North America

7 June 2019; MEMO: The United States has decided to stop accepting any additional Turkish pilots who planned to come to the United States to train on F-35 fighter jets, US officials say, in a clear sign of the escalating dispute over Ankara’s plans to purchase Russian air defences, Reuters reports.

MEXICO CITY, June 6 (Xinhua) -- The Mexican government blocked the bank accounts of 26 individuals and businesses who are allegedly involved in trafficking migrants and organizing illegal caravans, the Finance Ministry said Thursday.

The Financial Intelligence Unit (FIU) of the Finance Ministry applied a methodology that linked the migrant caravans heading to Mexico from October 2018 till now, as well as the economic resources via money transfers.

UNITED NATIONS, Jun 06 (APP): UN Secretary-General Antonio Guterres, marking World Environment Day, has emphasized the link between worsening levels of air pollution and the climate crisis.

As well as claiming seven million lives every year, and damaging children’s development, the UN chief noted in a message on the occasion that many air pollutants cause global warming, which he has described as “an existential threat.”

UNITED NATIONS, June 6 (APP): The World Bank has lowered its expectations of global economic growth for this year in a new report, saying that, although the picture for poorer countries is expected to stabilize in 2020, economic momentum remains weak.

The risks to emerging and developing economies include rising trade barriers, slow investment, and economic slowdowns in richer countries.

“Stronger economic growth is essential to reducing poverty and improving living standards,” said World Bank Group President, David Malpass, in a statement released in Washington.

EL ARENAL, Mexico (AP) — After decades of building a domestic market for Tequila Cascahuín, Salvador Rosales readied the family business for a plunge into the U.S. export market this year. He made sure he had a stable supply of high-quality blue agave, the succulent whose juice is distilled into tequila, so that once they planted their flag, they wouldn’t disappoint.

In a mission to “improve the aesthetic appearance” of President Donald Trump’s wall, active-duty troops will begin painting a stretch of border fence as part of a military deployment to secure the border at a time when tens of thousands of Central American families have been arriving in the U.S. and overwhelming the immigration system.

SACRAMENTO, Calif. (AP) — Leaders of the Aryan Brotherhood prison gang were charged Thursday with directing killings and drug smuggling from within California’s most secure prisons, U.S. prosecutors said.

The charges detail five slayings and accuse an attorney of helping smuggle drugs and cellphones to aid the white supremacist gang.

Sixteen Aryan Brotherhood members and associates are accused of running the criminal enterprise using contraband cellphones, encrypted chats, text messages, multimedia messages and email.

MEXICO CITY (AP) — Mexico’s president said Thursday he will hold a “unity” rally on the border in Tijuana two days before the U.S. is set to impose tariffs on all Mexican imports.

President Andrés Manuel López Obrador announced that a demonstration will be held Saturday to defend Mexico’s “dignity” amid a looming threat from U.S. President Donald Trump, who has pledged to impose 5% tariffs on Mexican products unless the country prevents Central American migrants from traveling through its territory.

WASHINGTON (AP) — Former New York City Mayor Michael Bloomberg is plunging $500 million into an effort to close all of the nation’s remaining coal plants by 2030 and put the United States on track toward a 100% clean energy economy.

RALEIGH, N.C. (AP) — More than two years after voter check-in software failed on Election Day in a North Carolina county, federal authorities will finally conduct a forensic analysis of electronic poll books to see if Russian military hackers who targeted the software provider may have tampered with registration information to disrupt voting.