by Peter HUTCHISON Agence France Presse NEW YORK, United States (AFP) – Harvey Weinstein was convicted Monday of sexual assault and rape but cleared of the most serious predatory sexual assault charges, a verdict hailed as a historic victory by the #MeToo Movement against sexual abuse. The jury of seven men and five women, delivering their decision before a packed New York courtroom, found the once powerful Hollywood producer guilty of criminal sexual acts […]
North America
Sanders would ‘absolutely’ use military if needed
WASHINGTON, United States (AFP) — Democratic candidate Bernie Sanders has said that if elected president he would “absolutely” use the military if warranted, both to protect US interests and to support its allies. He also said he would be willing to meet with the North Korean dictator, Kim Jong Un, as President Donald Trump has done. Sanders has emerged with an early lead in the Democratic nominating process, and as a self-declared democratic socialist his […]
Plane lands with Canadians evacuated from Japan virus ship
OTTAWA, Canada (AFP) — A chartered plane carrying more than 200 Canadians evacuated from the coronavirus-quarantined Diamond Princess cruise ship landed at a military base in Ontario province early Friday. All the passengers who arrived at Canadian Forces Base Trenton, 200 kilometers (120 miles) southwest of Ottawa, had tested negative for COVID-19, CBC reported. They will, however, be quarantined for a further 14 days at the Nav Centre in Cornwall, Ontario, a hotel and conference […]
Trump ally gets 40 months’ prison amid presidential meddling row
by Issam AHMED Agence France Presse WASHINGTON, United States (AFP) US President Donald Trump’s longtime ally Roger Stone was sentenced Thursday to 40 months in prison for impeding a congressional investigation, in a case that ignited a firestorm over the US president’s political interference in the justice system. Stone, a veteran Republican operative and one of the president’s oldest confidants, was convicted in November of lying to Congress, tampering with a witness and obstructing […]
13 US citizens at ‘high risk’ of coronavirus being treated in Nebraska
WASHINGTON, United States (AFP) — Thirteen US citizens deemed “high risk” for the deadly new coronavirus are being treated at a federally designated facility in the University of Nebraska following their evacuation from a cruise ship in Japan, officials said Monday. A total of 338 Americans were flown home from the Diamond Princess cruise ship off Japan’s Yokohama, touching down first at Travis Air Force Base in California shortly before midnight Sunday. The second flight […]
14 test positive among US plane evacuees from Japan virus ship
WASHINGTON, United States (AFP) — Fourteen people who had tested positive for the new coronavirus were among more than 300 US citizens and family members evacuated by plane from a quarantined ship in Japan, the US State Department said Monday. The passengers had already disembarked from the Diamond Princess and were preparing to return to the United States on chartered aircraft when US officials were informed 14 of them who had been tested days […]
US defense chief warns NATO of China’s Huawei ‘threat’, asks allies not to allow it to build new 5G networks
by Damon WAKE Agence France Presse MUNICH, Germany (AFP) — Top US officials fired a fresh broadside at Huawei on Saturday, warning the Chinese tech giant posed a threat to NATO (North Atlantic Treaty Organization) if allies allowed it to build new 5G communications networks. Washington has been pressing European allies hard to ban Huawei, one of the world’s largest tech firms, from next-generation mobile data networks, saying it is a security risk. A day […]
Huawei, Meng face new US charges of trade secrets theft
by Rob Lever WASHINGTON, United States (AFP) — Chinese tech giant Huawei was hit Thursday with fresh US criminal charges alleging a “decades-long” effort to steal trade secrets from American companies. A US indictment unsealed in New York alleges Huawei and its proxies conspired “to misappropriate intellectual property” from six US firms as part of a strategy to grow and become the world’s largest telecom equipment maker. The new charges including a federal racketeering allegation […]
White House ‘disappointed’ in China’s virus transparency
WASHINGTON, United States (AFP) — The United States feels let down by a lack of transparency from China over the new-coronavirus crisis, a senior White House official said Thursday, contradicting President Donald Trump’s confidence in Beijing. “We are a little disappointed that we haven’t been invited in and we’re a little disappointed in the lack of transparency coming from the Chinese,” Larry Kudlow, the director of the National Economic Council, told reporters. Trump on Thursday […]
Washington gives Huawei 45-day reprieve to operate in US
WASHINGTON, United States (AFP) — The United States on Thursday granted Huawei another 45 days to sell to American companies while they search for alternatives to the Chinese telecommunications giant that Washington views as a security threat. The extension will “allow existing telecommunication providers — particularly those in rural US communities — the ability to continue to temporarily and securely operate existing networks,” the Commerce Department said in a statement. The decision to provide yet […]
Trump ‘fine’ with end of Philippines military pact
WASHINGTON, United States (AFP) — US President Donald Trump dismissed concerns Wednesday about the Philippines canceling a major military accord, saying the decision would save Americans money. The 1998 Visiting Forces Agreement (VFA) created a legal framework for the presence of US troops in the Philippines and for organizing joint military exercises. Manila announced its decision Tuesday — a move the US embassy in the Philippines called a “serious step” — touching off a six-month […]
Yang announces withdrawal from Democratic presidential race
MANCHESTER, United States (AFP) — Tech entrepreneur Andrew Yang, who campaigned on giving every adult American $1,000 a month, suspended his campaign for president Tuesday after failing to make an impact in the New Hampshire primary. “You know I am the math guy and it is clear tonight from the numbers that we are not going to win this race,” Yang told cheering supporters as he bowed out. “I am not someone who wants to […]





