Tag: US

US Senate leader calls for new Israeli elections amidst Gaza conflict criticism

By Frankie TAGGART WASHINGTON, March 14, 2024 (AFP) – The leader of the US Senate called Thursday for Israel to hold new elections in the most strident criticism yet by a senior American official of Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu’s handling of the war in Gaza. The rebuke from Chuck Schumer, the highest-ranking elected Jewish American in history, came amid increased pressure from President Joe Biden over the mounting death toll in the conflict, sparked by […]

Dad of Michigan school shooter guilty of involuntary manslaughter

WASHINGTON, March 15, 2024 (AFP) – The father of a US teen who purchased the gun his son used in a deadly 2021 school shooting was found guilty of involuntary manslaughter in a Michigan court on Thursday. James Crumbley and his wife, who was found guilty of the same charges last month, bought their then 15-year-old son the 9mm SIG Sauer handgun he used to kill four students at Oxford High School, 45 miles (70 […]

SpaceX mega rocket lost in final phase of test flight

By Chandan Khanna with Issam Ahmed in Washington BOCA CHICA, United States, March 14, 2024 (AFP) – Starship, the world’s most powerful rocket, flew further and faster than ever before during its third test flight Thursday, although it was eventually lost as it re-entered the atmosphere over the Indian Ocean, SpaceX said. Lift-off from the company’s Starbase in southeast Texas came around 8:25 am local time (1325 GMT) and was carried live on a webcast […]

What is ByteDance, the TikTok parent in US crosshairs?

From its birth in a Beijing apartment 12 years ago, ByteDance grew into one of the world’s biggest tech firms — best known in most countries as the creator of TikTok. But TikTok now faces a furious campaign in Washington: the House of Representatives is set to vote Wednesday on a bill that could see the wildly popular video-sharing app banned in the United States if it does not sever itself from ByteDance. How big […]

‘Man in iron lung’ dead at 78: family

A polio survivor known as the “man in the iron lung” has died aged 78, according to his family and a fundraising website. Paul Alexander of Dallas, Texas contracted polio at the age of six, leaving him paralyzed from the neck down and reliant on a mechanical respirator to breathe for much of the time. Though often confined to his submarine-like cylinder, he excelled in his studies, earned a law degree, worked in the legal […]

China says US TikTok vote follows ‘logic of a bandit’

BEIJING, March 14, 2024 (AFP) – China blasted Washington’s “bandit” mentality Thursday after the US House passed a bill that would ban TikTok unless it splits from its Chinese owner, and vowed to “take all necessary measures” to protect the interests of its companies overseas. The short-video app has soared in popularity worldwide but its ownership by Chinese technology giant ByteDance — and alleged subservience to Beijing’s ruling Communist Party — has fuelled concern in […]

Putin says Russian nuclear weapons ‘more advanced’ than in US

MOSCOW, March 13, 2024 (AFP) – President Vladimir Putin on Wednesday lauded Moscow’s nuclear arsenal and warned that he was ready to deploy the weapons if Russia’s sovereignty was threatened. The Kremlin has touted its nuclear prowess throughout its two-year offensive in Ukraine, last month warning Western countries there was a “real” risk of nuclear catastrophe if they escalated the conflict. The United States, however, said it had seen no sign Russia was planning to […]

Romania detains Andrew Tate over UK sex offence charges

By Ani SANDU BUCHAREST, March 12, 2024 (AFP) – Controversial British-American influencer Andrew Tate and his brother Tristan appeared in a Bucharest court on Tuesday after Romanian police detained them over UK sex offence charges. The brothers were arrested on Monday evening at their home near the capital Bucharest, where they are under judicial supervision in a separate case, and appeared at an appeals court on Tuesday, dressed in black. Romanian authorities said in a […]

US staff, German ambassador evacuated as gang violence torments Haiti

PORT-AU-PRINCE, March 10, 2024 (AFP) – With Haiti’s capital spiraling deeper into gang violence, members of several diplomatic missions, including staff from the United States and the German ambassador, began leaving Port-au-Prince Sunday. Beleaguered residents were scrambling for safety following the latest spasm of unrest, with a UN group warning of a “city under siege” after armed attackers targeted the presidential palace and police headquarters. Criminal groups, which already control much of Port-au-Prince as well […]

Auschwitz drama ‘Zone of Interest’ wins best intl film Oscar

LONDON, March 11, 2024 (AFP) – The powerful Auschwitz-set psychological horror film, “The Zone of Interest”, which on Sunday won the Oscar for best international film, stunned critics with its penetrating study of the banality in the shadow of the death camp. The victory marks the first time that a submission from Britain has won the Academy Award in this category, which is open to non-English language films made by countries other than the United […]

Downey Jr wins Oscar for ‘Oppenheimer,’ 31 years after first nod

HOLLYWOOD, United States, March 11, 2024 (AFP) – Robert Downey, Jr on Sunday won his first Academy Award, a best supporting actor statuette for his villainous turn in “Oppenheimer” — a golden moment in a decades-long career of highs and lows, on and off the screen. The Oscar triumph for the 58-year-old American capped a glittering awards season, during which he snared a slew of prizes for his portrayal of Lewis Strauss, the jealous rival […]

US embrace of remote working empties offices, weighs on banks

By Julie CHABANAS WASHINGTON, March 10, 2024 (AFP) – The popularity of remote work in the United States has emptied office buildings, a cause for worry as their value falls and owners risk losses on property loans — in turn putting pressure on smaller banks. “There will be bank failures, but this is not the big banks,” said US Federal Reserve Chair Jerome Powell on Thursday. In San Francisco, Washington and even New York, offices […]