New York, United States | AFP | Telecom giant AT&T has struck a deal to buy entertainment company Time Warner for more than $80 billion, to add in-house content to its distribution services, a banking source familiar with the negotiations said Saturday. An official announcement is expected before Monday’s trading …
Read More »China slams ‘provocative’ US sail-by in South China Sea
Beijing, China | AFP | China has slammed the US for sailing a warship near disputed territory in the South China Sea, saying the move was a “serious illegal act” and “deliberately provocative”. In a statement on its website late Friday night, the country’s defence ministry said two Chinese naval …
Read More »ENTERTAINMENT: Brad Pitt hasn’t answered divorce petition
Los Angeles, United States | AFP | Brad Pitt has missed the deadline to respond to Angelina Jolie’s divorce petition, seeking to avoid sparking an acrimonious legal battle that could harm the children, media reported on Friday. The 52-year-old actor will not file an official reply, despite being two days …
Read More »Ongoing cyber attack hits Twitter, Amazon, other top websites
Washington, United States | AFP | Major internet services including Twitter, Spotify and Amazon suffered service interruptions and outages on Friday as a US internet provider came under sustained cyber attack. The internet service company Dyn, which routes and manages internet traffic, said that it had suffered a distributed denial …
Read More »What to expect in the fight for Mosul
Washington, United States | AFP | The offensive to recapture Mosul from Islamic State jihadists has so far progressed faster than planners anticipated, but military experts fear the fighting could get tougher as US-backed Iraqi forces enter the city. Here is an overview of some factors determining the size and …
Read More »Assange, Ecuador’s awkward guest who just won’t leave
Quito, Ecuador | AFP | For Ecuador, WikiLeaks founder Julian Assange has become the worst kind of guest: he makes messes he doesn’t clean up, he spills secrets, he meddles, and there’s no telling when he will leave. Four years after Assange sought refuge in the Ecuadoran embassy in London, …
Read More »Philippines’ Duterte, in China, announces ‘separation’ from US
Beijing, China | AFP | Philippines’ President Rodrigo Duterte declared his “separation” from longstanding ally the United States, in Beijing on Thursday, as he rebalances his country’s diplomacy towards China. Duterte is in China for a four-day trip seen as confirming his tilt away from Washington and towards Beijing’s sphere …
Read More »Americans struggle to explain X-rated election to kids
Washington, United States | AFP | How should parents and teachers talk — or not — to children about the 2016 White House race, in an X-rated election season dominated by brutal insults, sex scandal and sleaze? It’s a minefield for educators as Republican Donald Trump and Democrat Hillary Clinton …
Read More »Rwanda’s last king, Kigeli V, dies at age 80
Kigali, Rwanda | AFP | The last king of Rwanda, Kigeli V, who ruled the east African nation for less than a year before being forced into exile, finally settling in the United States, died early Sunday according to his official website. He was 80. Born Jean-Baptiste Ndahindurwa, King Kigeli …
Read More »American to build Uganda’s refinery?
American to build refinery? Deal could be blow to sanction-strapped Russians Technocrats at the Energy Ministry and the Ministry of Finance who are working on the country’s pet project, the US$4 billion oil refinery, have learnt to stay cool under pressure. Behind their cool fronts, however, they are working in …
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