Beijing, China | AFP | For years China was the world’s top destination for recyclable trash, but a ban on certain imports has left nations scrambling to find new dumping grounds for growing piles of garbage. The decision was announced in July and came into force on January 1, giving companies …
Read More »Millionaire buys anti-Trump book for every member of Congress
Kampala, Uganda | THE INDEPENDENT | Democratic mega-donor and billionaire environmentalist Tom Steyer has bought every member of Congress a copy of Michael Wolff’s controversial book `Fire and Fury: Inside the Trump White House’. The book portrays Trump as a Republican candidate who did not actually expect to win the presidency …
Read More »Blame game as Congress struggles to end US govt shutdown
Washington, United States | AFP | With the US government in shutdown, the Senate convened a rare emergency session Saturday to negotiate a way out of a crisis that has marred the anniversary of Donald Trump’s presidential inauguration. Hours after a marathon session Friday failed to produce agreement on a …
Read More »Man charged in France for planning terror attack: sources
Paris, France | AFP | French authorities on Saturday charged a 33-year-old man, who had pledged allegiance to the Islamic State in a video, with planning a terror attack, judicial sources said. The man, who was not known to police, was arrested near the southern city of Nimes on Tuesday. …
Read More »Facebook to let users rank ‘trust’ in news sources
San Francisco, United States | AFP | Facebook announced Friday it will ask its two billion users to rank their trust in news sources, in its latest attempt to combat the spread of misinformation on the social network. The change comes as the online giant seeks to address charges that …
Read More »Twitter says Russia-linked accounts more widespread
San Francisco, United States | AFP | Twitter on Friday said the number of Russia-linked accounts firing off tweets evidently aimed at the US election in 2016 was more widespread than initially determined. The social media company found, and shuttered, an additional 1,062 accounts associated with the Internet Research Agency, …
Read More »France to host 140 foreign CEOs for pre-Davos summit
Paris, France | AFP | Nearly 140 chief executives from companies around the world will gather at the Versailles Palace outside Paris on Monday, as the French government steps up its efforts to attract more foreign investors. President Emmanuel Macron orchestrated what is being billed as an “attractiveness summit” as …
Read More »US condemns arrests of AFP reporter, others at Sudan demo
Washington, United States | AFP | The United States condemned Sudan’s arbitrary detention of journalists Friday after an AFP reporter and two colleagues were arrested covering a street protest. Abdelmoneim Abu Idris Ali of Agence France-Presse and at least two more journalists were taken away by authorities on Wednesday as …
Read More »US cities gear up for anti-Trump Women’s March 2.0
New York, United States | AFP | Giant crowds are expected at rallies around the United States Saturday for a second Women’s March opposing President Donald Trump, and calling for voter mobilization ahead of the 2018 midterm elections. On January 21, 2017, one day after Trump’s inauguration, more than three …
Read More »Journalists protest Philippine move to close news website
Manila, Philippines | AFP | Philippine journalists took to the streets Friday in support of a news website facing state-enforced closure, accusing President Rodrigo Duterte of trampling on press freedom. The government withdrew the corporate registration of the Rappler website this week and has summoned its chief executive to answer …
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