WASHINGTON (AFP) -- US House Speaker Nancy Pelosi announced Tuesday the opening of a formal impeachment inquiry against President Donald Trump, saying he had violated the constitution in seeking help from Ukraine to hurt Democratic opponent Joe Biden."The actions of the Trump presidency revealed (the) dishonorable fact of the president's betrayal of his oath of office, betrayal of our national security and betrayal of the integrity of our elections," she said."Therefore, today I'm

WASHINGTON (AFP) -- Ignited by President Trump's conflict with China, the global economy is facing a future with higher tariffs and barriers to free trade than in the past eight decades, a Federal Reserve official said Monday.As hopes for a rapid trade deal between the United States and China evaporated in August, St Louis Federal Reserve Bank President James Bullard drastically shifted his outlook and called for even more stimulus from the central bank.After the Fed cut the benchmark interest r

MILAN (AFP) -- Lionel Messi won the FIFA Men's Player of the Year award as beaten rival Cristiano Ronaldo stayed away from the star-studded ceremony in Milan's iconic La Scala Opera House on Monday.Barcelona striker Messi's victory was a surprise as he edged out Virgil Van Dijk, who won the UEFA player's award last month after helping Liverpool to the Champions League last season.Juventus forward Ronaldo had also been shortlisted for the award, but did not attend the ceremony as he was named in

LOS ANGELES (AFP) -- "Breaking Bad" star Bryan Cranston opened the Emmy Awards on Sunday with a tribute to television's so-called golden era, as "Game of Thrones" and "Veep" take their final tilts at glory.Cranston appeared on stage after a comedy skit which saw a cartoon Homer Simpson introduced as "host" -- and quickly crushed by a falling piano."Television has never been bigger. Television has never mattered more. And television has never been this

PARIS (AFP) - The South Korean satire “Parasite” has become the most successful Cannes-winning film at the French box office in 15 years, new figures show.Director Bong Joon-ho became the first Korean to lift the Palme d’Or in May for his brilliant class war black comedy, and is an early favorite to lift the best foreign language movie Oscar. More than 1.6 million people have paid to see the film in France so far, according to the site CBO box office, a feat not achieved by a C

NEW YORK (AFP) -- Airbnb, the internet home stay company which disrupted the hotel and travel industry, said Thursday it plans to make its stock market debut next year but offered few details. Launched in 2008, the company is considered a "unicorn," a startup valued at more than $1 billion even before its initial public offering. The stock launch comes in the wake of other highly anticipated Wall Street launches for companies in the "gig" economy, which have not been resoundi

NEW YORK (AFP) -- US stocks went nowhere on Thursday as investors lost their appetite in afternoon trade, a day after the US central bank delivered a widely expected shot of stimulus.At the close, the benchmark Dow Jones Industrial Average was down 0.2 percent at 27,094.79, erasing earlier gains in the day.Meanwhile, the broader S&P 500 was flat, hovering near record levels at 3,006.79, while the tech-heavy Nasdaq was 0.1 percent higher at 8,182.88.Disney led the Dow lower, shedding 2.6 perc

TOKYO (AFP) -- More than eight years after the Fukushima nuclear disaster, a Japanese court will rule Thursday on the only criminal prosecution stemming from the worst nuclear accident in decades.Three former executives from Tokyo Electric Power Company, the firm that operated the Fukushima plant, face up to five years in prison if convicted of professional negligence resulting in death and injury.They are the only people to face criminal prosecution in the wake of the disaster, triggered w

WASHINGTON (AFP) -- The US central bank cut its benchmark interest rate for the second time this year on Wednesday, and Federal Reserve chief Jerome Powell vowed to do whatever is needed to keep the economy growing.But the Fed's policy committee is divided, with three of 10 voting members dissenting from the decision, one because he wanted even more stimulus.Powell said policymakers do not expect a recession, but trade uncertainty is creating "cross winds" that are weighing on the econ

WELLINGTON (AFP) -- US-based streaming giant Amazon announced Wednesday its big-budget "Lord of the Rings" series will within months start filming in New Zealand, home to Peter Jackson's movies of the fantasy epic.Amazon is reportedly spending $1 billion-plus on the series as it seeks to emulate the runaway success enjoyed by "Games of Thrones".Showrunners JD Payne and Patrick McKay said the South Pacific nation offered the "primordial beauty" of Middle Earth, the s

HONIARA (AFP) -- Police maintained a strong presence on the streets of the Solomon Islands' capital Honiara Tuesday but reported no unrest following the troubled Pacific nation's decision to switch diplomatic allegiance to China from Taiwan.The move, revealed late Monday when officials in Taipei pre-emptively severed ties with Honiara, prompted a peaceful pro-Taiwan protest on the island of Malaita."We've spoken to the police chief there and there were no incidents," a police spokesman

MOSCOW (AFP) -- Three Russian coast guards were injured Tuesday in a clash with North Korean fishing boats in the East Sea, after which 80 fishermen were detained, Russia's FSB security service said.The FSB security service, which controls the border and coast guard, said in a statement that guards observed two fishing vessels and 11 motor boats while on duty in Russian waters of the Eas Sea.The larger boat's crew attacked coast guard officers who boarded the vessel, and three officers &quo

LUXEMBOURG (AFP) -- Six weeks after he took office and six weeks before he is due to lead Britain out of the European Union, Prime Minister Boris Johnson is to meet Jean-Claude Junker.On Monday, after comparing himself to berserk comic book super-smasher Hulk, the British leader will enjoy a genteel working lunch with the EU Commission president.Downing Street has confidently billed the Luxembourg visit as part of efforts to negotiate an orderly divorce from the union before an October 17 EU sum

NEW YORK (AFP) -- Ric Ocasek, the frontman of synth-heavy new wave innovators The Cars, was found dead Sunday in New York, police said. He was 75 years old.The New York Police Department told AFP they had received a call at approximately 4:00 pm (2000 GMT) for an unconscious male at a townhouse in Manhattan.He was pronounced dead at the scene, police said, and the body was identified as Ocasek.There were no signs of foul play, according to US media. Under the leadership of the singer-songwriter

RIYADH (AFP) -- Saudi Arabia raced on Sunday to restart operations at oil plants hit by drone attacks which slashed its production by half, as Iran dismissed US claims it was behind the assault.The Tehran-backed Huthi rebels in neighbouring Yemen, where a Saudi-led coalition is bogged down in a five-year war, claimed Saturday's strikes on two plants owned by state energy giant Aramco.But US Secretary of State Mike Pompeo pointed the finger squarely at Tehran, saying there was no evidence the &qu