Other News

Head of main US labor union leaves Trump panel over Charlottesville response

WASHINGTON, United States (AFP) — The president of the main United States labor union resigned from Donald Trump’s council on manufacturing Tuesday, saying the US president’s response to violent white supremacists in Charlottesville meant he tolerated “bigotry and domestic terrorism.” “We cannot sit on a council for a President who tolerates bigotry and domestic terrorism,” AFL-CIO President Richard Trumka said in a statement announcing his immediate resignation from the panel. “President Trump’s remarks today repudiate […]

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Obamacare subsidy cut-off would raise insurance prices: study

WASHINGTON, United States (AFP) — A threat by President Donald Trump to eliminate a crucial subsidy for Obamacare would sharply force up insurance costs and expand the United States deficit, an independent government study said Tuesday. The Congressional Budget Office said Trump’s threat to kill his predecessor’s popular health care program by eliminating the government’s funding of “cost-sharing reductions” (CSR) for low-income Americans would force insurers to jack up premium prices by 20 percent to […]

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Chess: Kasparov suffers first loss in comeback event

ST. LOUIS, United States (AFP) — Chess legend Garry Kasparov on Tuesday suffered the first loss of his brief but highly anticipated comeback to the game, succumbing to fellow Russian Ian Nepomniachtchi after racking up four draws. After three draws on Monday, the 54-year-old former world champion — who dominated the game from 1985 to 2000 — had hoped to play “more aggressive” chess on day two of the Rapid and Blitz tournament in St […]

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Global stocks extend rally as North Korea fears wane

NEW YORK, United States (AFP) — World stock markets mostly rose Tuesday, extending the previous day’s rally as fears receded over a potential clash between the United States and North Korea. Investors have cashed out of haven assets, like gold and the Japanese yen, and ploughed back into riskier assets like equities, with the US dollar also gaining ground. Asian stocks extended a relief rally into a second day, after Pyongyang appeared to put on […]

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Kiev says engine type ‘used in N. Korea missiles’ made for Russia

KIEV, Ukraine (AFP) — Ukraine’s space agency said Tuesday that an engine type reportedly used in North Korean missiles was made at a Ukrainian factory, but solely for use in space rockets supplied to Russia. The development came after an expert report published Monday said Pyongyang’s recent rapid progress in developing a long-range missile appeared to have come after it refurbished rocket engines procured from a plant in the former Soviet Union. These could have […]

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‘Lot of time’ needed to rebuild trust in Gulf: Qatar FM

by David Harding Agence France Presse DOHA, Qatar (AFP) — Qatar’s foreign minister said Tuesday it will take a “lot of time” to rebuild any trust between sparring Gulf countries because of the region’s continuing diplomatic crisis. As the impasse between Doha and four Arab states led by Saudi Arabia entered its 11th week, Sheikh Mohammed bin Abdulrahman Al-Thani said regional relations had been transformed by the dispute. “Qatar has always been one of the […]

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Sierra Leone appeals for urgent help after deadly floods that killed more than 300

by Saidu Bah Agence France Presse FREETOWN, Sierra Leone (AFP) — Sierra Leone’s president issued a desperate appeal for help on Tuesday, a day after flooding ravaged the country’s capital, killing more than 300 people and leaving hundreds more missing. Touring Regent, one of the worst-hit areas, President Ernest Bai Koroma fought back tears as he said the devastation was “overwhelming us.” “Entire communities have been wiped out,” Koroma said. “We need urgent support now.” […]

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Climate change will cut crop yields: study

MIAMI, United States (AFP) — Climate change will have a negative effect on key crops such as wheat, rice, and maize, according to a major scientific report out Tuesday that reviewed 70 prior studies on global warming and agriculture. Experts analyzed previous research that used a variety of methods, from simulating how crops will react to temperature changes at the global and local scale, to statistical models based on historical weather and yield data, to […]

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US open to talk if North Korea ready to disarm

WASHINGTON, United States (AFP) — Secretary of State Rex Tillerson said Tuesday, after North Korea’s Kim Jong-Un postponed a threat to fire missiles towards the United States territory of Guam, that Washington remains ready for talks. But the top US diplomat said it would be up to Kim when such negotiations would begin, having previously insisted Pyongyang must demonstrate that it accepts it will have to give up its nuclear program. “I have no response […]

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China, Russia push talks as N. Korea steps back from missile launches

by Hwang Sunghee SEOUL, South Korea (AFP) — China and Russia pushed Tuesday for talks to defuse the “confrontational spiral” between the United States and North Korea after Kim Jong-Un stepped back from a planned missile strike near Guam. The North Korean leader said he would wait and see how the US behaved before deciding whether to execute the planned launch of four missiles over Japan towards the tiny US territory in the Pacific. Some analysts suggested […]

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Colombia declares conflict with FARC over with disarmament complete

BOGOTA, Colombia (AFP) — Colombia’s President Juan Manuel Santos declared the country’s 50-year conflict with the FARC guerrilla group “truly over” Tuesday, with the disarming of the rebel group complete. The United Nations-supervised process concluded with the delivery of the last truckloads of weapons from areas where the Revolutionary Armed Forces of Colombia (FARC) began demobilizing at the start of the year. “With the laying down of arms … the conflict is truly over and a new […]

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Cycling: Former Australian Olympic track star dies aged 39

SYDNEY, Australia (AFP) — Australia’s track cycling community mourned the sudden death of former Olympic and world champion Stephen Wooldridge, aged just 39, on Tuesday. The star from New South Wales state, won gold for Australia in the 2004 Athens Olympics, was a four-time world champion in the discipline, and a champion in the 2002 Commonwealth Games. “Stephen was an exceptional cyclist and Olympic Champion who will forever be remembered,” said Australian Olympic Committee President John Coates in […]

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