Washington, United States | AFP | The US House of Representatives on Friday joined the Senate in passing a critical measure that marks the first major step toward repealing outgoing President Barack Obama’s landmark but controversial health care reforms. The House’s party-line vote of 227 to 198 approved a budget …
Read More »Report indicates WhatsApp is vulnerable to snooping
London, United Kingdom | AFP | The Facebook-owned mobile messaging service WhatsApp is vulnerable to interception, the Guardian newspaper reported on Friday, sparking concern over an app advertised as putting an emphasis on privacy. The report said that WhatsApp messages could be read without its billion-plus users knowing due to …
Read More »Obama eases Sudan sanctions
Washington, United States | AFP | US President Barack Obama took the controversial step of easing some economic sanctions against Sudan Friday, trying to improve relations with a country whose leader is accused of war crimes and past links to terror. Obama informed Congress that he will lift trade and …
Read More »Obamas’ dog, perhaps not taking transition well, bites visitor
Washington, United States | AFP | Blood was spilled Monday at the White House, but the culprit’s politics were not to blame: the Obamas’ dog Sunny bit a teenaged guest of the family, leaving a gash above her cheekbone, TMZ reported on Thursday. The 18-year-old girl, whose name has not …
Read More »ANALYSIS: Deny and deflect as Trump comes out swinging
New York, United States | AFP | Donald Trump was combative and in control at his first news conference in months on Wednesday, sticking to his campaign formula — boasting of his successes, cracking jokes and slamming media he considers hostile. Journalists sat elbow to elbow, knee to knee in …
Read More »Trump insists US will build a wall and Mexico will reimburse it
New York, United States | AFP | Donald Trump vowed Wednesday to forge ahead with plans for a wall on the southern US border after taking office, and said Mexico would reimburse the United States for the cost. “I could wait about a year and a half until we finish …
Read More »Trump son-in-law: a calming power in the new presidency
New York, United States | AFP | Jared Kushner, Donald Trump’s baby-faced son-in-law and incoming special advisor, is poised to become one of the most powerful men in the country, a calming and respected influence on the president. Celebrating his 36th birthday on Tuesday, the clean-cut, impeccably polite and discreet …
Read More »Obama says goodbye in last presidential speech
Washington, UNITED STATES | AFP | Barack Obama closes the book on his presidency Tuesday, with a farewell speech in Chicago that will try to lift supporters felled by Donald Trump’s shock victory. Obama’s last trip on Air Force One will be a pilgrimage to his adoptive hometown, where he …
Read More »Trump names son-in-law senior White House advisor
New York, United States | AFP | Donald Trump on Monday named son-in-law Jared Kushner as senior White House advisor, rewarding the man widely credited as the brains behind his election but courting serious legal and ethical concerns. The baby-faced real estate developer and magazine publisher who turns 36 on …
Read More »Police arrest 17 over Kardashian Paris robbery
Paris, France | AFP | French police on Monday arrested 17 people, most of them with records for organised crime, over the robbery of US reality TV star Kim Kardashian in Paris last October, police sources said. Police swooped in the Paris region and the south of France after DNA …
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