North America

Top Republican challenges Trump to prove wiretapping claim

WASHINGTON, United States (AFP) — A senior Republican lawmaker on Sunday challenged President Donald Trump to prove his claim that his phone was tapped by predecessor Barack Obama during last year’s campaign — or else retract the unsubstantiated allegation. Senator John McCain, a frequent Trump critic, issued his demand in an interview with CNN. “The president has one of two choices, either retract, or to provide the information that the American people deserve,” McCain said. […]

Merkel meets Trump amid tense ties

BERLIN, Germany (AFP) — Europe’s most powerful leader, Angela Merkel, meets for the first time next week America’s flamboyant President Donald Trump whose arrival in the White House has sent shockwaves across the Atlantic. While former United States president Barack Obama had labelled Merkel his “closest international partner,” there has been little known contact between the German leader and Trump since he took office. Trump’s criticism of Germany over issues ranging from its record-trade surplus […]

Intruder arrested for breaching White House grounds

WASHINGTON, United States (AFP) — An intruder with a backpack was arrested for breaching the White House grounds while United States President Donald Trump was there, the US Secret Service said Saturday. After scaling an outer perimeter fence at the Washington executive residence just before midnight on Friday, the suspect was arrested by uniformed secret service officers, the agency said in a statement obtained by AFP. Authorities did not find dangerous materials inside the backpack […]

Guatemala mourns 35 girls killed in shelter fire

by Henry MORALES Agence France Presse GUATEMALA CITY, Guatemala (AFP) — Guatemala recoiled in anger and shock Thursday at the deaths of 35 teenage girls in a fire at a government-run shelter where staff have been accused of sexual abuse and other mistreatment. The toll had climbed steadily from 19 killed in the Wednesday blaze itself, as 16 more girls succumbed in hospital overnight and Thursday to their horrific burns. Nineteen survivors remained hospitalized, most […]

Amal Clooney urges Iraq to allow probe of IS crimes

UNITED NATION, United States (AFP) — Human rights lawyer Amal Clooney on Thursday urged Iraq to agree to a UN investigation of atrocities committed by the Islamic State group and bring those responsible for crimes to justice. Clooney, who represents Yazidi women who escaped from IS enslavement, was addressing UN member-states for the second time in six months to appeal for action to prosecute IS militants. “Why is it that nothing has been done?” Clooney […]

US deploys more troops in Syria, turning up heat on IS

by Laurent BARTHELEMY Agence France Presse WASHINGTON, United States (AFP) — The United States turned up the heat on the Islamic State group Thursday, sending an additional 400 US troops into Syria to support an offensive to retake Raqa, the jihadists’ de facto capital. The administration also announced a high level meeting on March 22 of the 68 countries in the US-led coalition to discuss plans to accelerate IS’s defeat. The announcements in Washington come […]

US lawmakers debate Obamacare replacement for more than 24 hours

WASHINGTON, United States (AFP) – A US congressional panel surpassed 24 straight hours of debate Thursday on Republican plans to kill Obamacare, highlighting deep divisions over the proposed health reforms. Lawmakers from Republican President Donald Trump’s party hold a majority in both chambers of Congress, but many of those same lawmakers oppose the proposed legislation. After 18 marathon hours of debate the House Ways and Means Committee early Thursday became the first panel to approve […]

Huntsman offered job as US ambassador to Russia

WASHINGTON, United States (AFP) — President Donald Trump has offered former Utah governor Jon Huntsman the position of US Ambassador to Russia, amid investigations into Russian meddling in the US presidential race last year, The Washington Post reported Wednesday. Trump made the offer this week, the Post said, citing a White House official not authorized to discuss the move for now. Huntsman has indicated that he will accept the post, the official said Wednesday, the […]

20 teenage girls killed in Guatemala shelter fire

SAN JOSE PINULA, Guatemala (AFP) — The death toll from a fire in a government-run children’s shelter in Guatemala rose to 20 late Wednesday after a girl aged around 14 succumbed to burns, the hospital treating her said. All those killed in the blaze at the Virgin of the Assumption facility outside Guatemala City were teenage girls between 14 and 17 years old, officials said. The fire broke out early Wednesday in the wing housing […]

US skeptical about N. Korea talks, says Kim Jong-Un not ‘rational’

UNITED NATION, United States (AFP) — The United States on Wednesday voiced skepticism about calls for talks with North Korea, saying leader Kim Jong-Un was behaving irrationally and would likely not respond to diplomatic advances. “We are not dealing with a rational person,” US Ambassador Nikki Haley told reporters following a closed-door meeting of the Security Council to discuss North Korea’s latest missile launches. In a reference to China, which is calling for a return […]

CIA blasts WikiLeaks for publishing secret documents

by Paul HANDLEY / Rob Lever Agence France Presse WASHINGTON, United States (AFP) — The Central Intelligence Agency on Wednesday accused WikiLeaks of endangering Americans, helping US rivals and hampering Washington’s fight against terror threats by releasing what the anti-secrecy site claimed was a trove of CIA hacking tools. A CIA spokeswoman would not confirm the authenticity of the materials published a day earlier by WikiLeaks, which said they were leaked from the spy agency’s […]

Canada PM’s wife wants to celebrate men on Women’s Day

OTTAWA, Canada (AFP) — Canadian Prime Minister Justin Trudeau’s wife set off a social media firestorm Tuesday, the eve of International Women’s Day, by suggesting that men should be celebrated too. “As we mark International Women’s Day, let’s celebrate the boys and men in our lives who encourage us to be who we truly are, who treat girls & women with respect,” Sophie Gregoire Trudeau wrote on her Instagram account. She posted a photo of […]