Washington, United States | AFP | A defiant President Donald Trump said Friday he was prepared to keep the US government shut down for as long as it takes — months or even years — to secure funding from Congress for a border wall with Mexico. “This is national security …
Read More »Democratic lawmaker makes profanity-laced vow to impeach Trump
Washington, United States | AFP | A Democratic congresswoman kicked off her term with an expletive-laced vow to impeach US President Donald Trump, triggering Republican outrage and testing party discipline a day after Democrats regained the House. As a clip of Michigan Democrat Rashida Tlaib’s animated comments circulated widely on …
Read More »Massive data leak targets German officials including Merkel
Berlin, Germany | AFP | Private data stolen from hundreds of German politicians, including Chancellor Angela Merkel, have been released online, the government said Friday. The information, which comprised home addresses, mobile phone numbers, letters, invoices and copies of identity documents, was published via Twitter in December but inexplicably only …
Read More »Google moved almost 20 bn euros to Bermuda in 2017: report
The Hague, Netherlands | AFP | US internet giant Google used a legal mechanism to transfer almost 20 billion euros from the Netherlands to Bermuda in 2017 for tax purposes, a Dutch newspaper report said Friday. Google, which is owned by US parent company Alphabet, moved 19.9 billion euros ($22.7 …
Read More »Ghosn set for court hearing in Japan over detention
Tokyo, Japan | AFP | Former Nissan Chairman Carlos Ghosn is likely to appear in a Japanese court next Tuesday to hear the reasons for his detention, after his lawyers deployed a little-used article of the Constitution. The shock move was the latest in a series of unexpected twists in …
Read More »Suspected Ebola case in Sweden: officials
Stockholm, Sweden | AFP | A patient in Sweden has been admitted to hospital with a suspected case of Ebola, a highly infectious and potentially fatal disease, health care officials said Friday. “Test results will probably be received sometime this evening. At this stage it is just a suspicion, other …
Read More »Trump, Pelosi era could see fireworks in Washington
Washington, United States | AFP | He’s in the White House. She’s in Congress. For the next two years, Donald Trump and Nancy Pelosi will have to work together. It won’t be easy. Trump, the Republican president, will need to deal with Pelosi, the Democratic speaker of the House of …
Read More »13 Canadians held in China since arrest of Huawei executive: official
Ottawa, Canada | AFP | Thirteen Canadians have been detained in China following the arrest on December 1 of a senior executive from Chinese telecoms equipment giant Huawei, Ottawa said Thursday, with eight subsequently released. Global Affairs Canada spokesperson Guillaume Berube confirmed the detentions to AFP, adding the figures excluded …
Read More »Scientists boost plant yield by 40% through ‘genetic hack’
Washington, United States | AFP | For years, researchers at the University of Illinois have been trying to find out whether it is possible to genetically modify a crop to boost its growth. In results published in Science on Thursday, they confirmed they had been successful in making tobacco plants …
Read More »Trump turns to ‘Game of Thrones’ to push for border wall
Washington, United States | AFP | US President Donald Trump turned Thursday to “Game of Thrones” — a hit TV show that features a massive ice wall — to push for his controversial barrier on the Mexican border. “THE WALL IS COMING,” Trump wrote in a post on Instagram that …
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