NewsReutersNepal votes in second round of crucial local election
By Gopal Sharma KATHMANDU (Reuters) - Nepalis began voting in the second round of local elections on Wednesday, a key step towards holding a general election later this year that would complete a near decade-long democratic transition after the abolition of its monarchy. The latest round of voting
NewsReutersTrump growing frustrated with China, weighs trade steps: officials
By Steve Holland WASHINGTON (Reuters) - President Donald Trump is growing increasingly frustrated with China over its inaction on North Korea and bilateral trade issues and is now considering possible trade actions against Beijing, three senior administration officials told Reuters. The officials said
NewsReutersUtah wildfire levels 13 homes, forces evacuation of 1,500 people
A fierce wildfire that has destroyed more than a dozen homes and forced the evacuation of 1,500 residents raged largely unchecked in southwestern Utah for an 11th day, as an army of firefighters struggled to corral the flames. As of Tuesday morning, the blaze had scorched nearly 50,000 acres, the bulk
NewsAFP NewsToshiba faces angry shareholders as chip division sale delayed
Executives at crisis-hit Toshiba faced legions of angry shareholders Wednesday as the firm announced it has yet to clinch a deal to sell its prized chip business to a consortium of US, Japanese and South Korean investors. The sale, reportedly worth about 2.0 trillion yen ($18 billion), is seen as crucial
NewsReutersHelicopter attacks Venezuela court, Maduro denounces coup bid
By Silene Ramírez and Eyanir Chinea CARACAS (Reuters) - A Venezuelan police helicopter strafed the Supreme Court and a government ministry on Tuesday, escalating the OPEC nation's political crisis in what President Nicolas Maduro called an attack by "terrorists" seeking a coup. The aircraft
NewsReutersChocolate factory becomes Australia's first victim of latest cyber attack
By Byron Kaye SYDNEY (Reuters) - A Cadbury chocolate factory has become the first Australian business to be hit by a global cyber attack, a trade union official said, underscoring the rapid spread of the latest ransomware extortion campaign. The attack has already disrupted computers at Russia'
NewsReutersJPMorgan Chase to centralize energy controls for 4,500 branches
JPMorgan Chase & Co is shifting control of heating, air-conditioning and lighting in 4,500 of its branches to an operations center hosted in the internet cloud. Sol Gindi, chief administrative officer for JPMorgan's consumer bank, said the company is making the change so that bank branch managers
NewsAFP NewsRace is on to turn flying car into reality
Aeronautics giants are treating the idea of a flying car with caution, as such a project raises more questions than it answers, experts say -- it's a child's dream, a millionaire's toy. At this year's Paris Air Show, you had to search hard to find an aircraft that looked anything like
NewsAFP NewsNew US ambassador keen to see Chinese dissident go abroad
The new US ambassador to China said on Wednesday he would like to see terminally-ill Chinese dissident Liu Xiaobo get treatment abroad after prison officials granted him medical parole. Ambassador Terry Branstad arrived in Beijing on Tuesday, one day after Liu's lawyer revealed that the 2010 Nobel
NewsReutersFactbox - Companies hit by global ransomware attack on June 27
(Reuters) - A global ransomware attack on Tuesday hit computers at Russia's biggest oil company, Ukraine's international airport, global shipping firm A.P. Moller-Maersk and the world's biggest advertising agency WPP . Following is a list of companies and organisations that have reported
NewsAFP NewsMexico used 'tools of tyranny' to spy on journalists, says top reporter
Forty minutes into our interview, noted Mexican journalist Carmen Aristegui picks up her phone and jokingly greets the government agents she alleges have been spying on her. Thanks for listening!" says the veteran anchorwoman, who is famous for hard-hitting reports on government corruption. Humor
NewsAFP NewsUN refugee cash card scheme boosts Lebanese grocers
Business is booming -- thanks to Syrian refugees using UN debit cards. Displaced Syrian families in Lebanon are using electronic cards, topped up each month by the United Nations' World Food Programme with $27 (24 euros) per person, for their grocery shopping. The WFP scheme has both helped refugees
NewsAFP NewsHelicopter hurled grenades at Venezuela Supreme Court: Maduro
A helicopter dropped two grenades on Venezuela's Supreme Court building in a "terror attack" against the government, President Nicolas Maduro said in a speech Tuesday. "Sooner or later, we are going to capture that helicopter and those that carried out this terror attack," he
NewsAFP NewsAsian markets hit by fears over Trump economic agenda
Asian markets turned negative on Wednesday as Republicans' struggle to push through controversial health care legislation fuels concerns about the chances of Donald Trump passing his much-vaunted economic agenda. Global markets soared in the months after the tycoon's November election victory
NewsAFP NewsEx-bosses to go on trial over Fukushima disaster
Three former executives at Fukushima's operator stand trial this week on the only criminal charges laid in the 2011 disaster, as thousands remain unable to return to homes near the shuttered nuclear plant. The hearing on Friday comes more than a year after ex-Tokyo Electric Power (Tepco) chairman
NewsAFP NewsTakata bankruptcy a question mark for consumer lawsuits
The bankruptcy of Japanese auto parts giant Takata may frustrate the legal challenges by victims harmed by the company's exploding airbags, which were part of the largest auto safety recall ever. The United States has been by far the hardest hit by the scandal over the defective airbags, which in
NewsAFP NewsAustralia outrage over kangaroo shot dead, dressed in leopard-print
A kangaroo dressed in leopard-print has been found shot dead on an Australian roadside tied to a chair and holding a bottle of booze, sparking outrage over the killing Wednesday. "The kangaroo had been shot at least three times, prior to it being arranged in the chair," said Victoria state
NewsAFP NewsRelatives hold on to missing in war-torn east Ukraine
In August 2014, Anastasiya Chub could not wait to share wonderful news with her husband -- that she was pregnant with the couple's second child. "The DNA identification procedures are still under way and meanwhile my husband remains between heaven and earth," Chub said.
NewsAFP NewsHelicopter hurled grenades at Venezuela Supreme Court: Maduro
A helicopter dropped two grenades on Venezuela's Supreme Court building in a "terror attack" against the government, President Nicolas Maduro said in a speech on Tuesday. "I have activated the entire armed forces to defend the peace," he said in remarks delivered from the Miraflores
NewsReutersJapan defense minister under fire before key Tokyo poll
By Linda Sieg TOKYO (Reuters) - Japanese Prime Minister Shinzo Abe's government, its ratings slipping over suspicions of favouritism, has suffered a fresh embarrassment when his defense minister made politically sensitive remarks just days ahead of a key local election. Defense Minister Tomomi
NewsAFP NewsUS lists China among worst human trafficking offenders
President Donald Trump's administration hit China Tuesday over its rights record, placing the country alongside Sudan and North Korea on a list of the world's worst human trafficking offenders. The State Department downgraded China in its annual "Trafficking in Persons Report," saying
NewsAFP NewsCyprus showdown talks seek fix for decades-old crisis
Despite a daunting list of unresolved disputes, UN envoy Espen Barth Eide said he was confident on the eve of the talks. Cyprus has been divided since 1974, when Turkish troops invaded the northern third of the island in response to an Athens-inspired coup attempt seeking union with Greece. Turkey
NewsAFP NewsAre asteroids humanity's 'greatest challenge'?
Throughout its 4.5-billion-year history, Earth has been repeatedly pummelled by space rocks that have caused anything from an innocuous splash in the ocean to species annihilation. "Sooner or later we will get... a minor or major impact," Rolf Densing, who heads the European Space Operations
NewsAFP News'Ransomware' wave seemed aimed at old flaw and Ukraine
A global wave of cyberattacks exploited an already patched vulnerability in Windows software and appeared to have Ukraine as a primary target, according to computer security specialists. The first reports of trouble came from Ukrainian banks, Kiev's main airport and Rosneft, in a major incident
