International

US approves $1 billion in Saudi defense contracts

WASHINGTON, United States (AFP) — The United States formally approved defense contracts totaling more than $1 billion with Saudi Arabia on Thursday, as the kingdom’s crown prince continued his American tour. The State Department confirmed it had green-lighted a $670 million deal for anti-tank missiles, a $106 million contract for helicopter maintenance and $300 million for ground vehicle parts. An official said the deals had been in the pipeline since President Donald Trump has announced […]

Texas bomber ‘not sorry’ on confession tape: report

CHICAGO, United States (AFP) — The man behind a series of package bombs that terrorized Texas state capital Austin left a recorded confession expressing no remorse and describing himself as a “psychopath,” a newspaper reported Thursday. Mark Conditt, who was wanted for a series of bombings over three weeks that killed two people and injured several others, died after detonating a bomb in his car Wednesday as police closed in. Police said the 23-year-old left […]

Trump unveils new tariffs punishing China for ‘theft’ of American tech

by Douglas Gillison Agence France Presse WASHINGTON, United States (AFP) — US President Donald Trump on Thursday hit China with tariffs on up to $60 billion of imports to retaliate against the “theft” of American intellectual property, ratcheting up trade tensions between the world’s two largest economies. The move was swiftly denounced by Beijing, which vowed to “fight to the end” if the United States persisted in the confrontation. The latest trade action sent stocks […]

Trump axes McMaster, names hawk Bolton as national security advisor

by Andrew BEATTY Agence France Presse WASHINGTON, United States (AFP) — US President Donald Trump named ultra-hardline Fox News pundit and former UN ambassador John Bolton as his new national security advisor Thursday, ousting embattled army general HR McMaster. McMaster’s exit is the latest in a string of high-profile departures from the White House that started with national security advisor Michael Flynn and has also included chief of staff Reince Priebus, chief strategist Steve Bannon, […]

Macron reforms unleash strikes, protests

by Adam PLOWRIGHT and Joseph SCHMID Agence France-Presse PARIS, France – An estimated 200,000 protesters took to the streets of France on Thursday in a showdown between trade unions and President Emmanuel Macron that could be decisive for his reform agenda. Seven unions representing staff in the public sector led strikes and protests, and a third of railway workers walked out to join the demonstrations against 40-year-old Macron’s bid to shake up the French state. […]

Zuckerberg apology fails to quiet Facebook storm

by Glenn Chapman / with Robin Millard in London Agence France-Presse SAN FRANCISCO, United States – A public apology by Facebook chief Mark Zuckerberg failed Thursday to quell outrage over the hijacking of personal data from millions of people, as critics demanded that the social media giant go much further to protect user privacy. Speaking out for the first time about the harvesting of Facebook user data by a British firm linked to Donald Trump’s […]

At least six dead in Czech chemical plant blast: fire fighters

PRAGUE, Czech Republic (AFP) — At least six people died and several others were seriously injured in an explosion Thursday at a Czech chemical plant in the northern town of Kralupy-nad-Vltavou, fire fighters said. “We have received information about six dead and several others seriously injured,” regional fire fighter spokeswoman Vladimira Kerekova said, quoted by the CTK news agency. © Agence France-Presse

Dashcam video shows final seconds before fatal Uber crash

  WASHINGTON, United States (AFP) — Dashcam footage of the first fatal self-driving car crash involving a pedestrian shows the Uber vehicle operator appearing to be distracted, then gasping in horror seconds before the impact. The driver can be seen looking down at something for nearly five seconds before finally gazing up the instant before the car hit a woman in Tempe, in the US state of Arizona on Sunday. Police there released the footage […]

Kremlin calls Johnson likening Putin to Hitler ‘disgusting’

MOSCOW, Russia (AFP) — The Kremlin on Thursday said British Foreign Secretary Boris Johnson had made “disgusting” comments about President Vladimir Putin seeking to exploit Russia’s World Cup in the way Adolf Hitler had used the 1936 Berlin Olympics. “This is a completely disgusting statement. This is beneath the foreign minister of any country. Of course it is offensive and unacceptable,” presidential spokesman Dmitry Peskov said. The previous day Johnson agreed with a fellow British […]

China vows to respond to US tariffs with ‘necessary measures’

BEIJING, China (AFP) — China warned on Thursday that it was ready to retaliate as US President Donald Trump prepared to announce sanctions against Beijing for the “theft” of intellectual property. “China will not sit idly by and let its legitimate rights and interests be harmed, and will certainly take all necessary measures to resolutely defend its legitimate rights and interests,” the commerce ministry said in a statement. © Agence France-Presse

Sarkozy blasts lack of ‘physical evidence’ in corruption case: French media

PARIS, France (AFP) — Former French president Nicolas Sarkozy blasted what he said was a lack of evidence for the corruption charges against him over allegations that late Libyan dictator Moamer Kadhafi funded his 2007 election campaign, in his court statement published Thursday. The morning after he was charged in one of France’s most explosive political scandals in years, the 63-year-old rightwinger said he had been in “living hell” since the allegations first emerged in 2011. […]

N. Korea’s parliament to hold annual meeting amid diplomatic thaw

SEOUL, South Korea (AFP) — North Korea’s rubber-stamp parliament will hold an annual session next month, state media said Thursday, with all eyes on whether it will move to bolster a diplomatic thaw with the US and South Korea. A rapid rapprochement that kicked off during last month’s Winter Olympics has seen US President Donald Trump agree to hold a summit with the North’s leader Kim Jong Un. The hermit state’s legislative body meets only […]