Tag: US

US troops limited to batons on Mexico border

WASHINGTON, United States (AFP) — US troops stationed on the border with Mexico ahead of the expected arrival of a Central American migrant caravan can intervene to quell violence but will be armed only with batons, Defense Minister Jim Mattis said on Wednesday. The White House has given almost 5,800 troops posted along the frontier guidance that they can come to the aid of any Customs and Border Protection agents who come under attack, Mattis […]

US, South Korea scale back military exercise

by Sylvie LANTEAUME Agence France Presse WASHINGTON, United States (AFP) — The United States and South Korea have scaled down a joint military exercise scheduled for the spring of 2019 to facilitate nuclear talks with North Korea, US Defense Secretary Jim Mattis said Wednesday. “Foal Eagle is being reorganized a bit to keep it at a level that will not be harmful to diplomacy,” Mattis said, adding that it would be “reduced in scope.” US […]

Interpol picks South Korean as president as Russia loses out

DUBAI, United Arab Emirates (AFP) — Interpol named South Korea’s Kim Jong-yang as its new president on Wednesday, in a blow to Russia which denounced “unprecedented pressure” against its own candidate to lead the global policing body. There had been growing Western calls for Interpol to reject Alexander Prokopchuk — a Russian interior ministry official and current Interpol vice president — over fears Moscow could abuse the role to target political opponents US-backed Kim, Interpol’s […]

ASEAN may be forced to choose between US, China, according to Cambodia PM’s son

  BANGKOK, Thailand (AFP) — Southeast Asian nations may soon have to “choose sides” between the US and China in their ongoing trade war, the political heir to Cambodia’s strongman ruler Hun Sen warned Wednesday in rare public comments. Impoverished Cambodia has become an unlikely staging ground for geopolitical influence in Asia. In recent years it has turned into a key China ally, heading off criticism of the superpower over its claims to disputed seas […]

California fire death toll rises to 81

LOS ANGELES, United States (AFP) — The death toll from the devastating wildfire in northern California rose to 81 Tuesday with the discovery of two more sets of remains, officials said. The number of people listed as unaccounted for in the deadliest and most destructive fire in state history jumped up by nearly 200 to 870. This number has been fluctuating a lot in recent days amid the confusion of the search for bodies in […]

US issues health alert on romaine lettuce

WASHINGTON, United States (AFP) — US health officials warned consumers Tuesday not to eat any romaine lettuce and to throw away any they might have in their homes, citing an outbreak of E. coli poisoning. The Centers for Disease Control and Prevention (CDC) issued the warning against all Romaine lettuce just two days before the Thanksgiving holiday, when American families gather and feast together. “Consumers who have any type of romaine lettuce in their home […]

US renews unfair trade accusations against China

WASHINGTON, United States (AFP) — Washington on Tuesday said Beijing continued to foster the theft of American technological know-how, with officials there exacerbating matters in recent months. The renewed accusations from President Donald Trump’s administration come as markets grow pessimistic that the world’s two largest economies can resolve their burgeoning trade war any time soon. In an update to a report issued in March, the Office of US Trade Representative Robert Lighthizer said Tuesday that […]

New barricades at US-Mexico border as migrant caravan arrives

by Yemeli ORTEGA Agence France Presse TIJUANA, Mexico (AFP) — Huge metal or concrete barricades and walls of concertina wire went up Monday on both sides of a bustling US-Mexico border crossing as a caravan of US-bound Central American migrants pours into Tijuana, the last stop before California. US authorities went so far as to briefly close the San Ysidro Port of Entry altogether — it is one of the busiest land border crossings in […]

Gunman kills three at Chicago hospital

CHICAGO, United States (AFP) — An argument in a hospital parking lot escalated into a shooting that killed three people, including a police officer, in the US city of Chicago on Monday. The violence only ended when police engaged in shootout with the gunman inside Mercy Hospital. “We have four deceased individuals: police officer, two female staff employees at the hospital, and the offender,” police Superintendent Eddie Johnson told journalists. The shooter killed the first […]

UPDATED: Multiple victims after shots fired at Chicago hospital: US media

  CHICAGO, United States (AFP) — A gunman opened fire Monday at a hospital in the US city of Chicago, police said, adding that there were reports of “multiple victims” including a wounded officer in “critical condition.” “Reports of shots fired in the vicinity of 26th and Michigan near Mercy Hospital. Avoid area. Heavy police response incoming,” Chicago Police spokesman Anthony Guglielmi tweeted. At least “one possible offender” had been shot at the hospital in the […]

The science of how cats’ tongues keep them clean

WASHINGTON, United States (AFP) — US researchers, armed with high-speed video cameras, have revealed the secret to cat grooming. It’s all in the tongue. Just not the way they thought. A cat’s tongue contains 300 little scoop-shaped spines called filiform papillae which they moisten with saliva to clean their fur, said the report Monday in the Proceedings of the National Academy of Sciences, a peer-reviewed journal. Until now, the scientific consensus on the matter was […]

NASA picks ancient Martian river delta for 2020 rover touchdown

by Kerry SHERIDAN Agence France Presse TAMPA, United States (AFP) — NASA has picked an ancient river delta as the landing site for its uncrewed Mars 2020 rover, to hunt for evidence of past life on Earth’s neighboring planet, officials said Monday. Even though the Red Planet is now cold and dry, the landing site, Jezero Crater, was filled with a 1,600-foot (500-meter) deep lake that opened to a network of rivers some 3.5 to […]