New York (AFP) – Jean-Michel Basquiat’s “Untitled” 1982 sold for $85 million at auction in New York Wednesday, well above its pre-sale estimate and netting Japanese billionaire space tourist Yusaku Maezawa a tidy profit. Phillips auction house sold the…
US puts full weight behind Sweden, Finland bids to join NATO
Washington (AFP) – The United States gave its full support Wednesday for Sweden and Finland’s bids to join NATO, promising to stand by them if threatened by Russia and pressing Turkey to not block their membership. Hours after the two Nordic countries …
Biden sells renewed US leadership in first Asia trip, but N.Korea looms
Washington (AFP) – Joe Biden leaves Thursday for his first trip as president to Asia convinced that the confrontation with Russia has reinvigorated US leadership, while wary that a rogue North Korean nuclear test could tear up the optimistic script. Th…
Tom Cruise brings his passion for big screen to Cannes
Cannes (France) (AFP) – Tom Cruise gushed about his passion for cinema as he made his first visit in 30 years to the Cannes Film Festival on Wednesday for the launch of “Top Gun: Maverick”. The French Air Force display team streaked across the sky over…
Trump sway over Republicans up in air after mixed primary results
Washington (AFP) – Is Donald Trump still the ultimate power player in the Republican Party? That question is unanswered after mixed results for candidates endorsed by the former president in key primary elections across the United States. In the wake o…
US charges Chinese agents, American citizen with spying
New York (AFP) – The United States said Wednesday it had charged four Chinese intelligence officers with helping an American citizen spy on prominent critics of China. Together all five conspired to silence Chinese dissidents, pro-democracy activists a…
‘Historic’ equal pay deal for US men and women soccer teams
Washington (AFP) – The US men’s and women’s national soccer teams will receive equal pay under a “historic” agreement announced by the US Soccer Federation on Wednesday, following years of pressure from female players. The move makes the federation the…
Los Angeles observatory evacuated as firefighters battle blaze
Los Angeles (AFP) – A small fire broke out at a park in the heart of Los Angeles on Tuesday, causing officials to evacuate the city’s historic Griffith Observatory. Los Angeles Fire Department declared the four-acre blaze a “major emergency” and were t…
Biden attacks white supremacist ‘poison’ after racist shooting
Buffalo (AFP) – President Joe Biden on Tuesday called out what he branded the “poison” of white supremacist ideology behind a deadly mass shooting in Buffalo, New York, and said that racism is being stoked for political gain. Speaking in the city where…
US shooter planned attack for months, visited site three times
Buffalo (AFP) – The white teen accused of murdering 10 Black people at a New York grocery store planned the shooting for months — and scoped out the location ahead of time, social media posts attributed to the suspect show. Payton Gendron, 18, visited…