic, US officials said Friday. This year, the most common strain is H3N2, and nearly every …
Read More »US military probes purported Niger ambush video
Washington, United States | AFP | The US military has opened an investigation after images surfaced online this week that appear to have been taken from the helmet camera of one of the US soldiers killed in an ambush in Niger. Grainy photographs posted and circulated on Twitter purportedly show …
Read More »US drones ‘wiping out’ Shabaab in Somalia: AU mission head
Addis Ababa, Ethiopia | AFP | Drone strikes by the United States military are “wiping out” Shabaab militants in Somalia, the head of the African Union mission in the country told AFP in an interview Friday. The US has stepped up its operations in the war-torn Horn of Africa nation, …
Read More »‘I want to see a strong dollar,’ says Trump
Washington, United States | AFP | President Donald Trump waded into the uproar over the US currency Thursday, saying he wants to see “a strong dollar,” after comments by his Treasury secretary appeared to signal the opposite and sent the dollar plunging to three-year lows. In comments to CNBC, Trump said …
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