Tag: US

US energy secretary meets Saudi counterpart after OPEC cuts

RIYADH, Saudi Arabia (AFP) — Saudi Arabia’s energy minister held talks Monday with US Energy Secretary Rick Perry, after the kingdom and its allies defied US pressure to cut oil production in a bid to prop up prices. They discussed the “state of the oil market” and energy cooperation between the two countries during a meeting in eastern Dhahran city, the minister, Khalid al-Falih, said on Twitter. Perry tweeted that he discussed the need for […]

US sanctions top Kim Jong Un aides over N.Korea rights

by Shaun TANDON Agence France Presse WASHINGTON, United States (AFP) — The United States on Monday imposed sanctions on three North Korean officials as it called the regime’s human rights record among the world’s worst, in an abrupt shift from President Donald Trump’s efforts to woo the regime. In actions required by Congress, the Trump administration said it would seize any US assets of Choe Ryong Hae, described as the right-hand man of leader Kim […]

NASA’s InSight lander ‘hears’ wind on Mars

TAMPA, United States (AFP) — Humans can now hear the haunting, low rumble of wind on Mars for the first time, after NASA’s InSight lander captured vibrations from the breeze on the Red Planet, the US space agency said Friday. The strong gusts of wind, blowing between 10 to 15 mph (five to seven meters a second), were captured as they moved over the solar panels on InSight, an unmanned lander that touched down on […]

China summons US ambassador over Huawei arrest

by Laurent THOMET / Laurent Thomet, with Delphine Touitou in Washington Agence France Presse BEIJING, China (AFP) — China summoned the US ambassador on Sunday to protest the arrest of a top executive from telecom giant Huawei in Canada, as Washington’s top trade negotiator rejected suggestions that the case could affect talks aimed at settling a trade war. The arrest of Huawei’s chief financial officer Meng Wanzhou has infuriated Beijing, which demanded Washington drop its […]

Google launches AI-driven audio news feed

SAN FRANCISCO, United States (AFP) — Google said Thursday it was launching a radio-style, on-demand audio news feed available on smart speakers, personalized with the help of artificial intelligence. The technology giant said it had partnerships with more than a dozen news organizations to deliver an audio feed in the same manner as its smartphone news feed. “This new experience will bring you an audio news playlist assembled in that moment, for you,” Google product […]

Tennessee executes man on death row for 36 years

Tennessee on Thursday electrocuted a convicted murder who had been on death row for 36 years, in a case that renewed debate on use of the death penalty so long after a crime. David Earl Miller, 61, was put to death at 7:25 pm (0125 GMT) at a high security prison in Nashville, authorities said, over the beating and stabbing death of a young woman with a mental disability. It was the second use of […]

One dead, five missing after two US military planes crash off Japan

by Miwa Suzuki with Thomas Watkins in Washington Agence France Presse TOKYO, Japan (AFP) — One US Marine died and five were missing Thursday after two American military aircraft crashed during a refuelling operation off the coast of Japan, officials said. Japanese and US military officials earlier said two of the seven crew of the planes had been found. “One is in fair condition and the other has been declared deceased by competent medical personnel,” […]

China furious at Huawei executive’s arrest in Canada

  by Eva Xiao with Jacques Lemieux in Ottawa Agence France Presse BEIJING, China (AFP) — China reacted furiously Thursday after a top executive and daughter of the founder of Chinese telecom giant Huawei was arrested in Canada following a US extradition request, threatening to rattle a trade war truce with the United States. The detention of Meng Wanzhou, Huawei’s chief financial officer, comes after American authorities reportedly launched an investigation into suspected Iran sanctions […]

Trump asks OPEC not to cut production to keep global oil prices low

  WASHINGTON, United States (AFP) — US President Donald Trump on Wednesday urged OPEC members not to slash production at their upcoming meeting, saying global oil prices should remain low. Trump’s comment came as members of the Organization of Petroleum Exporting Countries and other oil-producing nations prepared to meet Thursday and Friday in Vienna to discuss lowering their output. “Hopefully OPEC will be keeping oil flows as is, not restricted. The World does not want […]

Five missing after two US military planes crash off Japan

  by Miwa Suzuki with Thomas Watkins in Washington Agence France Presse TOKYO, Japan (AFP) — Rescue operations were underway Thursday for five US marines missing after two American military aircraft crashed during a refuelling operation off the coast of Japan, the Japanese defence minister said. One crew member has already been rescued and is thought to be in a stable condition, Takeshi Iwaya told reporters. A spokesman for the Japan Self-Defense Forces (SDF) said […]

US priest accused of sex abuse arrested in Philippines; BI says priest to be deported

  MANILA, Philippines (AFP) — An American Catholic priest wanted for allegedly sexually abusing Filipino altar boys as young as seven has been arrested in the Philippines and now faces deportation, officials said Thursday. Kenneth Bernard Hendricks, 77, was taken into custody Wednesday on the central island of Biliran after serving as a priest for 37 years in the predominantly Catholic Philippines. “We received information from US authorities regarding the alleged sexual exploitation of multiple […]

Hollywood awards season kicks off with Golden Globes noms

by Laurent BANGUET Agence France-Presse LOS ANGELES, United States (AFP) — Hollywood’s annual carnival of awards shows begins Thursday with the nominations for the Golden Globes — the starting gun in the race for the Oscars. The announcements, which come a week before the influential Screen Actors Guild nominations, are the first major bellwether of momentum going into the Academy Awards, which take place in February. Awards analysis website Gold Derby predicts that music romance […]