Washington, United States | AFP | It could be a manipulated video embarrassing a candidate. Or a computer voting system locked by ransomware. Or doubts about electronic voting machines with no paper backups. As Americans prepare for 2020 elections, digital threats to election security are multiplying, stoking fears of a …
Read More »Iran warns any country that attacks will be ‘main battlefield’
Tehran, Iran | AFP | Iran’s Revolutionary Guards commander on Saturday warned any country that attacks the Islamic republic will see its territory become the “main battlefield” as he opened an exhibition of captured drones. Major General Hossein Salami also said Iran was “ready for any type of scenario” following …
Read More »The whistleblower and Trump phone call: What we know
Washington, United States | AFP | A mysterious whistleblower, a telephone call between President Donald Trump and a foreign leader, and military aid to Ukraine. Here’s what we know about the latest political firestorm swirling around Washington: – Whistleblower – On August 12, an unknown whistleblower in the US intelligence …
Read More »Tension as US sends military reinforcements to the Gulf region
US sending more troops to Gulf, Trump announces Iran sanctions Washington, United States | AFP | The United States announced Friday that it was sending military reinforcements to the Gulf region following attacks on Saudi oil facilities that it attributes to Iran, just hours after President Donald Trump ordered new …
Read More »Study shows North American bird population fell by quarter over 50 years
Washington, United States | AFP | The number of birds in the United States and Canada has fallen by an astonishing 29 percent, or almost three billion, since 1970, scientists reported Thursday, saying their findings signaled a widespread ecological crisis. Grassland birds are the most affected, because of the disappearance …
Read More »Zuckerberg meets US senators, rejects call to break up Facebook
Washington, United States | AFP | Facebook chief executive Mark Zuckerberg met privately with members of Congress Thursday on a political reconnaissance mission to Washington, where he rejected calls for him to break up the world’s biggest social network. Zuckerberg’s visit with policymakers comes as Facebook faces a myriad of …
Read More »Clooney group calls for action in South Sudan corruption report
Damning South Sudan Report focuses on regional players, including Uganda London, United Kingdom | AFP | Hollywood star George Clooney’s investigative project The Sentry on Thursday urged the international community to act over alleged links between global corporations, tycoons and foreign governments and rampant corruption in South Sudan. The Sentry …
Read More »Iran warns of ‘World War III’
Iranian FM warns US or Saudi attack would trigger ‘all-out’ war: CNN Tehran, Iran | AFP | Iranian FM has warned that a US or Saudi attack would trigger ‘all-out’ war, CNN has reported. This came hours after Foreign Minister Mohammad Javad Zarif accused Iran’s foes Thursday of agitating for war, as Washington and …
Read More »Wall Street sinks as skyrocketing oil prices rattle nerves
New York, United States | AFP | US stocks sank into the red on Monday as attacks on Saudi crude production and record jumps in oil prices whipped up investor anxieties about the global economy. Saturday’s devastating attacks on Abqaiq — the world’s largest oil processing facility — and the …
Read More »Amnesty chief Naidoo says US strike would worsen Mideast suffering
Washington, United States | AFP | The head of Amnesty International warned Monday that a US military intervention in response to the attack on Saudi oil facilities blamed on Iran would only aggravate suffering in the Middle East. The rights group’s secretary general, Kumi Naidoo, said the world instead should …
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