LOS ANGELES, Sept 16, 2023 (AFP) – The US state of California sued five of the world’s largest oil companies on Friday, alleging the firms caused billions of dollars in damages and misled the public by minimizing the risks from fossil fuels, The New York Times reported. It follows numerous other cases brought by US cities, counties and states against fossil fuel interests over the impact of climate change as well as alleged disinformation campaigns […]
North America
Hawaii revises down wildfire death toll
LOS ANGELES, Sept 16, 2023 (AFP) – The number of people thought to have died in the fast-moving wildfire that tore through part of Hawaii last month dropped Friday, as authorities revised their figures. The state’s governor, Josh Green, said scientists sorting through remains now believed that 97 people had perished in Lahaina, down from a previous official toll of 115. “That number dropped a little bit because the Department of Defense and all of […]
US authorities seize artworks allegedly stolen by Nazis
NEW YORK, Sept 15, 2023 (AFP) – US authorities seized three artworks allegedly looted by the Nazis and which are being sought by the heirs of a Jewish art collector who died in the Holocaust, officials said Thursday. They confirmed a report in The New York Times that said New York investigators had taken these works by the 1900s Austrian expressionist Egon Schiele from three US-based museums. In warrants issued Tuesday and seen by AFP, […]
US auto workers’ union launches historic strike on Detroit’s ‘Big Three’
WAYNE, United States, Sept 15, 2023 (AFP) – The US auto workers’ union launched a targeted strike at three factories just after midnight on Friday, ordering simultaneous stoppages at Detroit’s “Big Three” for the first time. The dramatic walkout — marked outside a Detroit-area Ford plant with rowdy honking and cheers at the arrival of the United Auto Workers’ leader — came after a last-minute push by General Motors, Ford and Stellantis failed to produce […]
Biden’s son Hunter indicted on gun charges
WASHINGTON, Sept 14, 2023 (AFP) – US President Joe Biden’s son Hunter was indicted Thursday for illegally buying a gun when he was using drugs, casting a new shadow over his father’s campaign for reelection next year. Hunter Biden, 53, was charged with two counts of making false statements when claiming on forms required for the 2018 gun purchase that he was not using drugs illegally at the time. A third charge said that, based […]
Top House Republican backs Biden impeachment inquiry
Republican House Speaker Kevin McCarthy, bowing to pressure from his party’s hard right, gave the go-ahead on Tuesday for an impeachment investigation into US President Joe Biden. “I am directing our House committee to open a formal impeachment inquiry into President Joe Biden,” McCarthy said, alleging that the Democratic president had lied to the American people about his son Hunter’s foreign business dealings. “House Republicans have uncovered serious and credible allegations about President Biden’s conduct,” […]
US hit by record number of billion-dollar disasters so far this year
WASHINGTON, Sept 11, 2023 (AFP) – Between January and August, the United States was struck by a record-breaking 23 weather and climate disasters where losses exceeded $1 billion in each case, official data showed Monday. The tally for 2023 has already exceeded the previous record of 22 such events in 2020, the National Oceanic and Atmospheric Administration (NOAA) said, and four months still remain in the year. These disasters included fires in Hawaii in August, […]
Hawaii’s Kilauea volcano erupts again
LOS ANGELES, Sept 11, 2023 (AFP) – Hawaii’s Kilauea volcano, one of the world’s most active, erupted again on Sunday, spewing fountains of lava more than 80 feet (24 meters) high. Kilauea began erupting at around 3:15 pm local time (0115 GMT Monday), the US Geological Survey’s Hawaiian Volcano Observatory said. “The eruption was preceded by a period of strong seismicity and rapid uplift of the summit,” it said. It is the third time the […]
Escaped Brazilian murderer evading US police steals rifle
NEW YORK, Sept 12, 2023 (AFP) – Schools near Philadelphia were closed and residents told to lock their doors Tuesday after an escaped Brazilian murderer dodged gunfire to steal a rifle from a home and was declared “extremely dangerous.” Danelo Cavalcante, who made a daring escape from Chester County Prison nearly two weeks ago, has become the subject of fear and fascination for Americans as he continues to avoid police dogs, drones, helicopters and special […]
Mexico moves closer to electing first woman president
By Jean Arce and Daniel Rook Mexico’s ruling party on Wednesday named former Mexico City mayor Claudia Sheinbaum as its candidate for the 2024 presidential election, ensuring that for the first time the two main rivals to lead the Latin American power will be women. Sheinbaum, a 61-year-old scientist by training, will face Xochitl Galvez, an outspoken businesswoman and senator with Indigenous roots selected to represent an opposition coalition, the Broad Front for Mexico. Both […]
Cuba uncovers human trafficking for Russia’s war in Ukraine
HAVANA, Sept 5, 2023 (AFP) – Cuba has identified an alleged human trafficking ring aimed at recruiting its citizens to fight in Russia’s war in Ukraine, the foreign ministry said Monday. The government was working to dismantle a “trafficking network that operates from Russia to incorporate Cuban citizens living there, and even some from Cuba, into the military forces involved in military operations in Ukraine,” the ministry said in a statement. The Cuban government had […]
Jill Biden contracts Covid: White House
WASHINGTON, Sept 5, 2023 (AFP) – US First Lady Jill Biden on Monday tested positive for Covid-19, the White House said. President Joe Biden tested negative. The 72-year-old first lady is experiencing “only mild symptoms,” her office said, and will remain in the couple’s home in Rehoboth Beach, Delaware. Jill Biden last tested positive for Covid a year ago. President Biden, 80, was administered a Covid test Monday evening and tested negative, the White House […]
