North America

Snow ‘bomb’ unleashes blizzard on eastern US

Blinding snow whipped up by near-hurricane force winds pummeled the eastern United States on Saturday, as one of the strongest winter storms in years triggered severe weather alerts, transport chaos and power outages across a region of some 70 million people. With multiple blizzard warnings in effect, cities like New York and Boston bore the brunt of the storm, which the National Weather Service (NWS) confirmed Saturday morning had intensified into a “bomb cyclone” — […]

Powerful winter storm slams into eastern US

A powerful winter storm packing heavy snow and high winds pummeled the US East Coast Saturday, forcing the cancellation of thousands of flights as severe weather alerts were sounded across a region of around 70 million people. With blizzard warnings in effect, cities like New York and Boston bore the brunt of the storm Saturday morning, but the far-reaching system also hit the Mid-Atlantic. Freeze alerts were raised as far south as Florida, where the […]

Thousands of flights canceled as Eastern US braces for winter storm

  NEW YORK, United States (AFP) — Thousands of flights in the United States were canceled Saturday as parts of the East Coast braced for a shellacking by a powerful winter storm packing heavy snow and high winds. Places in the North East, including New York and Boston, were expected to bear the brunt of the far-reaching system, which is also predicted to pummel the Mid-Atlantic. Salt machines and snowplows were at the ready in […]

Coast Guard ending search for bodies from capsize off Florida

MIAMI, United States (AFP) — The US Coast Guard said Thursday it will soon call off the search for dozens of people missing from a boat that capsized off Florida last weekend in a suspected human smuggling tragedy. Search teams have recovered five bodies, from around 40 people who were on the boat, according to the military branch. “If we don’t receive any additional information today that can refine our search or direct us towards […]

New Mexico governor becomes substitute teacher amid Covid shortage

LOS ANGELES, United States (AFP) — The governor of New Mexico started work Wednesday as a substitute teacher, replacing one of the thousands of educators across the United States who have been forced off work by the Covid-19 pandemic. Michelle Lujan Grisham — a lawyer by training — swapped the governor’s mansion for the classroom as part of the “Supporting Teachers and Families” initiative designed to plug holes in staffing in schools and child care […]

Boston hospital refuses heart transplant to unvaccinated patient

BOSTON, United States (AFP) — A hospital in Boston refused to perform a heart transplant on a patient who had not been vaccinated for Covid-19, US television media reported Wednesday. A spokeswoman for Brigham and Women’s Hospital confirmed in a statement to AFP that vaccination against the coronavirus is “required” for organ transplant recipients there. The patient’s father, David Ferguson, appeared on news channels CNN and ABC to share the family’s story, saying his 31-year-old […]

China warns US over Ukraine, ‘interfering’ in Winter Olympics

BEIJING, China (AFP) – China’s top diplomat spoke with his US counterpart on Thursday, warning Washington to “stop interfering” in the Winter Olympics and stressing that Russia’s security concerns in Europe should be “taken seriously”. Beijing hopes to turn next week’s Games into a soft power triumph. But the lead-up has been clouded by a US-led diplomatic boycott over China’s human rights record, particularly towards its Uyghur Muslim minority in the Xinjiang region. “The most […]

Biden admin withdraws Covid vaccination mandate for businesses

WASHINGTON, United States (AFP) — President Joe Biden’s administration on Tuesday formally withdrew the Covid vaccination-or-testing mandate for large businesses that was struck down by the Supreme Court. The Occupational Safety and Health Administration (OSHA) said that although it was withdrawing the mandate it “strongly encourages vaccination of workers against the continuing dangers posed by Covid-19 in the workplace.” The conservative-dominated Supreme Court delivered a blow to Biden this month when it blocked his vaccination-or-testing […]

93 potential graves found at Canada school site

  MONTREAL, Canada (AFP) — An Indigenous community in Canada has identified nearly 100 “potential” graves at a residential school site, months after the discovery of hundreds of children’s remains at former boarding schools rocked the country. The Williams Lake First Nation (WLFN) community said on Tuesday that a geophysical survey revealed “93 reflections” with characteristics “indicative of potential human burials” at the former St. Joseph’s Mission residential school in British Columbia. Investigators “surveyed approximately […]

US judge upholds conviction of drug lord ‘El Chapo’ Guzman

NEW YORK, United States (AFP) — A US appeals court on Tuesday upheld the conviction of Mexican drug lord Joaquin ‘El Chapo’ Guzman, rejecting his request for a new trial and keeping him in prison for life. Guzman was convicted in February 2019 of trafficking hundreds of tons of cocaine and other drugs into the United States over the course of 25 years, as well as money laundering and racketeering. He was later sentenced to […]

Dozens of people missing after boat capsizes off Florida: US Coast Guard

MIAMI, United States (AFP) — The US Coast Guard launched a search for 39 people reported missing when a boat capsized off the coast of Florida in a “suspected human smuggling venture,” it said Tuesday. The Coast Guard in Miami said it had received a report “from a good Samaritan” who rescued a man “clinging to a capsized vessel approximately 45 miles east of Fort Pierce Inlet.” The survivor said the boat had left Bimini […]

Biden threatens Putin with personal sanctions over Ukraine

by Sebastian Smith WASHINGTON, United States (AFP) — The United States on Tuesday warned Moscow of damaging sanctions, including measures personally targeting Vladimir Putin, if it moves ahead with an invasion of Ukraine, as Russian combat troops massing around the pro-Western country launched new exercises. Tension appeared to be increasing, with the White House saying the risk of a Russian invasion of Ukraine “remains imminent.” Warning that such a move would prompt “enormous consequences” and […]