Tag: US

France’s ‘Little Nicolas’ illustrator Jean-Jacques Sempe dies aged 89

by Fiachra GIBBONS Agence France-Presse PARIS, France (AFP) — Jean-Jacques Sempe, who illustrated the beloved “Little Nicolas” series of French children’s books, has died aged 89, his wife Martine Gossieaux Sempe told AFP on Thursday. As well as his work on “Le Petit Nicolas”, an idealized vision of childhood in 1950s France that became an international best-seller, Sempe also illustrated more New Yorker magazine covers than any other artist. “The cartoonist Jean-Jacques Sempe died peacefully […]

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Trump declines to answer questions in New York civil probe

by Maggy DONALDSON Agence France Presse Donald Trump on Wednesday declined to answer questions under oath about alleged fraud at his family business, as legal pressures pile up for the former president whose house was raided by the FBI just two days ago. Trump said he had “no choice” but to invoke the Fifth Amendment — which allows individuals to remain silent under questioning — during hours of deposition at the New York attorney general’s […]

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Elon Musk sells nearly $7 billion worth of Tesla shares: document

WASHINGTON, United States (AFP) — Elon Musk has sold nearly $7 billion worth of Tesla shares, according to legal filings published Tuesday, amid a high-stakes legal battle with Twitter over a $44 billion buyout deal. The Tesla boss sold some 7.9 million shares between August 5 and 9, according to filings published on the Securities and Exchange Commission’s website. “In the (hopefully unlikely) event that Twitter forces this deal to close and some equity partners […]

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Biden signs ratification of Finland, Sweden NATO bids

WASHINGTON, United States (AFP) — President Joe Biden on Tuesday signed US ratification of bids by Finland and Sweden to enter NATO, taking expansion of the Western alliance in response to Russia’s Ukraine invasion one step closer. Biden said the two northern European countries would become “strong, reliable highly capable new allies” by making the “sacred commitment” to mutual defense in the US-led transatlantic alliance. Earlier this month, the Senate voted 95-1 in favor of […]

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Forever 16: America’s teens succumbing to deadly fentanyl

by Maria DANILOVA Agence France Presse Makayla Cox, a high school student in the US state of Virginia, thought she was taking medication that her friend had procured to treat pain and anxiety. Instead, the pill she took two weeks after her sixteenth birthday was fentanyl, a synthetic opioid 50 times more potent than heroin. It killed her almost instantly. After watching a movie — a prequel to “Harry Potter” — with her mother Shannon […]

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New US strategy to make monkeypox vaccine go further

WASHINGTON, United States (AFP) – US health authorities on Tuesday authorized a new procedure for injecting the monkeypox vaccine that should make it possible to inoculate more people with the same amount of the drug, at a time when doses are running short in the country. The Food and Drug Administration also authorized giving the vaccine to people under the age of 18 who are considered to be at high risk of infection. For those […]

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FBI raid on Trump’s home ignites political firestorm

by Chris Lefkow and Camille Camdessus Agence France-Presse WASHINGTON, United States (AFP) — Top Republican leaders flung their support behind former US president Donald Trump on Tuesday after an extraordinary FBI raid on his palatial Florida residence sparked a political firestorm in an already bitterly divided country. The FBI move marked a stunning escalation of legal probes into the 45th president and comes as he is weighing another White House run. Several former advisors to […]

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Trump says Florida home ‘raided’ by FBI

by Giorgio Viera with Tori Otten in Washington Agence France-Presse PALM BEACH, United States (AFP) — Former US president Donald Trump said Monday that his Mar-a-Lago residence in Florida was being “raided” by FBI agents in what he called an act of “prosecutorial misconduct.” The FBI declined to comment on whether the search was happening or what it might be for, nor did Trump give any indication of why federal agents were at his home […]

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Google outage reported by tens of thousands of users

  SAN FRANCISCO, United States (AFP) — Tens of thousands of users reported being unable to access various Google services on Monday night, according to outage monitor Downdetector. “User reports indicate Google Maps is having problems since 9:36 PM EDT (0136 GMT),” Downdetector tweeted. More than 40,000 users, including in New York City and Denver, Colorado, reported disruptions when trying to use Google’s services, particularly the maps and search engine. After around two hours, reports […]

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Grease’ star Olivia Newton-John dies aged 73

  LOS ANGELES, United States (AFP) — Singer Olivia Newton-John, who gained worldwide fame as high school sweetheart Sandy in the hit musical movie “Grease,” died on Monday after a 30-year battle with cancer. She was 73. Newton-John “passed away peacefully at her ranch in Southern California this morning, surrounded by family and friends,” said a statement from her husband John Easterling posted on her official social media accounts. The multiple Grammy-winning entertainer, whose career […]

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Nagasaki mayor warns of ‘crisis’ on atom bomb anniversary

TOKYO, Japan (AFP) — Nuclear weapons present a “tangible and present crisis” after Russia’s invasion of Ukraine, the mayor of Nagasaki said Tuesday, the 77th anniversary of the atomic bombing that destroyed the Japanese city. On August 9, 1945, Nagasaki was flattened in an inferno that killed 74,000 people, three days after the world’s first nuclear bomb attack in Hiroshima. The twin strikes by the United States led to the end of World War II, […]

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Stocks rise, oil falls tracking recession risks

  LONDON, United Kingdom (AFP) — Stock markets largely rose and oil prices retreated Monday as investors mulled the prospect of recession in the United States and elsewhere and central banks seek to tame soaring inflation with aggressive interest rate hikes. The dollar, which had surged on Friday on the prospect of further large increases in US borrowing costs, fell back on profit-taking at the start of the new week. Speculation is growing that the […]

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