News Headlines - 27 February 2019
▽Pakistani Military Says It Downed Two Indian Warplanes, Capturing Pilot - The New York Times
Pakistan said Wednesday that it downed two Indian fighter jets and captured a pilot, escalating hostilities between the nuclear-armed neighbors a day after Indian warplanes struck inside Pakistani territory for the first time in five decades.
The rapid turn of events raised fears that the historical animosities between India and Pakistan could be steering them toward another war.
Prime Minister Imran Khan of Pakistan urged India to settle matters through talks, referring to the nuclear weapons both countries hold and the risk of further escalation.
More than $300 million worth of gold was spirited out of Venezuelan bank vaults last week, and one politician says it’s the result of desperate President Nicolas Maduro being strapped for cash.
Authorities loaded about eight tons of the precious metal onto government trucks while security guards were absent, legislator Angel Alvarado - and three other government sources - claimed to Reuters... As of Wednesday’s closing price of $1,329.30 per ounce, the value of eight tons of gold is $340,300,800.
▽Muhammadu Buhari wins Nigerian election with 56% of the vote | The Guardian
Nigeria’s president Muhammadu Buhari has been declared the winner of the country’s election after results showed that he claimed 56% of the vote.
With ballots from all 36 states counted, Buhari’s All Progressives Congress (APC) garnered 15.2m votes compared with 11.3 m for Atiku Abubakar’s People’s Democratic party. The election turnout was 35.6 percent, the electoral commission said, which compared with 44% in the 2015 presidential election.
▽Apple self-driving car layoffs hit 190 employees in Santa Clara, Sunnyvale - SFChronicle.com
Apple will lay off 190 employees in Santa Clara and Sunnyvale in its self-driving car division, the company said.
The layoffs were disclosed, along with new details, in a letter this month to the California Employment Development Department. CNBC reported last month that layoffs were occurring in the self-driving car division, known as Project Titan. Tom Neumayr, an Apple spokesman, confirmed that the letter to the state referenced the same layoffs.
Most of the affected employees are engineers, including 38 engineering program managers, 33 hardware engineers, 31 product design engineers and 22 software engineers. The layoffs will take effect April 16, according to the filing.
▽AT&T-Time Warner merger: Appeals court backs AT&T acquisition of Time Warner - CNN
An appeals court has rejected the Justice Department's bid to overturn a ruling that cleared the way for AT&T's acquisition of Time Warner... AT&T first announced its intention to purchase Time Warner, which included HBO, Warner Bros. and the Turner cable networks, in October of 2016. Just over a year later, the Justice Department sued to stop the deal on antitrust grounds, claiming that by owning Time Warner, AT&T would have "both the incentive and the ability to raise its rivals' costs and stifle growth of innovative, next-generation entrants."
