WORLD

Paris, France | AFP | On February 14, 1989 Iran’s supreme leader Ayatollah Ruhollah Khomeini called for British writer Salman Rushdie to be killed for writing “The Satanic Verses”, which the cleric said insulted Islam. In a fatwa, or religious decree, Khomeini urged “Muslims of the world rapidly to execute …

London, United Kingdom | AFP | The British government is seeking to win more time to secure EU concessions on Brexit that could pass parliament and avert a chaotic split from the bloc on March 29. Businesses and governments are on edge because Britain is just weeks away from its scheduled departure from the European …

New York, United States | AFP | After sparking a scandal by recalling a racist episode from his distant past, actor Liam Neeson is now battling to save his career — a task experts predict will be difficult but not impossible. More than 40 years ago, Neeson recently told The Independent of London, he was …

Los Angeles, United States | AFP | Forget chocolate, flowers or a romantic dinner. A zoo in Texas is offering singles the chance to name a cockroach after their ex and see it fed to a meerkat live on camera on Valentine’s Day. In a campaign dubbed “Quit Bugging Me!!!” the …

Paris, France | AFP | It was fear of being dominated by a Chinese behemoth that sparked an attempt by large French and German rail companies to join forces to create an European industrial champion. The merger by Alstom and Siemens was vetoed by the EU on Thursday, but concerns about …

Washington, United States | AFP | Twitter shares took a pounding Thursday as an unsettling update on its global user base offset upbeat figures on revenues and profits in the past quarter. Shares skidded 9.8 percent to close at $30.80 following Twitter’s fourth quarter update, which showed a consistent profit trend …

Washington, United States | AFP | President Donald Trump is proposing a congressional ban on late-term abortions as he seeks to expand his conservative support ahead of the 2020 election. In a State of the Union speech that had been billed as promoting unity, Trump seized upon one of the most …

San Francisco, United States | AFP | Facebook on Thursday announced it had restructured its team devoted to products or features designed to increase the social network’s appeal to younger generations. Nascent projects such as a “LOL” platform for funny memes were taken off the board at the “youth team,” which …

Seoul, South Korea | AFP | The second summit between US President Donald Trump and North Korean leader Kim Jong Un has raised hopes for the longest ceasefire in history to be replaced by a peace treaty. Seoul and Pyongyang remain technically at war after the 1950-53 Korean War ended with …

Brussels, Belgium | AFP | Britain and the EU agreed Thursday to hold more talks to try to avoid a no-deal Brexit, after a “robust” meeting between Prime Minister Theresa May and European Commission chief Jean-Claude Juncker. A joint statement issued after the talks in Brussels said Juncker had again warned that  November’s withdrawal agreement …