SAN FRANCISCO, United States (AFP) — Two military F-15 jets were scrambled late Friday after a “suicidal” airline worker stole and later crashed an empty passenger plane from the Seattle-Tacoma airport, local officials said. Local authorities quickly ruled out terrorism as a motive for the incident, and said the F-15s “were not involved in the crash.” An airline employee “conducted an unauthorized takeoff” of an airplane carrying no passengers at the major airport in […]
Tag: US
NASA counts down to launch of first spacecraft to ‘touch Sun’
by Kerry Sheridan Agence France-Presse TAMPA, United States (AFP) – NASA counted down Friday to the launch of a $1.5 billion spacecraft that aims to plunge into the Sun’s sizzling atmosphere and become humanity’s first mission to explore a star. The car-sized Parker Solar Probe is scheduled to blast off on a Delta IV Heavy rocket from Cape Canaveral, Florida early Saturday. The 65-minute launch window opens at 3:33 am (0733 GMT), and the weather forecast is […]
US launches airstrikes as Taliban attack Afghan city
by Zakeria Hashimi Agence France Presse GHAZNI, Afghanistan (AFP) — US forces launched airstrikes Friday to counter a major Taliban assault on an Afghan provincial capital, where terrified residents cowered in their homes amid explosions and gunfire as security forces try to beat the insurgents back. Officials said Afghan special forces were also being deployed to the southeastern city of Ghazni after the latest attempt by the Taliban to capture an urban center, with the […]
North Korea will preserve know-how despite denuclearization: FM
TEHRAN, Iran (AFP) — North Korea will preserve its nuclear know-how despite its promise of denuclearization to the United States, Foreign Minister Ri Yong Ho said during a visit to Tehran, Iranian media reported on Thursday. Despite the agreement to denuclearize the Korean peninsula struck during a landmark summit between North Korean leader Kim Jong-Un and US President Donald Trump, “we preserve our nuclear science as we know that the Americans will not abandon their […]
Qualcomm settles vastly reduced Taiwan antitrust fine
TAIPEI, Taiwan (AFP) — US chipmaking giant Qualcomm on Friday agreed a sharply reduced fine with Taiwan after officials said it had harmed market competition and manipulated prices, as it faces a number of probes worldwide. Taiwan’s Fair Trade Commission last year fined the firm Tw$23.4 billion ($763 million) saying the world’s biggest handset chip supplier had violated fair trade rules for at least seven years. The authorities found that Qualcomm had refused to offer […]
Russia, China block US bid to slap N.Korea sanctions
by Carole Landry Agence France Presse Russia and China on Thursday blocked a US request to add a Russian bank to a UN sanctions blacklist along with a North Korean official and two entities, diplomats said. The United States last week asked a UN sanctions committee to slap an assets freeze on Agrosoyuz Commercial Bank for allegedly helping North Korea evade UN-imposed restrictions on financial transactions. The request also targeted Ri Jong Won, the deputy […]
Death of Margot Kidder, Lois Lane of ‘Superman’ fame, ruled suicide
LOS ANGELES, United States (AFP)–The death of Margot Kidder, the actress who soared to fame in the ’70s playing Lois Lane in the “Superman” movies, has been ruled a suicide, a Montana coroner’s office said. When she died in May at age 69 neither her agent nor the funeral home who handled her arrangements specified a cause, but Montana’s Park County coroner’s office has announced she killed herself. “Ms. Kidder’s family urges those suffering from […]
Facebook moves to stop sharing of 3D gun blueprints
SAN FRANCISCO, United States (AFP) — Facebook on Thursday said it was moving to prevent the sharing of blueprints for 3D-printed guns on the social network, which violates its rules on regulated goods. “Sharing instructions on how to manufacture firearms using 3D printers or CNC milling machines is not allowed under our Community Standards,” a Facebook spokesman said in response to an AFP inquiry. “In line with our policies, we are removing this content from […]
‘Time has come’ for US Space Force, sixth military branch: Pence
by Thomas Watkins Agence France-Presse WASHINGTON, United States (AFP) – Vice President Mike Pence on Thursday unveiled details of plans to build a US Space Force that would become the sixth branch of America’s massive military, saying the time has come to prepare for “the next battlefield.” President Donald Trump ordered the creation of Space Force in June, arguing the Pentagon needs it to tackle vulnerabilities in space and assert US dominance in orbit. Its […]
Samsung unveils newest smartphone hoping for sales boost
NEW YORK, United States (AFP) – South Korean electronics giant Samsung unveiled the new Galaxy Note 9 smartphone Thursday, its latest effort to address flagging sales of the high-functioning gadgets. Boosting the power and the price, Samsung hopes to win back customers in the competitive market. The consistent leader in the global smartphone market, the company nonetheless suffered a 22 percent drop in mobile technology sales in the second quarter. The company blamed the drop […]
Firefighters make progress in California but weather not promising
by Josh Edelson Agence France-Presse MENDOCINO, United States (AFP) — Thousands of firefighters, backed by US troops and crews from as far away as Australia and New Zealand, made progress Wednesday in their battle with California’s biggest wildfire on record — but the weather forecast for the rest of the week is not promising, officials said. Nearly 20 major fires have ravaged the sprawling western state over the past two weeks, fanned by strong winds and […]
US camp raid suspect trained children for school shootings: prosecutors
LOS ANGELES, United States (AFP) — A man arrested in a raid on a squalid compound in New Mexico was training children living there to carry out school shootings, prosecutors said Wednesday. Siraj Ibn Wahhaj, 40, was arrested along with four other people on Friday at the desert compound in Amalia, New Mexico, and has been charged with 11 counts of child abuse. Eleven children aged one to 15 were found living on the compound […]





