WORLD NEWS

WASHINGTON (Reuters) - U.S. Attorney General William Barr on Wednesday questioned whether Facebook, Google and other major online platforms still need the immunity from legal liability that has prevented them from being sued over material their users post. FILE PHOTO: U.S. Attorney General William Barr announces the findings of the criminal investigation into the Dec. 6, 2019, shootings at the Pensacola Naval Air Station in Florida during a news conference at the Justice Department in Washington, U.S., January 13, 2020. REUTERS/Tom Brenner/File Photo“No longer are tech companies the underdog upstarts. They have become titans,” Barr said at a public meeting…

LONDON (Reuters) - U.S. President Donald Trump offered to pardon WikiLeaks founder Julian Assange if he said that Russia had nothing to do with WikiLeaks’ publication of Democratic Party emails in 2016, a London court heard on Wednesday. FILE PHOTO: WikiLeaks' founder Julian Assange leaves Westminster Magistrates Court in London, Britain at an earlier appearance on January 13, 2020. REUTERS/Henry Nicholls/File PhotoAssange appeared by videolink from prison as lawyers discussed the management of his hearing next week to decide whether he should be extradited to the United States. At Westminster Magistrates’ Court, Assange’s barrister, Edward Fitzgerald, referred to a witness…

ANKARA/AMMAN (Reuters) - Turkish President Tayyip Erdogan said on Wednesday a military operation by his forces to push back a Syrian government offensive against rebels in northwest Syria was now “a matter of time” after talks with Russia failed to halt the assault. Turkish President Tayyip Erdogan addresses members of his ruling AK Party during a meeting at the Parliament in Ankara, Turkey, February 19, 2020. Turkish Presidential Press Office/Handout via REUTERS Turkish troops have already massed inside the Idlib region and more were heading to the border area, bringing NATO member Turkey and Russian-backed Syria close to the brink…

MOSCOW (Reuters) - Russia’s main home-grown passenger jet, the Sukhoi Superjet 100, conceived as a rival to Airbus, Bombardier and Embraer, has no confirmed orders this year beyond a long-standing deal with state carrier Aeroflot ALTR.MM, two sources told Reuters. FILE PHOTO: A Sukhoi Superjet 100 regional jet performs during a demonstration flight at the MAKS 2017 air show in Zhukovsky, outside Moscow, Russia, July 18, 2017. REUTERS/Sergei Karpukhin/File PhotoThe aircraft, which entered service in 2011 and was the first passenger jet built in Russia since the fall of the Soviet Union, has had a troubled history despite the state…

(Reuters) - The S&P 500 and the Nasdaq hit all-time highs on Wednesday as hopes that China would take more measures to prop up its economy eased worries about the impact of the coronavirus epidemic. FILE PHOTO: A view of the exterior of the Nasdaq market site in the Manhattan borough of New York City, U.S., October 24, 2016. REUTERS/Shannon Stapleton/File PhotoThe number of new coronavirus cases also dropped for the second straight day in China, although global health officials cautioned it was too early to predict how the outbreak will play out. China is widely expected to cut its…

Image copyright Reuters A witness in Julian Assange's extradition hearing will claim President Donald Trump offered the Wikileaks founder a pardon if he said Russia was not involved in leaking emails during the US election.Assange's barrister revealed the claim at Westminster Magistrates' Court ahead of an extradition hearing next week.District Judge Vanessa Baraitser ruled the witness's evidence admissible.The White House said the claim is "a complete fabrication and a total lie".Assange is facing extradition to the US on 18 charges over leaked diplomatic cables.He faces up to 175 years in prison if found guilty.His barrister, Edward Fitzgerald QC, told the…

Image copyright Getty Images A New York City-based fashion college has apologised after a catwalk show was labelled racist.Models were asked to wear prosthetic ears, lips and bushy eyebrows for a collection run by fashion design students at the event in Manhattan.The accessories were heavily criticised online after an African-American model said she would not wear the "clearly racist" items.The Fashion Institute of Technology said the matter was being investigated."Currently," its president Joyce F Brown said in a statement, "it does not appear that the original intent of the design, the use of accessories or the creative direction of the…

Image copyright Getty Images The Duke and Duchess of Sussex will formally step down as senior royals from 31 March, a spokesperson for the couple has said. They will no longer carry out duties on behalf of the Queen but arrangements will be reviewed after 12 months. Earlier this year Harry and Meghan announced they would be stepping back from royal duties and working to become financially independent. They will return to the UK for engagements at the end of this month. The couple intend to split their time between the UK and North America and the spokesperson said they…

Image copyright Getty Images The US rapper Pop Smoke has been killed, after an apparent armed robbery. Los Angeles Police told Radio 1 Newsbeat a man was shot at his home and later pronounced dead, although didn't confirm his identity. But his label Republic Records says it's "devastated by the unexpected and tragic loss of Pop Smoke".Police responded to reports of a robbery - a man was then taken to hospital and later pronounced dead. Officers confirmed that an unknown number of suspects entered a property in West Hollywood. They got a call about a robbery at 04:55 PST and…

A video has emerged which shows the Mexican drug lord Joaquin "El Chapo" Guzman in prison.He was arrested in 2016 and was found guilty at his drug trafficking trial in 2019, at a federal court in New York.He stood trial for drug trafficking charges after successfully evading US and Mexican authorities for years and escaping from prison in Mexico on two occasions - once using an underground tunnel.Read more: El Chapo: Five things to knowRead More