by Jennie Matthew © Agence France-Presse NEW YORK, United States (AFP) — Irish Mixed Martial Arts superstar Conor McGregor was released on $50,000 bail Friday after being hauled before a US judge on assault and criminal charges over a frenzied attack on a bus of rival fighters that injured two athletes. The 29-year-old, nicknamed “The Notorious,” was filmed lobbing a dolly through a window of the bus in a New York stadium at the end of […]
North America
US imposes sanctions on Putin’s oligarch allies
by Dave Clark © Agence France-Presse WASHINGTON, United States (AFP) — The United States struck President Vladimir Putin’s inner circle Friday, imposing sanctions on seven of Russia’s most influential oligarchs and stoking a diplomatic crisis some have dubbed a new Cold War. Those hit include metals magnate Oleg Deripaska, described as operating for the Russian government, as well as Alexei Miller, director of state-owned energy giant Gazprom. Any assets they hold in areas under US […]
Trump threatens $100 billion more tariffs on China
by Andrew Beatty Agence France Presse WASHINGTON, United States (AFP) — US President Donald Trump barreled through warnings of a damaging trade war with China Thursday, vowing an additional $100 billion in tit-for-tat tariffs on Beijing. Having already asked for $50 billion worth of Chinese goods to be punitively taxed, Trump responded to Beijing’s countermeasures by doubling down. “Rather than remedy its misconduct, China has chosen to harm our farmers and manufacturers,” Trump said in […]
Conor McGregor attacks fighter bus at New York event
NEW YORK, United States (AFP) — Mixed martial arts star Conor McGregor left a rival with facial injuries on Thursday after attacking a shuttle bus carrying fighters from an Ultimate Fighting Championship media event in New York, reports said. Video of the incident clearly showed McGregor hurling a dolly through a side window of the bus as it moved slowly in a car park at the Barclays Center in New York. UFC President Dana White said […]
Russia rails against Britain at UN, denies Skripal role
UNITED NATIONS, United States (AFP) — Russia unleashed a blistering war of words against Britain and the United States at the UN Security Council on Thursday, again denying it was responsible for poisoning a former double agent in England. “It’s some sort of theater of the absurd. Couldn’t you come up with a better fake story?” Russian Ambassador to the UN, Vassily Nebenzia, told the council. “We have told our British colleagues that ‘you’re playing […]
US to update Saudi artillery for $1.31 billion
WASHINGTON, United States (AFP) — The United States on Thursday approved a contract to sell Saudi Arabia 180 self-propelled artillery systems for $1.31 billion, in the latest stage of perhaps the world’s biggest arms deal. When US President Donald Trump visited Riyadh last year he boasted that the desert kingdom would spend $110 billion on US equipment and the howitzer contract is one more step towards that goal. Saudi Arabia’s de facto ruler, Crown Prince […]
Trump orders National Guard to Mexican border
by Thomas WATKINS / with Sofia MISELEM in Matias Romero, Mexico Agence France Presse WASHINGTON, United States (AFP) — US President Donald Trump on Wednesday ordered the National Guard to deploy to America’s southern border, ratcheting up pressure on Mexico and taking another step in his quest to clamp down on illegal immigration. Trump’s latest border move came the same day as a caravan of Central American migrants — whose trek across Mexico had infuriated […]
NATO does not want new arms race: secretary general
OTTAWA, Canada (AFP) — NATO does not want a new arms race with Russia, the alliance’s secretary general said Wednesday amid heightened tensions following an ex-spy’s poisoning in England. “We don’t want a new arms race, so we are focused on how can we respond” in a “firm strong predictable, but also measured and defensive, way,” Jens Stoltenberg told reporters alongside Canadian Prime Minister Justin Trudeau in Ottawa. “We don’t want a new Cold War,” he […]
Students join US teacher protest in Oklahoma
by Veronique Dupont / with Nova Safo in Chicago © Agence France-Presse OKLAHOMA CITY, United States (AFP) — Students joined teachers in Oklahoma City Wednesday for a third day of protests demanding that state lawmakers increase funding for public schools after years of budget cuts. “We the students of Oklahoma are with you for as long as this strike takes,” student Cameron Olbert told a rally outside the state capitol, epicenter of a demonstration that […]
Trade war inches closer as US-China tensions mount
by Douglas Gillison © Agence France-Presse WASHINGTON, United States (AFP) — The escalating confrontation between Washington and Beijing inched closer to all-out trade war on Wednesday after China threatened retaliation against key US exports. Beijing unveiled plans for painful import duties targeting politically-sensitive US exports, including soybeans, aircraft and autos, to retaliate against looming US tariffs on more than 1,000 Chinese goods. Wall Street opened sharply lower but investors apparently later decided their fears might […]
Police were warned of shooter grudge against YouTube
by Glenn Chapman / with Paul Handley in Washington © Agence France-Presse SAN FRANCISCO, United States (AFP) — Police said Wednesday they had been alerted that the Iran-born animal rights activist who shot three people before killing herself at YouTube’s California headquarters, was believed to have a vendetta against the online giant. The father of Nasim Najafi Aghdam informed police in the Silicon Valley hub of Mountain View that she had gone missing from her […]
Trump promises Syria pullout, but sets no end date
by Dave Clark / with Andrew Beatty © Agence France-Presse WASHINGTON, United States (AFP) — President Donald Trump’s White House vowed Wednesday that the US mission in Syria would come to a “rapid end” but failed to put a timetable on an eventual withdrawal. Just days after Trump shocked aides and allies by declaring that the 2,000 troops would come home soon, US officials moved to scotch talk of a precipitous pullout. The decision will […]





