Los Angeles, United States | AFP | A naked statue of Donald Trump, complete with a distended belly and jowly sneer, is to go on display at a Haunted Museum after a paranormal investigator bought it at auction. Julien’s Auctions announced Wednesday it sold the artwork — believed to be …
Read More »With 24-hour outrages, Kanye West masters media moment
New York, United States | AFP | Since re-emerging last month from a yearlong absence, Kanye West has sparked outrage by throwing his lot with Donald Trump and calling slavery a choice. Yet the rapper has succeeded spectacularly in one key goal — staying at the center of attention. If …
Read More »After Obama, a Nobel prize for Trump — or not so fast?
Washington, United States | AFP | A decade after Barack Obama won the Nobel Peace Prize, could his White House successor Donald Trump follow suit for navigating the thorny North Korean nuclear standoff? The very idea, put forward by a handful of Republican lawmakers in a Wednesday letter nominating the …
Read More »Cambridge Analytica to close after Facebook data scandal
London, United Kingdom | AFP | Cambridge Analytica, the British marketing analytics firm, announced Wednesday that it was closing and would file for insolvency in Britain and the United States after failing to recover from the Facebook data scandal. The decision follows weeks of intense pressure on the company, hired …
Read More »India’s Modi twice as popular on Facebook as Trump: study
Geneva, Switzerland | AFP | US President Donald Trump may rule the roost on Twitter, but he lags far behind Indian Prime Minister Narendra Modi on Facebook, according to a study published Wednesday. Modi is by far the most followed world leader on the gargantuan social networking platform, counting 43.2 …
Read More »Trump says Kim summit details to be unveiled within days
Washington, United States | AFP | US President Donald Trump seemed pleased Tuesday by a suggestion he should get the Nobel Peace Prize for his upcoming summit with North Korean leader Kim Jong Un, promising that a time and place for the historic meeting will soon be announced. “Nobel Peace Prize? …
Read More »R. Kelly calls Time’s Up campaign ‘public lynching’
New York, United States | AFP | R. Kelly’s management has lashed out at a campaign for the music business to dump him over his alleged treatment of women and girls, denouncing a “public lynching.” The R&B singer, best known for his ballad “I Believe I Can Fly,” supports the Time’s …
Read More »Facebook messaging app adds real time translations
San José, United States | AFP | Facebook on Tuesday gave its popular Messenger app the ability to translate missives in real time, deploying artificial intelligence to enable text conversations between people using different languages. Messenger has become a tool for businesses to connect with customers, and the ability to converse …
Read More »UK MPs pressure Zuckerberg to testify on Facebook data breach
London, United Kingdom | AFP | British MPs threatened Tuesday to issue a formal summons to Facebook chief Mark Zuckerberg for him to testify over a major privacy row, after he declined to appear. Zuckerberg was grilled by the US Congress last month but sent one of his executives to …
Read More »Sudan ordered to ‘terminate’ N. Korea ties before terror tag talks
Khartoum, Sudan | AFP | Sudan has to “terminate all business ties” with North Korea before any talks could begin for removing Khartoum from the US “terrorism” blacklist, a top US official said Monday. Washington lifted its decades-old trade embargo imposed on Khartoum in October, but kept Sudan in its …
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