Tag: US

Dogs can be trained to sniff out malaria: researchers

TAMPA, United States (AFP) — Dogs can be trained to sniff out certain cancers, people at risk of a diabetic coma and now, children with malaria just by smelling their socks, researchers said Monday. According to the findings presented at the American Society of Tropical Medicine and Hygiene annual meeting in New Orleans, dogs were trained to sniff out malaria parasites in African children who tested positive for the mosquito-borne disease but did not have […]

IBM buys software company Red Hat for $34bn in bid for cloud dominance

by Christophe VOGT Agence France-Presse WASHINGTON, United States (AFP) — IBM said Sunday it has reached a deal to buy open source software company Red Hat for $34 billion, among the biggest tech mergers in history which the computing giant said would enhance its cloud offerings. If approved it will be the third biggest tech merger in history, according to business news site CNBC. Red Hat said it was the biggest involving a software company. […]

Trump rises above the fray — until he doesn’t

by Jerome CARTILLIER Agence France Presse WASHINGTON, United States (AFP) — As he stepped off Air Force One headed to the latest of his raucous, near-daily election rallies, Donald Trump vowed he would “absolutely” strike a different tone following the bloodshed in Pittsburgh. Eleven members of the Pennsylvania city’s Jewish community had just been killed during morning Sabbath services, in the worst anti-Semitic attack in recent American history. But in the same breath, the president […]

America mourns 11 victims of gunman who ‘wanted Jews to die’

by Jennie MATTHEW Agence France Presse PITTSBURGH, United States (AFP) — A 97-year-old woman, an octogenarian couple, two brothers. Americans on Sunday learned the identities of the 11 victims of the bloody assault on a Pittsburgh synagogue — a mostly elderly group and easy targets for a shooter who said he “wanted all Jews to die.” Nine of the 11 were 65 or older, several old enough to have been children during the rise of […]

US synagogue suffers 20 minutes of terror

  PITTSBURGH, United States (AFP) — Gunman Robert Bowers only needed 20 minutes to sow terror at the Tree of Life synagogue in the US city of Pittsburgh, where congregants had gathered peacefully for Shabbat services marking a day of rest. Shortly before 10 am (1400 GMT) the 46-year-old Bowers — who had penned virulent anti-Semitic messages on social networks — burst into the synagogue armed with an assault rifle and three handguns. Stephen Weiss, […]

Synagogue gunman kills 11 in America’s worst anti-Semitic attack

by Dustin Franz Agence France Presse PITTSBURGH, United States (AFP) — A heavily armed gunman opened fire during a baby-naming ceremony at a synagogue in the US city of Pittsburgh on Saturday, killing 11 people and injuring six in the deadliest anti-Semitic attack in recent American history. The shooter — identified as a 46-year-old local resident named Robert Bowers — reportedly yelled “All Jews must die” as he burst into the Tree of Life synagogue, […]

Pentagon to send about 800 troops to US-Mexico border

by Thomas Watkins Agence France Presse WASHINGTON, United States (AFP) — The Pentagon is expected to deploy about 800 troops to the US-Mexico border, two US officials told AFP on Thursday, after President Donald Trump said the military would help tackle a “national emergency” and called on a caravan of migrants to turn around. The active-duty troops would augment the 2,000 or so National Guardsmen already deployed to support operations on the border, and could […]

US probes pipe bombs sent to Trump foes Obama, Clinton, CNN

by Jennie Matthew/ with Saul Loeb in Mosinee NEW YORK, United States (AFP) — US authorities pressed ahead Thursday with an all-out probe into who was behind pipe bombs sent to Barack Obama, Hillary Clinton, other top Democrats, and CNN, all of them hate figures for supporters of President Donald Trump. Trump critics accused him of encouraging violence just days before a bitterly divided America votes November 6 in elections. Trump reacted to the rapid […]

Migrant caravan resumes trek to US-Mexico border

MAPASTEPEC, Mexico (AFP) — Thousands of Central American migrants crossing Mexico toward the United States in a caravan resumed their long trek Wednesday, walking about 12 hours to their next destination. The migrants, who have drawn near-daily Twitter tirades from US President Donald Trump, walked and hitched rides from the town of Huixtla, in southern Mexico, to Mapastepec, some 60 kilometers (40 miles) away. Carrying their few belongings on their backs — many with babies […]

Florida police probe suspicious packages at office of Democrat lawmaker

MIAMI, United States (AFP) — Florida police were investigating two suspicious packages mailed Wednesday to the office of Democratic Congresswoman Debbie Wasserman Schultz, hours after authorities intercepted potential explosives intended for prominent Democrats including ex-president Barack Obama. Local media showed images of a bomb squad unit from the Broward Sheriff’s Office, which confirmed it was at her building in the south Florida town of Sunrise, around 30 miles (50 kilometers) north of Miami. “ALERT!!! We […]

Turkey shares evidence with CIA chief over Khashoggi murder: report

  ISTANBUL, Turkey (AFP) — Turkish intelligence has shared “all the evidence” over the murder of Saudi journalist Jamal Khashoggi with the CIA chief during a visit, pro-government media reported on Wednesday. CIA Director Gina Haspel visited the Turkish capital Ankara on Tuesday for talks with officials about the killing of Washington Post contributor Khashoggi inside Saudi Arabia’s Istanbul consulate. Video images and audio tapes as well as evidence gathered from the consulate and the […]

US revokes Saudi visas in first action over Khashoggi

by Shaun TANDON / with Raziye Akkoc in Ankara and Stuart Williams in Istanbul Agence France Presse WASHINGTON, United States (AFP) — The United States said Tuesday it was revoking visas of Saudi officials involved in the “brutal murder” of journalist Jamal Khashoggi, in its first major action against the longtime ally as global outrage escalated. The visa curbs came as Turkish President Recep Tayyip Erdogan said Khashoggi’s killing inside the Saudis’ Istanbul consulate had […]