Cambridge Analytica, the firm embroiled in a controversy over its handling of Facebook Inc user data, and its British parent SCL Elections Ltd, are shutting down immediately after suffering a sharp drop in business, the company said on Wednesday. The company will begin bankruptcy proceedings, it said, after losing clients ... Read More »
China deploys cruise missiles on South China Sea outposts – reports
Missiles could targets ships and aircraft, according to CNBC, and mark another step in the militarisation of the disputed islands China has installed cruise missiles and surface-to-air missile systems on three of its outposts in the disputed waters of the South China Sea, according to reports. The US news network ... Read More »
Socotra island: The Unesco-protected ‘Jewel of Arabia’ vanishing amid Yemen’s civil war
The Independent presents the first in an exclusive series from Socotra, an island paradise under threat from a neo-colonial takeover, the vagaries of Yemen’s war and the spectre of climate change Legend has it the otherworldly dragon’s-blood tree first grew on the spot where two brothers, Darsa and Samha, fought ... Read More »
Air pollution inequality widens between rich and poor nations
Rich cities have improved, but pollution in poorer countries is still rising and kills 7 million people a year globally, WHO data reveals Pollution inequality between the world’s rich and poor is widening, according to the latest global data from the World Health Organisation (WHO) which shows that 7 million ... Read More »
Apple delivers best-ever second quarter despite sales worries
With revenues of over $61bn, Apple beat its 2015 record in the report released Tuesday – but sales of its most valuable product are slowing Apple on Tuesday shook off worries that its $1,000 iPhone had failed to live up to the hype – but sales of the world’s most ... Read More »
Russian fighter jet reportedly intercepts US military plane
A Russian fighter jet has reportedly intercepted a US surveillance plane in international airspace. The Russian Su-27 jet performed an “unprofessional” but not unsafe interception of a US Navy P-8 plane that was flying over the Baltic Sea, defence officials told CNN and Fox News. The jet reportedly came within ... Read More »
Acting UNSCOL talks border security with Army in Bekaa visit
BEIRUT: The Acting U.N. Special Coordinator for Lebanon Pernille Kardel Wednesday met with Lebanese Army representatives in Bekaa’s Ras Baalbeck and Arsal near the northern borders, in a follow-up visit after the Rome II conference in March. “Today I saw first-hand how the Lebanese Army’s presence … has succeeded in ... Read More »
European powers say they are nearing plan to save Iran nuclear pact
French President Emmanuel Macron called on the United States on Wednesday not to abandon the Iran nuclear deal as Western envoys said Britain, France and Germany were nearing a package that seeks to persuade U.S. President Donald Trump to save the pact. Trump has described the 2015 accord, under which ... Read More »
Oil stable but below recent highs as rising U.S. supply drags on bull-run
– Oil prices were stable on Wednesday, but were below the more than three-year highs reached the previous session as rising U.S. fuel inventories and production weighed on an otherwise bullish market. Brent crude oil futures LCOc1 were at $73.89 per barrel at 0455 GMT, up 3 cents from their ... Read More »
China accuses US of ‘severe infringements’ on human rights in report
Beijing claims America poses as ‘guardian of human rights’ after State Department criticises Chinese rights record China has accused the US of “serious infringement on citizens’ civil rights” and “systematic racial discrimination” in a report issued in riposte to criticism from Washington. Beijing claimed the Americans posed as “the guardian ... Read More »