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 …
Read More »What if Trump wants to live in Trump Tower? NY mayor weighs in
New York, United States | AFP | What if speculation proves correct and Donald Trump decides against settling in Washington and maintains his principal residence in New York? That’s the question the city’s mayor Bill de Blasio raised on Friday. Since his election last week, the real estate billionaire — …
Read More »Fiji to US on climate: ‘Save us’ as you did in WWII
Marrakesh, Morocco | AFP | Fiji urged the United States Friday to “save” the world from climate change as it had helped to win World War II. “We in the Pacific, in common with the whole world, look to America for its leadership and for its engagement and assistance on …
Read More »NY Times sees rise in subscriptions after election
Washington, United States | AFP | The New York Times reported a spike in subscriptions since the November 8 election, despite being called “fools” by president-elect Donald Trump for its coverage. The newspaper said in a statement Thursday it saw a net increase of 41,000 paid subscriptions in the week …
Read More »Kanye West stuns crowd with Trump support
New York, United States | AFP | Rap superstar Kanye West stunned a crowd by revealing his support for US President-elect Donald Trump while suggesting he still plans to challenge him in 2020. After a campaign in which fellow artists and African Americans overwhelmingly backed rival Hillary Clinton, the rapper …
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