Washington, United States | AFP | The US Air Force will this summer begin testing a laser that will be mounted on an F-15 warplane, an official said Monday. The Pentagon last year awarded a $26 million contract to Lockheed Martin for a laser program called SHiELD (Self-protect High Energy …
Read More »Strike on Syria’s Ghouta kills 15 children sheltering in school: monitor
Beirut, Lebanon | AFP | An air strike on a school in Syria’s Eastern Ghouta late Monday killed 15 children and two women who were using its basement as a bomb shelter, a monitor said. The Syrian Observatory for Human Rights said the bombing raid hit Arbin, a key town …
Read More »Pope appeals to youth in new book ‘God is Young’
Vatican City, Holy See | AFP | Pope Francis urged young people on Monday to “take risks” to help the Catholic Church rejuvenate itself, a day before his new book on the subject is released in Italy. The 81-year-old pope addressed a meeting of 300 young believers at the start …
Read More »Warming climate will displace millions in coming decades: World Bank
Washington, United States | AFP | The wave of refugees fleeing crop failures, droughts and rising sea levels will grow drastically over the next three decades if world governments do not intervene, the World Bank warned Monday. By 2050, 143 million “climate migrants” will face an “existential threat” and be …
Read More »Nine suspected FARC dissidents killed in Colombia military operation
Bogota, Colombia | AFP | Nine suspected FARC dissidents were killed Monday in a military operation in southern Colombia, the defense ministry said. The operation was carried out in the municipality of Calamar, in the southern central department of Guaviare, the ministry said on Twitter. Defense minister Luis Carlos Villegas …
Read More »Facebook launches audit of data leaked to Trump consultant
San Francisco, United States | AFP | Facebook announced Monday it has hired a digital forensics firm to investigate the handling of data on millions of Americans leaked to a consulting firm working on Donald Trump’s 2016 presidential campaign. The move by Facebook came amid an onslaught of criticism after …
Read More »Uber self-driving car kills Arizona pedestrian
San Francisco, United States | AFP | Ride-sharing giant Uber said Monday it is suspending its self-driving car program after one of the vehicles struck and killed a pedestrian in the US state of Arizona. The Uber vehicle was in autonomous mode, with an operator behind the wheel, when it …
Read More »Britain must prove Russia’s involvement in spy poisoning or apologise: Kremlin
Moscow, Russia | AFP | Britain must prove Russia’s involvement in the poisoning of former double agent Sergei Skripal in the UK or apologise, the Kremlin said Monday. “Sooner or later these unsubstantiated allegations will have to be answered for: either backed up with the appropriate evidence or apologised for,” …
Read More »Iran’s Rouhani congratulates Putin on ‘decisive victory’
Tehran, Iran | AFP | Iranian President Hassan Rouhani on Monday congratulated Russia’s Vladimir Putin on his “decisive victory” in a presidential election and vowed to boost ties between Tehran and Moscow. “I am sure that during your new term, relations between our two countries will develop further,” he said …
Read More »World needs ‘greener’ water policies as demand rises: UN
Paris, France | AFP | Governments should focus on “greener” policies to improve the supply and quality of water as climate change and a growing global population threaten the water security of billions, the United Nations said on Monday. In its 2018 World Water Development Report, the UN calculated that an …
Read More »