Vandenberg Air Force Base, United States | AFP | NASA on Saturday blasted off its latest Mars lander, InSight, designed to perch on the surface and listen for “Marsquakes” ahead of eventual human missions to explore the Red Planet. “Three, two, one, liftoff!” said a NASA commentator as the spacecraft …
Read More »US fails to win UN backing for statement criticizing Abbas
United Nations, United States | AFP | The United States failed Friday to win United Nations Security Council backing for a statement rejecting as “unacceptable” remarks by Palestinian president Mahmud Abbas about Jews that included “vile anti-Semitic slurs.” Kuwait, a non-permanent council member that represents the Arab Group of countries, …
Read More »Google to show who is behind US political ads
San Francisco, United States | AFP | Google on Friday said that people looking to place US election ads on its platform will need to show identification, and make clear who is paying. Policy changes being rolled out come as online ad ‘duopoly’ Google and Facebook strive to avoid being …
Read More »Thousands urged to leave homes after Hawaii volcano eruption: official
Los Angeles, United States | AFP | Up to 10,000 people have been asked to leave their homes on Hawaii’s Big Island following the eruption of the Kilauea volcano on Thursday that came after a series of recent earthquakes. “Department of Public Works reports steam and lava emissions from a …
Read More »Twitter urges users to change ‘unmasked’ passwords
San Francisco, United States | AFP | Twitter on Thursday urged its more than 300 million users to change their passwords, saying they had been unintentionally “unmasked” inside the company by a software bug. The social media site said it found no sign that hackers accessed the exposed data, but …
Read More »Trump confirms ‘reimbursement’ under porn star deal
Washington, United States | AFP | US President Donald Trump on Thursday confirmed a “reimbursement” as part of a hush agreement with porn star Stormy Daniels over allegations of a decade-old affair, but he said campaign money wasn’t involved. Trump’s comments in a series of tweets, which contradicted his earlier …
Read More »Naked Trump statue goes for $28,000 at auction
Los Angeles, United States | AFP | A naked statue of Donald Trump, complete with a distended belly and jowly sneer, is to go on display at a Haunted Museum after a paranormal investigator bought it at auction. Julien’s Auctions announced Wednesday it sold the artwork — believed to be …
Read More »With 24-hour outrages, Kanye West masters media moment
New York, United States | AFP | Since re-emerging last month from a yearlong absence, Kanye West has sparked outrage by throwing his lot with Donald Trump and calling slavery a choice. Yet the rapper has succeeded spectacularly in one key goal — staying at the center of attention. If …
Read More »After Obama, a Nobel prize for Trump — or not so fast?
Washington, United States | AFP | A decade after Barack Obama won the Nobel Peace Prize, could his White House successor Donald Trump follow suit for navigating the thorny North Korean nuclear standoff? The very idea, put forward by a handful of Republican lawmakers in a Wednesday letter nominating the …
Read More »Cambridge Analytica to close after Facebook data scandal
London, United Kingdom | AFP | Cambridge Analytica, the British marketing analytics firm, announced Wednesday that it was closing and would file for insolvency in Britain and the United States after failing to recover from the Facebook data scandal. The decision follows weeks of intense pressure on the company, hired …
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