Brussels, Belgium | AFP | The EU’s top leaders Friday fired a Brexit warning to whoever wins the battle to become the next British prime minister, saying the existing divorce deal could not be changed. Hot favourite Boris Johnson will face foreign minister Jeremy Hunt in a run-off vote to decide …
Read More »Johnson faces Hunt in battle to be British PM
London, United Kingdom | AFP | Boris Johnson will face Jeremy Hunt in a run-off to become Britain’s next prime minister after a final ballot of MPs on Thursday, with the winner tasked with guiding the country through Brexit. In the fifth ballot of MPs in the governing Conservative Party, former …
Read More »Pilots tell US Congress more training needed on 737 MAX
New York, United States | AFP | US pilots, including Chesley “Sully” Sullenberger III, called Wednesday for enhanced training on the Boeing 737 MAX before the aircraft is returned to service following two deadly crashes. Sullenberger, who famously landed a damaged plane on the Hudson River in New York in 2009, …
Read More »Boeing’s troubled 737 MAX gets huge vote of confidence from IAG
Le Bourget, France | AFP | US aircraft giant Boeing got a welcome vote of confidence in its beleaguered 737 MAX plane on Tuesday when International Airlines Group, owner of British Airways, said it wanted to buy 200 of the planes. The companies said they had signed a letter of intent …
Read More »Europe wary as Facebook takes up cryptocurrency challenge
Paris, France | AFP | European financial leaders on Tuesday vowed vigilance after Facebook announced it was diving into the cryptocurrency market, as analysts warned the social media giant could face major regulatory questions. French Finance Minister Bruno Le Maire, whose government initiated a new tax on digital giants like Facebook …
Read More »The smartphone: a global product
Paris, France | AFP | Smartphones are a product with which China has demonstrated not only its manufacturing prowess, but its ambitions to become a cutting-edge technology developer thanks to the rise of Huawei. The company is not just in the lead in developing equipment for fifth-generation networks, it has also …
Read More »‘Fewer but newer’ nuclear arms in the world: report
Stockholm, Sweden | AFP | The overall number of nuclear warheads in the world has declined in the past year but nations are modernising their arsenals, a report published Monday said. At the start of 2019, the United States, Russia, Britain, France, China, India, Pakistan, Israel and North Korea had a …
Read More »Facebook to unveil new cryptocurrency
London, United Kingdom | AFP | Facebook is set Tuesday to unveil a bid to bring cryptocurrency payments into the mainstream, reportedly with the endorsement of governments and financial giants. The world’s biggest social network is expected to outline details of a virtual currency launching next year that it hopes will …
Read More »China’s Xi to visit North Korea this week ahead of G20
Beijing, China | AFP | Xi Jinping will make the first trip to North Korea by a Chinese president in 14 years this week, state media said Monday, as Beijing tightens relations with Pyongyang amid tensions with the United States. Xi will visit Pyongyang on Thursday and Friday at the invitation …
Read More »Heat wave hits Iraq — and sparks begin to fly
Nasiriyah, Iraq | AFP | Hospital ventilators shut down, football matches with obligatory water breaks and food spoiling in fridges without power: Iraq’s notorious summer has arrived. As one of the hottest countries in the world with around half of its terrain covered in desert, Iraq is no stranger to …
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