North America

Trump bans Washington Post from his campaign events

WASHINGTON, United States (AFP) — White House hopeful Donald Trump, in his latest attack on the media, said Monday he was rescinding The Washington Post’s press credentials for covering his campaign events. “Based on the incredibly inaccurate coverage and reporting of the record-setting Trump campaign, we are hereby revoking the press credentials of the phony and dishonest Washington Post,” Trump wrote in a tweet. Later, the campaign said in a statement that “we no longer […]

Israel wins UN committee chair

United Nations, United States—Israel on Monday was elected to chair a United Nations committee for the first time in the world body’s 71-year history, triggering strong protests from Arab countries and the Palestinians. Israeli Ambassador Danny Danon won the chair of the legal affairs committee of the General Assembly by picking up 109 votes from the 193 member-states. Danon’s candidacy was put to a vote by secret ballot at the request of Arab countries. All […]

Gunfire, hostages, violent end: how the Orlando massacre unfolded

    ORLANDO, United States (AFP) — The following is a description of the deadly shooting rampage that unfolded at Orlando’s Pulse nightclub early Sunday, where 49 people were shot dead and 53 others were wounded, according to police and witness accounts. Gunman Omar Mateen was killed in a shootout with police.   Closing time: shooter on the scene– Just after 2:00 am as the club was closing, Mateen, a 29-year-old American of Afghan descent, opens […]

IS claims Orlando shooting in radio bulletin

BEIRUT, Lebanon (AFP) –The Islamic State group on Monday claimed responsibility for the Orlando shooting that killed 50 people, saying in a radio bulletin that it was carried out by “one of the soldiers of the caliphate”. “Allah allowed Omar Mateen, one of the soldiers of the caliphate in America, to carry out an attack entering a crusader gathering in a night club… in Orlando in Florida, killing and wounding more than 100 of them,” a bulletin […]

Grief mixes with defiance as a shaken Orlando deals with attack

ORLANDO, United States (AFP) –The people of Orlando grieved and remembered the dead after a gunman murdered 50 people at a gay nightclub in the Florida city, but there was also defiance in the face of tragedy. On Sunday evening many relatives kept anxious vigils at the bedsides of wounded loved ones at Orlando Regional Medical Center. Angel Colon emerged from the hospital thankful to have found his son Angel Jr, 26, alive and in stable condition […]

Orlando shooter homophobe and wife beater: reports

ORLANDO, United States (AFP) — People close to the gunman behind the attack on a gay nightclub in Florida that left 50 dead, paint a picture of a violent and prejudiced young man. The suspect, 29-year-old Omar Mateen, is a Muslim American of Afghan descent and law enforcement were investigating whether he had ties to or was inspired by Islamist extremism, after a source linked to the Islamic State group claimed the attack. The FBI […]

Trump says he was right about ‘radical Islamic terrorism’, blames Obama

Reuters — In the wake of the deadliest shooting in U.S. history, likely Republican presidential nominee Donald Trump said he was “right on radical Islamic terrorism” and called for toughness and vigilance. Trump made the statement on Twitter after the attack in an Orlando, Florida nightclub which 50 killed people and wounded 53. “Appreciate the congrats for being right on radical Islamic terrorism, I don’t want congrats, I want toughness & vigilance,” Trump tweeted. “We […]

Orlando massacre thrusts terror threat into White House race

by Michael Mathes WASHINGTON, United States (AFP) — White House hopeful Donald Trump appeared bent on exploiting Sunday’s massacre in Orlando to boost the argument that he can be trusted to tackle terrorism over rival Hillary Clinton. With many victims of the carnage yet to be identified, and police still probing the suspected Islamist ties of the slain gunman, Trump wasted no time in harnessing the assault to his political advantage. The presumptive Republican nominee […]

Hackers selling stolen Twitter log-in data

SAN FRANCISCO, United States (AFP) — Tens of millions of stolen Twitter credentials evidently lifted from web browser programs were put up for sale online, according to a search engine devoted to leaked data. Twitter on Thursday was adamant that its computer systems had not been broken into by hackers, and that it was not the source of any account information being hawked on the Internet. “We are confident that these usernames and credentials were […]

Clinton trolls Trump on Twitter: ‘Delete your account’

WASHINGTON, United States (AFP) — “Delete your account.” Hillary Clinton’s snarky tweet Thursday to her White House rival Donald Trump was among the funniest of the campaign. Almost as funny as it was awkward. The message by the 68-year-old former secretary of state — actually written by a young staffer, a Clinton aide told AFP — was in response to the latest broadside by Trump, who had commented on how “Obama just endorsed Crooked Hillary” on […]

6.1 magnitude quake, aftershocks shake northwest Nicaragua

MANAGUA, Nicaragua (AFP) — A strong 6.1 magnitude earthquake and at least three aftershocks shook northwestern Nicaragua on Thursday night, triggering panic among residents. There were no immediate reports of damage or casualties. The 6.1 quake struck at 9:25 pm (0325 GMT), centered 17 kilometers (10.5 miles) east of Puerto Morazan near the Honduras border at a depth of 10 kilometers, according to the United States Geological Survey. It was followed by three weaker aftershocks […]

U.S. urges Israel not to punish innocent Palestinians for attack

Israel’s response to Wednesday’s gun attack in Tel Aviv should be designed in a way that does not punish innocent Palestinians, the State Department said on Thursday (June 9) after the Israeli military revoked the travel permits for 83,000 Palestinians. “We understand the Israeli government’s desire to protect its citizens…and we strongly support that right, but we would hope that any measures it takes are designed to also take into consideration the impact on Palestinian […]