Washington, United States | AFP | Facebook on Thursday denied allegations in the New York Times that it tried to mislead the public about its knowledge of Russian misinformation ahead of the 2016 US presidential election, but severed links with a Republican consultancy. The Times detailed obfuscation by Facebook’s top …
Read More »France, Russia, US wrangle at UN over C. Africa
United Nations, United States | AFP | France, Russia and the United States were locked in negotiations Wednesday to overcome differences over peace efforts in the Central African Republic ahead of a deadline for renewing the mandate of the UN peacekeeping mission there. The Security Council must vote on prolonging …
Read More »US media in court showdown over White House access
Washington, United States | AFP | US President Donald Trump’s effort to revoke a CNN correspondent’s credentials went to court Wednesday, in a hearing that saw the channel backed by media groups — including arch-rival Fox News — who said the case was a matter of press freedom. Lawyers for …
Read More »Uber loss tops $1 bn as it seeks to diversify
San Francisco, United States | AFP | Ride-share company Uber on Wednesday said that its net loss topped a billion dollars in the recently ended quarter as it pumped money into bikes, scooters, freight and food delivery. While a private company, Uber has taken to sharing quarterly earnings figures as …
Read More »Trump pushes out senior advisor at start of expected White House reshuffle
Washington, United States | AFP | An angry Donald Trump pushed out a senior advisor Wednesday after First Lady Melania Trump demanded her sacking, with more heads set to roll in a White House reshuffle triggered by infighting and setbacks in the midterm elections. Melania Trump made the extremely rare …
Read More »Ohio family arrested for killing eight people
Chicago, United States | AFP | Police in the US state of Ohio arrested a husband and wife and their two sons Tuesday over the “meticulously planned” murder of eight people — seven members of the same family and a fiancee. George Wagner III, Angela Wagner and their sons George …
Read More »Trump names new US ambassador to Saudi Arabia
Washington, United States | AFP | President Donald Trump on Tuesday tapped John Abizaid, a top US general from the Iraq war who has studied the Middle East for years, as ambassador to Saudi Arabia amid growing friction between the longstanding allies. Abizaid is a fluent Arabic speaker of Lebanese …
Read More »Facebook shuts more accounts aimed at political meddling
San Francisco, United States | AFP | Facebook on Tuesday said it shut down more accounts aimed at influencing the US midterm election and that it is exploring a possible link to Russia. “As we’ve continued to investigate, we detected and removed some additional Facebook and Instagram accounts,” head of …
Read More »Melania Trump calls for firing of national security aide
Washington, United States | AFP | US First Lady Melania Trump on Tuesday publicly pushed for the dismissal of deputy national security advisor Mira Ricardel — a rare criticism of a senior administration official by the president’s wife. The rebuke — via a brief statement from the first lady’s spokeswoman …
Read More »NASA wants people on Mars within 25 years
Washington, United States | AFP | Deadly radiation from the cosmos, potential vision loss, and atrophying bones are just some of the challenges scientists must overcome before any future astronaut can set foot on Mars, experts and top NASA officials said Tuesday. The US space agency believes it can put …
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