United Nations, United States | AFP | The United States warned Friday that it was losing patience and again threatened to quit the UN Human Rights Council after the Geneva-based body adopted five resolutions condemning Israel. US Ambassador Nikki Haley said in a statement that the council was “grossly biased …
Read More »Facebook as an election weapon, from Obama to Trump
New York, United States | AFP | The use of Facebook data to target voters has triggered global outrage with the Cambridge Analytica scandal. But the concept is nothing new: Barack Obama made extensive use of the social network in 2008 and stepped up “micro-targeting” in his 2012 re-election effort. …
Read More »Trump signs spending bill, averting government shutdown
Washington, United States | AFP | US President Donald Trump on Friday signed a $1.3 trillion compromise federal spending bill despite being “unhappy” with many of its provisions — thereby averting what would have been the third government shutdown of 2018. Trump said he signed the measure that had passed the …
Read More »Students spearhead largest-ever US protest for gun control
Washington, United States | AFP | Florida high school student Aalayah Eastmond will join a massive crowd of Americans — expected to number in the hundreds of thousands — taking part in nationwide protests for gun control on Saturday. The 17-year-old says she will be marching not only for tougher …
Read More »Trump names hawk Bolton as national security advisor
Washington, United States | AFP | US President Donald Trump on Thursday named hardline Fox News pundit and former UN ambassador John Bolton as his new national security advisor, ousting embattled army general HR McMaster. Trump took to Twitter to announce the latest in a cascade of staff changes, one …
Read More »Teen wounded in US school shooting to be taken off life support
Washington, United States | AFP | A teenage girl wounded in a school shooting in Maryland is brain dead and will be removed from life support, her family said. Another student was wounded in Tuesday’s attack, and the assailant — also a student — was shot and killed by a …
Read More »Ex-Playboy model says Trump tried to pay her for sex
Washington, United States | AFP | A Playboy model who says she had a months-long affair with Donald Trump a decade before his election as president told CNN that he tried to pay her for sex. Karen McDougal wants to be released from a $150,000 deal she made in 2016 …
Read More »Zuckerberg’s shine dims as guardian of Facebook users
San Francisco, United States | AFP | Mark Zuckerberg rose to wealth and fame with a mission of connecting everyone through Facebook, but now faces the wrath of users outraged he isn’t doing more to defend their data. The latest crisis laying siege to the leading online social network has …
Read More »Trump suspends metal tariffs for key US trade partners
Washington, United States | AFP | US President Donald Trump on Thursday authorized the suspension of controversial tariffs on steel and aluminum imports from key trade partners including the European Union. Trump shocked the world with his sudden announcement earlier this month of a 10-percent levy on aluminum and 25-percent …
Read More »EU leaders urge privacy protection amid Facebook row
Brussels, Belgium | AFP | EU leaders will Thursday press tech giants to protect personal data in the wake of the scandal over information harvested from Facebook, draft summit conclusions said. The Brussels summit is tackling the row over the misuse of Facebook data by British firm Cambridge Analytica, which …
Read More »