MEXICO CITY (AFP) — Lorena made landfall Friday as a Category 1 hurricane, lashing the turquoise waters of popular beach destination Los Cabos on Mexico’s Baja California peninsula. “The eye of Hurricane Lorena is now passing over the coast of Los Cabos,” Mexico’s hurricane monitor, CONAGUA, wrote on Twitter. The hurricane, which has been churning up the Pacific coast, first made landfall Thursday in west-central Mexico, then was briefly downgraded to a tropical storm before […]
North America
Canada’s Trudeau admits to racist ‘brownface’ makeup
by Michel COMTE Agence France Presse OTTAWA, Canada (AFP) — Canada’s Prime Minister Justin Trudeau apologized Wednesday for wearing brownface makeup at a party 18 years ago, as he scrambled to get on top of a fresh blow to a re-election campaign dogged by controversy. Time magazine published the photograph one week into a federal election campaign with Trudeau’s Liberal Party in a tight contest against the Conservatives led by Andrew Scheer. Trudeau, 47, […]
Trump names hostage negotiator O’Brien national security advisor
by Sebastian Smith Agence France Presse WASHINGTON, United States (AFP) — US President Donald Trump on Wednesday named his pointman for hostage situations, Robert O’Brien, to replace his hawkish national security advisor sacked just as relations with Iran are entering a new crisis point. Trump made the announcement by Twitter and later appeared with O’Brien in front of reporters while traveling in California, where he said his new foreign policy aide was “highly respected.” […]
US eyes UN action over Saudi blasts
WASHINGTON, United States (AFP) — The United States hopes that the UN Security Council takes up the attacks on Saudi Arabia’s oil infrastructure for which Washington blames Iran, a senior US official said Tuesday. The official said that Saudi Arabia, as the target of the weekend blasts, needed to take the lead in seeking action by the Security Council but that the United States first needed to prepare information for release. “We do see a […]
Pompeo heads to Saudi Arabia after US blames Iran
by Sebastian Smith WASHINGTON, United States (AFP) — US Secretary of State Mike Pompeo was to fly to Saudi Arabia Tuesday to discuss possible retaliation after Washington said it had proof that attacks on Saudi oil installations originated in Iran. Vice President Mike Pence announced that Pompeo was on his way to Saudi Arabia to “discuss our response.” “As the president said, we don’t want war with anybody but the United States is prepared,” Pence […]
Almost 50,000 GM workers on strike, auto-maker shares slide
by Joseph Szczesny FLINT, United States (AFP) — Almost 50,000 US auto workers went on strike on Monday in a pay dispute with General Motors, the largest industrial action to hit the carmaker in more than a decade. Workers from 31 plants opted to walk out after talks between the company and the United Auto Workers Union hit an impasse as they tried to negotiate a replacement agreement when the manufacturer’s four-year contract with […]
Saudi Arabia battles market jitters after oil plant attacks
by Anuj Chopra RIYADH, Saudi Arabia (AFP) — Saudi energy giant Aramco is battling to reassure markets after devastating attacks on two oil plants, where a prolonged shutdown risks roiling investor confidence ahead of the state-owned giant’s mega stock listing, analysts say. A wave of drones struck Abqaiq –- the world’s largest oil processing facility –- and the Khurais oil field in eastern Saudi Arabia, knocking out nearly half of the kingdom’s crude production and […]
Storm Humberto strengthens but moves away from Bahamas and US
MIAMI, United States (AFP) — Tropical storm Humberto gained strength Sunday and was expected to return to hurricane force by evening, but its track now puts it far from the Bahamas and the US coast, the US National Hurricane Center said. As of midday, Humberto was 180 miles (290 kilometers) northwest of Great Abaco Island, which was devastated two weeks ago by the passage of Hurricane Dorian, and 165 miles northeast of Cape Canaveral, Florida, […]
Colombia plane crash kills seven
BOGOTA, Colombia (AFP) — At least seven people were killed and another three injured when a small plane crashed in southwestern Colombia on Sunday, a firefighter said. “Nine people were on board the plane. Seven died, while two are seriously injured,” Juan Carlos Ganan, the commander of firefighters in the area, told AFP. The third person injured was a child on the ground in the area where the plane crashed, Ganan said. Firefighters were trying […]
Trump: US ‘locked and loaded’ to respond to Saudi oil attack
by W.G. Dunlop with Anuj Chopra in Riyadh WASHINGTON, United States (AFP) — President Donald Trump said Sunday the US is “locked and loaded” to respond to an attack on Saudi oil infrastructure that Washington has blamed on Iran, as Riyadh raced to restart operations at plants hit by drone attacks. It is the first time the president has hinted at a potential American military response to the attack, which slashed Saudi oil production by […]
Tropical Storm Humberto dumps rain on hurricane-hit Bahamas
MIAMI, United States (AFP) — Tropical Storm Humberto lashed the Bahamas with rain and wind on Saturday, possibly slowing down relief efforts in the wake of the devastation wrought less than two weeks ago by Hurricane Dorian. The US National Hurricane Center said the center of the storm, packing maximum sustained winds of 60 miles (95 kilometers) per hour, was passing Saturday evening about 85 miles north of Great Abaco Island, one of the […]
DOJ investigating US Olympic systems handling of sex abuse claims
LOS ANGELES, United States (AFP) — The US Department of Justice has launched an investigation into sexual abuse in US Olympic sports, becoming the latest federal agency to probe failures in the country’s Olympic organizations, the Wall Street Journal reported. The investigations, which focus mainly on USA gymnastics, stems from the Larry Nassar scandal. Nassar, the longtime USA gymnastics doctor, has been accused of abuse by more than 350 girls and young women, including […]
