As France has been struggling to cope with a surge in violent protests that has left hundreds of police and demonstrators injured, a video showing officers making an unexpected conciliatory gesture has gone viral. Footage posted on social media shows a group of about two dozen police officers in riot gear removing their helmets while standing just meters away from a crowd of Yellow Vest movement protesters – an umbrella group behind the massive rallies that have gripped France for …

University of California Berkeley will change policies that effectively blocked conservative speakers, no longer charge exorbitant security fees, and pay the plaintiffs’ legal expenses in a settlement with two conservative groups. The settlement announced Monday was hailed as a victory by Young America’s Foundation (YAF) and the Berkeley College Republicans, who sued the university in 2017 over what they argued were unconstitutional practices restricting conservatives’ freedom of speech. “This is a landmark free speech victory for all students at UC …

Where do you go after the man you made a reality TV star becomes President and turns on you? Perhaps you try to take his job. CNN’s Jeff Zucker hinted as much in a conversation with Democratic kingmaker David Axelrod. Zucker, who launched Trump’s TV career with ‘The Apprentice’ while running NBC, drops his bombshell in the last few minutes of an interview that otherwise rehashed his “meteoric” rise as a media executive. “I still harbor somewhere in my gut …

The head of MI6, the UK’s intelligence service, hopes to recruit a new generation of tech-savvy spies, with a passionate speech urging graduates to protect the homeland against the arch nemesis who subverts the UK way of life. “The era of the fourth industrial revolution calls for a fourth generation of espionage,” Alex Younger will say at St. Andrews University on Monday.  If you want to make a difference and you think you might have what it takes…we hope you will …

It’s all about presentation, a Kansas-based discount footwear chain has proved, by tricking a crowd of self-styled fashion experts into purchasing one-of-a-kind, exclusive shoes designed by a non-existent luxury brand Palessi. The gullible trend-setters had no idea that they were being tricked into buying $20 or $40 Payless shoes for as much as $600. The fictitious fashion label that no one has heard of, but apparently did not dare to question while surrounded by a crowd of fellow fashion experts, …

Ahead of Monday’s launch to the International Space Station, cosmonauts told the media which superpower would have helped them in space, and what they might do in their own back yard with their new knowledge of the Soyuz rocket. Russian cosmonaut and Soyuz MC-11 commander Oleg Kononenko said an ability to shift between human and alien form, just like the Venom character from the recent superhero flick, would have been useful in space. “If, for example, I needed to go …

Donald Trump had apparently had enough of the G20 summit rather prematurely and was heard telling an aide to “Get me out of here.” Of course, he wasn’t the first US leader to get caught on a hot microphone. The awkward moment occurred when Trump went up on stage to shake hands with Argentinean President, Mauricio Macri. But instead of remaining there for the traditional group photo, the US leader waved the media ‘goodbye’. After an aide rushed to stop …

As big tech in the US faces increased opposition from its own employees over Pentagon contracts, the head of Microsoft Corporation appears to have decided to throw his weight behind the US military and to offer them full support. Microsoft is “going to provide the US military with access to the best technology … all the technology we create. Full stop,” Brad Smith, the president of the tech giant, said at the Reagan National Defense Forum, held at the Ronald …

Despite criticism for the trade war with China, the US president appears to have backing of other world leaders seeking to overhaul the World Trade Organization, although WTO reform won’t necessarily go according to Trump’s plan. Hammered out by diplomats behind the scenes as the leaders went for photo opportunities, the relevant section starts off by saying that “international trade and investment are important engines of growth, productivity, innovation, job creation and development,” before voicing unprecedented criticism of the WTO. …

MOSCOW, DECEMBER 2 — RT’s executives and Argentinian authorities signed an agreement to extend the 24/7 broadcasting of RT Spanish on Argentina’s national TV broadcasting network (Television Digital Abierta – TDA). The signing ceremony was attended by Russian president Vladimir Putin and Argentinian leader Mauricio Macri. “We are grateful to Argentina for giving us the opportunity to extend RT’s nation-wide broadcasting in the country. Over the last four years, we’ve seen it time and again just how much the people …