Bill O’Reilly: the career firebrand who went down in flames The career of Bill O’Reilly at Fox News went up in flames Wednesday, a fiery end to as combustible a figure as television news has ever generated. The cause was self-immolation. After decades of two-fisted commentary from his perch behind the desk of “The O’Reilly … Read more
Syrian leader Bashar al-Assad on Friday blamed the country’s former Al-Qaeda affiliate for a deadly bombing against buses carrying evacuees outside Aleppo at the weekend. “It was Jabhat al-Nusra, they haven’t hidden it from the very start, and I think that everyone agrees that it was Nusra,” Assad told Russia’s RIA Novosti news agency in … Read more
Cabbage have denied claims their lead singer assaulted a female audience member at one of their gigs. A woman who attended the Wednesday night gig – but not the person said to have been assaulted – claimed on social media to have seen the incident. The band strongly deny the accusations made against singer Lee … Read more
The University of California at Berkeley has cancelled a talk by right-wing commentator Ann Coulter for fear it could turn violent, days after opponents and supporters of President Donald Trump clashed in the city. The decision echoed a similar cancellation in February of a planned speech at the university by a right-wing provocateur and former … Read more
Fox News severed its relationship with Bill O’Reilly on Wednesday, dumping America’s most-watched cable news anchor over a flood of sexual harassment allegations and dwindling advertising. “After a thorough and careful review of the allegations, the company and Bill O’Reilly have agreed that Bill O’Reilly will not be returning to the Fox News Channel,” 21st … Read more
What once seemed unimaginable now seems at least possible. New York Magazine’s Gabriel Sherman reported Tuesday that the Murdoch family is “leaning” toward pulling Bill O’Reilly off of Fox News’ airwaves in the middle of growing pressure from advertisers and activist groups. NPR’s David Folkenflik? and CNN’s Brian Stelter reported later Tuesday that an O’Reilly … Read more
The daughter of Choi Soon-Sil, the woman at the centre of a corruption scandal that led to the impeachment of South Korea’s president, appeared in a Danish district court Wednesday to fight her extradition to Seoul. Chung Yoo-Ra, the 20-year-old daughter of the woman dubbed South Korea’s “Rasputin”, is one of the figures in the … Read more
Taiwan said on Wednesday it has rejected a political asylum application from a Chinese tourist, reportedly an anti-corruption campaigner who has spent time in a mainland prison. Zhang Xiangzhong arrived on the island on April 12 for an eight-day holiday but left his tour group the next day. He was identified by local media and … Read more
After a few days of saber-rattling, US President Donald Trump’s administration has reverted to the same North Korea policy as its predecessor: relying on China to control Pyongyang. The USS Carl Vinson carrier battle group, which Trump boasted last week was the “armada, very powerful” to bring leader Kim Jong-un to heel is instead carrying … Read more
President Donald Trump on Tuesday blamed — without proof — his predecessor Barack Obama for allowing the MS-13 criminal gang to take root in US cities. The MS-13, also known as the Mara Salvatrucha, is one of the criminal groups behind a wave of violence in Guatemala, Honduras and El Salvador. The gang was formed … Read more
US President Donald Trump praised China for its help in pressuring North Korea, while defending his softening stance on trade and other issues with the Asian giant, in an interview that aired Tuesday. In the comments to Fox News, Trump cited the strength of his newfound relationship with President Xi Jinping in explaining why he … Read more
North Korea has warned the US not to take provocative action in the region, saying it is “ready to hit back with nuclear attacks”. The comments came as North Korea marked the 105th anniversary of the birth of its founding president, Kim Il-sung. A huge parade in Pyongyang was held amid speculation current leader Kim … Read more
Facebook on Friday said it disrupted an international fake account operation that was firing off inauthentic ‘likes’ and bogus comments to win friends it would then pound with spam. Facebook’s security team spent six months fighting to neutralize what they saw as a coordinated campaign, according to Shabnam Shaik, a company security manager. ‘Our systems … Read more
US comedian Charlie Murphy, the older brother of actor Eddie Murphy, has died of leukaemia aged 57, reports say. The TMZ website quoted his manager as saying he died on Wednesday morning in hospital in New York. Murphy starred on comedian Dave Chappelle’s show and also appeared in films including Jungle Fever, Night at the … Read more
A week after President Donald Trump defended the star Fox News host Bill O’Reilly following accusations of sexual harassment, he is on vacation from his hugely popular show and his future uncertain. The right-wing television personality announced what he called a long-planned break during his show on Tuesday, saying he would return on April 24 … Read more
The FBI investigated Trump campaign advisor Carter Page last year over worries he could have been working for Russia, the Washington Post reported Tuesday. In the first confirmation that the government conducted surveillance on President Donald Trump’s team, the Federal Bureau of Investigation obtained a rare warrant to monitor the Page’s communications from the top … Read more
The G7 group of nations has failed to reach agreement over threatening new sanctions against Russia and Syria. Foreign ministers were seeking a common position on the Syrian conflict, before the US secretary of state flies to Russia to try to persuade it to abandon its Syrian ally. The nations agreed there was no solution … Read more
The CEO of United Airlines has said that employees “followed established procedures” in an incident which saw a passenger dragged off a plane. In a letter to employees obtained by US media, Oscar Munoz said he was “upset to see and hear about what happened”. But he said that the passenger had been “disruptive and … Read more
G7 foreign ministers will attempt to agree a common position on the Syrian conflict, before the US secretary of state flies to Russia to try to persuade it to abandon its Syrian ally. Rex Tillerson will also meet officials from allied Middle Eastern countries before heading to Moscow. The UK has suggested threatening tightly focused … Read more
G7 foreign ministers will attempt to agree a common position on the Syrian conflict, before the US secretary of state flies to Russia to try to persuade it to abandon its Syrian ally. Rex Tillerson will also meet officials from allied Middle Eastern countries before heading to Moscow. The UK has suggested threatening tightly-focused sanctions … Read more