Washington, United States | AFP | Lester Holt knows how to manage pressure. He anchors the most-watched nightly news show on US television. But as moderator of the first presidential debate between Hillary Clinton and Donald Trump next Monday, the pressure could go through the roof. Democrat Clinton and Republican …
Read More »Fate of Africa’s rhino, elephants to dominate wildlife meet
Johannesburg, South Africa | AFP | Global conservationists and policymakers meet in South Africa from Saturday to chart a way forward in the fight against escalating wildlife trafficking that could drive some species to extinction. The plight of Africa’s rhino and elephants, targeted for their horns and tusks, is expected …
Read More »Appeal for calm after another US police shooting sparks unrest
Charlotte, United States | AFP | The mayor of Charlotte, North Carolina appealed for calm Wednesday after a night of violent protests and looting sparked by the fatal police shooting of a black man said to have been armed with a handgun. Police said 16 officers and several demonstrators were …
Read More »Zuckerberg fund pledges $3 bn to banish disease
San Francisco, United States | AFP | Mark Zuckerberg and his wife on Wednesday pledged $3 billion over the next decade to efforts to prevent, cure or manage disease, aiming to use the Facebook founder’s fortune for innovative research. “This is a big goal,” Zuckerberg said at a San Francisco …
Read More »Japan PM demands world find ‘new means’ to stop N. Korea
United Nations, United States | AFP | Japanese Prime Minister Shinzo Abe on Wednesday demanded that the world find a new way to halt the threat from North Korea after the long-sanctioned regime’s nuclear and missile tests. Abe, addressing the UN General Assembly, said that calculations about North Korea needed …
Read More »Obama draws pledges from 50 countries to take in 360,000 refugees
United Nations, United States | AFP | US President Barack Obama on Tuesday urged countries to “welcome the stranger in our midst” at a summit that drew pledges from 50 countries to take in 360,000 refugees. Speaking at a US-led refugee summit at the United Nations, Obama praised Germany and …
Read More »August shatters global heat records for 16th month in a row
Miami, United States | AFP | Last month was the hottest August in modern times and marked the 16th month in a row when global records for heat were shattered planet-wide, US authorities said Tuesday. The string of unusual heat across land and sea surfaces is “the longest such streak …
Read More »George H.W. Bush to vote for Democrat Clinton? A Kennedy says so
Washington, United States | AFP | Former president George H.W. Bush plans to vote for Hillary Clinton in November, the niece of president John F. Kennedy wrote in a Facebook posting. “The President told me he’s voting for Hillary!!” read the caption of a picture Kathleen Kennedy Townsend posted on …
Read More »Obama hits at populist strongmen in last UN address
United Nations, United States | AFP | Barack Obama used his farewell UN address Tuesday to castigate strongmen and populists, taking aim at Russia’s Vladimir Putin and Donald Trump’s rise at home. Obama told the UN General Assembly that democracy was a better path toward prosperity than the “crude populism” …
Read More »France’s Hollande on Syria tells UN: ‘Enough is enough’
United Nations, United States | AFP | French President Francois Hollande on Tuesday appealed for an end to the carnage in Syria, telling the United Nations: “Enough is enough”. “The Syrian tragedy will be seen by history as a disgrace for the international community if we do not end it …
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