List of All Articles with Tag 'rica'

Gen Tchiani said that Niger did not want a war but would defend itself against foreign intervention.

Egypt expects to begin making use of a five-year, $500 million financing deal provided by the United Arab

European diplomats are not overlooking the possibility that Donald Trump might secure a second term in the Oval Office if he is re-elected in 2024, and are actively formulating back-up strategies in case this scenario materialises, according to a report. The prospect of Mr Trump returning to the White House has become an important topic of discussion in private conversations, with some calling it “terrifying”, The New York Times reported. Steven Everts, a European Union diplomat who is set to become the director of the European Union Institute for Security Studies, told the outlet that his colleagues were relieved at US president Joe Biden’s response to the Ukraine war. But they are now being “forced to confront the Trump question again”. “It’s slightly terrifying, it’s fair to say,” he said. He noted that the US plays an important role in European security, and said that diplomats will now “have to think again about what this means for our own politics, for European defence and for Ukraine itself”. The discussions around the potential fallout if Mr Trump returns to power are intensifying as the former president is emerging as a strong challenger for the Republican presidential nomination, tying up with his popularity in opinion polls despite a slew of indictments against him. Fresh polling conducted by the Associated Press-Norc Center for Public Affairs Research revealed that almost two-thirds of Republicans, specifically 63 per cent, are now expressing their desire that the former president run for office again. This marks a marginal increase from April’s figure of 55 per cent, which was recorded when Mr Trump was beginning to confront a string of criminal allegations. Additionally, Mr Trump’s favourability rating among Republicans has climbed, with seven in 10 respondents holding a positive opinion of him, up from the 60 per cent reported two months earlier. The possibility that the former president could secure a second term has not escaped the attention of Western Europeans – especially in Germany, given the notable animosity Mr Trump appears to harbour towards the country. A second term as president “would be different from the first, and much worse”, Thomas Kleine-Brockhoff, a former official in the German government, told the Times. “Trump has experience now and knows what levers to pull, and he’s angry,” he said. He added that the former chancellor of Germany, Angela Merkel, had known how to deal with Mr Trump and had talked about “managing the man”. One of the primary concerns of US allies pertains to the potential impact of a Trump comeback on Russia’s invasion of Ukraine, a situation in which many European countries have significant involvement. During his presidency, Mr Trump threatened to withdraw Washington from Nato, and withheld assistance from Ukraine as it grappled with a Russian-supported rebellion – a matter that contributed to his first impeachment. He also gave the order to withdraw thousands of US troops from Germany, in a decision that was subsequently reversed by Mr Biden. If Mr Trump returned to power following the 2024 election, it is possible that Ukraine will still be in deep conflict with Russia, a country that has continued to make subtle and even direct threats to use nuclear weapons in the region. Mr Trump has said he would end the war in a day, which analysts have said suggests that he would force Ukraine to cede territory to Russia. Read More Trump sparks derision for saying he was ‘apple of Putin’s eye’ as EU diplomats ‘terrified’ of 2024 win – live Biden hails ‘a new era in partnership’ as US, Japan and Korea announce ‘Camp David Principles’ Russia's Luna-25 spacecraft suffers technical glitch in pre-landing maneuver Indictment shows White House lawyers struggling for control as Trump fought to overturn election Ecuadorians choosing a new president amid increasing violence that may scare away voters Guatemalans head to the polls, hoping their new leader will bring real change

Hurricane Hilary is expected to slam into Southern California on Sunday as a rare tropical storm, unleashing floods, fierce winds and heavy downpours as residents evacuate, parks and beaches close and first responders brace for water rescues.

Khartoum has become lawless after four months of war, forcing some residents to arm themselves.

The ex-wife of slain Microsoft executive Jared Bridegan is fighting extradition to Florida, where she stands accused of orchestrating a plot to murder Bridegan. Mr Bridegan, 33, was shot dead after dropping off his two children at his ex-wife Shanna Gardner-Fernandez’s home near Jacksonville, Florida. A third child — Mr Bridegan’s with his second wife — was in the car at the time of the shooting and was uninjured. Mario Fernandez, Ms Gardner-Fernandez’s second husband, was arrested in March and was charged with orchestrating the murder by hiring Henry Tenon, a tenant residing in one of his properties, to kill Mr Bridegan. Mr Tenon has admitted to shooting the executive. On Thursday, police announced that Ms Gardner-Fernandez had been indicted on a first-degree murder charge and is accused of conspiring to have her husband killed. Ms Gardner-Fernandez is currently in the custody of the Benton County Corrections Department in Washington. During a court appearance on Friday, Ms Gardner-Fernandez refused to waive extradition to Florida, where she faces charges of first-degree murder, conspiracy to commit first-degree murder and child endangerment, Fox News reports. She is being held without bond and is expected to reappear in court on 14 September. Read More Ex-wife charged with murder of Microsoft executive Jared Bridegan Microsoft exec Jared Bridegan was shot dead in a chilling ambush. Did his ex wife arrange it?

It’s late August, which means we’re headed to Jackson Hole for the Kansas City Fed’s annual symposium, attended

On 10 August, California regulators voted to expand the footprint of paid taxi services by autonomous, driverless cars from Cruise and Waymo in San Francisco. Since then, it’s been utter chaos, with the AVs involved in traffic jams, slapstick malfunctions, and a car accident with a fire truck. A day after the vote, video went viral on social media showing about 10 frozen Cruise taxis snarling traffic in the North Beach neighbourhood, which company officials later said was caused by a connectivity issue due to a spike in cell traffic because of a nearby music festival. The following Tuesday, a Cruise taxi was stuck in wet concrete at a construction site. “I can see five different scenarios where bad things happen and this is one of them,” resident Paul Harvey told SFGATE. “It thinks it’s a road and it ain’t because it ain’t got a brain and it can’t tell that it’s freshly poured concrete.” Two days after that, a Cruise taxi had what might be its most serious accident yet, colliding with a fire truck in the Tenderloin neighbourhood, giving the taxi’s passengers non-severe injuries. A firefighter in the truck said the AV “lurched” as it passed through an intersection ABC 7 reports, while Cruise said its vehicle detected the emergency sirens but was unable to get out of the way in time from the truck, which drove into the oncoming traffic lane. “The AV’s ability to successfully chart the emergency vehicle’s path was complicated by the fact that the emergency vehicle was in the oncoming lane of traffic, which it had moved into to bypass the red light,” the company wrote in a statement. “Cruise AVs have the ability to detect emergency sirens, which increase their ability to operate safely around emergency vehicles and accompanying scenes. In this instance, the AV identified the siren as soon as it was distinguishable from the background noise. “The Cruise AV did identify the risk of a collision and initiated a braking maneuver, reducing its speed, but was ultimately unable to avoid the collision,” the company added. Following the repeated mishaps, the California Department of Motor Vehicles asked Cruise to cut its 400-strong deployment of AVs in San Francisco in half, with the agency saying it was “investigating recent concerning incidents.” As The Independent reported, critics of AVs warned ahead of their expansion in San Francisco that the driverless cars weren’t ready for primetime, particularly when it comes to interfacing with emergency vehicles. According to data Cruise shared with the state earlier this month, between January and mid-July of 2023, Cruise AVs temporarily malfunctioned or shut down 177 times and required recovery, 26 of which such incidents occurred with a passenger inside, while Waymo recorded 58 such events in a similar time frame. Meanwhile, according to the San Francisco Municipal Transit Agency (SFMTA), between April 2022 and April 2023, Cruise and Waymo vehicles have been involved in over 300 incidents of irregular driving including unexpected stops and collisions, while the San Francisco Fire Department says AVs have interfered 55 times in their work in 2023. Last year, Cruise lost contact with its entire fleet for 20 minutes according to internal documentation viewed by WIRED, and an anonymous employee warned California regulators that year the company loses touch with its vehicles “with regularity.” Since being rolled out in San Francisco, robotaxis have killed a dog, caused a mile-long traffic jam during rush hour, blocked a traffic lane as officials responded to a shooting, and driven over fire hoses. Jeffrey Tumlin, San Francisco’s director of transportation, has called the rollout of robotaxis a “race to the bottom,” arguing Cruise and Waymo weren’t yet definitive transit solutions, and instead had only “met the requirements for a learner’s permit.” Read More How a vote to empower autonomous ‘robotaxis’ from Cruise and Waymo has divided San Francisco GM's Cruise autonomous vehicle unit agrees to cut fleet in half after 2 crashes in San Francisco San Francisco launches driverless bus service following robotaxi expansion GM's Cruise autonomous vehicle unit agrees to cut fleet in half after 2 crashes in San Francisco Chinese military launches drills around Taiwan as 'warning' after top island official stopped in US San Francisco launches driverless bus service following robotaxi expansion

A family member of Idaho murder victim Kaylee Goncalves reportedly wore a shirt with a pro-firing squad message at her suspected killer’s hearing. Bryan Kohberger, 28, returned to the Latah County Courthouse on Friday for a pre-trial hearing. Mr Kohberger, a former criminology PhD student at Washington State University, is accused of the 13 November slayings of University of Idaho students Goncalves, Madison Mogen, Xana Kernodle, and Ethan Chapin. Mr Kohberger’s attorneys requested additional DNA from prosecutors, who said they could not produce material that had not yet been provided to them by the crime lab. Judge John Judge also denied the defence’s motion alleging that prosecutors had violented Mr Kohberger’s rights by convening a 32-people grand jury, instead of 45, according to NewsNation. The judge ruled that there weren’t any substantial failures in the grand jury indictment, allowing the trial to move forward with its 2 October start date. During the proceedings, a Goncalves family member was reportedly seen wearing a shirt supporting the death by firing squad if Mr Kohberger were to be convicted, Idaho Statesman reporter Kevin Fixler revealed on X, formerly known as Twitter. Prosecutors announced earlier this year that they would be seeking the death penalty in the quadruple murder case. Due to a bill signed into law in March by the state’s Republican Governor Brad Little, which goes into effect on 1 July, Mr Kohberger could face the firing squad if convicted of the murders. Death row inmates are to be executed by firing squad only if the lethal injection is not available. Shortly after Mr Kohberger’s arrest in January, Goncalves family members voiced their support for the death penalty. The grieving relatives, along with all the parties involved in the high-profile case have since been banned from speaking to the media about the ongoing proceedings. Mr Kohberger is due to stand trial on 2 October after being indicted by a grand jury on four counts of first-degree murder and one burglary charge. His defence claimed earlier this month that he was out on a solo drive on the night of the murders. Prosecutors have tied him to the murders, in part, through surveillance footage showing his white Hyundai Elantra travelling to and from the crime scene. The affidavit, released in January, outlined some of the evidence against the accused killer – including his DNA on a knife sheath left behind at the scene of the murders, the surveillance footage and cellphone activity. The sheath – for a military or Ka-Bar style knife – was found partly under Mogen’s body after she and Goncalves were found stabbed multiple times on Mogen’s bed on the third floor of the home. DNA on the button clasp of the sheath was then found to match that of the 28-year-old accused killer. Mr Kohberger’s attorneys have sought to cast doubts on the strength of this DNA evidence, in particular the use of genetic genealogy. On Friday, Mr Kohberger’s defence asked prosecutors to share the lab results of three unidentified male DNA samples reportedly found at the crime scene. Prosecutors argued that they have provided everything and that they “can’t provide something that doesn’t exist”. “There has to be some level of trust in discovery. You are all sworn attorneys,” Mr Judge said. Read More Defence for Idaho murders suspect say they don’t have all the evidence from prosecutors at key hearing Bryan Kohberger’s defence seeks to undercut DNA evidence against him in Idaho murders case Bryan Kohberger finally reveals vague alibi for night of Idaho murders

A Florida-based member of the Proud Boys, who was found guilty on seven charges related to his involvement in the January 6 riot, was initially scheduled to be sentenced on Friday in a Washington DC court. However, he has gone missing. A wanted notice has been issued against Christopher Worrell by the FBI after he went missing hours before his sentencing. Patricia Hartman, a spokesperson for the US Attorney’s Office for the District of Columbia, told NBC News: “We are keen to receive any information from the public regarding his location.” According to court records, the sentencing hearing for Worrell, initially slated for Friday at 2.30pm ET has been indefinitely delayed. US District Judge Royce Lamberth, on Thursday, issued an official notice revealing the issuance of an arrest warrant for Worrell. This notification wasn’t officially recorded until Friday. The FBI added him to the wanted list for “violating conditions of release pending sentencing on federal charges related to the violence at the United States Capitol in Washington, DC, on 6 January 2021”. The FBI encouraged individuals with information to make contact with their local FBI office or embassy. He was convicted by Judge Lamberth on all seven charges, including obstruction of an official proceeding by lawmakers, assaulting officers during the riots and engaging in violence on Capitol grounds. “The evidence demonstrates that Mr Worrell travelled to Washington, DC, for the purpose of ensuring that the Electoral College Certification of President Biden failed,” Mr Lamberth said in a written version of his ruling against Worrell. “The evidence shows that he then furthered that goal, by both joining the mob and then by spraying the officers,” he added. Worrell had used a “pepper gel” spray against police during the 6 January riots. He was initially detained pre-trial following his arrest in March 2021 but the judge ordered his released to home detention in November that year. It was after it come to light that Washington DC jail officials had failed to provide Worrell a proper treatment for his non-Hodgkin’s lymphoma as well as his broken hand. The prosecution is aiming to secure a 14-year imprisonment term for Worrell, based on his unwillingness to acknowledge culpability, absence of remorse, and false statements made while testifying under oath. Worrell’s associate and co-defendant, Daniel Scott, who is also affiliated with the Florida chapter of the Proud Boys, received a five-year prison sentence last month. Read More Trump dubbed ‘coward’ for skipping GOP debate for interview with Tucker Carlson: Live updates Biden goes west for his second vacation of the month Lolita the orca dies after spending more than half a century in captivity

Officials in Miami, New Orleans and Houston are now grappling with how to handle two potentially deadly disasters set to compound: a hurricane and extreme heat.

Shein is the most downloaded shopping app on South Africa’s Google Play store. And it isn’t even trying