North America

Outrage as Trump administration weakens endangered species law

by Issam AHMED WASHINGTON, United States (AFP) — US President Donald Trump’s administration on Monday finalized rollbacks to key provisions of the Endangered Species Act, a law supported by a large majority of Americans and credited with saving the gray wolf, bald eagle and grizzly bear. The move was met with anger by environmental groups and Democratic politicians, including presidential candidate Joe Biden, while two states announced they would take legal action. Amendments include removing […]

Continue Reading →

Conservative Giammattei elected Guatemala president

  by Henry Morales / Edgar Calderon  GUATEMALA CITY, Guatemala (AFP) — Conservative Alejandro Giammattei was elected as Guatemala’s president on Sunday, defeating former first lady Sandra Torres in a run-off, the central American country’s electoral court said. With the results being updated in real time on the court’s website, the institution’s president Julio Solorzano declared the result “already irreversible.” Giammattei will succeed corruption-tainted outgoing President Jimmy Morales, who leaves office in January. “The aim […]

Continue Reading →

Chinese firms learn to adapt as US trade war rages

  by Ryan Mcmorrow  BEIJING, China (AFP) — Export-reliant Chinese companies are slashing prices, moving production abroad, creating new domestic markets and even rebranding goods as they try to survive the escalating trade war with the United States. Factories along the eastern coast, fish processors in the south, apple juice exporters in central China and farmers in the northeast have all been forced to change their business models since US President Donald Trump launched the […]

Continue Reading →

US border crossings plunge but immigration raids draw fire

by Leila MACOR MIAMI, United States (AFP) — The Trump administration hailed a large drop in migrant border crossings Thursday but found itself under attack over a massive sweep of long-resident undocumented immigrants working in several Mississippi slaughterhouses. Detentions on the southern US border plunged for the second straight month in July after a deal with Mexico to block Central American migrants, the Department of Homeland Security announced Thursday. US Border Patrol agents detained or […]

Continue Reading →

Three killed in US as small plane crashes into backyard

WASHINGTON, United States (AFP) — Three people were killed Thursday when a small aircraft crashed into the backyard of a home in a residential neighborhood near Philadelphia, US police said. The single-engine propeller plane came down shortly after 6:00 am (1100 GMT) in Upper Moreland, Pennsylvania, around 20 miles (32 kilometers) from Philadelphia, according to local police. They said in a statement that they received a call from a resident “reporting a plane crash in […]

Continue Reading →

Trump consoles shooting victims, faces new criticism

by Gilles Clarenne with Megan Jelinger in Dayton, Ohio and Sebastian Smith in Washington EL PASO, United States (AFP) — President Donald Trump consoled victims of mass shootings in Ohio and Texas on Wednesday but faced protesters demanding gun control and denouncing what they say is his extremist rhetoric on race and immigration. The president landed in El Paso, Texas, where a self-declared white supremacist murdered 22 people last weekend at a Walmart heavily frequented […]

Continue Reading →

US immigration raids sweep up hundreds of undocumented migrants

MIAMI, United States (AFP) — US officials said that some 680 undocumented migrants were detained in raids Wednesday at food processing plants in the southeastern United States, part of President Donald Trump’s announced crackdown on illegal immigration. Most of those detained by Immigration and Customs Enforcement (ICE) agents were Hispanic migrants, officials said. “Special agents executed administrative and criminal search warrants resulting in the detention of approximately 680 illegal aliens,” said Mike Hurst, US Attorney […]

Continue Reading →

US approves $800-million in helicopters for SKorea

WASHINGTON, United States (AFP) — The US government has approved the sale of $800 million worth of helicopters to South Korea, the Pentagon announced Wednesday, hours after President Donald Trump said Seoul had agreed to pay more for the US military presence in the country. The Pentagon’s Defense Security Cooperation Agency said the State Department had approved the sale of 12 MH-60R Multi-Mission Seahawk Helicopters and extensive associated radar, communications and weaponry equipment. The helicopters […]

Continue Reading →

Two bodies found in Canada, believed to be teen murder suspects

by Eric THOMAS MONTREAL, Canada (AFP) — Canadian police said Wednesday they had discovered the bodies of two men believed to be fugitive teens who allegedly murdered three people last month — ending a nearly three-week nationwide manhunt. Kam McLeod, 19, and Bryer Schmegelsky, 18, were wanted over the murders of an Australian man and his American girlfriend in their 20s, as well as of a Canadian university professor. Initially, the pair were reported missing […]

Continue Reading →

US designates China as a ‘currency manipulator’

WASHINGTON, United States (AFP) — The United States on Monday formally named China a currency manipulator, accusing Beijing of weakening the yuan as the two countries’ trade war escalates. The move came as China earlier on Monday allowed its currency to fall to its weakest levels against the dollar in almost a decade, prompting irate Twitter outbursts from US President Donald Trump and sending global equities markets diving into the red. Treasury Secretary Steven Mnuchin […]

Continue Reading →

Trump orders freeze on all Venezuelan govt assets in US

WASHINGTON, United States (AFP) — President Donald Trump on Monday ordered a freeze on all Venezuelan government assets in the United States and barred transactions with its authorities, in Washington’s latest move against President Nicolas Maduro. Trump took the step “in light of the continued usurpation of power by Nicolas Maduro and persons affiliated with him, as well as human rights abuses,” according to the order. The Wall Street Journal said the move was the […]

Continue Reading →

The US shooting victims: what we know

by Michael Mathes EL PASO, United States (AFP) — A hero mother shielding her infant, Mexican nationals shopping just across the border, a 15-year-old soccer player: details began to emerge Monday of the 30 victims of back-to-back shootings in Texas and Ohio — and the stories behind the grim statistics. In many ways the victims are a cross-section of America: grandparents shopping at an El Paso Walmart and young adults enjoying a late night out […]

Continue Reading →
1 … 289 290 291 292 293 … 580