North America

Senate rebukes Trump on border emergency, president vows veto

by Michael Mathes WASHINGTON, United States (AFP) — President Donald Trump suffered an embarrassing defeat Thursday at the hands of US senators, including fellow Republicans, who voted to terminate his declaration of an emergency on the border with Mexico. Trump’s response was swift and unequivocal: “VETO!” he tweeted after a dozen Republicans joined Democrats in voting down the emergency, declared as a way to secure alternative funding for the border wall denied to him by […]

Boeing suspends 737 MAX deliveries as France probes black boxes

by Heather SCOTT WASHINGTON, United States (AFP) — US aerospace giant Boeing said Thursday it was suspending deliveries of its top-selling 737 MAX as French investigators took delivery of the black boxes from the Ethiopian Airlines crash that killed all 157 passengers and crew. The MAX has been grounded worldwide following the disaster — the second involving the model in five months — and the fallout has left the company, regulators and airlines scrambling to […]

Children not spared by California’s homelessness crisis

by Laurent BANGUET LOS ANGELES, United States (AFP) — Jose Razo, the principal of Telfair Elementary School in Los Angeles county, wants his students to spend their time worrying about homework, their grades or playdates. But the harsh reality for more than a quarter of the 720 children at the school is far different — they are classified as homeless. “Food, somewhere to sleep, something to put on their back: those are the challenges our […]

US slams rights record of China and Iran, goes easier on N. Korea

by Francesco FONTEMAGGI WASHINGTON, United States (AFP) — Secretary of State Mike Pompeo slammed China’s mass detention of Muslims but took a lighter hand on North Korea as the State Department released its annual human rights report Wednesday. Iran also came in for harsh criticism while rival Saudi Arabia, cited for many identical domestic rights abuses as well as the murder of US-based journalist Jamal Khashoggi, was given easier treatment. And in a small semantic […]

Trump sees ‘very good chance’ of trade deal with China

WASHINGTON, United States (AFP) — US President Donald Trump said Wednesday he sees a “very good chance” of reaching a trade deal with China but is in “no rush” to reach an agreement. “I think there’s a very good chance the deal will be made,” Trump said. “They want to make a deal. China wants to make a deal.” But he also said that he is “in no rush. I want the deal to be […]

Facebook faces criminal probe of data deals: report

SAN FRANCISCO, United States (AFP) — US prosecutors have launched a criminal investigation into Facebook’s practice of sharing users’ data with companies without letting the social network’s members know, The New York Times reported on Wednesday. A grand jury in New York has subpoenaed information from at least two major smartphone makers about such arrangements with Facebook, according to the Times. Regulators, investigators and elected officials around the world have already been digging into the […]

US ups pressure on Europe over 5G infrastructure from China’s Huawei

WASHINGTON, United States (AFP) — The US upped pressure on Europe Wednesday to avoid turning to Huawei for 5G telecom infrastructure, with a top commander saying NATO forces would cease communicating with their German colleagues if Berlin teams up with the Chinese firm. The US and several other Western nations, fearful of the security risks posed by a company closely tied to the Chinese government, have shut Huawei out of tenders for the development of […]

US pilots reported problems with Boeing 737 MAX

  by Delphine TOUITOU Agence France Presse WASHINGTON, United States (AFP) — The US decision on Wednesday to ground the Boeing 737 MAX came after authorities noted similarities between two recent crashes, eerily echoing reports from American pilots who complained of problems with the plane late last year. At least four US pilots filed reports following the October crash of a Lion Air flight in Indonesia shortly after takeoff and all complained the aircraft suddenly […]

US grounds Boeing 737 MAX amid growing safety concerns

  by Heather Scott Agence France Presse WASHINGTON, United States (AFP) –The ban on the Boeing 737 MAX aircraft became worldwide on Wednesday after US President Donald Trump joined Canada and other countries in grounding the aircraft amid mounting global fears for the jets’ airworthiness. US authorities said new evidence showed similarities between Sunday’s deadly crash of an Ethiopian Airlines Boeing 737 MAX 8 and a fatal accident in Indonesia in October. The Federal Aviation […]

California governor to impose moratorium on executions

LOS ANGELES, United States (AFP) — Governor Gavin Newsom will Wednesday impose a moratorium on carrying out the death penalty in California, granting temporary reprieve to the 737 inmates on death row — the largest such group in the United States. Newsom is a Democrat who took office in January and a long-standing opponent of the death penalty, which was last carried out in California in 2006. “The death penalty is inconsistent with our bedrock […]

19 migrants kidnapped from bus in Mexico: president

MEXICO CITY, Mexico (AFP) — Nineteen passengers who were kidnapped from a bus last week in northern Mexico were migrants, President Andres Manuel Lopez Obrador said Tuesday, as investigators worked through the murky details of the case. The men were crossing the violent state of Tamaulipas, on the US-Mexican border, on Thursday when four vehicles blocked the road and forced their bus to stop, according to authorities. Armed men then boarded the coach and kidnapped […]

Ethiopian Airlines crash: What is the MCAS system on the Boeing 737 Max 8?

by Chris Lefkow WASHINGTON, United States (AFP) — Similarities between the Lion Air and Ethiopian Airlines crashes have focused attention on an anti-stalling system used in the new Boeing 737 Max 8 aircraft. The Maneuvering Characteristics Augmentation System (MCAS) is an automated safety feature on the 737 Max 8 designed to prevent the plane from entering into a stall, or losing lift. Both the Lion Air jet, which crashed in October, killing 189 people, and […]