Los Angeles, United States | AFP | Evacuation orders were issued Saturday for areas in California’s Santa Barbara County as the state battles its third-largest wildfire since 1932, with winds and dry conditions threatening to help the blaze grow. Santa Barbara’s Office of Emergency Management announced a series of mandatory …
Read More »US judge sentences Honduran ex-congressman to three years
New York, United States | AFP | A US federal judge on Friday sentenced a two-times former presidential candidate from Honduras to three years in an American prison for laundering drug proceeds from his country’s Cachiros cartel. Yani Rosenthal, 52, surrendered to US justice in October 2015, and in July pleaded …
Read More »Trump criticizes FBI and says no pardon for Flynn ‘yet’
Washington, UNITED STATES | AFP | US President Donald Trump on Friday lashed out at the FBI inquiry into possible collusion between Moscow and his campaign, and refused to rule out pardoning former aide Michael Flynn, who pleaded guilty to lying about his contacts with Russia. Trump said it was …
Read More »Trump: Russia not helping on North Korea
Washington, UNITED STATES | AFP | US President Donald Trump criticized Russia Friday for not doing enough to pressure North Korea to halt its nuclear weapons program. “China is helping, Russia is not helping. We would like to have Russia’s help,” he told reporters outside the White House. Trump said …
Read More »Putin, Trump discuss N Korea in phone call
Washington, United States | AFP | Vladimir Putin and Donald Trump discussed the crisis over North Korea’s nuclear program in a phone call Thursday, in which the US president took the unusual step of thanking his Russian counterpart for praising America’s economy. The two heads of state discussed “the situation in …
Read More »Artificial intelligence finds solar system with 8 planets like ours
Miami, United States | AFP | A solar system with as many planets as our own has been discovered with the help of NASA’s Kepler space telescope and artificial intelligence, the US space agency said Thursday. “Our solar system now is tied for most number of planets around a single …
Read More »US sentences nephews of Venezuelan first lady to 18 years
New York, United States | AFP | A US judge on Thursday sentenced two nephews of Venezuela’s first lady to 18 years in prison for drug trafficking, damning them as “not the most astute drug traffickers that ever existed.” Efrain Antonio Campo Flores, 31, and Francisco Flores de Freitas, 32, …
Read More »Facebook moves to make more video ad money
San Francisco, United States | AFP | Facebook on Thursday moved to bolster its appeal and money-making potential as an online platform for viewing video similar to YouTube. The leading social network will next year test showing short ads before videos on a new ‘Watch’ section devoted to just that …
Read More »UN expert says Guantanamo torture continuing
Geneva, Switzerland | AFP | The UN’s top expert on torture on Wednesday said reports from sources indicated at least one inmate was still being tortured at the US detention centre in Guantanamo Bay and reiterated his request to visit. Nils Melzer, the UN special rapporteur on torture, said he had …
Read More »Target buys same-day delivery service for $550 mn
San Francisco, United States | AFP | Target said Wednesday it was acquiring same-day grocery delivery service Shipt for $550 million, helping the US retail titan step up its challenge to Amazon and its recently acquired Whole Foods supermarket chain. The retailer said it planned to combine its network of stores …
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