by Paul HANDLEY Agence France Presse WASHINGTON, United States (AFP) –The CIA can turn your TV into a listening device, bypass popular encryption apps, and possibly control your car, according to a trove of alleged documents from the US spy agency released Tuesday by WikiLeaks. The group posted nearly 9,000 documents it said were leaked from the Central Intelligence Agency, in what it described as the largest-ever publication of secret intelligence materials. WikiLeaks claimed that […]
International
Iraqi forces retake government HQ, museum in Mosul
by Tony Gamal-Gabriel with Ammar Karim in Baghdad Agence France-Presse MOSUL, Iraq – Iraqi forces said Tuesday they had seized the main government offices in Mosul and its famed museum as they made steady progress in their battle to retake the city’s west from jihadists. The advances, which also included the recapture of three neighbourhoods, were announced on the third day of a renewed offensive against the Islamic State group in west Mosul — the […]
Decried as Muslim ban, will Trump decree pass legal muster?
by James MANNION Agence France-Presse WASHINGTON, United States (AFP) – The American Civil Liberties Union and others are already lining up to challenge President Donald Trump’s revised ban on refugees and travelers from six mainly Muslim countries. But can they succeed in overturning a measure that was deliberately crafted to remove the red flags raised by US courts? That may be more difficult. This time there is unlikely to be a backdrop of airport chaos […]
N. Korea, Malaysia in tit-for-tat exit bans over Kim killing
by Isambard WILKINSON Agence France-Presse KUALA LUMPUR, Malaysia – North Korea and Malaysia Tuesday banned each other’s citizens from leaving their countries, with Kuala Lumpur saying its nationals were effectively being held “hostage” in a row over the assassination of Kim Jong-Nam. The extraordinary tit-for-tat moves came as the reclusive North faced growing international condemnation for a volley of missiles it fired into the Sea of Japan, defying stringent global sanctions aimed at halting its weapons […]
Pyongyang bans Malaysians from leaving North Korea: KCNA
SEOUL, South Korea (AFP) — Pyongyang is banning all Malaysian citizens from leaving North Korea, state media said Tuesday, potentially holding them hostage amid an increasingly heated diplomatic row over the killing of Kim Jong-Nam in Kuala Lumpur. “All Malaysian nationals in the DPRK will be temporarily prohibited from leaving the country until the incident that happened in Malaysia is properly solved,” the official Korea Central News Agency said, citing the foreign ministry. © Agence […]
US deploys antiballistic missile defense system to S. Korea
WASHINGTON, United States (AFP) — The United States military has begun deploying an antiballistic missile defense system to South Korea, following a string of missile tests by North Korea, the US Pacific Command said Monday. The announcement came after nuclear-armed North Korea on Monday launched four missiles which it said was part of training for a strike on US bases in Japan. Three of the missiles came down provocatively close to Japan. Deployment of the […]
Trump, Abe say North Korea threat ‘entered a new stage’
WASHINGTON, United States (AFP) — US President Donald Trump and Japanese Prime Minister Shinzo Abe warned Monday that the threat from North Korea had “entered a new stage,” following another defiant missile test. The two leaders spoke by telephone after North Korea fired off four ballistic missiles, in what Pyongyang provocatively called a training exercise for a strike on US bases in Japan. “Japan and the United States confirmed” the launches violated UN Security Council […]
East Libya forces prepare to retake key oil ports
BENGHAZI, Libya (AFP) — Forces loyal to eastern Libya’s strongman Khalifa Haftar said Monday they were preparing a large counter-offensive to retake key oil export terminals days after losing them to rival fighters. “Libyan forces are mobilising in great numbers to chase terrorist gangs from the Oil Crescent,” said Mohamad Ghanim, a spokesman for the self-proclaimed Libyan National Army. On Friday the Islamist-led Benghazi Defence Brigades (BDB) seized the key oil terminals of Ras Lanuf, […]
Republicans unveil plan to repeal, replace Obamacare
WASHINGTON, United States — United States House Republicans unveiled long-awaited legislation Monday that would repeal and replace the health care reforms known as Obamacare, largely under the framework that President Donald Trump laid out in his recent congressional address. The American Health Care Act would dismantle several of the core aspects of the reforms, including ending subsidies and taxes, as well as rules requiring individuals to have insurance. “After years of Obamacare’s broken promises, House […]
French storm Zeus leaves two dead, 600,000 homes without power
PARIS, France (AFP) — Winds gusting up to hurricane force battered west and central France on Monday, leaving two people dead and 600,000 homes without electricity, authorities said. Storm Zeus — named after the paramount god in Greek mythology — hit the Atlantic coast before sweeping across to the center and southeast of the country. Weather experts said they measured gusts of up to 193 kilometres (120 miles) per hour in the west. The driver […]
N.Korea missile launch was training exercise for strike on US bases in Japan: KCNA
SEOUL, South Korea (AFP) — Nuclear-armed North Korea’s launch of four missiles on Monday was a training exercise for a strike on US bases in Japan, Pyongyang’s official KCNA news agency reported Tuesday. Leader Kim Jong-Un supervised the drill and gave the order for it to start, it said. “Feasting his eyes on the trails of ballistic rockets”, he praised the Hwasong artillery unit that carried it out, KCNA reported. “The four ballistic rockets launched […]
France’s Fillon keeps bid alive as rival rules himself out
by Adam PLOWRIGHT Agence France-Presse PARIS, France – Former prime minister Alain Juppe ruled out a run for the French presidency on Monday, boosting embattled rightwing party colleague Francois Fillon whose campaign has been thrown into chaos by a fake jobs scandal. Juppe, 71, was the most likely candidate to replace Fillon and unite their deeply divided Republicans party only seven weeks from the start of the two-stage election. Polls suggested Juppe would be more […]





