North America

Kim invites Trump to visit Pyongyang as North hails ‘radical switchover’

  SEOUL, South Korea (AFP) — Kim Jong Un invited Donald Trump to visit North Korea during their historic summit and the US President accepted, Pyongyang state media reported Wednesday, calling it the start of a “radical switchover” in the nuclear-armed Cold War foes’ fraught relations. The unprecedented encounter in Singapore Tuesday saw the leader of the world’s most powerful democracy shake hands with the third generation scion of a dynastic dictatorship, standing as equals […]

Trudeau comments will cost Canada ‘a lot’ – Trump

SINGAPORE, Singapore (AFP) — US President Donald Trump said the recent G7 spat-dominated meeting in Canada was “good”, but in the same breath warned the host country would pay for the comments of its prime minister. “I had a very good meeting with the G7,” Trump said, rejecting suggestions the summit was a failure. But he also said that critical comments from Justin Trudeau would cost Canada “a lot of money”. © Agence France-Presse

In photos: Trump, Kim handshake starts historic summit; Trump predicts “terrific relationship” ahead

  United States President Donald Trump and North Korean leader Kim Jong Un made history on Tuesday, June 12, becoming the first sitting US and North Korean leaders to meet and shake hands, as they seek to end a tense decades-old nuclear stand-off. Trump predicted he would have a “terrific relationship” with North Korea’s Kim Jong Un Tuesday, as the pair met for a historic Singapore summit. “We will have a terrific relationship, I have […]

Kim, Trump in countdown to historic summit

  by Andrew Beatty / Sebastien Berger © Agence France-Presse SINGAPORE, Singapore (AFP) — Donald Trump and Kim Jong Un were making last-minute preparations Monday on the eve of their historic summit, as officials scrambled to narrow yawning differences over Pyongyang’s nuclear arsenal. Tuesday’s meeting will be the first time a serving US president has sat down with the leader of North Korea, and comes just months after fears of conflict soared as the two traded […]

US, N. Korea officials in final summit preparations

  by Sebastien Berger © Agence France-Presse SINGAPORE, Singapore (AFP) — North Korean and US negotiators met in Singapore Monday for final preparations on the eve of an unprecedented summit between Kim Jong Un and Donald Trump, seeking to bridge the gaps over Pyongyang’s nuclear arsenal. Tuesday’s meeting will be the first between a sitting US president and a leader of North Korea, whose nuclear and ballistic missile ambitions have raised global concerns and seen tensions […]

Asian traders cautious after G7 debacle, eyes on Trump-Kim summit

HONG KONG, China (AFP) — Asian markets fluctuated Monday after the Group of Seven meeting ended with deep divisions between the US and its allies, while investors are looking ahead to Donald Trump’s summit with North Korean leader Kim Jong Un. While the historic gathering in Singapore is the big story of the week, key central bank decisions in the US and Europe will also be closely followed. Trump pulled out of endorsing a joint communique […]

Guatemala volcano toll reaches 109: officials

GUATEMALA CITY (AFP) — The death toll from the eruption of Guatemala’s Fuego volcano has reached 109, officials said Thursday. The National Forensic Sciences Agency said morgues had received the remains of 109 victims of Sunday’s eruption. The previous toll was 99. The agency said seven of the latest victims were in a temporary morgue installed close to the impact zone, in the now-devastated community of San Miguel Los Lotes in Escuintla, south of the […]

Trade spat looms as Trump heads for hostile G7

by Dave Clark / and Laurence Benhamou © Agence France-Presse QUEBEC CITY, Canada (AFP) — Europe and hosts Canada warned US President Donald Trump on Thursday that they will not be intimidated at the G7 summit, despite fears that a trade war will weaken the Western alliance. With the leaders of the Group of Seven industrialized democracies due in Quebec, Canada’s Prime Minister Justin Trudeau warned the US leader that they would not roll over on […]

Top US, Russian military brass to meet in Helsinki

    HELSINKI, Finland (AFP) — Top US and Russian military officials will meet in Helsinki on Friday as part of recurring talks to prevent conflicts such as Syria and Ukraine from escalating, Finnish and US officials said. The chairman of the US Joint Chiefs of Staff, General Joe Dunford, will meet his Russian counterpart General Valery Gerasimov at an undisclosed location in the Finnish capital, the Finnish military announced Thursday. The men sometimes speak by […]

Trump hosts Japan PM, five days before summit with Kim

  by Jerome Cartillier © Agence France-Presse WASHINGTON, United States (AFP) — With less than a week to go before meeting North Korean leader Kim Jong Un, US President Donald Trump plays host Thursday to Japanese Prime Minister Shinzo Abe, who wants his voice heard ahead of the unprecedented talks. Trump and Abe will hold a joint press conference at the White House in the early afternoon, before heading to Canada for what promises to be […]

17-year-old Fil-Am killed in Seattle brawl

(Eagle News) — A 17-year-old Filipino-American was killed after a brawl ensued in a Seattle park on Saturday, June 2. The Seattle Times reported that Ryan dela Cruz was out with his friends at Martha Washington Park when his group encountered another group, and “mayhem” ensued. The second group allegedly fired shots, and Dela Cruz was hit three times. Police are still investigating the cause of the brawl, but noted that Dela Cruz was not a […]

Hundreds of homes destroyed by volcano lava in Hawaii

  LOS ANGELES, United States (AFP) — Hundreds of oceanfront homes have been destroyed by lava flow from Hawaii’s Kilauea volcano, officials said Tuesday. “We lost hundreds of homes in Kapoho Beach Lots and Vacationland overnight, but we don’t have exact figures,” Janet Snyder, a spokeswoman for Hawaii County, told AFP. She said the lost homes were in addition to 117 others destroyed since the volcano began erupting on May 3, forcing the evacuation of […]