San Francisco, United States | AFP | Facebook said Monday it had blocked some 30 accounts on its platform and 85 accounts on photo-sharing social network Instagram over concerns they may be linked to foreign entities and aimed at interfering in US midterm elections. The announcement came shortly after US …
Read More »Trump says ‘probably’ no Putin meeting in Paris this week
Washington, United States | AFP | US President Donald Trump said Monday he does not expect to hold talks with his Russian counterpart Vladimir Putin when they attend World War I commemorations in Paris at the end of this week. Trump said he was “not sure we’ll have a meeting …
Read More »El Chapo faces biggest US drugs trial
New York, United States | AFP | Joaquin “El Chapo” Guzman goes on trial in New York on Monday, accused of running the world’s biggest drug cartel and spending a quarter of a century smuggling more than 155 tons of cocaine into the United States. The mammoth trial in Brooklyn, …
Read More »Iran will ‘proudly bypass’ US sanctions: Rouhani
Tehran, Iran | AFP | Iran’s President Hassan Rouhani said the Islamic republic “will proudly bypass sanctions” by the United States that took effect on Monday targeting the country’s oil and financial sectors. “I announce that we will proudly bypass your illegal, unjust sanctions because it’s against international regulations,” Rouhani …
Read More »China to continue Iran trade despite new US sanctions
Beijing, China | AFP | China denounced new US sanctions targeting Iran’s oil and financial sectors as “long-arm jurisdiction” on Monday and vowed to continue its bilateral trade with the Islamic republic. The measures, which took effect on Monday, follow US President Donald Trump’s decision to abandon a multi-nation nuclear …
Read More »Alibaba’s Ma calls trade war ‘stupidest thing in the world’
Shanghai, China | AFP | Shanghai, China | AFP | The US-China trade war is the “stupidest thing in the world,” Alibaba e-commerce tycoon Jack Ma declared at an import fair that China opened Monday partly to counter foreign criticism of its trade policies. Ma, who recently took back an …
Read More »Pompeo says he will meet N.Korea number two in New York
Washington, United States | AFP | US Secretary of State Mike Pompeo said Sunday he will meet this week in New York with North Korea’s number two to discuss denuclearization and a possible second summit between US President Donald Trump and North Korean leader Kim Jong Un. “I expect we’ll …
Read More »UN says war-torn Yemen ‘living hell’ for children
Amman, Jordan | AFP | Conflict-ravaged Yemen has become a “living hell” for children with thousands dying every year from malnutrition and easily preventable diseases, a top UN official said Sunday. Geert Cappelaere, regional director for the Middle East and North Africa at UN children’s agency UNICEF, called on the …
Read More »Trump versus Obama on final US campaign weekend
Indianapolis, United States | AFP | After boasting about the economy and raising fears over immigration, US President Donald Trump is facing pushback from his predecessor Barack Obama, who is taking on an increasingly prominent role in the final weekend of campaigning before midterm elections in which Republican control of …
Read More »Ahead of vote, Twitter says accounts removed over ‘disinformation’
Washington, United States | AFP | Twitter on Saturday said it deleted a “series of accounts” that attempted to share disinformation, ahead of crucial midterm elections, as media reports said thousands of accounts were axed. The social media company “removed a series of accounts for engaging in attempts to share …
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