Ankara, Turkey | AFP | President Recep Tayyip Erdogan on Thursday said the US was in danger of “sacrificing” its relations with Turkey, as he blamed the American envoy to Ankara for the crisis in relations between the NATO allies. “It is the ambassador here who caused this,” Erdogan told a …
Read More »Kaspersky in focus as US-Russia cyber-tensions rise
Washington, United States | AFP | The security software firm Kaspersky has become the focal point in an escalating conflict in cyberspace between the United States and Russia. The Russian-based company has been accused of being a vehicle for hackers to steal security secrets from the US National Security Agency, and …
Read More »Beyonce charity song finally dethrones ‘Despacito’
New York, United States | AFP | Beyonce’s Spanish-language remix of “Mi Gente” for hurricane relief opened Wednesday on top of the US Latin song chart, finally dethroning the global mega-hit “Despacito.” “Mi Gente,” which Colombian reggaeton star J Balvin created from the African dance rhythms of French DJ Willy William, …
Read More »Sudan receives first US dollar transfers since sanctions lifted
Khartoum, Sudan | AFP | Sudan’s central bank said Wednesday it had received its first overseas fund transfer in US dollars since Washington announced the lifting of a 20-year-old trade embargo against Khartoum. Washington last week announced the lifting of sanctions from this Thursday onwards, saying Khartoum had made progress on …
Read More »Weinstein scandal envenoms US political feuds
Washington, United States | AFP | The sexual assault accusations against Harvey Weinstein have seeped into America’s partisan politics, with Barack Obama and Hillary Clinton accused of waiting too long to disavow their friend and party donor. The politicization of the scandal came as the Hollywood producer faced claims he raped …
Read More »Oculus unveils standalone virtual reality headset
San José, United States | AFP | Facebook chief Mark Zuckerberg on Wednesday unveiled a new Oculus virtual reality headset untethered from computers as part of a vision to bring the new technology to the masses. Oculus Go headsets will be priced at $199 when they begin shipping early next year, …
Read More »Hollywood mogul Weinstein fired over sex harassment claims
New York, United States | AFP | Movie mogul Harvey Weinstein was fired from his film studio The Weinstein Company following reports he sexually harassed women for decades, as Hollywood stood accused Monday of protecting one of its own despite a pattern of misconduct. The firing came three days after a …
Read More »Trump loses a key ally as Republican senator bites back
Washington, United States | AFP | Donald Trump has often lambasted potential allies from his own party but now a Republican has punched back, alleging that the president’s reckless behavior poses a danger to America. Senator Bob Corker’s extraordinary weekend rebuke, in which he tweeted his dismay that “the White …
Read More »US risks sparking North Korea ‘escalation’: Lavrov
Moscow, Russia | AFP | Russian Foreign Minister Sergei Lavrov on Monday warned his US counterpart Rex Tillerson that Washington risks sparking an unacceptable escalation in tensions with North Korea. In a phone call with US Secretary of State Tillerson, Lavrov “stressed the unacceptability of an escalation of tensions on …
Read More »US’s Thaler wins Nobel for ‘making economics more human’
Stockholm, Sweden | AFP | US economist Richard Thaler won the Nobel Economics prize on Monday for showing that economic and financial decision-makers are not always rational, but mostly deeply human. Bridging the gap between economics and psychology, Thaler’s research focuses on behavioural economics which explores the impact of psychological and …
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