With a model of the Pakistani villa where he lived and a video of Barack Obama explaining his hesitancy about approving the raid, a new exhibition details the operation that killed 9/11 mastermind Osama bin Laden.
"Revealed: The Hunt for Bin Laden", which opens Friday at the September 11, 2001 attacks museum in New York, plots the ten-year search for the brains behind the single deadliest attack ever on the United States.
"It's like being in the front row of history," Alice Greenwald, president and chief executive of 9/11 Memorial Museum, told AFP.
"We get an insider's view into ... how the raid was actually conducted from the people that were there," she added.
The US intelligence services-led manhunt culminated overnight on May 1 and 2, 2011 with operation Geronimo, the commando raid that left Bin Laden, the orchestrator of the atrocity that killed almost 3,000 people and destroyed the Twin Towers, dead.
The exhibition, which will run until May 2021, contains no shattering ...

New York exhibition details 10-year hunt for Bin Laden

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China is increasingly part of Brazil's future, President Jair Bolsonaro has said, signalling a more pragmatic approach to the Latin American country's biggest trade partner.
Standing alongside Chinese President Xi Jinping in the Brazilian capital of Brasilia, Bolsonaro said on Wednesday he hoped the two countries could not only increase but also "diversify our trade relations."
"China is becoming more and more part of Brazil's future," Bolsonaro said, after the two men signed largely non-binding agreements on transport, services and investment ahead of a summit of BRICS countries.
Xi echoed the positive sentiments, expressing hopes for the two countries to "strengthen multilateralism and build an open world economy."
Their meeting -- the second in as many months -- was one of several to be held on the sidelines of the annual BRICS get-together that will focus on economic growth and innovation.
Russian President Vladimir Putin, Indian Prime Minister Narendra Modi and South African ...

Bolsonaro says China part of Brazil's future

Climate change will damage the health of an entire generation unless there are immediate cuts to fossil fuel emissions, from a rise in deadly infectious diseases to surging malnutrition, experts warned Thursday.
Children across the world were already suffering the ill effects of air pollution and extreme weather events, said The Lancet Countdown in its annual report on the impact of climate change on human health.
And far worse is to come for future generations, it warned: air-borne diseases, malnutrition due to mass crop failures, and even mental and physical trauma from increased flash flooding and wildfires.
The Lancet Countdown is a coalition of 35 institutions including the World Health Organization and the World Bank.
Their warning comes as some of Australia's worst wildfires in living memory continue to burn across its eastern seaboard, and after a global youth strike inspired by Swedish schoolgirl Greta Thunberg.
August was the hottest month ever recorded and Earth has already 

Climate change poses 'lifelong' child health risk

Fast food giant McDonald's is speeding up its move to minimise the use of plastic in its restaurants in Europe, where legislation on single-use items is becoming increasingly restrictive.
The US burger behemoth announced Thursday the introduction of new packaging in all its restaurants in Europe by the end of 2020 for the McFlurry, an ice cream dessert currently served in a disposable cup with a thick plastic lid.
The new packaging does away with the need for the lid, McDonald's says, estimating that the change will save more than 1,200 tonnes of plastic a year in Europe.
The European Union is implementing stronger legislation to try to reduce the amount of plastic that ends up in landfills, with a ban on around a dozen non-recyclable items including drinks straws set to come into force in 2021.
Other measures from McDonald's include replacing plastic lids on drinks with a fibre-based alternative in France, a key European market for the company, saving some 1,100 tonnes of plastic per 

McDonald's to speed shift away from plastic in Europe

President Donald Trump has said he will announce his decision on tariffs on imported autos "very soon."
Trump gave no hints about what his decision would be, but industry sources told AFP they expect tariffs to be deferred for another six months.
"I will make a decision fairly soon. I've been fully briefed," Trump told reporters at the White House on Wednesday.
He has been threatening since last year to impose 25 percent tariffs on auto imports to defend US automakers, a symbol of American manufacturing.
The threat of auto tariffs has alarmed German automakers in particular but Japanese Prime Minister Shinzo Abe has said Trump promised to spare Japan's exports.
The Commerce Department gave Trump a report in February highlighting the threats to American manufacturers and recommended additional tariffs on national security grounds but Trump delayed the move for 180 days -- a period which expired Wednesday.
Commerce Secretary Wilbur Ross said earlier this month the duties might not be ...

Trump says will make decision on auto tariffs 'very soon'

Exchanges of fire triggered by Israel's targeted killing of a top militant in Gaza raged for a second day and showed little sign of easing as the Palestinian death toll surged to 26.
Fresh rocket barrages were fired at Israel, which responded with strikes on what it said were Islamic Jihad militant sites and rocket-launching squads in the Gaza Strip.  On Wednesday afternoon, it said it targeted two Islamic Jihad militants preparing to fire anti-tank missiles.
Air raid sirens wailed and fireballs exploded as air defence missiles intercepted rockets, sending Israelis rushing to bomb shelters.
In Gaza, residents surveyed damage and mourned the dead outside a mortuary and at funerals.
UN envoy Nickolay Mladenov arrived in Cairo on Wednesday afternoon, airport officials said, following reports he was to hold talks on halting the fighting.
The UN and Egypt have been instrumental in mediating previous ceasefires between Israel and Gaza-based militants.
But a source close to the discussions ..

Death toll surges on second day of Israel-Gaza violence

Bolivia's exiled ex-president Evo Morales said Wednesday he was ready to return to "pacify" his country amid weeks of unrest that led to his resignation.
"If the people ask me, we are ready to return to pacify" Bolivia, the leftist leader said in a news conference in Mexico City, where he arrived Tuesday after receiving political asylum.
He called for a "national dialogue" to resolve the crisis in Bolivia and rejected the legitimacy of interim president Jeanine Anez, who has stepped in to try to fill a power vacuum.
Morales resigned Sunday amid increasingly violent protests over his allegedly fraud-tainted re-election to a controversial fourth term on October 20.
Saying his life was in danger, he fled to Mexico, which sent an air force plane to fetch him.
However, speaking in his first news conference from exile, he said his stay would be temporary.
"We're going to return, sooner or later. The sooner the better, to pacify Bolivia," he said.
He repeated his defense of his re-election, .

Bolivia's Morales says ready to return to 'pacify' country

Iraqi officials must ramp up their response to mass demonstrations demanding an overhaul of the political system, the UN representative in Baghdad told AFP in an exclusive interview Wednesday.
Jeanine Hennis-Plasschaert, who heads the UN's Iraq mission (UNAMI), said the country's authorities must "step up to the plate and make things happen".
"They are elected by the people, they are accountable to them," she said.
Protests broke out in Baghdad and the country's Shiite-majority south in early October over rampant corruption, lack of jobs and notoriously poor services.  One in five people lives below the poverty line, despite the vast oil wealth of OPEC's second biggest producer.
The United Nations has proposed a phased roadmap that, in a crucial step, was endorsed by Iraq's top Shiite cleric Grand Ayatollah Ali Sistani after meeting Hennis-Plasschaert.
It calls for an immediate end to violence, electoral reform and anti-graft measures within two weeks followed by constitutional ...

Iraq officials must 'step up' to enact reforms: UN envoy

Walt Disney Co. said Wednesday it signed up 10 million subscribers for Disney+ within a day of launching its new streaming television service.
The company said in a statement it has seen "extraordinary consumer demand" and "has already reached a major milestone, achieving a remarkable 10 million sign-ups since launching." The news comes despite a launch marred by glitches which prevented many customers accessing titles from Mickey Mouse cartoons to Star Wars.
Disney+ marks a huge bet by the media-entertainment giant, pitching it into direct conflict with on-demand services such as Netflix and Amazon Prime which have disrupted the Hollywood media landscape.
It went live Tuesday across the US and Canada, featuring thousands of movies and TV episodes from Disney, Pixar, Marvel, Lucasfilm and National Geographic.
Disney chief Bob Iger called the launch "a historic moment for our company that marks a new era of innovation and creativity." Richard Windsor, analyst at Radio Free Mobile, said 

Disney+ streaming service gets 10 mn subscribers at launch

At least 12 people were killed, including four students, when a public bus carrying school pupils and a truck loaded with rocks and soil collided in mountainous western Slovakia on Wednesday, rescuers and officials said.
Officials said 20 people were hurt in the crash, which happened on the outskirts of the city of Nitra, a regional capital some 80 kilometres (50 miles) east of Bratislava, around 1:00 pm local time (1200 GMT).
The section where the accident occurred is commonly referred to as the "Road of Death", according to local media.
Images from the site showed the truck lying on its side and the bus wedged in a ditch, with a large amount of soil and rocks strewn on the road.
"Mostly teenagers, secondary grammar students, were aboard this regular bus line from Nitra to Jelenec," Nitra fire brigade spokesman Michal Varga told AFP, adding that the truck was "fully loaded with rocks".
He added that the cause of the crash was unknown.
The fire and rescue department said on its ...

School pupils among 12 dead in Slovak crash on 'Road of Death'

President Donald Trump said Wednesday he skipped the first televised hearings in his impeachment investigation because he was "too busy."
"I'm too busy to watch it. It's a witch hunt, it's a hoax, I'm too busy to watch it. So, I'm sure I'll get a report," Trump told reporters.
Earlier, Trump spokeswoman Stephanie Grisham said that Trump spent the morning in the Oval Office "working." Trump later greeted Turkey's president, Recep Tayyip Erdogan, at the White House.
But despite his claim to be ignoring the impeachment drama, his Twitter account featured a barrage of retweeted statements from opponents of the congressional investigation.

Trump 'too busy' to watch impeachment hearing

Exchanges of fire triggered by Israel's targeted killing of a top militant in Gaza raged for a second day Wednesday and showed little sign of easing, with 22 Palestinians killed.
Fresh rocket barrages were fired at Israel, which responded with strikes on what it said were Islamic Jihad militant sites and rocket-launching squads in the Gaza Strip.
Air raid sirens wailed and fireballs exploded as air defence missiles intercepted rockets, sending Israelis rushing to bomb shelters.
In Gaza, residents surveyed damage and mourned the dead outside a mortuary and at funerals.
UN envoy Nickolay Mladenov was expected in Cairo for talks on halting the fighting, a diplomatic source said, but a source close to the discussions warned the risk of further escalation remained high.
In comments Wednesday morning, Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu said Islamic Jihad must stop its stop rocket attacks or "absorb more and more blows".
He reiterated his warning that "this could take time" and said ..

Deadly Israel-Gaza escalation rages for second day

Saudi Arabia, the United Arab Emirates and Bahrain will participate in this month's Gulf Cup football tournament in Qatar, organisers said Wednesday, signalling a thaw in their bitter two-year feud with Doha.
The three Gulf states as well as Egypt cut relations with Qatar in June 2017, accusing it of bankrolling Islamist extremist groups and of being too close to regional rival Iran. Doha denied the accusations.
In a U-turn, Saudi, Bahrain and the UAE announced they would accept their invitations to travel to Qatar to take part in the tournament.
It will now be held from November 26 until December 8, the Arab Gulf Cup Football Federation (AGCFF) said at a briefing in Doha, having been delayed by two days to accommodate Saudi players.
The trio will join hosts Qatar and visitors Iraq, Kuwait, Oman and Yemen for the tournament which will be redrawn Thursday to cover the extended line-up.
The announcements signal a possible easing of the bitter rift between Doha and the Riyadh-led group, .

Saudi, UAE, Bahrain to play football in Qatar, signalling thaw

Some 25 people, many members of Bangladesh's ruling Awami League party, were charged with murder Wednesday over the brutal killing last month of a university student who criticised the government on social media.
The battered body of 21-year-old Abrar Fahad was found in his dormitory hours after he wrote a post on Facebook slamming Dhaka for signing a water-sharing deal with India.
Police said he was beaten to death by fellow students -- many members of the ruling Awami League's university branch. Others had links to the pro-government Bangladesh Chhatra League (BCL).
"Murder charges have been pressed to the court against 25 men," police spokesman Monirul Islam told AFP.
"According to the CCTV footage, at least 11 were directly involved in beating Fahad to death." He said the accused had created an "environment of fear" on campus, with physical abuse and other coercive behaviour.
"They were using their political identity as shelter," he said, referring to their links to Prime Minister 

25 charged with over brutal killing of Bangladesh student

Thousands of workers at South African Airways (SAA) will launch an indefinite strike on Friday, unions said, after the troubled national carrier announced a major retrenchment plan.
More than 3,000 workers, including cabin crew, check-in, ticket sales, technical and ground staff, are expected to take part in the open-ended strike, the unions said Wednesday.
"We are embarking on the mother of all strikes," Zazi Nsibanyoni-Mugambi, president of the South African Cabin Crew Association (SACCA) told a news conference in Johannesburg.
"We are grounding the airline on Friday," said Irvin Jim, general secretary of the National Union of Metalworkers of South Africa (NUMSA).
The unions are pressing for a three-year guarantee of job security and an eight percent across-the-board wage hike.
Pilots -- who are not taking part in the strike - have accepted a 5.9-percent increase, they said.
On Monday, the state-owned airline on Monday announced a restructuring process that could affect 944 ...

South African Airways workers to strike over mass layoff plans

Royal Mail on Wednesday won a High Court injunction to block strike action by postal workers in Britain during the busy pre-Christmas shopping period next month.
The union denounced the ruling as an "outrage" and said it planned to appeal.  The company launched its legal action last week to prevent the planned walkout that had been due also around the time of the country's general election on December 12 that risked delaying the arrival of postal votes.
Royal Mail had pointed to "potential irregularities" in the strike ballot that had been called during a dispute between postal workers and management over pay and other employment conditions.
Royal Mail had also highlighted "the damage industrial action would do to the company and its customers in the run-up to Christmas".
The company brought legal action against the Communication Workers Union that had carried out the strike ballot on behalf of its members working for Royal Mail.
In a post on Twitter, the CWU described Wednesday's ...

UK court blocks planned strike by Royal Mail staff

Military police surrounded Venezuela's embassy in Brazil Wednesday as rival supporters of opposition leader Juan Guaido and President Nicolas Maduro faced off inside in a struggle for control of the diplomatic compound.
The embassy drama unfolded as President Jair Bolsonaro met nearby at the foreign ministry with China's President Xi Jinping ahead of a summit of the BRICS countries.
It was not immediately clear which side was in control of the embassy. A Brazilian foreign ministry representative was inside the compound in an attempt to end the stand-off.
Guaido's appointed ambassador Teresa Belandria said in a statement that staff members at the embassy "voluntarily" opened its doors early Wednesday to officials working for her.
Hundreds of people gathered outside the embassy, many of them supporters of Brazil's left-wing Workers Party, yelling "Viva Maduro," "Drug dealer Guaido" and "Free Lula," the Brazilian leftist icon released from jail on Friday.
The last Maduro-appointed ...

Guaido, Maduro supporters face off inside Venezuela embassy in Brazil: officials

Oliver Bierhoff says Germany want to brush aside minnows Belarus with a display of "power football" in their bid to wrap up Euro 2020 qualification on Saturday and also boost flagging ticket sales.
Germany host Belarus in Moenchengladbach on Saturday when main Group C rivals the Netherlands also play a tricky away tie in Belfast against Northern Ireland, who the Germans host in Frankfurt in next Tuesday's final qualifier.
The Germans and Dutch are level on 15 points with the top two teams going through, so Germany can wrap up Euro 2020 qualification on Saturday for next June's finals against Belarus by bettering third-placed Northern Ireland's result against Holland.
However, home fans are unenthusiastic about seeing die Mannschaft live with around a third of tickets for the games against Belarus and Northern Ireland still available.
Only 30,000 of the 46,000 tickets in Moenchengladbach, each costing between 80 and 25 euros, and 37,000 of the 48,500 in Frankfurt, have been sold.
While 

Bierhoff hopes "power football" by Germany can boost home crowds

Veteran coach Arsene Wenger has been named FIFA's chief of global football development, the governing body announced on Wednesday.
FIFA said the former Arsenal and Monaco coach would be responsible for the growth of the game "for both men and women around the world", and would also be the "leading authority on technical matters", including potential changes to the sport's laws.
It added that Wenger, 70, would also be tasked with coach education and aiding a programme designed to help former players enter management.
"I very much look forward to taking on this extremely important challenge," Wenger said in a statement.
"Not only because I have always been interested in analysing football from a broader perspective but also because FIFA's mission as world football's governing body is truly global."
The new role brings Wenger back to the game for the first time since 2018, when he left Arsenal after 22 years in charge.
Wenger made the Gunners one of the strongest sides in Europe, winning 

FIFA name Arsene Wenger global football development chief

Preliminary results from Afghanistan's presidential election have been delayed for a second time, election officials announced Wednesday, a postponement likely to fuel more political uncertainty and fraud allegations.
The September 28 poll has already been marred by a record-low turnout and bicking between the incumbent, President Ashraf Ghani, and his chief rival, Abdullah Abdullah.
The preliminary results were originally due for October 19 -- but the announcement was delayed until November 14, with officials from the Independent Election Commissions (IEC) citing various technical problems.  Now that date has been pushed back also.
"Unfortunately due to technical problems and other issues, we will not be able to announce the election results tomorrow," IEC spokesman Abdul Aziz Ibrahimi told AFP on Wednesday, without providing details or a new date.
IEC officials are expected to hold a press conference on the matter on Thursday.  The fresh delay comes shortly after the IEC issued a ...

Afghanistan's presidential poll results delayed again

The US economy is likely to continue to grow, but faces continued risks from the global slowdown and trade disputes, which have already dampened expansion, Federal Reserve chief Jerome Powell said Wednesday.
In the first of back-to-back days of testimony before Congress, Powell reaffirmed that the central bank is on hold after cutting the benchmark lending rate three times this year.
After providing that stimulus to the economy, Powell said, "my colleagues and I see a sustained expansion of economic activity, a strong labor market, and inflation near our symmetric two percent objective as most likely." However, "sluggish growth abroad and trade developments have weighed on the economy and pose ongoing risks," he told the Joint Economic Committee.
He also flagged his concerns about an "unsustainable" government budget and "high and rising debt," which could limit policymakers' ability to boost spending as needed in an economic downturn.
US GDP growth slowed to 1.9 per cent in the third 

AFP

AFP

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