Los Angeles, United States | AFP | Rap superstar Kanye West has pulled the plug on his North American tour, organizers said Monday, two days after a rambling onstage tirade against fellow artists Jay Z and Beyonce. The “Saint Pablo Tour” was set to run through December 31 but all …
Read More »Leave Trump’s tweets alone, says advisor
Washington, United States | AFP | President-elect Donald Trump’s habit of firing off tweets, even at such critical times as when forming a new government, is a harmless and legitimate way to “cut through the noise,” one of his top advisors said Monday. Trump was known during the campaign for …
Read More »Britain mulls inviting Trump to meet queen
London, United Kingdom | AFP | Queen Elizabeth II could host Donald Trump within months of him becoming United States president, with the British government confirming Monday that it was considering a state visit next year. Royal officials said that the government was responsible for organising state visits, and a …
Read More »Amazon video going global with rival to ‘Top Gear’
San Francisco, United States | AFP | Amazon is set to challenge Netflix worldwide with a massive expansion of its on-demand video streaming service featuring its remake of the BBC’s global hit “Top Gear.” Amazon Prime Video is currently available in Austria, Britain, Germany, Japan and the United States, with …
Read More »Obama declares parts of Arctic off-limits for oil drilling
Washington, United States | AFP | US President Barack Obama on Friday declared portions of the Arctic off-limits for oil exploration for the next five years, dealing a blow to Republican efforts to expand fossil fuel extraction. The decision means new oil and gas exploration leasing in the Chukchi Sea …
Read More »Facebook authorizes $6 bn share buyback
San Francisco, United States | AFP | Facebook’s board of directors on Friday authorized spending as much as $6 billion to buy back shares in the leading social network. The stock repurchase program would go into effect at the start of next year, potentially allowing Facebook to take advantage of …
Read More »France’s Le Pen, Trump are ‘identical phenomena’
Washington, United States | AFP | US President-elect Donald Trump and France’s far-right leader Marine Le Pen are part of “identical phenomena” that have swept the two countries, the mayor of Paris said Friday. Mayor Anne Hidalgo, who was in Washington accepting an environmental award from Foreign Policy magazine, added …
Read More »French fashion designer refuses to dress Melania Trump
New York, United States | AFP | There’s no doubt which side the fashion world supported during the US presidential campaign. For years, First Lady Michelle Obama and Democrats’ vanquished presidential candidate Hillary Clinton have been favorites with fashion designers who dressed them in clothes aimed at evoking their values. …
Read More »Profiles of first three Trump cabinet appointees
Washington, United States | AFP | President-elect Donald Trump announced three important cabinet appointments Friday, for the posts of CIA director, attorney general and national security advisor. The following are thumbnail sketches of the three men: CIA director Mike Pompeo, the Republican legislator nominated to lead the CIA, is a …
Read More »British girl’s body frozen after death in UK legal first
London, United Kingdom | AFP | A British girl who died after a terminal illness won the right to have her body frozen in an unprecedented ruling, the High Court said on Friday. The 14-year-old girl from London had written to a judge explaining she wanted a chance to “live …
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