New York, United States | AFP | AT&T on Saturday unveiled a mega-deal for Time Warner that would transform the telecom giant into a media-entertainment powerhouse positioned for a sector facing major technology changes. The stock-and-cash deal is valued at $108.7 billion including debt, and gives a value of $84.5 …
Read More »Silicon Valley: Trump would be a disaster for innovation
San Francisco, United States | AFP | Silicon Valley, the hub of the US tech industry, is traditionally a Democratic political stronghold. But that has perhaps never more been more true than in this election year, with a presidential contest featuring a Republican nominee seen here as more interested in …
Read More »US expects record Latino vote, but will it be decisive?
New York, United States | AFP | Record numbers of Latinos have registered to vote this year, giving them unprecedented power to influence the US presidential election on November 8. But will they actually vote? Pundits have long described the Latino vote as a “sleeping giant” because turnout in the …
Read More »AT&T agrees to buy Time Warner in over $80 bn deal
New York, United States | AFP | Telecom giant AT&T has struck a deal to buy entertainment company Time Warner for more than $80 billion, to add in-house content to its distribution services, a banking source familiar with the negotiations said Saturday. An official announcement is expected before Monday’s trading …
Read More »China slams ‘provocative’ US sail-by in South China Sea
Beijing, China | AFP | China has slammed the US for sailing a warship near disputed territory in the South China Sea, saying the move was a “serious illegal act” and “deliberately provocative”. In a statement on its website late Friday night, the country’s defence ministry said two Chinese naval …
Read More »ENTERTAINMENT: Brad Pitt hasn’t answered divorce petition
Los Angeles, United States | AFP | Brad Pitt has missed the deadline to respond to Angelina Jolie’s divorce petition, seeking to avoid sparking an acrimonious legal battle that could harm the children, media reported on Friday. The 52-year-old actor will not file an official reply, despite being two days …
Read More »Ongoing cyber attack hits Twitter, Amazon, other top websites
Washington, United States | AFP | Major internet services including Twitter, Spotify and Amazon suffered service interruptions and outages on Friday as a US internet provider came under sustained cyber attack. The internet service company Dyn, which routes and manages internet traffic, said that it had suffered a distributed denial …
Read More »What to expect in the fight for Mosul
Washington, United States | AFP | The offensive to recapture Mosul from Islamic State jihadists has so far progressed faster than planners anticipated, but military experts fear the fighting could get tougher as US-backed Iraqi forces enter the city. Here is an overview of some factors determining the size and …
Read More »Assange, Ecuador’s awkward guest who just won’t leave
Quito, Ecuador | AFP | For Ecuador, WikiLeaks founder Julian Assange has become the worst kind of guest: he makes messes he doesn’t clean up, he spills secrets, he meddles, and there’s no telling when he will leave. Four years after Assange sought refuge in the Ecuadoran embassy in London, …
Read More »Philippines’ Duterte, in China, announces ‘separation’ from US
Beijing, China | AFP | Philippines’ President Rodrigo Duterte declared his “separation” from longstanding ally the United States, in Beijing on Thursday, as he rebalances his country’s diplomacy towards China. Duterte is in China for a four-day trip seen as confirming his tilt away from Washington and towards Beijing’s sphere …
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