International

China says US trade talks made ‘important progress’

BEIJING, China (AFP) — The US and Chinese negotiators made “important progress” in their trade talks in Washington, China’s official Xinhua news agency said on Friday. The two sides held “candid, specific and fruitful” discussions, the agency said, citing a statement from the Chinese delegation. © Agence France-Presse

US urges Venezuela’s Maduro to accept amnesty

WASHINGTON, United States (AFP) — The United States on Thursday urged Venezuela’s Nicolas Maduro to accept an amnesty offer from opposition leader Juan Guaido, whom Washington has recognized as president. “I wish Nicolas Maduro and his top advisors a long, quiet retirement, living on a nice beach somewhere far from Venezuela,” national security advisor John Bolton tweeted. “They should take advantage of President Guaido’s amnesty and move on. The sooner the better,” he said. Guaido […]

Florida sinkhole leads to secret tunnel to bank

MIAMI, United States (AFP) — Road workers in Florida sent out to repair a sinkhole got a surprise this week when they discovered it was caused by a tunnel leading to a nearby bank. The FBI posted pictures of the narrow underground tunnel leading to a branch of Chase Bank in Pembroke Pines, about 20 miles (32 kilometers) north of Miami. Police and the FBI were called in Tuesday night after the road workers realized […]

Venezuela opposition cling to social media lifeline

CARACAS, Venezuela (AFP) — Deprived almost entirely of coverage on mainstream media, Venezuela’s self-proclaimed president Juan Guaido has been deftly using the social networks to woo support, but even that avenue is increasingly being cut off. Mainstream media is off-limits to the opposition leader, says Andres Canizalez, a political scientist at Andres Bello Catholic University. “Today in Venezuela, if a radio or television station wants to stay on air, they cannot talk about Guaido,” he […]

Trump says US-China trade talks ‘going well’

by Douglas Gillison Agence France Presse WASHINGTON, United States (AFP) — President Donald Trump on Thursday touted the chances of success of US-China trade negotiations as the talks entered a second day, saying Beijing was eager to make a deal. In a morning series of tweets, he also said a final deal would leave “NOTHING” unresolved but a bargain could only be struck after he meets with his Chinese counterpart Xi Jinping “in the near […]

Deadly Arctic cold strains resources in US Midwest

By Nova SAFO (AFP) — Frozen water mains and strained natural gas supplies left the US Midwest struggling Thursday as a deadly Arctic air mass had tens of millions of Americans shivering for a second day. Ten deaths have been attributed to the extreme weather since the weekend. Schools and businesses remained closed in several midwestern states, people were encouraged to stay home, and travellers were stranded by grounded flights and halted trains. Natural gas […]

Trudeau urged anew to take back Canadian trash dumped in PHL

(Eagle News) – -The EcoWaste Coalition has reiterated its demand for Canada to take its trash back. In her letter to Canada’s Prime Minister Justin Trudeau, Aileen Lucero, coordinator for the environmental group, noted that the issue of the container vans filled with mixed waste including diapers, electronic equipment, among others, languishing in the Philippines has “dragged on for five years without resolution, despite promises from the Canadian government to address the problem..” According to […]

World’s top two shipbuilders in deal to merge: Seoul

SEOUL, South Korea (AFP) — The world’s biggest shipbuilder, South Korea’s Hyundai Heavy Industries, has reached a deal to acquire a majority stake in ailing number two Daewoo from the government, Seoul said Thursday. The world’s top three shipbuilders are South Korean — Samsung Heavy ranks third — but the industry has been hammered in recent years by overcapacity and plunging ship prices. Daewoo Shipbuilding & Marine Engineering has struggled in particular and has repeatedly […]

Arctic air sends temperatures well below zero in midwest US

by Nova SAFO Agence France-Presse CHICAGO, United States (AFP) — A brutal cold wave moved eastward Thursday after bringing temperatures in the US Midwest lower than those in Antarctica, grounding flights, closing schools and businesses and raising fears of hypothermia. The extreme weather has now been blamed for as many as eight deaths, US news outlets reported. Mail deliveries were suspended and people were encouraged to stay home in nearly a dozen US states where […]

Mexican president declares ‘drug war’ over

MEXICO CITY, Mexico (AFP) — Mexican President Andres Manuel Lopez Obrador declared the country’s war on drugs over Wednesday, saying his government would no longer prioritize using the army to capture cartel kingpins. However, critics questioned the announcement, pointing out that the leftist president has not taken the army off the streets as he pledged during his campaign, and is proposing the creation of a national guard that opponents say would permanently militarize the country. […]

Displaced Syrian children sift through trash to buy bread

by Aaref Watad Agence France Presse KAFR LUSIN, Syria (AFP) — Outside a camp for the displaced in northwest Syria, 15-year-old Sabaa al-Jassim hacked away at a mountain of trash hoping to find scraps to sell for food. Using a hooked metal rod, he stabbed at acrid household waste in the village of Kafr Lusin, looking for plastic to trade for a few dollars to feed his 11-member family. “I go to the dump to […]