North America

Trump says Trudeau ‘two-faced’ after microphone gaffe

  WATFORD, United Kingdom (AFP) — US President Donald Trump described Justin Trudeau as “two-faced” on Wednesday after the Canadian prime minister was caught on camera apparently mocking him. “He’s two-faced,” Trump told reporters on the sidelines of the NATO summit, saying he had called out Trudeau on defence spending “and he’s not very happy about it”. Trump was speaking before holding talks with German Chancellor Angela Merkel after the 29 leaders of NATO countries […]

UPDATED: Multiple injured in shooting at Hawaii’s Pearl Harbor base

LOS ANGELES, United States (AFP) — At least three people were injured, two of them critically, when a gunman opened fire at the Pearl Harbor Naval Shipyard in Hawaii before taking his own life, local news reports said Wednesday. A spokesman for the US base would only say that security forces had responded to reports of a shooting at around 2:30 pm local time and that the base was on lockdown for several hours. One […]

NATO leaders anger Trump with on camera mockery

by Dave CLARK Agence France Presse WATFORD, United Kingdom (AFP) — The leaders of Britain, Canada, France and the Netherlands were caught on camera at a Buckingham Palace reception mocking US President Donald Trump’s lengthy media appearances at the NATO summit. The footage, shot by the British host’s camera pool on Tuesday evening and spotted and subtitled by Canadian broadcaster CBC, set the tone for the allies’ summit in Watford, just outside London. British Prime […]

US court orders banks to release Trump financial documents

NEW YORK, United States (AFP) — A US appeals court ruled Tuesday that two banks must hand over documents about Donald Trump’s finances to Congress, in the latest legal blow to the president. Two Democratic-controlled committees issued subpoenas to Deutsche Bank and Capital One in April demanding that they hand over financial records related to Trump and his family. Trump, who is fighting attempts by Democrats and a New York prosecutor to force him to […]

Evidence of Trump misconduct ‘overwhelming’: impeachment report

  WASHINGTON, United States (AFP) — The evidence for impeaching President Donald Trump for misconduct in office and obstruction is “overwhelming,” the final report on the House investigation into the US leader said Tuesday. The 300-page report, meant as the basis for articles of impeachment, accused Trump of endangering national security and of an unparalleled effort to stifle the probe into claims he pressured Ukraine for dirt on a Democratic election rival. “The impeachment inquiry […]

US court blocks resumption of federal executions

  WASHINGTON, United States (AFP) — A US appeals court ruled on Monday that the government could not resume its use of capital punishment, in a setback for President Donald Trump’s advocacy of the death penalty. Attorney General Bill Barr announced in July that the Federal Bureau of Prisons would adopt a new lethal injection protocol, clearing the way to carry out death sentences, with five executions set to start December 9 at the federal […]

Mexico hunts cartel gunmen after deadly firefight kills 22

  by Julio Cesar Aguilar Agence France Presse VILLA UNION, Mexico (AFP) — Mexican forces hunted Monday for a drug cartel commando behind a bloody firefight in a town near the US border that left six locals and 16 gunmen dead — the latest security embarrassment for President Andres Manuel Lopez Obrador. At least 60 gunmen terrorized the small northern city of Villa Union over the weekend, riding into town in heavily armed four-by-fours and […]

Former US president Jimmy Carter again hospitalized

  WASHINGTON, United States (AFP) — Former US president Jimmy Carter has been hospitalized for treatment of a urinary tract infection, the Carter Center said Monday — the latest in a series of health issues for the 95-year-old Democrat. Carter “was admitted to Phoebe Sumter Medical Center in Americus, Georgia, this past weekend,” his center said in a statement. “He is feeling better and looks forward to returning home soon.” Last week, Carter — the […]

10 wounded in shooting in busy New Orleans tourist area

WASHINGTON, United States (AFP) — Ten people were wounded in a shooting early Sunday in New Orleans’ French Quarter, a popular tourist hub, US police said, adding that two of the victims were in critical condition. The shooting took place at 3:21 am (09H21 GMT) on a crowded commercial street near many hotels in a historic district that attracts visitors from around the world. Police reported earlier that 11 people had been wounded but subsequently […]

10 wounded in shooting in busy New Orleans tourist area

WASHINGTON, United States (AFP) — Ten people were wounded in a shooting early Sunday in New Orleans’ French Quarter, a popular tourist hub, US police said, adding that two of the victims were in critical condition. The shooting took place at 3:21 am (09H21 GMT) on a crowded commercial street near many hotels in a historic district that attracts visitors from around the world. Police reported earlier that 11 people had been wounded but subsequently […]

Seven dead in small plane crash in Canada

TORONTO, Canada (AFP) — Five Americans and two Canadians were killed when a light aircraft crashed in a wooded area on the north shore of Lake Ontario, Canada’s transport safety agency said Thursday. The US-registered single-engine Piper PA-32 departed Toronto’s Buttonville Airport and was apparently headed to Quebec City when it crashed on approach to the Kingston, Ontario airport on Wednesday just after five pm (2200 GMT), Transportation Safety Board (TSB) investigator Ken Webster told […]

Seven dead in small plane crash in Canada

TORONTO, Canada (AFP) — A small airplane crashed in a wooded area on the north shore of Lake Ontario in eastern Canada Wednesday evening, killing all seven people on board, Canada’s transport safety agency said Thursday. The US-registered single-engine Piper PA-32 plane was traveling from Toronto’s Buttonville Airport to Kingston, Ontario when it went missing at around 5 pm local time (2200 GMT). Emergency services, including police on all-terrain vehicles and a military search and […]