Washington, United States | AFP | The Senate Intelligence Committee has asked top tech companies Google, Facebook and Twitter to testify about Russian interference in US politics, a Senate aide confirmed Wednesday. The three internet and online social media giants are expected to appear on November 1 in an open hearing …
Read More »No obvious signs of torture on American held by NKorea: coroner
Chicago, United States | AFP | Otto Warmbier, the American student who died days after being released from North Korea in a coma, displayed no obvious signs of torture despite assertions by his parents and President Donald Trump, an Ohio medical examiner said Wednesday. The coroner said the 22-year-old, who had …
Read More »Jay-Z, J.Lo headline hurricane benefit show
New York, United States | AFP | Rap mogul Jay-Z and pop superstar Jennifer Lopez will headline a concert in New York to raise funds for survivors of hurricanes that have devastated the United States and the Caribbean. Tidal, the streaming service led by Jay-Z, on Wednesday announced the line-up of …
Read More »Trump feud exposes racial divide in US sport
Washington, United States | AFP | Donald Trump’s feud with black athletes in the NBA and NFL has drawn attention to the racial fault lines which divide sport in the United States, analysts say. Trump triggered a firestorm of controversy last week after taking aim at American football players who knelt …
Read More »US slashes number of refugees it is ready to resettle
Washington, United States | AFP | The United States will reduce the number of refugees it is prepared to welcome for resettlement to only 45,000 over the next year — just over half the figure for 2016, officials said Wednesday. The decision will disappoint refugee advocates and United Nations agencies, which …
Read More »Zuckerberg fires back at Trump over Facebook barb
San Francisco, United States | AFP | Facebook chief Mark Zuckerberg fired back at US President Donald Trump on Wednesday after he accused the leading social network of being “always anti-Trump.” Zuckerberg rejected the notion, countering that Facebook is working to ensure “free and fair elections” with an online platform that …
Read More »Iconic Playboy founder Hugh Hefner dies at 91
Los Angeles, United States | AFP | Hugh Hefner, the silk pajamas-wearing founder of Playboy who helped steer nudity into the American mainstream, died Wednesday, the magazine announced. He was 91 years old. Hefner, who in 1953 founded a trailblazing brand that would help usher in the 20th century’s shifting …
Read More »US anti-terror chief warns IS global threat ‘intact’
Washington, United States | AFP | The global threat posed by the Islamic State group has not been diminished by its battlefield defeats in Iraq and Syria, US counter terrorism chief Nick Rasmussen warned Wednesday. Rasmussen told the Senate Homeland Security Committee that he expects the Islamic State group, after losing …
Read More »Most US voters think Trump not fit to be president: poll
Washington, United States | AFP | A majority of US voters believe Donald Trump is not fit to be president and only 36 percent approve of the job he is doing in the White House, according to a poll released Wednesday. Americans were deeply divided by party, gender and race on …
Read More »Senate Republicans pull plug on latest Obamacare repeal bid
Washington, United States | AFP | US Senate Republicans abandoned their latest plan to dismantle Obamacare Tuesday when it became clear that President Donald Trump’s party did not have the votes, assuring the 2010 health reforms survive for the foreseeable future. Grim-faced lawmakers, who had hoped to hold the vote this …
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