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PARIS, France (AFP) — The French government fears “major violence” from protests planned for Saturday, the presidency told AFP after weeks of demonstrations over rising living costs blamed on the government of Emmanuel Macron. “We have reasons to fear major violence,” a source said Wednesday amid calls for fresh mobilization of the “yellow vest” movement countrywide this weekend. © Agence France-Presse
by Yussel GONZALEZ Agence France Presse MEXICO CITY, Mexico (AFP) — The first woman elected mayor of Mexico City was sworn in Wednesday for a six-year term leading one of the world’s largest cities, in a country with a deep tradition of machismo. Claudia Sheinbaum, a 56-year-old scientist and environmentalist, rode to victory in the July elections on the same anti-establishment wave that brought her ally and mentor to power, Mexico’s new President Andres Manuel […]
ROME, Italy (AFP) — Two people were killed and at least 10 injured in an explosion at a petrol station northeast of Rome on Wednesday, firefighters and police said. The blast occurred when a tanker truck carrying flammable liquid was refuelling at the petrol station on the Salaria highway 30 kilometers (18 miles) outside the capital, according to Italian media. “A firefighter died, as did a civilian,” the firefighters tweeted. Antonio Mannoni, head of police […]
MONTREAL, Canada (AFP) — A business group warned on Tuesday that a labor shortage in Canada is deepening, with more than 430,000 jobs at small and medium-sized firms remaining unfilled for at least four months. The job vacancy rate has risen to 3.3 percent, from 2.9 percent a year ago, the Canadian Federation of Independent Business (CFIB) said in a report. This is “above the records set before the 2008 financial crisis, and businesses are […]
by Michael Mathes Agence France Presse WASHINGTON, United States (AFP) — A divided Washington led by the nation’s five living presidents put on a show of unity Wednesday at the poignant state funeral of George H.W. Bush, as America bade farewell to its 41st president. Donald and Melania Trump shared a front row pew in the National Cathedral with past presidents Barack Obama, Bill Clinton, Jimmy Carter and their wives as an honor guard brought […]
by Adam PLOWRIGHT and Christophe SCHMIDT Agence France Presse PARIS, France (AFP) — The French government on Wednesday urged parties across the political divide to calm the protests that have raged nationwide for more than two weeks, and signalled it was ready to make further concessions to avoid more violence. French President Emmanuel Macron appealed to rival political leaders as well as trade unions to help tamp down the anti-government anger that on Saturday led […]
by Dmitry ZAKS Agence France Presse LONDON, United States (AFP) — Facebook chief Mark Zuckerberg pushed back Wednesday against emails showing the social media giant offering Netflix and other popular apps preferential access to people’s data even after it had tightened its privacy rules. A British parliamentary committee investigating whether the social media behemoth was being used to manipulate the results of elections published 250 pages of internal Facebook documents earlier Wednesday. They show executives […]
PANAMA CITY, Panama (AFP) — The government of Panama awarded Tuesday a Chinese consortium a $1.4 billion contract to build a bridge over the Panama Canal, a day after a visit by President Xi Jinping. That tour was part of China’s efforts to extend its political and economic influence in Latin America. “Panama is moving ahead in its relations with China and without a doubt this project that begins its construction today is part of […]
NOUMEA, France (AFP) — A powerful new earthquake hit off New Caledonia Wednesday just hours after a strong tremor hit the Pacific region, but there was no new tsunami alert, authorities said. The quake struck at 5:43pm local time (0643 GMT) at a depth of 10 kilometers (6.2 miles) some 192 kilometers east-southeast of Tadine in New Caledonia, an overseas French territory north of New Zealand. The US Geological Survey revised it to magnitude 6.6 […]
NOUMEA, France (AFP) — A shallow and powerful 7.5-magnitude earthquake struck off New Caledonia Wednesday prompting a tsunami alert and evacuations on the Pacific island, authorities said. The Pacific Tsunami Warning Center said that tsunami waves had been “observed” in the region but did not say where. Residents of New Caledonia, which lies north of New Zealand, received text messages directing them to go to refuges immediately, with waves of up to three meters possible, according to the warning center. […]
SYDNEY, Australia (AFP) — A shallow and powerful 7.5-magnitude earthquake struck off the Pacific islands of New Caledonia Wednesday, US seismologists said, triggering a tsunami warning for the area. “Based on the preliminary earthquake parameters” the Pacific Tsunami Warning Center said, “hazardous tsunami waves are possible for coasts located within 1000 kilometers of the earthquake epicenter.” New Zealand authorities issued a similar warning after the quake, which struck just 10 kilometers beneath the surface. USGS […]
by Thomas CABRAL Agence France-Presse LIBOS, Portugal (AFP) — Chinese President Xi Jinping arrived in Portugal on Tuesday for a two-day visit to boost economic ties, despite concern in some EU capitals over China’s growing influence across the continent. “Relations between China and Portugal are entering their best period… We must develop existing projects and step up our commercial exchanges,” Xi said at a meeting with counterpart Marcelo Rebelo de Sousa. His two-day stay will […]
