News & Updates

PARIS (Web Desk) – The Paris offices of US Internet giant Google were raided by French police on Tuesday, as part of a tax fraud investigation. Around 100 tax officials entered Google’s offices in central Paris early on Tuesday morning, the BBC reported. Google is accused of owing the French state €1.6bn ($1.8bn; £1.3bn) in unpaid taxes. The tax arrangements of international companies have come under close scrutiny recently, with several being accused of using legal methods to minimize their tax burden. Google is one of several multi-national corporations that have come under fire in Europe for paying extremely low taxes by shifting revenue across borders in an often complex web of financial arrangements. Google’s European operations are headquartered in Ireland, which has some of the lowest corporate tax rates in the region. In January, it struck a deal with UK tax authorities to pay an extra £130m in tax for the period from 2005, but that deal was hea...

President Obama nominates Merrick Garland to the Supreme Court President Obama is expected to nominate Merrick Garland to serve on the Supreme Court. Here is what you need to know about Garland. (Claritza Jimenez,Gillian Brockell/The Washington Post) President Obama on Wednesday nominated Merrick Garland to serve on the Supreme Court, setting up a protracted political fight with Republicans who have vowed to block any candidate picked by Obama in his final year in office. Garland, 63, is a longtime Washington lawyer and jurist who is chief judge of the U.S. Court of Appeals for the District of Columbia Circuit. Considered a moderate, Garland is widely respected in the D.C. legal community and was also a finalist for the first two Supreme Court vacancies Obama filled. [LIVE updates on Obama’s pick: Reactions from the GOP and more] In announcing his choice in the White House Rose Garden, Obama said he followed “a rigorous and comprehensive process” and that he reached out...

US election 2016: Obama warns against campaign anger US election 2016: Obama warns against campaign anger US President Barack Obama has warned White House contenders to avoid raising tensions, a day after a rally by Donald Trump was called off amid clashes. Mr Obama said candidates should not resort to “insults” and “certainly not violence against other Americans”. Mr Trump, who leads the race for the Republican nomination, cancelled his Chicago rally after fighting broke out between his supporters and protesters. His rivals and others have accused him of using inflammatory rhetoric. What Trump says about protesters at his rallies Why are Americans so angry? How extreme is Donald Trump? Could Trump’s vulgarity cost him the nomination? Later on Saturday, Mr Trump suffered heavy defeats in Republican caucuses in Washington DC and Wyoming. Mr Obama, who will be standing down next January following November’s presidential election, was speaking at a Democratic Party fundraiser in...

Russia warns North Korea over threats of nuclear strike Russia warns North Korea over threats of nuclear strike One of Pyongyang’s few remaining allies says country is in danger of creating legal grounds for international military intervention. NK News reports North Korean leader Kim Jong-un has ordered nuclear weapons to be readied. North Korean leader Kim Jong-un has ordered nuclear weapons to be readied. Photograph: Rodong Sinmun/EPA Chad O’Carroll for NK News, part of the North Korea network Russia has warned North Korea that threats to deliver “preventive nuclear strikes” could create a legal basis for the use of military force against the country, suggesting that even Pyongyang’s few remaining friends are growing concerned about its increasingly confrontational stance. The Russian foreign ministry statement, which follows a North Korean threat to “annihilate” the US and South Korea, also criticises Washington and Seoul for launching the largest joint military drills...

Team Canada’s sweet 16 named for World Cup Team Canada’s sweet 16 named for World Cup An injury has kept Carey Price sidelined since November. But Team Canada’s management team had no doubt the Montreal Canadiens star goaltender should be named to the initial 16-man roster for the World Cup of Hockey. Price, 28, Chicago’s Corey Crawford, 31, and Washington’s Braden Holtby, 26, were named Wednesday as Canada’s three goalies when the eight nations named their preliminary list of 16 World Cup players. The 23-man roster will be filled out in early June for the best-on-best tournament that kicks off in Toronto Sept. 17. Team Canada GM Doug Armstrong said he talked to Price at the beginning of February about whether he wanted to be named; Price said yes. “When healthy, he’s the No. 1 goalie on the planet,” Armstrong said. “We wanted to make sure he was comfortable with the decision.” Armstrong added Price’s condition will be evaluated as the NHL season goes on. “I don’t want to get...

Watch Xiaomi launch its new flagship phone live at Mobile World Congress Watch Xiaomi launch its new flagship phone live at Mobile World Congress Buzzy Chinese smartphone company Xiaomi is making its first major appearance at Mobile World Congress in Barcelona this year. The company is set to unveil the Mi 5, its latest flagship smartphone, in what it calls a “Global Launch Event.” Could that naming, along with the event’s location, hint that Xiaomi might be looking to expand its borders further beyond Asia? It’d be a long shot, but you can tune into the live stream above to find out. XIAOMI ANNOUNCES THE MI 5, ITS LATEST FLAGSHIP PHONE Xiaomi rose to prominence a few years ago as one of the first companies to sell competent smartphones at extremely low prices, gathering a large user base with the intention of hooking people on a broader ecosystem. Hype around the company peaked in late 2014, when it was valued at a staggering $46 billion. THE PRESSURE IS ON Amid an...