San Francisco, United States | AFP | Facebook on Tuesday announced an overhaul of its Messenger smartphone app in an effort to simplify the service for its 1.3 billion monthly global users. The social network began rolling out a redesigned version featuring three tabs instead of nine, saying it was …
Read More »US sees promise in Zimbabwe economic moves
Washington, United States | AFP | The top US diplomat for Africa on Tuesday voiced optimism over economic reforms by the new government in Zimbabwe, which remains under sanctions dating from Robert Mugabe’s 37-year reign. Tibor Nagy, the assistant secretary of state for African affairs, said that Zimbabwe’s level of …
Read More »Trump ‘not satisfied’ with Saudi explanations of Khashoggi death
Washington, United States | AFP | US President Donald Trump said Monday he was “not satisfied” with Riyadh’s explanation of how journalist Jamal Khashoggi, a Washington Post contributor, died inside the Saudi consulate in Istanbul. Asked if he believed the Saudis were telling the truth about the circumstances surrounding the …
Read More »Macron defends Russia nuclear treaty’s ‘importance’ in call with Trump
Paris, France | AFP | French President Emmanuel Macron stressed the importance of a Cold War-era nuclear weapons treaty during a phone call with Donald Trump, his office said Monday, after the US president announced he was pulling out of the deal. “The president noted the importance of this treaty, …
Read More »Japan orders Facebook to improve data protection
Tokyo, Japan | AFP | The Japanese government on Monday ordered Facebook to improve protection of users’ personal information following data breaches affecting tens of millions of people worldwide. Facebook said early this month that hackers accessed the personal data of 29 million users in a breach at the world’s …
Read More »Kremlin says world ‘more dangerous’ if US drops nuclear treaty
Moscow, Russia | AFP | The Kremlin on Monday said the world would be less safe if Washington goes ahead with plans to withdraw from a Cold War-era nuclear weapons treaty that banned intermediate-range missiles. “Such steps, if taken, will make the world more dangerous,” said presidential spokesman Dmitry Peskov …
Read More »Trump accuses Saudis of ‘lies’ over Khashoggi killing
Washington, United States | AFP | US President Donald Trump has accused Saudi Arabia of lying about the killing of Jamal Khashoggi, his strongest comments to date on the affair as pressure builds on the administration to strike a tougher line. In an interview with the Washington Post published late …
Read More »Russia warns Trump over ‘dangerous’ plan to quit nuclear treaty
Moscow, Russia | AFP | Moscow on Sunday warned US President Donald Trump that his plan to ditch a Cold War-era nuclear weapons treaty with Russia was a dangerous step. Russian deputy foreign minister Sergei Ryabkov said this “would be a very dangerous step” and accused the US of risking …
Read More »Trump says US will pull out of nuclear deal with Russia
Elko, United States | AFP | President Donald Trump confirmed Saturday that the United States plans to leave a landmark nuclear weapons treaty with Russia over claims Moscow has violated the deal. The three-decade-old Intermediate-Range Nuclear Forces Treaty, known as the INF, was signed in 1987 by president Ronald Reagan. …
Read More »Guantanamo prison takes on geriatric airs
Guantanamo Bay Naval Base, Cuba | AFP | The controversial Guantanamo Bay prison still houses 40 aging inmates — and with no plans to close it, many of them will probably remain there until they die. The population still imprisoned at the military base in Cuba range from middle-aged to …
Read More »