Paris, France | AFP | The fashion world has been plunged into mourning by the death of legendary designer Karl Lagerfeld, the rapier-witted dandy who ruled over the industry for half a century. Chanel, the iconic French fashion house he led for nearly four decades, on Tuesday confirmed his passing, …
Read More »Britain to strip IS teen of citizenship: lawyer
London, United Kingdom | AFP | Britain will strip citizenship from a UK teenager who joined the Islamic State group in Syria but now wants to return home with her newborn baby, a lawyer for her family said Tuesday. Shamima Begum’s fate has stirred controversy since she and two friends fled London to join the …
Read More »Bernie Sanders, from gadfly to serious White House contender
New York, United States | AFP | Once dismissed by many as a fringe candidate with wacky socialist ideas, Bernie Sanders campaigned to the brink of the Democratic presidential nomination in 2016 and has now set his sights on the White House once again. Sanders, a 77-year-old US Senator from …
Read More »Germany wants trial for Syria jihadists but warns of difficulties
Berlin, Germany | AFP | Germany vowed Monday to prosecute German IS fighters but warned that it would be “extremely difficult” to organise the repatriation of European nationals from Syria, after US President Donald Trump called on allies to take back alleged jihadists. Syria’s US-backed Kurdish forces, which are battling Islamic State group jihadists in …
Read More »UK teen who joined IS gives birth in Syrian refugee camp
London, United Kingdom | AFP | A teenager who joined the Islamic State group in Syria but now wants to return to Britain on Sunday gave birth in a refugee camp, as European governments grapple with what to do with returning jihadists ahead of a US troop pullout. Shamima Begum, whose fate has stirred controversy …
Read More »Uber narrows losses, growth slows on the road to IPO
San Francisco, United States | AFP | Uber on Friday released earnings figures that showed its loss narrowed in the final quarter of last year while revenue growth slowed as the ridesharing giant prepares for a stock market debut. The loss for the final three months of the year amounted to …
Read More »Alibaba takes stake in Chinese video platform Bilibili
Beijing, China | AFP | Alibaba has bought an eight percent stake in Chinese online video sharing and entertainment service Bilibili for an undisclosed amount, state news agency Xinhua reported. Alibaba’s e-commerce arm Taobao will reportedly own 24 million shares in Nasdaq-listed Bilibili, which claims tens of millions of regular …
Read More »Governments ponder what to do with returning jihadists
Paris, France | AFP | The imminent fall of the Islamic State’s caliphate in Iraq and Syria has left many countries grappling with what to do with jihadists who want to return. Several hundred foreign jihadists are being detained by the Kurdish-led Syrian Democratic Forces (SDF), the main fighters on the …
Read More »Conservative commentators cast a spell on Trump
Washington, United States | AFP | He holds no official government position but has been called US President Donald Trump’s “shadow” chief of staff. Fox News commentator Sean Hannity is one of several conservative media personalities who exert enormous influence over the president. Their clout has been on display as …
Read More »Fact-check: Does Amazon pay ‘$0’ in taxes?
Washington, United States | AFP | A tweet by a popular US Congresswoman spotlighted a report about US tech behemoth Amazon’s tax burden for the past two years. While the company paid no US federal income tax, it reported “cash taxes paid” of $1.2 billion last year and $957 million in …
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