Seven migrant workers dead in Russian blaze

  Moscow / AFP Seven construction workers from Tajikistan died in western Siberia on Saturday when the shipping container they used as a home at a building site caught fire, officials said. “Seven people died, while three were poisoned by the fumes and hospitalised,” the emergencies ministry’s branch in the oil-rich Tyumen region said. The suspected cause was a short-circuit ...

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Pacific leaders urged to defend free trade

  Lima / AFP A summit of top world leaders was urged to fight rising protectionism after Donald Trump’s election victory stoked fears that free trade is under threat, and the global economy along with it. Trump, who triumphed in last week’s US presidential vote, successfully tapped the anger of working-class voters who feel left behind by years of globalization, vowing ...

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New deaths spark fears for fragile Colombia ceasefire

  Bogota / AFP The deaths of two Colombian guerrillas sparked fears this week that the country’s fragile peace process could be in peril after voters rejected an accord to end the half-century conflict. Colombian authorities said the two fighters of the Revolutionary Armed Forces of Colombia (FARC) died Sunday in a clash with the army. They were the FARC’s ...

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Dalai Lama visits Mongolia over China’s objections

  Ulan Bator / AFP The Dalai Lama met with Buddhist worshippers on Saturday during a four-day visit to Mongolia, despite Beijing’s strident demand that he be barred from entering the country. China is “firmly opposed to the anti-China separatist activities by the Dalai Lama in any country, in any name, and in any capacity”, foreign ministry spokesman Geng Shuang said. ...

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Apple chip choices may leave iPhone users in slow lane

  Bloomberg It turns out not all iPhone 7s are created equal. The latest Apple Inc. smartphones that run on Verizon Communications Inc.’s network are technically capable of downloading data faster than those from AT&T Inc. Yet in testing, the two phones perform about the same, according to researchers at Twin Prime Inc. and Cellular Insights. Neither firm is clear ...

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Autonomous cars — ‘New oil’ or ‘big brother’?

  AFP Just like credit cards, smartphones or search engines, autonomous cars will carry a trove of information about their owners as they make driving more comfortable, raising new concerns about privacy. Automakers are engaged in a fierce race to develop the first driverless car, which experts say should hit the road by 2020. Apart from legal obstacles facing the ...

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FB boosts efforts to ‘do good’ with new tools

  NEW YORK / AP Facebook is offering new tools for charity fundraising, for marking yourself safe during a crisis and for helping others — or asking for help — after a natural disaster. The social network made the announcements Thursday in New York at its Social Good Forum, a first-of-its-kind event it hopes to repeat in coming years. The ...

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Watch your self-ie! India tops ranking for selfie deaths

  New Delhi / AFP Next time you’re at the Taj Mahal, find yourself standing on a precarious cliff or see an approaching train, maybe just enjoy the moment rather than trying to capture the perfect selfie. These are just three of the ways that 76 selfie-takers in India have lost their lives, according to a study published by US-based ...

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Google upset by S Korean refusal on mapping data

  Seoul / AP South Korea rejected a request by Google to use local mapping data in the company’s global maps service in a long-awaited ruling that had divided the country for months. The company said it was disappointed by the decision, which the land ministry said was based on concerns over national security. “We’re disappointed by this decision. We’ve ...

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Emirates mulls cheaper long-haul flights

  Bloomberg Emirates, known for luxurious planes with showers and bars, is considering adding cheaper long-distance flights in order to better fend off aggressive competition from low-cost carriers. “More and more international network carriers will be starting to move into the long-haul, low-cost market,” Emirates president Tim Clark said at a press briefing in Berlin. “That will be the shape ...

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