New York, United States | AFP | Once dismissed by many as a fringe candidate with wacky socialist ideas, Bernie Sanders campaigned to the brink of the Democratic presidential nomination in 2016 and has now set his sights on the White House once again. Sanders, a 77-year-old US Senator from …
Read More »Fact-check: Does Amazon pay ‘$0’ in taxes?
Washington, United States | AFP | A tweet by a popular US Congresswoman spotlighted a report about US tech behemoth Amazon’s tax burden for the past two years. While the company paid no US federal income tax, it reported “cash taxes paid” of $1.2 billion last year and $957 million in …
Read More »US report calls car imports national security threat: source
New York, United States | AFP | A US Commerce Department report has concluded that American auto imports threaten national security, setting the stage for possible tariffs by the White House, a person familiar with the matter said Thursday. The investigation, ordered by President Donald Trump in May, is “positive” …
Read More »US and China open trade talks in Beijing
Beijing, China | AFP | US and Chinese negotiators kicked off two days of high-level trade talks in Beijing on Thursday hoping to resolve a festering dispute that has cast a shadow over financial markets and the global growth outlook. Pressure to seal an accord ahead of a March 1 deadline set by Donald Trump …
Read More »El Chapo’ leaves a void in his Mexican hometown
Badiraguato, Mexico | AFP | The downfall of Joaquin “El Chapo” Guzman has done little to diminish his drug cartel’s power, but locals say it has had a devastating effect in one place: his remote and lawless hometown, Badiraguato. “El Chapo” was born 61 years ago in this small, dusty …
Read More »Maduro makes ‘terrible mistake’ in blocking Venezuela aid: Trump
Washington, United States | AFP | President Donald Trump said on Wednesday that Venezuela’s leftist leader Nicolas Maduro is “making a terrible mistake” by blocking US humanitarian aid. Trump said it was “sad” that the oil-rich Latin American country is in “turmoil” and said Washington has still not ruled out sending troops to the region. …
Read More »IS defends last Syria redoubt, as family members flee
Near Baghouz, Syria | AFP | Jihadist fighters made a desperate last stand in eastern Syria on Wednesday, while their wives and children fled the final, blood-soaked implosion of the Islamic State group’s “caliphate”. The US-backed Syrian Democratic Forces on Saturday launched a final push to expel IS fighters from the sole remaining morsel …
Read More »Trump orders government to prioritize artificial intelligence
Washington, United States | AFP | President Donald Trump on Monday ordered the US administration to give greater priority to artificial intelligence, a move seen as firing up a battle for leadership with China. The American AI Initiative executive order calls for the administration to “devote the full resources of …
Read More »Can the second Trump-Kim summit end the Korean War?
Seoul, South Korea | AFP | The second summit between US President Donald Trump and North Korean leader Kim Jong Un has raised hopes for the longest ceasefire in history to be replaced by a peace treaty. Seoul and Pyongyang remain technically at war after the 1950-53 Korean War ended with …
Read More »Hawaii considers raising legal smoking age — to 100
Los Angeles, United States | AFP | Would-be cigarette smokers in the US state of Hawaii might have to wait a very long time for their first legal drag, after a lawmaker introduced a bill that would bar sales to anyone under the age of 100. The proposed law, introduced …
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