Tag: US

Putin’s daughters, sanctioned by US, hidden from public eye

  WASHINGTON, United States (AFP) — Little is known publicly about Russian President Vladimir Putin’s daughters, sanctioned on Wednesday by the US government over Moscow’s “atrocities in Ukraine.” The US Treasury identified the daughters as Katerina Tikhonova, “a tech executive whose work supports … the Russian defense industry” and Maria Vorontsova, who leads state-funded genetics research programs “personally overseen by Putin.” A senior US official said Washington believes “Putin’s assets are hidden with family members.” […]

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‘Small number’ of Ukraine soldiers get drone training in US

WASHINGTON, United States (AFP) — Ukrainian soldiers are being trained in the United States to operate the deadly Switchblade drones that Washington is supplying to Kyiv, a Pentagon official said Wednesday. Defense Department spokesman John Kirby said it was a “very small” number of Ukrainian troops who were already present in the US before Russia invaded their country. “We took the opportunity, having them still in the country, to give them a couple of days’ […]

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US slaps sanctions on Putin’s daughters, Russia’s biggest banks

  The White House announced sanctions Wednesday targeting Russia’s top public and private banks and two daughters of Vladimir Putin, adding pressure on the country’s economy and its elite over the invasion of Ukraine. The new sanctions targeted Maria Vorontsova and Katerina Tikhonova, two adult daughters of Putin’s with his former wife Lyudmila Shkrebneva. Also hit with new sanctions were the wife and daughter of Russian Foreign Minister Sergei Lavrov and members of Russia’s Security […]

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Meta virtual money moves could include ‘Zuck Bucks’: report

SAN FRANCISCO, United States (AFP) — Facebook’s parent company Meta is exploring the potential of digital money referred to internally as “Zuck Bucks” in a play on the founder’s name, the Financial Times reported on Wednesday. Meta abandoned its effort to create a global cryptocurrency — first called Libra but eventually re-branded as Diem — in the face of fierce backlash by financial regulators around the world. However, founder and chief Mark Zuckerberg has spoken […]

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US, Britain to seek Russia’s suspension from UN Rights Council

UNITED NATIONS, United States (AFP) — The United States and Britain announced plans Monday to seek Russia’s suspension from the UN Human Rights Council following allegations that Russian troops systematically executed civilians in Bucha, Ukraine. “The images out of Bucha and devastation across Ukraine require us to now match our words with action,” US ambassador to the United Nations Linda Thomas-Greenfield said in a tweet Monday. “We cannot let a member state that is subverting […]

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US, Iran spar over stalled nuclear talks

WASHINGTON, United States (AFP) – The United States and Iran blamed each other Monday for a weeks-long impasse that has held up a return to the 2015 deal that sought to prevent Tehran from developing nuclear weapons. Iranian foreign ministry spokesman Saeed Khatibzadeh said that the country’s negotiators would not return to Vienna, the site of the year-long talks to restore the Joint Comprehensive Plan of Action (JCPOA), until Washington settles outstanding issues. “We will […]

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Elon Musk buys large stake in Twitter, sending stock soaring

by John Biers © Agence France-Presse NEW YORK, United States (AFP) — Twitter’s shares soared after Tesla CEO Elon Musk disclosed on Monday a large stake in the social media company, which he has criticized for its approach to speech rights. Musk, who has more than 80 million followers on the microblogging platform, became its largest shareholder following the purchase of 73.5 million shares or 9.2 percent of common stock, according to a securities filing. […]

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US could have done more to limit civilian toll in Raqqa battle: study

WASHINGTON, United States (AFP) — The US military could have done more to limit civilian casualties and damage during the battle for the Syrian city of Raqqa that marked the Islamic State’s fall in 2017, according to a report commissioned by the Pentagon. At the end of the nearly five-month battle to free the city from IS, “60 to 80 percent” of it was “uninhabitable” and resentment of the population was directed at the liberators, […]

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NASA begins critical final test on mega Moon rocket

WASHINGTON, United States (AFP) — NASA on Friday began a critical two-day-long test of its giant Space Launch System (SLS) rocket complete with a simulated countdown, as the agency gears up to return humans to the Moon. Known as the “wet dress rehearsal,” it is the final major test before the Artemis-1 mission this summer: an uncrewed lunar flight that will eventually be followed by boots on the ground, likely no sooner than 2026. “The […]

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Internal bug promoted problematic content on Facebook

SAN FRANCISCO, United States (AFP) — Content identified as misleading or problematic were mistakenly prioritized in users’ Facebook feeds recently, thanks to a software bug that took six months to fix, according to tech site The Verge. Facebook disputed the report, which was published Thursday, saying that it “vastly overstated what this bug was because ultimately it had no meaningful, long-term impact on problematic content,” according to Joe Osborne, a spokesman for parent company Meta. […]

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Hackers steal over $600 million in major crypto heist

  SAN FRANCISCO, United States (AFP) — Hackers stole cryptocurrency worth over $600 million from a digital ledger used by players of the popular online game Axie Infinity, in a major digital cash heist revealed Tuesday. Interest in cyptocurrency has boomed, along with its values, but the money has also become an attractive target for tech savvy thieves. Ronin Network said the attack targeting its blockchain netted 173,600 ether and $25.5 million worth of stablecoin, […]

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Thousands march in Haiti in anger over surge in kidnappings

PORT-AU-PRINCE, Haiti (AFP) – Thousands of people demonstrated Tuesday in Haiti to denounce a surge in kidnappings and the lack of action by the government of Prime Minister Ariel Henry to protect the population from crime gangs. The Caribbean nation has been under the sway of gangs for months, their influence extending far beyond the poor neighborhoods of the capital Port-au-Prince that spawned them. “According to the alerts we receive, I’d say that between five […]

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