International

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 […]

Mumbai bridge collapse kills six: officials

MUMBAI, India (AFP) — Six people were killed and dozens injured when a footbridge collapsed near Mumbai’s main train station on Thursday, the latest accident to highlight creaking infrastructure in India’s financial capital. The bridge, which was under repair according to multiple Indian media reports, gave way around 7:30 pm (1400 GMT) as rush hour commuters made their way into Chhatrapati Shivaji terminus. Officials from the local disaster management office said six people had died […]

Venezuela’s pro-regime ‘colectivos’ vow to back Maduro whatever it costs

by Nina NEGRON / Margioni BERMÚDEZ CARACAS, Venezuela (AFP) –Jorge Parrado collects water for his Caracas district. But he is also ready to fight completely in support of President Nicolas Maduro as a member of a “colectivo,” cells that uphold and enforce the regime’s socialist ideals. He had arrived at a park in the west of the capital aboard a water tanker to fill it from wells. The precious water was to be taken to […]

British MPs vote to ask for Brexit delay

by Dmitry ZAKS and Alice RITCHIE LONDON, United Kingdom (AFP) — Britain’s parliament on Thursday voted to ask the European Union to delay Brexit until at least June and head off a potentially calamitous end to their 46-year partnership in two weeks. MPs, however, also voted against a proposal to hold a second referendum during the delay, dealing a blow to the hopes of pro-EU campaigners. Britain is barrelling towards the March 29 Brexit deadline […]

Mumbai bridge collapse kills four

  (AFP) — Four people were killed and dozens injured when a footbridge collapsed near Mumbai’s main train station on Thursday, the latest accident to highlight creaking infrastructure in India’s financial capital. The bridge, which was under repair according to multiple Indian media reports, gave way around 7.30 pm (1400 GMT) as rush hour commuters made their way into Chhatrapati Shivaji terminus. “Twenty-eight people were injured when the bridge collapsed. Four of those taken to […]

Shiffrin wins first World Cup Super-G globe she ‘dreamed of’

By Peter BERLIN Agence France-Presse (AFP) — Mikaela Shiffrin won the World Cup Super-G crystal globe for the first time Thursday, adding it to the overall title and the slalom globe she has already won this ski season. The American, who turned 24 on Wednesday, clinched the title when she tied for fourth with Austria’s Nicole Schmidhofer, 0.44sec behind winner Viktoria Rebensburg of Germany in Soldeu, Andorra. It was enough to ensure that her only […]

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 […]

Ethiopia to send black boxes to Europe as questions mount over crash

by Chris STEIN ADDIS ABABA, Ethiopia (AFP) — Ethiopia said Wednesday it would send the black boxes from last weekend’s deadly Ethiopian Airlines crash to Europe for analysis as demand grew for urgent answers over the safety of the Boeing 737 MAX 8. The second deadly crash involving the plane type in less than six months prompted governments worldwide to ban Boeing’s bestselling jet from their airspace. The move has heaped pressure on the US […]

Eight killed in Brazil school shooting, two suspects dead

by Nelson ALMEIDA SAO PAULO, Brazil (AFP) — Two former pupils shot dead eight people, most of them students and staff, at a high school near Sao Paulo, Brazil, on Wednesday before turning their weapons on themselves, authorities said. The two assailants burst into the school grounds in the early morning, armed with a .38 caliber revolver and a “medieval weapon that looked like a bow and arrows,” military police Colonel Marcelo Sales said. After […]

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 […]

Venezuela’s US invasion: the dollar takes hold

by Esteban ROJAS CARACAS, Venezuela (AFP) — Venezuela’s President Nicolas Maduro may be fiercely opposed to the “imperialist” United States. But in one regard, a US invasion is already happening: the dollarization of his South American country. Dollar bills are mixed in with wads of the near-worthless bolivar in markets. Long lines form for an opportunity to buy dollars. Shops offering scant and desperately sought basic items are increasingly demanding dollars as payment. The adoption […]