Other News

Canada PM’s wife wants to celebrate men on Women’s Day

OTTAWA, Canada (AFP) — Canadian Prime Minister Justin Trudeau’s wife set off a social media firestorm Tuesday, the eve of International Women’s Day, by suggesting that men should be celebrated too. “As we mark International Women’s Day, let’s celebrate the boys and men in our lives who encourage us to be who we truly are, who treat girls & women with respect,” Sophie Gregoire Trudeau wrote on her Instagram account. She posted a photo of […]

Alec Baldwin says Trump impersonation revived his comedy career

LOS ANGELES, United States (Reuters) — Actor Alec Baldwin said that his impersonation of U.S. President Donald Trump on NBC’s sketch show “Saturday Night Live” has revived his “dead” comedy career after he wrapped up sitcom “30 Rock” in 2012. “Maybe I was in a coma … now I’m waking up from a coma and now I’m ready to do some comedy,” Baldwin told Reuters on Monday (March 06) when asked if he felt he […]

Yellow cabs are safer, study finds

by Marlowe HOOD Agence France Presse PARIS, France (AFP) — Yellow taxi cabs have significantly fewer accidents than cabs of a darker hue, according to research that scientists say could end up saving lives and money. A study published Monday in the journal PNAS showed canary yellow cabs in Singapore were nine percent less likely to get into fender-benders or serious smash-ups than taxis that were deep blue. “Yellow taxis are safer to travel in […]

Most primate species at risk of extinction, says report

Reuters — Sixty percent of the world’s primates are at risk of extinction. That’s the stark warning issued by 31 of the world’s leading primatologists. The academics have published an article in the journal Science Advances entitled ‘Impending extinction crisis of the world’s primates: Why primates matter’. They warn that without immediate efforts to protect tropical forests from “unsustainable pressures”, humans could precipitate a mass extinction of our closest biological relatives. The report also states […]

Japan’s economy grows revised 0.3% in Q4

TOKYO, Japan (AFP) — Japan’s economy expanded by a revised 0.3 percent in the last quarter of 2016, government data showed Wednesday, as company investment and a weaker yen propped up growth. The latest GDP figure was marginally higher than an initial estimate of 0.2 percent growth in the October-December period, but lower than market expectations for a 0.4 percent expansion. It marked the fourth straight quarter of expansion in the world’s third-largest economy. For […]

King Kong and Tom Hiddleston get wax figures at Madame Tussuads

NEW YORK, United States (Reuters) — King Kong invades Times Square. The giant ape is part of a new experience at Madame Tussauds in New York, which was unveiled on Tuesday (March 7) along with the first-ever wax figure of actor Tom Hiddleston. “He’s dressed in a costume from the film. He’ll be very recognizable to you once you’ve seen the film. And really truly fitting for the space itself with its jungle theme and […]

White rhino shot dead in French zoo, horn sawn off

THOIRY, France (Reuters) — Poachers broke into a French zoo, shot dead a rare white rhinoceros and sawed off its horn in what is believed to be the first time in Europe that a rhino in captivity has been attacked and killed. The four-year-old male white rhino called Vince was found dead in his enclosure by his keeper at the Thoiry zoo and wildlife park about 50 km (30 miles) west of Paris on Tuesday […]

Tycoon gave France’s Fillon undeclared 50,000 euro loan: report

PARIS, France (AFP) — Embattled French presidential hopeful Francois Fillon received an interest-free, undeclared loan of 50,000 euros ($53,000) from a billionaire friend in 2013, according to the Canard Enchaine weekly. The conservative candidate “did not deem it necessary” to report the loan from Marc Ladreit de Lacharriere to a state transparency watchdog, the weekly said in its edition to appear Wednesday. The investigative and satirical newspaper, the source of the fake jobs scandal that […]

Facebook wins case against refugee in Merkel selfie

by Carsten HAUPTMEIER wih Frank ZELLER in Berlin Agence France Presse WURZBURG, Germany (AFP) — Facebook clinched victory Tuesday in a German court case brought by a Syrian refugee whose selfie with Chancellor Angela Merkel had made him the target of racist trolls. The court ruled that the US social media giant was not obliged to actively search out and delete defamatory posts, like those that had falsely linked the claimant to Islamist attacks and […]

Boxing: Mayweather taunts McGregor: ‘Let’s make it happen’

LOS ANGELES, United States (AFP) — Floyd Mayweather taunted Conor McGregor over his failure to agree terms on their potential superfight on Tuesday, insisting once more he was ready to climb into a ring with the mixed martial arts star. “If Conor McGregor really wants this fight to happen, stop blowing smoke up everybody’s ass,” Mayweather told ESPN, accusing the Irishman of stalling on a deal. “Sign the paper. Sign the paper. You said you […]

WikiLeaks exposes alleged CIA hacking program

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 […]

US fines China’s ZTE $1.2 bn for violating Iran, N.Korea sanctions

by Heather SCOTT Agence France-Presse WASHINGTON, United States – The US government has slapped $1.2 billion in fines on Chinese telecom giant ZTE for violations of US export controls for selling goods to Iran and North Korea, officials announced Tuesday. It is the largest criminal penalty in US history in an export control case, US officials said, though there have been larger fines involving financial firms. The company will immediately pay $892 million, while another […]