Tag: US

Japan marks 73rd anniversary of atomic attack on Hiroshima

TOKYO, Japan (AFP)–A bell tolled Monday in Hiroshima as Japan marked 73 years since the world’s first atomic bombing, with the city’s mayor warning that rising nationalism worldwide threatened peace. The skies over Hiroshima’s Peace Memorial Park were clear, just as they were on August 6, 1945, when an American B-29 bomber dropped its deadly payload on the port city dotted with military installations, ultimately killing 140,000 people. Hiroshima Mayor Kazumi Matsui, standing at the […]

Cruise beats Pooh as ‘Mission Impossible’ again tops box office

HOLLYWOOD, United States (AFP)–Tom Cruise continued to test the limits of the possible this weekend as “Mission Impossible — Fallout” clung for a second week to the top spot in North American theaters, beating new Disney film “Christopher Robin,” industry tracker Exhibitor Relations reported. Paramount’s “Mission,” the sixth stunt-filled edition in the popular franchise, took in an estimated $35 million for the three-day weekend. Critics and audiences have warmed to the film, in which Cruise […]

Trump admits son met with Russian to get information on opponent

WASHINGTON, United States (AFP)–US President Donald Trump admitted Sunday that his son met with a Russian lawyer in Trump Tower in 2016 “to get information on an opponent” but defended it as “totally legal.” It was Trump’s most direct acknowledgement that the motive for the June 2016 meeting was to get dirt on Hillary Clinton, his Democratic rival for the presidency. As he has in the past, Trump insisted in a tweet that he did […]

US police say 11 children rescued from ‘extremist’ men at ‘filthy’ hideout

  LOS ANGELES, United States (AFP) — Police say 11 children ages one to 15 were rescued in the US state of New Mexico after officers raided a dilapidated compound occupied by armed men of “extremist” belief. Two men were arrested after police found them and the children in what one officer called “the saddest living conditions and poverty I have seen,” as part of the operation connected to a months-long search for an abducted three-year-old, […]

Demi Lovato thankful to be alive after overdose

LOS ANGELES, United States (AFP)–Pop star Demi Lovato said Sunday she was thankful to be alive and needed time to recover in her first remarks since an overdose nearly two weeks ago. Writing to her more than 70 million followers on Instagram, Lovato gave few details on her July 24 hospitalization but noted that she has long been open about her struggles with addiction. “What I’ve learned is that this illness is not something that […]

California’s raging wildfires cause another death

CLEARLAKE, Oakland (AFP) — California’s deadly Carr wildfire — now the state’s sixth most destructive — has claimed another life with a power linesman killed on the job its seventh fatality, officials said Sunday. The Carr Fire, located some 200 miles (322 kilometers) north of San Francisco, is still growing, CalFire said Sunday. Its intensity was so great at one point, that it generated a tornado-like whirl of fire — as well as its own […]

Trump hits back at LeBron James over racial division comments

  WASHINGTON, United States (AFP) — US President Donald Trump sniped back at NBA great LeBron James late Friday, days after the basketball player and philanthropist accused him of fueling racial divides in the United States. “Lebron James was just interviewed by the dumbest man on television, (CNN presenter) Don Lemon. He made Lebron look smart, which isn’t easy to do,” the president tweeted of the Los Angeles Lakers player. In an interview on Tuesday […]

Asian countries denounce ‘real threat’ of global trade war

  by Martin Abbugao Agence France Presse Singapore (AFP) — Asian countries have voiced concern about the potentially devastating impact of a US-China trade war, with ministers calling for the acceleration of talks for a gigantic Beijing-backed free-trade deal that excludes the United States. Fear that a simmering trade spat between the world’s top two economies could spiral into a full-blown trade war — with painful consequences for China’s neighbours — was among topics dominating […]

Thousands of firefighters struggle to contain giant blazes in California

LAKEPORT, California (AFP) — Thousands of firefighters were struggling Thursday to contain two vast wildfires in California, one of which has become one of the most destructive blazes in the state’s history. The Carr Fire has scorched 126,00 acres (51,00 hectares) of land since July 23, when authorities say it was triggered by the “mechanical failure of a vehicle” that caused sparks to fly in tinderbox dry conditions. The fire has also razed 1,465 buildings, […]

US says Russia still carrying out ‘pervasive’ election meddling

  WASHINGTON, United States (AFP) — The US government on Thursday accused Russia of carrying out a “pervasive” campaign to influence public opinion and elections, in a warning just months before crucial legislative polls. “We continue to see a pervasive messaging campaign from Russia to try to weaken and divide the United States,” said Dan Coats, the director of national intelligence. A slew of top US officials including Coats, FBI Director Christopher Wray and Homeland Security […]

Apple reaches new landmark with $1 trillion valuation

  by John Biers / with Glenn Chapman in San Francisco Agence France-Presse NEW YORK, United States (AFP) —  Apple — the culture-changing company behind the iPod, iPhone and iPad — hit another milestone on Thursday, becoming the first private-sector company to surpass $1 trillion in market value. Shares of Apple finished the formal Wall Street trading day at $207.39, topping the magic number two days after the California tech giant reported strong quarterly earnings. The […]

Ivanka Trump: Family separations a ‘low point,’ media not the enemy

  by Elodie Cuzin Agence France-Presse WASHINGTON, United States (AFP) — Ivanka Trump distanced herself Thursday from some of her father’s most controversial policies and strident rhetoric, saying she is “vehemently against” family separations and that journalists are not the enemy. Speaking publicly for the first time since she shuttered her eponymous fashion brand last week, the first daughter and senior advisor to President Donald Trump took a decidedly different approach than her combative father to […]