North America

Former Trump adviser Flynn offers testimony for immunity: report

by Margaret Donaldson Agence France Presse WASHINGTON, United States (AFP) — Ousted United States national security adviser Michael Flynn has “a story to tell,” his lawyer said Thursday amid reports that in exchange for immunity, Flynn has offered to testify about potential ties between Donald Trump’s presidential campaign and Russia. Flynn proposed his deal to the Federal Bureau of Investigation and the House and Senate intelligence committees, the Wall Street Journal reported Thursday night. Flynn, […]

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US says Assad’s overthrow no longer a priority

by Dave Clark Agence France Presse UNITED NATIONS, United States (AFP) — The United States admitted Thursday that it is no longer focused on ousting Bashar al-Assad as it seeks a new strategy to end Syria’s civil war. American officials have been shifting away from their former insistence that he must go for some time, but now they have made it explicit. In New York, the US ambassador to the United Nations Nikki Haley condemned […]

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Trump predicts ‘very difficult’ China summit

WASHINGTON, United States (AFP) — United States President Donald Trump predicted an upcoming meeting with Chinese leader Xi Jinping would be “very difficult” Thursday, laying out an adversarial tone ahead of a high-profile summit. “The meeting next week with China will be a very difficult one,” Trump tweeted, in apparent reference to the Mar-a-Lago meeting “We can no longer have massive trade deficits… and job losses. American companies must be prepared to look at other […]

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US diplomat arrested over contacts with Chinese spies

WASHINGTON, United States (AFP) — A United States diplomat who allegedly took tens of thousands of dollars in cash and gifts from Chinese intelligence agents was charged Wednesday with lying to investigators over those contacts. The Department of Justice said Candace Marie Claiborne, 60, knew that the two Chinese men she had regular contact with while working for the US State Department in China and other countries were from the Chinese security services, and that the […]

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Exxon Mobil urges Trump to stay in Paris climate accord

WASHINGTON, United States (AFP) — Energy giant Exxon Mobil has asked the Donald Trump administration not to scrap United States participation in the landmark Paris climate agreement, running counter to White House moves on carbon emissions. The news came as Trump on Tuesday unveiled a new executive order that could roll back some of the previous Democratic administration’s policies aimed at curbing greenhouse gas emissions and climate change. In a March 22 letter to Trump energy […]

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Trump moves to roll back Obama climate measures

by Andrew BEATTY Agence France Presse WASHINGTON, United States (AFP) — President Donald Trump declared the end of a “war on coal” Tuesday, as he moved to curb rules that underpin American emissions targets and a major global climate accord. Following through on an election promise, Trump signed an order to review some of his predecessor Barack Obama’s climate legacy, declaring an end to “job-killing regulations.” In a maiden trip to the Environmental Protection Agency, […]

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US leads boycott of nuclear weapons ban talks

by Catherine TRIOMPHE Agence France Presse UNITED NATIONS, United States (AFP) — More than 100 countries on Monday launched the first United Nations talks aimed at achieving a legally binding ban on nuclear weapons, as Washington led an international boycott of a process it deems unrealistic. Before the conference had even begun, the United States ambassador to the UN, Nikki Haley, spoke out to reject the proposal in the light of current global security threats. “As […]

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Trump taps son-in-law to head bureaucacy overhaul: report

WASHINGTON, United States (AFP) — United States President Donald Trump has tapped son-in-law Jared Kushner to lead a new White House office that aims to apply ideas from the business world to help streamline the government, the Washington Post reported Sunday. The White House Office of Innovation is to be unveiled Monday with sweeping authority to overhaul the bureaucracy and fulfill key campaign promises like reforming care for veterans and fighting opioid addiction, the Post […]

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New blow for Trump as Obamacare repeal bid collapses

  WASHINGTON, United States (AFP) — President Donald Trump faced the biggest blow yet to his young presidency as his bid to repeal Obamacare went down in flames at the hands of rebel Republican lawmakers. Barely two months into his term, Trump was forced to withdraw an embattled Republican health care bill Friday, moments before a vote, leaving his campaign pledge to dismantle his predecessor’s health care reforms unfulfilled. The stinging defeat showed the limits […]

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Cities and monuments to dim lights in nod to Earth

PARIS, France (AFP) — From Sydney to New York, cities and monuments will dim their lights on Saturday in a show of solidarity against the threats being faced by the planet from humankind. This year marks the tenth anniversary of Earth Hour, an annual bid to raise awareness about global warming caused by the burning of coal, oil and gas to power cars and power plants. Since it was first held in 2007, in Sydney […]

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Tillerson to meet allies as NATO races to save talks

By Dave Clark WASHINGTON, United States (AFP) — United States Secretary of State Rex Tillerson will meet with North Atlantic Treaty Organization members next week in Brussels, officials said Friday, as alliance diplomats worked to nail down the date. “We are currently planning to hold the meeting of NATO foreign ministers on 31 March. Consultations on scheduling among Allies are ongoing,” a NATO official in Brussels said. The NATO foreign ministers meeting had been planned […]

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Google ad boycott could aim ire at ad-serving software

by Sophie ESTIENNE Agence France Presse SAN FRANCISCO, United States (AFP) — Google’s money-making foundation is strong enough to endure a current boycott by advertisers, but the movement could rattle the practice of software “programmed” ad placement, analysts said on Thursday. The internet giant’s core business of serving up advertising along with online search results appeared to be safe from the boycott, motivated by companies seeking assurances that their marketing messages won’t be displayed along […]

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