New York, United States | AFP | Donald Trump huddled with Vice president-elect Mike Pence on Tuesday to nail down their next round of cabinet appointments, amid reports of intense infighting over the key posts. The Republican billionaire drew a barrage of criticism over his pick of chief strategist: the …
Read More »Twitter rolls out tool to curb online abuse, bullying
Washington, United States | AFP | Twitter on Tuesday began rolling out a new weapon in the fight against harassment by “trolls” whose often anonymous vitriol can make the messaging service an unwelcoming place. The move comes as online social networks struggle to balance free speech with intimidation and aggression …
Read More »Billionaire Warren Buffett invests in 3 big US airlines
New York, United States | AFP | Billionaire investor Warren Buffett has taken stakes in three large US airlines, in a $1.3 billion bet that marks a sharp U-turn of his antagonistic views on the sector. Buffett’s Berkshire Hathaway Inc. invested $797 million in American Airlines, $249 million in Delta …
Read More »West Nile virus can kill years after infection
Miami, United States | AFP | West Nile virus may be three times more deadly than previously thought, because many deaths associated with the mosquito-borne virus occur years after the initial infection, researchers said Monday. The findings were based on a study of 4,144 people in Texas, and were presented …
Read More »Facebook in spotlight over tool to weed out fake news
Washington, United States | AFP | Facebook had a tool to weed out fake news circulating on the social network this year but declined to deploy it for fear of offending conservatives, a report said Monday. The report by the online news site Gizmodo comes with Facebook under fire for …
Read More »ICC: US may have committed war crimes in Afghanistan
The Hague, Netherlands | AFP | US military forces and the CIA may have committed war crimes in Afghanistan through the “cruel and violent” interrogation of detainees mostly between 2003-2004, the chief prosecutor of the International Criminal Court said Monday. There was a “reasonable basis to believe that, in the …
Read More »Putin, Trump in phone call normalising US-Russia ties
Moscow, Russia | AFP | Russian President Vladimir Putin and Donald Trump spoke on the phone on Monday evening and agreed on the need to normalise ties between Washington and Moscow, the Kremlin said. The Kremlin also said that the two politicians agreed to “make provisions for a personal meeting.” …
Read More »Siemens snaps up US software firm for $4.5 billion
Berlin, Germany | AFP | German industrial giant Siemens on Monday said it would buy US software firm Mentor Graphics for $4.5 billion, building out its offer to high-tech manufacturing industries. Oregon-based Mentor employs more than 5,700 people and produces software used to design electronics products, especially integrated circuits. The …
Read More »President-elect Trump back to tweeting with abandon
Washington, United States | AFP | Donald Trump during the presidential campaign tweeted with fierce abandon and at all hours. Would he feel restrained by last week’s presidential election victory to give his thumbs a rest? It seems not. The newly minted Republican president-elect let loose his latest Twitter barrage …
Read More »Giuliani: US law doesn’t bar Trump from business empire
Washington, United States | AFP | US law does not forbid Donald Trump from managing his corporate empire from the White House, according to one of his top advisors, who counseled nevertheless that the billionaire’s businesses be run by his adult children. Rudy Giuliani, a former mayor of New York …
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