Tag: US

Police arrest Columbia students, clear occupied building in campus unrest

By Ana FERNÁNDEZ NEW YORK, May 1, 2024 (AFP) – Dozens of helmeted police flooded Columbia University’s campus in the heart of New York City on Tuesday to evict a building occupied by pro-Palestinian student protesters and detain demonstrators. Police climbed into Hamilton Hall via a second floor window they reached from a laddered truck, before leading handcuffed students out of the building into police vans. The hall had been occupied at dawn by demonstrators […]

Biden presses Egypt and Qatar on ceasefire, hostage deal

WASHINGTON, April 30, 2024 (AFP) – US President Joe Biden on Monday urged the leaders of Egypt and Qatar to “exert all efforts” towards securing the release of hostages held by Hamas as part of negotiations for a Gaza ceasefire, the White House said. Washington, Doha and Cairo have been mediating for months to achieve a truce in the Palestinian territory which has endured relentless bombing by Israel in response to the unprecedented deadly attack […]

Police detain 100 as pro-Palestinian camp cleared at US university

BOSTON, April 27, 2024 (AFP) – Police detained about 100 people as they moved in to clear an encampment of pro-Palestinian protesters in response to the use of anti-Semitic slurs, the school said. The action was taken after protesters resorting to “virulent anti-Semitic slurs, including ‘Kill the Jews,’ crossed the line,” the school said in a statement on social media platform X. The protests against Israel’s war with Hamas began at Columbia University earlier this […]

Cicada-palooza! Billions of bugs to blanket America

By Issam AHMED WASHINGTON, April 27, 2024 (AFP) – They’re loud. They’re sexually aroused. And for one special, cacophonous month up to a trillion of them will engulf suburbs and woodlands across America. Two cicada “broods” are set for a rare double emergence that last occurred in 1803, when Thomas Jefferson was president and the United States purchased Louisiana from France. The prospect of another natural wonder just weeks after a total solar eclipse across […]

Xi tells Blinken US, China should be ‘partners, not rivals’

By Shaun TANDON and James EDGAR BEIJING, April 26, 2024 (AFP) – Chinese President Xi Jinping on Friday told top US diplomat Antony Blinken that the world’s biggest economies should be “partners, not rivals” as the two sides pressed for headway on a range of concerns. Blinken, in China for the second time in less than a year, pointed to improvements in the relationship but urged greater action from Beijing on areas including curbing support […]

Scores of tornadoes lash central US plains states

WASHINGTON, April 27, 2024 (AFP) – Dozens of tornadoes struck the central United States on Friday, razing homes, knocking down power lines and injuring at least three people, authorities said. More than 70 tornadoes were recorded across the country by the National Weather Service (NWS), most of them around Omaha, a transportation hub in Nebraska. Images from storm chasers posted on social networks showed immense black twisters sweeping across the sky, turning over earth, dust […]

US economic growth slows significantly in first quarter

By Beiyi SEOW WASHINGTON, April 25, 2024 (AFP) – The US economy cooled markedly in the first three months this year, expanding less than anticipated as consumer spending and exports decelerated, according to government data released on Thursday. The world’s biggest economy grew 1.6 percent in the first quarter, the Commerce Department said, missing analysts’ expectations of a larger 2.4 percent rise. This was also a clear slowdown from the 3.4 percent increase seen in […]

What next for TikTok in the US?

WASHINGTON, April 24, 2024 (AFP) – TikTok on Wednesday said it will fight a new US law that orders the popular video sharing app to break away from its Chinese owners or face an outright ban in the United States. Here is what could happen next for one of the world’s most downloaded apps. What does the law say? The bill signed by President Joe Biden gives TikTok 270 days (roughly nine months) to find […]

US House approves Ukraine, Israel, Taiwan aid, threatens TikTok

By Camille CAMDESSUS WASHINGTON, April 21, 2024 (AFP) – The US House of Representatives on Saturday approved long-delayed military aid to Ukraine in a rare show of bipartisan unity, while also bolstering Israel and Taiwan defenses and threatening to ban Chinese-owned TikTok. The four bills in the $95 billion package were overwhelmingly approved in quick succession, though they leave the future of Republican House Speaker Mike Johnson in some doubt as he seeks to fend […]

Two killed, six wounded in Memphis block party shooting: police

WASHINGTON, April 21, 2024 (AFP) – Two people were killed and six others wounded in a shooting at a block party on Saturday in the US city of Memphis, local police said. Two people were found deceased at the scene, and one of the six wounded “remains in critical condition” at an area hospital, the Memphis Police Department wrote on social media platform X. The shooting occurred at an unpermitted block party with about 200 […]

US embassy in Israel tells employees to limit movement

JERUSALEM, April 19, 2024 (AFP) – The United States embassy in Israel on Friday told its employees and their families to restrict their movements after reports that Israel conducted a strike inside Iran. “Out of an abundance of caution following reports that Israel conducted a retaliatory strike inside Iran, US government employees and their family members are restricted from personal travel outside the greater Tel Aviv” area as well as the Jerusalem and Beersheva areas […]

US fines Thailand-based firm $20 mn for Iran sanctions violations

  WASHINGTON, April 19, 2024 (AFP) – The United States fined a Thailand-based firm $20 million on Friday for more than 450 possible Iran sanctions violations — a day after Washington slapped fresh sanctions on Iran following last weekend’s attack on Israel. The move is the latest attempt by the United States to hit Iran financially, even as it works to dial down the military tensions between Iran and Israel following recent tit-for-tat attacks. Bangkok-headquartered […]