San Francisco, United States | AFP | The tablet market shrank in the recently-ended quarter, as shipments of bargain-priced computers with detachable screens hit a record high, according to market analysis firm International Data Corporation. Tablet makers shipped 43 million units in the quarter, down 14.7 percent from the number …
Read More »W. House refuses to ‘criticize or defend’ FBI director over Clinton emails
Washington, United States | AFP | The White House on Monday opted for caution in reacting to FBI Director James Comey’s bombshell decision to announce further investigation of Hillary Clinton’s email days before the 2016 presidential election. Spokesman Josh Earnest said he would “neither defend nor criticize” Comey, who has …
Read More »Obama’s consequential presidency draws to a close
Washington, United States | AFP | History will remember Barack Obama as America’s first black president. But his eight years in office have throroughly shaken up America’s role in the world and the political spectrum at home. “How’s that hopey-changey stuff working out for ya?” sneered Sarah Palin, the defeated …
Read More »Tesla expands its portfolio to produce solar roof tiles
Los Angeles, United States | AFP | Electric carmaker Tesla has diversified into the alternative energy business, on Friday unveiling solar roofs for environmentally friendly homes. “Global warming is a serious crisis and we need to do something about that,” company founder Elon Musk said during a news conference at …
Read More »Clinton: FBI probe statement ‘deeply troubling’
Daytona Beach, United States | AFP | US presidential frontrunner Hillary Clinton declared Saturday that the FBI’s decision to announce a renewed probe into her use of email just ahead of voting was “unprecedented” and “deeply troubling.” “It’s pretty strange to put something like that out with such little information …
Read More »Sex, drugs and death: what’s at stake in California polls
Los Angeles, United States | AFP | Sex, drugs and death are the star attractions of the November 8 elections in California, there being little doubt that Hillary Clinton will carry the heavily Democratic state. Should actors in porno movies be required to wear condoms? Abolish the death penalty or …
Read More »US Supreme Court to decide ‘battle of the toilets’
Washington, United States | AFP | The US Supreme Court said Friday that it will decide which bathrooms should be used by transgender people, a highly sensitive question with national political resonance. The case involves 17-year-old Gavin Grimm, who was born a female but identifies as a male. Grimm filed …
Read More »A late October surprise wallops Team Clinton
Des Moines, United States | AFP | A political earthquake triggered by a fresh FBI email probe rocked Hillary Clinton and her White House campaign Friday, but they weren’t even on the ground to feel it hit. Clinton and her team were on her plane, gliding toward the next campaign …
Read More »ExxonMobil strikes huge oil reserves in offshore Nigeria
Lagos, Nigeria | AFP | US oil and gas group ExxonMobil says it has discovered up to one billion barrels of oil in an offshore field in Nigeria, signalling a boost to the country’s crude reserves. The company said in a statement on its website on Thursday that the Owowo …
Read More »Uber lays out vision for flying commuter transit
San Francisco, United States | AFP | Uber on Thursday laid out a vision for on-demand aircraft that can whisk commuters to home or work in a fraction of the time it would take on the road. The ride-sharing giant assessed the feasibility of what it called “vertical take-off and …
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