International

Peru president vetoes law that could have freed ex-leader Fujimori

by Luis Jaime CISNEROS Agence France Presse LIMA, Peru (AFP) — Peru President Martin Vizcarra vetoed on Monday a law that would have spared disgraced former leader Alberto Fujimori from prison, confining criminals over 65 suffering from serious or chronic illnesses to house arrest. The law, passed by a Congress dominated by Fujimori’s former party, Popular Force, would have allowed the 80-year-old to avoid being sent back to prison once he leaves hospital, where he […]

Trump heads to Texas to give boost to ‘Lyin’ Ted’

by Eleonore Sens / with Jerome Cartillier in Washington Agence France Presse HOUSTON, United States (AFP) — “Big Night in Texas!” Donald Trump promised in his Monday morning tweet. Ted Cruz hopes it is as well. The US leader arrived in the Lone Star State in the evening to give a shot in the arm to the Senate campaign of Cruz, his fiercest rival for the Republican presidential nomination in 2016. Wearing black cowboy boots, […]

More than 7,000 people headed for US in migrant caravan: UN

UNITED NATIONS, United States (AFP) — More than 7,000 people have joined the migrant caravan headed toward the US border with Mexico, a UN spokesman said Monday, citing estimates of the International Organization for Migration. “IOM reports that large numbers of people are arriving in Mexico today and are likely to remain in the country for an extended period,” UN deputy spokesman Farhan Haq said, urging that they be treated with “respect and dignity.” “At […]

US treasury secretary meets Saudi crown prince in Riyadh

RIYADH, Saudi Arabia (AFP) — US Treasury Secretary Steven Mnuchin on Monday held closed-door talks in Riyadh with Saudi Crown Prince Mohammed bin Salman, who has faced a global backlash over journalist Jamal Khashoggi’s murder. The official Saudi Press Agency said they stressed “the importance of the Saudi-US strategic partnership” in a meeting on the eve of a key investment conference in Riyadh. Mnuchin is a among a wave of Western political leaders who pulled […]

Mexico braces for ‘potentially catastrophic’ Hurricane Willa

by Alfredo ESTRELLA Agence France Presse EL ROSARIO, Mexico (AFP) — Mexico braced for the worst Monday as Hurricane Willa — upgraded to a maximum Category 5 storm — bore down on the Pacific coast, where it is expected to produce life-threatening wind and flooding. The powerful hurricane was on course to slam into Mexico somewhere around the resort town of Mazatlan on Tuesday afternoon or evening, the US National Hurricane Center, calling the storm […]

China launches Hong Kong-mainland mega bridge

by Elaine YU Agence France Presse ZHUHAI, China (AFP) — The world’s longest sea-bridge connecting Hong Kong, Macau and mainland China will be launched Tuesday at a time when Beijing seeks to tighten its grip on its semi-autonomous territories. President Xi Jinping is expected to officiate at an opening ceremony in the mainland city of Zhuhai Tuesday morning, but details of the cloak-and-dagger event have been kept secret. The 55-kilometre (34-mile) crossing, which includes a […]

US security chief Bolton in Moscow for talks on nuclear treaty

  by Maria Antonova Agence France Presse MOSCOW, Russia (AFP) — White House national security advisor John Bolton on Monday began two days of meetings with senior Russian officials following Washington’s weekend announcement of its withdrawal from a Cold War-era nuclear weapons treaty. The Moscow visit by Bolton was planned before the Saturday announcement by President Donald Trump that the US was ditching the three-decade-old Intermediate-Range Nuclear Forces Treaty, known as the INF, a move […]

Dangerous Hurricane Willa closes in on Mexico

MEXICO CITY (AFP) — Hurricane Willa surged to a dangerous Category Four storm off Mexico’s Pacific coast, US forecasters said Sunday, warning of a life-threatening storm surge and heavy winds and rainfall. The monster storm was 340 kilometers (210 miles) south-southwest of Cabo Corrientes, Mexico, packing top sustained winds of 230 kilometers per hour. “Extremely dangerous… Hurricane Willa continues to rapidly strengthen (and is) forecast to produce life-threatening storm surge, wind and rainfall over portions […]

Four earthquakes strike off Canada’s west coast

WASHINGTON, United States (AFP) — Four earthquakes — measuring from 4.9 to 6.8 magnitude — struck in quick succession off Canada’s west coast late Sunday, the US Geological Survey said. The epicenter of the first 6.6 tremor, at 10:39 pm (0549 GMT Monday), was located 135 miles (218 kilometers) southwest of Port Hardy — a small municipality on the northeastern tip of British Columbia’s Vancouver Island — and 355 miles northwest of Seattle. The second […]

Trudeau: Canada could scrap Saudi defense deal over rights

MONTREAL, Canada (AFP) — Prime Minister Justin Trudeau said Canada could cancel a multi-billion dollar defense contract with Saudi Arabia following the death of journalist Jamal Khashoggi, in an interview broadcast Sunday. Trudeau, speaking on French-language talk show “Tout Le Monde En Parle” — recorded Thursday, before Riyadh confirmed Khashoggi’s death at its Istanbul consulate — insisted Canada would “always defend human rights, including with Saudi Arabia.” Canadian military equipment sales regulations contain restrictions on […]

Honduran migrants march as Trump vows ‘full efforts’ to halt them

by Jennifer GONZALEZ COVARRUBIAS / with Henry Morales Arana in Tecun Uman, Guatemala Agence France Presse TAPACHULA, Mexico (AFP) — Thousands of Honduran migrants whose trek toward the United States has triggered tirades from US President Donald Trump forged on Sunday after crossing a river into Mexico, marching for hours. Mexican authorities had managed to block the “caravan” of migrants on a border bridge between Mexico and Guatemala, but many later crossed the river below […]

May to say Brexit ’95 percent’ settled as MP mutiny fears rise

LONDON, United Kingdom (AFP) — Prime Minister Theresa May will tell Britain’s parliament on Monday that Brexit negotiations are “95 percent” complete but that she cannot accept the European Union’s Northern Ireland border proposals — as she faces down an increasingly mutinous faction within her own party. May has been on the receiving end of a furious backlash from Brexit hardliners in her own party after indicating at an EU summit last week that she […]