Dee Margo warned Donald Trump that closing the border would have a ‘detrimental, almost draconian’ impact on the region
The Republican mayor of El Paso, the largest American city on the US border with Mexico, has warned Donald Trump that if he goes ahead this week with his threat to close the border it would have a “detrimental, almost draconian” impact on the entire region.
“It would be a critical killer to us, frankly”, the mayor, Dee Margo, said.
Continue reading...Underwater haul of Tiwanaku ceremonial relics is unprecedented, say academics
An ancient ceremonial site described as exceptional has been discovered in the Andes by marine archaeologists, who recovered ritual offerings and the remains of slaughtered animals from a reef in the middle of Lake Titicaca.
The remarkable haul points to a history of highly charged ceremonies in which the elite of the region’s Tiwanaku state boated out to the reef and sacrificed young llamas, seemingly decorated for death, and made offerings of gold and exquisite stone miniatures to a ray-faced deity, as incense billowed from pottery pumas.
Continue reading...Trudeau cited international commitments to fight global warning as premiers to say they would challenge the measure
Canada has imposed a landmark carbon tax on four provinces which had defied Ottawa’s push to combat climate change, prompting unhappy premiers to say they would challenge the measure.
Related: How to make a carbon tax popular? Give the proceeds to the people
Continue reading...President says there is a ‘good likelihood’ he will close border this week if Mexico does not stop immigrants from reaching US
US consumers would run out of avocados in three weeks if Donald Trump makes good on his threat to close down the US–Mexico border.
Trump said on Friday that there was a “very good likelihood” he would close the border this week if Mexico did not stop immigrants from reaching the United States.
Continue reading...President announces 30-day rationing plan and says pro-government colectivos must ‘defend the peace of every block’
Venezuela’s authoritarian leader Nicolás Maduro has called on armed pro-government groups to help subdue unrest as he announced a 30-day electricity rationing plan set to inflict further pain on the population.
In a televised address, Maduro said he had no choice but to take drastic measures while his government rebuilt key sections of Venezuela’s national grid following a succession of crippling power failures since 7 March.
Continue reading...The Trump administration reiterated on Sunday the president’s threat to close the border with Mexico, regardless of potentially severe consequences for the US economy.
Related: Under the bridge: migrants held in El Paso tell of dust, cold and hunger
Continue reading...Bill 62 is the fruit of over a decade of institutionalized animus directed towards the province’s religious minorities
The government of Quebec, Canada’s second-most populous province, wishes to assure everyone that its newly proposed religious symbol ban doesn’t target hijabs, kippa, kirpans and the like. Rather, by outlawing the wearing of such accoutrements by certain government workers, it is ensuring that those who police streets, judge defendants, guard prisoners and teach children do not betray even a modicum of faith to those in their care – “a concrete affirmation that the Quebec state is secular”, as Quebec’s immigration minister, Simon Jolin-Barrette, put it recently.
Related: US woman kidnapped in Afghanistan says husband's abuse was just like captors'
Continue reading...Singer ‘devastated’ but expects to make full recovery and tells fans to keep tickets
Sir Mick Jagger has said he is “devastated” to let down fans after the Rolling Stones announced they were postponing a tour of the US and Canada while the frontman seeks medical treatment.
The singer, 75, has been told by doctors that he cannot go on tour at the moment but has been advised that he is expected to make a full recovery. No further details of his condition were given.
A statement from the group said: “Unfortunately today the Rolling Stones have had to announce the postponement of their upcoming US/Canada tour dates – we apologise for any inconvenience this causes those who have tickets to shows but wish to reassure fans to hold on to these existing tickets, as they will be valid for rescheduled dates, which will be announced shortly.
“Mick has been advised by doctors that he cannot go on tour at this time, as he needs medical treatment.
Continue reading...The Red Cross has brokered a deal with representatives of Venezuela’s embattled leader Nicolás Maduro and his rival Juan Guaidó to allow humanitarian aid into the country, indicating a seldom-seen middle ground between the two men that contest the presidency.
The first shipment of aid for about 650,000 vulnerable people could reach Venezuela in two weeks, Francesco Rocca, the president of the International Federation of the Red Cross told a press conference on Friday.
Continue reading...Caitlan Coleman says her Canadian husband, Joshua Boyle, was violent towards her before, during and after their kidnapping
A Canadian man who was kidnapped with his wife in Afghanistan was controlling and violent towards her before, during and after their five-year hostage ordeal, she told a Canadian court on Friday.
Caitlan Coleman, 33, gave testimony for a second day at the trial of Joshua Boyle, 35 who faces 19 criminal charges, including sexual assault, unlawful confinement and uttering death threats.
Continue reading...Tech firm has acted as US-Havana intermediary as memo says Cubans trust Google more than Trump administration
Google has worked as an intermediary between the Trump administration and the Cuban government as it has sought a deal to improve internet access on the island, according to private remarks by Google’s manager in Havana.
Related: Apple Arcade v Google Stadia: which is the future for video games?
Continue reading...Explorer Thor Heyerdahl collected many items in his effort to prove South American immigration theory
Norway has agreed to hand back thousands of artefacts removed from Easter Island by the explorer Thor Heyerdahl during his trans-Pacific raft expeditions in the 1950s.
An agreement was signed by representatives of Oslo’s Kon-Tiki Museum and officials of Chile’s culture ministry at a ceremony in Santiago as part of a state visit by Norway’s King Harald V and Queen Sonja.
Continue reading...Study finds that places where people have never had the diseases could see bad outbreaks if they aren’t prepared
Half a billion more people could be at risk from mosquito-transmitted diseases within 30 years as a result of the warming climate, according to a new study.
Canada and parts of northern Europe could be newly exposed to the threat. People there could come into contact with yellow fever, Zika, dengue and chikungunya, as well as other emerging diseases.
Continue reading...Government investigation concludes the attack on Valérie Théorêt, 37 and Adèle, 10 months, was unpreventable
The grizzly bear that killed a Canadian schoolteacher and her infant daughter was injured and desperate for food, according to a government investigation which concluded the tragic attack could not have been prevented.
Valérie Théorêt, 37 and Adèle, 10 months, were killed in November by a male grizzly bear in an unprovoked attack as they walked close to the family’s remote cabin in the Yukon.
Continue reading...Prime minister was criticized as ‘aloof ass’ for telling woman who interrupted him: ‘Thank you very much for your donation’
Justin Trudeau has apologized for a sarcastic response to indigenous activists protesting against the contamination of drinking water, admitting on Thursday that he handled the situation poorly.
Related: 'He's not a bad person, but …' scandal-hit Justin Trudeau turns voters off
Continue reading...Venezuelan leader claimed in a broadcast the latest outage was caused by mercenaries ‘sent by the coup-mongering right’
Nicolás Maduro has asked Venezuelans to pray for the country’s recovery from another crippling nationwide blackout, in a crackly and foreboding telephone interview that reinforced the mounting sense of crisis.
Related: Venezuela blackout: what caused it and what happens next?
Continue reading...A couple who split after a five-year hostage ordeal in Afghanistan have faced each other in a Canadian court at the husband’s trial for sexually assaulting his wife.
US citizen Caitlan Coleman, 33, described meeting Joshua Boyle on a Star Wars chatroom before launching a “rollercoaster” relationship that ended in the alleged abuse after their 2017 release.
Continue reading...Announcement comes as Juan Guaidó’s wife met with Donald Trump and Vice-President Mike Pence in Washington
The opposition figurehead battling to topple Nicolás Maduro has told supporters to prepare for a final nationwide push against Venezuela’s authoritarian leader after the country suffered its fourth massive blackout in less than three weeks.
Addressing a rally in Caracas, Juan Guaidó said it was time for Venezuelans of all social classes to increase pressure through what he called Operación Libertad (Operation Freedom) – a mobilization across the country that would culminate in a massive march through the capital.
Continue reading...Study suggests Brazil likely to rush to fill China’s sudden soy shortfall by boosting farming
The Amazon rainforest could be the greatest casualty of the trade war between the United States and China, warns a new study showing how deforestation pressures have surged as a result of the geopolitical jolt in global soy markets.
Up to 13m hectares of forest and savannah – an area the size of Greece – would have to be cleared if Brazil and other exporters were to fill the huge shortfall in soy supply to China that has suddenly appeared since Donald Trump imposed hefty tariffs, according to the paper published in Nature.
US exports of the commodity, primarily used to feed livestock, to China plummeted by 50% last year, which the authors say is an unusually sharp level of decline between two trading partners outside wartime.
The 22-year-old located with minor injuries a 90-minute drive from site of his abduction near Toronto
Canadian police have safely located a missing Chinese student, three days after he became the victim of a brazen stun-gun kidnapping at the hands of a violent gang.
Wanzhen Lu, 22, was found with minor injuries by police in Gravenhurst, Ontario, a city 180km (110 miles) north of Toronto on Tuesday evening.
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