Washington, United States | AFP | Explosive allegations that US President Donald Trump concealed conversations with Russia have thrown an unwelcome spotlight on interpreters, whose quick wit is vital to diplomacy and who stay scrupulously in the shadows. Interpreters, whether they are working at high-stakes international summits or in low-level …
Read More »Erdogan, Trump consider creating security zone in Syria
Ankara, Turkey | AFP | Turkey’s President Recep Tayyip Erdogan and US counterpart Donald Trump mooted Monday the creation of a “security zone” in northern Syria as tensions rose over the fate of Kurdish fighters in the war-torn country. In a telephone conversation, the leaders “discussed the idea of creating …
Read More »US car buyers swerve away from compact cars, sedans
Detroit, United States | AFP | A persistent question shadowed all of the shiny new vehicles and highly-produced, glitzy debuts at the Detroit auto show this week: Where are the sedans? Volkswagen was among the few to trumpet a new sedan — those compact and mid-sized cars that shuttled generations …
Read More »Trump and Russia: what drives the suspicions?
Washington, United States | AFP | President Donald Trump faced new heat Monday after news reports that he has hid from aides the details of discussions with Vladimir Putin and that the FBI investigated him as a potential national security risk who might be acting on behalf of Russia. Trump …
Read More »Antarctica ice loss increases six fold since 1979
Tampa, United States | AFP | Global warming is melting ice in Antarctica faster than ever before — about six times more per year now than 40 years ago — leading to increasingly high sea levels worldwide, scientists warned on Monday. Already, Antarctic melting has raised global sea levels …
Read More »Total lunar eclipse on Jan 20-21 will be last until 2022
Washington, United States | AFP | People in North and South America, a large part of Europe and Africa may get a glimpse of a total lunar eclipse overnight from January 20 to 21, the last such event until 2022. For those in Europe and Africa, the total eclipse will …
Read More »Trump under fresh scrutiny over relationship with Russia’s Putin
Washington, United States | AFP | US President Donald Trump faced uncomfortable new questions Sunday about his relationship with Vladimir Putin despite his angry dismissal of a report that he has kept top aides in the dark about his private conversations with the Russian leader. Republican lawmakers generally defended the …
Read More »US shutdown sends economy into uncharted waters
Washington, United States | AFP | The US government shutdown on Saturday became the longest in history and is taking a growing bite out of the world’s largest economy with each passing day, economists say. While most of the 21 “lapses” in government spending since 1976 left barely a scratch …
Read More »Obama protege Julian Castro set to join 2020 race
San Antonio, United States | AFP | Former mayor of San Antonio, Texas and Obama-era cabinet member Julian Castro is expected Saturday to launch his bid to become the nation’s first Hispanic president, scheduling his announcement in a border state central to America’s immigration debate. Castro would become the most …
Read More »US congresswoman Gabbard, who met Syria’s Assad, says will run for president
Washington, United States | AFP | Democratic congresswoman Tulsi Gabbard, an Iraq war veteran who met dictator Bashar al-Assad in Syria during that country’s devastating civil war, said Friday that she is launching a US presidential bid. “I have decided to run and will be making a formal announcement within …
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