by Huw GRIFFITH Agence France-Presse LOS ANGELES, United States (AFP) — A bomb cyclone smashed into California on Wednesday, bringing powerful winds and torrential rain that was expected to cause flooding in areas already saturated by consecutive storms. Authorities issued ominous warnings of threats to life and property for a vast stretch of the most populous US state, focused around San Francisco and Sacramento. Forecasters said gusts of up to 70 miles (110 kilometers) an […]
North America
Amazon to cut more than 18,000 jobs, CEO says
WASHINGTON, United States (AFP) – Amazon announced Wednesday it will cut more than 18,000 jobs from its workforce, citing “the uncertain economy” and the fact that the online retail giant had “hired rapidly” during the pandemic. “Between the reductions we made in November and the ones we’re sharing today, we plan to eliminate just over 18,000 roles,” said CEO Andy Jassy in a statement to his staff. The company had announced 10,000 layoffs in November. Jassey […]
Biden to receive Japan’s PM Kishida on Jan. 13: White House
WASHINGTON, United States (AFP) – US President Joe Biden will host Japan’s Prime Minister Fumio Kishida on January 13, the White House announced Tuesday. “President Biden looks forward to welcoming Prime Minister Kishida Fumio of Japan to the White House on Friday, January 13th to further deepen ties between our governments, economies, and our people,” the White House said in a statement. The two leaders will talk about ways to address climate change as well as […]
Chaos as US House adjourns without choosing speaker
by Frankie TAGGART Agence France-Presse WASHINGTON, United States (AFP) — The new US Congress was plunged into disarray Tuesday as renegade right-wing Republicans blocked favorite Kevin McCarthy from becoming speaker of the House of Representatives in a series of humiliating votes seen as a rebuke to the party establishment. The California congressman needed a simple majority to be elected as Washington’s top legislator, who presides over House business and is second in line to the […]
Seoul says talks underway over joint nuclear exercises
SEOUL, South Korea (AFP) — Seoul and Washington are discussing joint planning and exercises involving US nuclear assets to counter growing threats from the North, South Korea’s presidential office said Tuesday, after US President Joe Biden said there would be no such joint drills. The statement was released after Biden said the United States was not discussing joint nuclear exercises with South Korea, seemingly contradicting comments by Seoul’s President Yoon Suk-yeol earlier this week. The […]
Seven killed as Mexican police seek escaped prisoners
MEXICO CITY, Mexico (AFP) — Seven people were killed Monday in northern Mexico’s Ciudad Juarez during a police operation to recapture prisoners who escaped after an attack at their facility, state authorities announced. Gunmen attacked the border city’s state prison on Sunday at dawn, leaving nearly 20 people dead and allowing the prisoners, which include a gang leader, to flee. Monday’s deaths — two agents from the state prosecutor’s office and five alleged criminals — […]
Tesla posts disappointing deliveries for 2022
NEW YORK, United States (AFP) – Tesla said Monday it had delivered 1.31 million electric vehicles in 2022 — a record for the US automaker and a 40 percent jump from a year before, but still short of its own and Wall Street’s expectations. The Elon Musk-led company has set a long-term goal of increasing its deliveries by 50 percent a year on average. Tesla regularly says the objective may fluctuate based on operations and in […]
Why China’s Covid wave is stirring fear
by Laurie CHEN Agence France-Press BEIJING, China (AFP) — China is experiencing a huge Covid-19 surge after years of hardline containment restrictions were dismantled last month. A growing number of countries are worried about a lack of data and transparency surrounding China’s outbreak. Here is why it is sparking concern: – Unreliable data – Beijing has admitted the scale of the outbreak has become “impossible” to track following the end of mandatory mass testing last […]
Armed attack on Mexican prison leaves 14 dead
CIUDAD JUÁREZ, Mexico (AFP) — Gunmen attacked a prison in the northern Mexican city of Ciudad Juarez on Sunday, leaving 14 people dead and allowing 24 inmates to escape, the Chihuahua state prosecutors’ office said. An unknown number of gunmen aboard armored vehicles took part in the attack, and the dead included 10 prison guards and security agents, the office said in a statement. About five hours after the dawn incursion began, security forces managed […]
World steps into 2023 after turbulent year
New York, United States (AFP) by Yuki IWAMURA with AFP bureaus The world’s eight billion people have been ushering in 2023, bidding farewell to a turbulent year marked by war in Europe, stinging price rises, Lionel Messi’s World Cup glory and the deaths of Queen Elizabeth, Pele and former pope Benedict. Many set aside pinched budgets and a virus that is increasingly forgotten, but not gone, to embrace a party atmosphere on New Year’s Eve […]
More countries roll out China traveller checks amid Covid surge
Beijing, China (AFP) Travellers from China now face restrictions when entering more than a dozen countries as concern grows over its surge in Covid-19 cases, with Australia the latest to demand a negative test before arrival. Last month, Beijing abruptly began dismantling its “zero-Covid” containment policy of lockdowns and mass testing, three years after the coronavirus first emerged in the city of Wuhan. As Covid overwhelms Chinese hospitals and crematoriums, officials have insisted that the wave is “under […]
Police make arrest in Idaho student murders
Los Angeles, United States (AFP) US police investigating the frenzied stabbing of four students at a small Idaho university said Friday they had arrested a man on the other side of the country. The brutal killings in mid-November left the college town of Moscow in shock as residents struggled to come to grips with the first murders there in several years. The students –- Kaylee Goncalves, 21; Madison Mogen, 21; Xana Kernodle, 20; and Kernodle’s […]
