World News

The Federal Bureau of Investigation has nearly 1,000 investigations open into attempted intellectual property theft, nearly all of them involving Chinese, FBI director Christopher Wray said on Tuesday (Jul 23). FBI Director Christopher Wray says the FBI has nearly 1,000 open investigations into intellectual property theft, nearly all of them involving Chinese. (AFP/SAUL LOEB) "There is no country that poses a more severe counterintelligence threat to this country right now than China. .. and I don't say it lightly," Wray told the Senate Judiciary Committee. "We have as we speak probably about a thousand-plus investigations all across the country involving attempted theft of US intellectual property, whether it's economic espionage or counter proliferation, almost all leading back to China," he said. "It is a threat that is deep and diverse and wide and vexing ... Make no mistake that this is a high priority for all of us," Wray added. Arrests of people involved in Chinese … [Read more...] about 1,000 probes into Chinese intellectual property theft: FBI

Parisians were on Monday (Jul 22) bracing for potentially the hottest ever temperature in the French capital this week as a new heatwave blasted into northern Europe that could set records in several countries. Meteo France is forecasting 41 or 42 degrees Celsius in Paris on Jun 25, 2019. (Photo: AFP/Zakaria Abdelkafi) Temperatures were already set to top 30 degrees Celsius on Monday in Paris, but the mercury could soar beyond 40 degrees Celsius on Thursday and topple a temperature record dating back to 1947. The severe heat, which forecasters say will only last a few days but will be exceptionally intense, is expected to affect northern France and parts of Belgium, Luxembourg and the Netherlands. "It's likely that these three countries see temperatures at or above 40 degrees Celsius for the first time," Francois Jobard, a forecaster from the French Meteo France weather office, told AFP. The new blast of hot air comes less than a month after a heatwave scorched Europe at the … [Read more...] about Paris braces for record heat as Europe scorched again

US President Donald Trump meets with Pakistani Prime Minister Imran Khan (left) in the Oval Office at the White House in Washington, DC. (Nicholas Kamm/AFP) Trump was speaking from the Oval Office alongside Pakistan's Prime Minister Imran Khan, who is on his first official visit to Washington seeking to revive a fractured relationship. Pakistan was the Taliban's chief sponsor when it took power in neighbouring Afghanistan during the 1990s. Its influence over the group, which has waged an insurgency since it was ousted from power by US-led forces in 2001, is seen as key in facilitating a political settlement with the government of President Ashraf Ghani. "We've made a lot of progress over the last couple of weeks, and Pakistan has helped us with that progress," said Trump. "A lot of things are happening for the United States, and I think a lot of great things are going to be happening for Pakistan under your leadership," he added as he turned to face his counterpart, in an encounter … [Read more...] about Trump praises Pakistan”s role in “progress” on Afghan peace

As if a comedian-turned-president wasn't enough, Ukraine now has a rock star as a potential political kingmaker. Ukrainian rock star Svyatoslav Vakarchuk only set up his party Golos (Voice) in May. (AFP/Vasily MAXIMOV) Svyatoslav Vakarchuk, the 44-year-old lead singer of rock band Okean Elzy, is set to enter Ukraine's parliament after exit polls showed his newly-created Golos (Voice) party taking six per cent in Sunday's parliamentary vote. Volodymyr Zelensky, the sitcom star who shocked his nation by winning the presidency in April, immediately said he was ready to start talks with Vakarchuk on forming a government coalition. The rocker packed his party's election list with young professionals, many of them Western-educated, and banned current and former lawmakers from entering the party. "People voted for changes and we are happy to be part of these changes," Vakarchuk told cheering supporters at Golos party headquarters after the exit polls were released. "We are ready to … [Read more...] about Rock star Vakarchuk shaking up Ukrainian politics

Planes and helicopters joined nearly 2,000 firefighters in central Portugal on Sunday (Jul 21) to battle huge wildfires in a mountainous region where more than 100 people died in huge blazes in 2017. A firefighter monitors a wildfire at Amendoa in Macao, central Portugal. (PATRICIA DE MELO MOREIRA/AFP) Some 1,700 firefighters and 400 vehicles were deployed in one of the biggest mobilisations ever seen in the area to fight the blazes in the heavily forested Castelo Branco region, 200 kilometres north of Lisbon, the rescue services said. Around 20 people have been injured in the blaze, including eight firefighters and 12 civilians, according to the interior ministry. One badly burned civilian was evacuated by helicopter to Lisbon. The biggest effort - 800 firefighters, 245 vehicles and 13 planes and helicopters - battled to douse flames in the municipality of Vila de Rei. That fire "remains active", Interior Minister Eduardo Cabrita told journalists. Meanwhile, police said a … [Read more...] about 1,700 firefighters battle Portugal wildfires