San Francisco, United States | AFP | Facebook on Wednesday said that its software is getting more skilled at spying banned content at the social network, then working with humans to quickly remove terrorist videos and more. “While we err on the side of free expression, we generally draw the line …
Read More »China’s economy shows further signs of weakness
Beijing, China | AFP | China’s economy showed further signs of strain on Thursday with data showing a sharp slowdown in consumer spending and factory production, while investment growth hit a record low as the trade war with the US takes its toll. The readings are the latest to give a …
Read More »US Congress can still seek Trump tax records, court decides
Washington, United States | AFP | Congress can request nearly a decade of Donald Trump’s tax filings, an appeals court said Wednesday, striking a new blow to the US president as he attempts to keep his financial records out of Democrats’ hands. The decision marked the second time an appeals court …
Read More »Pressure builds as Trump impeachment probe hears new claims
Washington, United States | AFP | Two top US diplomats delivered gripping testimony Wednesday about Donald Trump’s efforts to get Ukraine to investigate his potential 2020 rival Joe Biden, as the impeachment inquiry into the president shifted into a new phase of high-stakes televised hearings. Trump dismissed the probe in the …
Read More »Brexit will make Britain ‘second-rate player’: EU’s Tusk
Brussels, Belgium | AFP | Britain will be a “second-rate player” after Brexit, unable to compete with big powers like the US, China and EU, outgoing EU Council president Donald Tusk warned Wednesday. The former Polish premier said Brexit supporters were deluded if they thought leaving the EU would bring a …
Read More »The coffee conundrum: consumption is up but trade prices are low
London, United Kingdom | AFP | Despite a steady increase in coffee consumption around the world, trade prices have fallen dramatically in the past three years, hitting producers. At the same time, the cost of an espresso or latte remains as full-fat as ever. What’s going on? Futures on arabica and …
Read More »Paris e-scooters under pressure to prove green credentials
Paris, France | AFP | Pulling on makeshift roped hooks along a sun-drenched bank of the Seine River in Paris, Youva Hadjali and Edison Gompo fish out two electric scooters — not the most ecological fate for devices billed as a carbon-free fix for strained urban transport systems. As city officials …
Read More »Donald Trump’s Ukrainian path to impeachment attempt
Washington, United States | AFP | It started with a shadowy diplomatic campaign as Donald Trump bypassed official channels on Ukraine, and the unusual foreign policy bid has now triggered public hearings on impeachment — the ultimate indignity for a US president. The spark that lit the Ukraine affair, according to …
Read More »Cardinal Pell gets last chance to appeal sex abuse convictions
Canberra, Australia | AFP | Disgraced Catholic Cardinal George Pell was handed a final chance to clear his name Wednesday, when Australia’s top court agreed to allow his appeal against convictions for child abuse. The 78-year-old former Vatican treasurer is currently serving a six-year jail sentence for molesting two 13-year-old choirboys …
Read More »Trump ignores controversy to host Turkey’s Erdogan
Washington, United States | AFP | President Donald Trump will leap from the frying pan of impeachment into the fire of foreign policy controversy when he hosts his Turkish counterpart Recep Tayyip Erdogan at the White House on Wednesday. On the day that the impeachment process shifts to the dramatic phase …
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