WASHINGTON, United States (AFP) — Average United States temperatures have risen dramatically and fast, with recent decades the warmest of the past 1,500 years, according to a draft federal government report cited by The New York Times on Tuesday. “Americans are feeling the effects of climate change right now,” said the report by 13 federal agencies not yet released or approved by President Donald Trump’s administration. The report “directly contradicts claims by President Trump and […]
Tag: US
North Korea defiant after new sanctions, rejects talks
by Dave Clark and Ayee Macaraig Agence France Presse SEOUL, South Korea (AFP) — North Korea vowed Monday that tough new United Nations sanctions would not stop it from developing its nuclear arsenal, as it rejected talks and angrily warned the United States of retaliation. The message of defiance was the first major response to the US-drafted sanctions, which the UN Security Council unanimously approved over the weekend and which could cost North Korea $1 […]
US, allies slam Chinese island-building
MANILA, Philippines (AFP) — The United States, Australia and Japan on Monday denounced Beijing’s island-building and militarization of the South China Sea, in contrast to the increasingly tepid response from Southeast Asian nations over the festering issue. China claims nearly all of the sea, through which $5 trillion in annual shipping trade passes and which is believed to sit atop vast oil and gas deposits. Its sweeping claims overlap with Vietnam, the Philippines, Malaysia and […]
Tillerson: World united to disarm North Korea
MANILA, Philippines (AFP) — United States Secretary of State Rex Tillerson said Monday that a United Nations Security Council vote to impose sanctions on North Korea showed that world powers were united behind a push for a denuclearized Korean peninsula. Speaking at a security forum in Manila, Washington’s top diplomat said Kim Jong-Un’s regime must halt ballistic missile tests if it wanted to talk to the US about resolving the standoff. “It’s quite clear in terms […]
Tokyo stocks open higher on US jobs data
TOKYO, Japan (AFP) — Tokyo stocks opened higher on Monday after rosy United States jobs numbers provided relief to investors on the prospects for the world’s biggest economy. The benchmark Nikkei 225 index rose 0.55 percent, or 108.84 points, to 20,061.17 in the first minute of trade while the Topix index of all first-section shares was up 0.55 percent, or 9.05 points, at 1,640.50. The US economy continued robust job creation in July, with the […]
Wall Street ends higher as Dow posts 8th straight record
NEW YORK, United States (AFP) 00 Wall Street ended the week on an emphatic high note, as the blue-chip Dow rose to its eighth consecutive record finish Friday. Investors were buoyed by rosy job creation numbers in July, as the economy added 209,000 net new positions, as well as a string of good earnings reports. The Dow Jones Industrial Average rose 0.3 percent to close at 22,092.81, and the broader S&P 500 and tech-heavy Nasdaq […]
US to join climate talks despite Paris accord exit
by Francesco FONTEMAGGI Agence France Presse WASHINGTON, United States (AFP) — The United States announced Friday it would still take part in international climate change negotiations in order to protect its interests, despite its planned withdrawal from the Paris accord on global warming. Two months after President Donald Trump announced the United States would abandon the 2015 global pact, his administration confirmed it had informed the United Nations of its “intent to withdraw from the […]
UN to vote on tougher North Korea sanctions
by Carole LANDRY Agence France Presse UNITED NATIONS, United States (AFP) — The UN Security Council will vote Saturday on a US-drafted resolution toughening sanctions on North Korea, diplomats said Friday, a proposed ban on certain exports that could deprive Pyongyang of $1 billion in annual revenue. After a month of negotiations, the United States reached a deal with China, North Korea’s main trading partner and ally, on the measures aimed at ratcheting up […]
Chinese navy assisting search, rescue of US navy sailor
BEIJING, China (CCTV) — China’s National Defense Ministry said on Thursday that the Chinese navy is assisting the search and rescue of a United States navy sailor reported overboard in the South China Sea. The Defense Ministry said that China will follow the Code for Unplanned Encounters at Sea and cooperate with the US navy to help rescue the sailor. The sailor could not be accounted for on the guided-missile destroyer USS Stethem around 09:00 […]
China tells Trump not to link trade to N. Korea
BEIJING, China (AFP) — China said Monday the United States should not link trade to discussions about North Korea’s nuclear program, after President Donald Trump accused Beijing of failing to restrain Pyongyang despite profiting from business with America. “We believe that the North Korea nuclear issue and China-US trade are two issues that are in two completely different domains,” Vice Minister of Commerce Qian Keming told a press briefing, adding the issues “are not related, […]
US ‘reviewing options’ after Putin orders embassy cuts
WASHINGTON, United States (AFP) — Washington is reviewing its options after the Kremlin ordered it to shrink its diplomatic mission in Russia, and President Donald Trump still intends to sign new sanctions into law. Questioned by reporters Monday, White House spokeswoman Sarah Huckabee Sanders had only a low-key response to President Vladimir Putin’s extraordinary demand that the embassy cut its local and American staff by 755. A State Department official has anonymously called the weekend’s […]
Venezuela’s Maduro rejects ‘imperial’ US sanctions
CARACAS, Venezuela (AFP) — Venezuelan President Nicolas Maduro lashed out Monday at the United States for slapping sanctions on him, saying the move smacked of American “imperialism.” “I will not obey imperial orders. I do not obey foreign governments. I’m a free president,” he said after Washington froze his US assets and called him a “dictator” for pushing through a vote for a powerful new assembly that will rewrite the country’s constitution. © Agence France-Presse





