North America

HAVANA, March 29 (Xinhua) -- Cuba's state telecommunications company ETECSA and U.S. Internet giant Google on Thursday signed a memorandum of understanding (MoU) with the goal of improving the quality of access to the Internet in the island.

The deal signed by ETECSA's vice president of investments, Luis Iglesias, and Google's Cuba chief, Brett Perlmutter, will allow for a better user experience once technical conditions permit it.

UNITED NATIONS, March 29 (Xinhua) -- Australia, on track to meet and beat the 2020 Kyoto commitments, is confident of meeting its 2030 target, which represents a halving of emissions per person, a senior Australian official said here Friday.

WASHINGTON, March 29 (Xinhua) -- U.S. Attorney General William Barr told Congress on Friday to expect a redacted version of special counsel Robert Mueller's confidential report on the Russia investigation by mid-April, "if not sooner."

"Everyone will soon be able to read it on their own," Barr said in a letter to top Democrats and Republicans on the Senate and House Judiciary committees.

The attorney general also said he's willing to appear before both panels to testify about the Mueller report on May 1 and May 2.

WASHINGTON, March 29 (Xinhua) -- U.S. President Donald Trump on Friday threatened to close the nation's southern border with Mexico next week, amid feud over illegal immigration.

"If Mexico doesn't immediately stop ALL illegal immigration coming into the United States through our southern border, I will be closing the border, or large sections of the border, next week," Trump said on Twitter.

He claimed closing off border crossings, key avenues for trade with Mexico, "would be a good thing!"

WASHINGTON (AP) — The Trump administration has approved seven applications for U.S. companies to sell nuclear power technology and assistance to Saudi Arabia, the Energy Department said Thursday.

Energy Secretary Rick Perry told the Senate Armed Services Committee that the Energy Department has approved 37 nuclear applications since January 2017, including nine in the Middle East. Besides the seven to Saudi Arabia, two were approved for Jordan. Perry said in his testimony that six applications were approved to Saudi Arabia, but a spokeswoman later said he misspoke.

28 Mar 2019; DW: US aerospace giant Boeing has received unfair tax breaks in the US state of Washington, an appellate panel in the World Trade Organization (WTO) ruled on Thursday.

The tax break of some $100 million (€89 million) annually harmed the sales of Boeing's European rival Airbus, according to the WTO officials.

28 Mar 2019; DW: Right-wing Christian groups in the United States spent at least $50 million (€56 million) on supporting far-right activists and campaigns in Europe in recent years, according to an investigative report.

Publicly available financial filings showed 15 conservative non-profit organizations spent some $51 million in Europe from 2008 to 2017, the report by UK-based openDemocracy found.

WASHINGTON, March 28 (Xinhua) -- U.S. Special Counsel Robert Mueller's report on the Russia investigation is more than 300 pages long, media reported Thursday, citing a Department of Justice official.

The official described the confidential report as more than 300 pages. A second official told CNN that it was between 300 and 400 pages, not including exhibits.

Mueller wrapped up his nearly two-year investigation into alleged Russian interference in the 2016 U.S. presidential election by submitting a report to Attorney General William Barr Friday.

Washington, Mar 28; PTI/GANASHAKTI: Prominent American experts have said that India has a long way to go when it comes to ensuring space security after it successfully test-fired an anti-satellite missile by shooting down a live satellite.

The test made India the fourth country in the world after the US, Russia and China to acquire the strategic capability to shoot down enemy satellites.

CHARLOTTESVILLE, Va. (AP) — In a case that stirred racial tensions across the country, a self-avowed white supremacist pleaded guilty Wednesday to federal hate crime charges in a deadly attack at a white nationalist rally in Virginia, admitting that he intentionally plowed his speeding car into a crowd of anti-racism protesters, killing a woman and injuring dozens. James Alex Fields Jr. of Maumee, Ohio, pleaded guilty to 29 of 30 federal charges stemming from the “Unite the Right” rally in Charlottesville on Aug. 12, 2017.