North America

WASHINGTON (AP) — The National Archives has asked former U.S. presidents and vice presidents to recheck their personal records for any classified documents following the news that President Joe Biden and former Vice President Mike Pence had such documents in their possession.

OTTAWA, Jan 25 (Reuters) - The Bank of Canada on Wednesday hiked its key interest rate to 4.5%, the highest level in 15 years, and became the first major central bank fighting global inflation to say it would likely hold off on further increases for now.

The 25-basis-point increase was in line with analysts' expectations. The bank has raised rates at a record pace of 425 basis points in 10 months to tame inflation, which peaked at 8.1% and slowed to 6.3% in December, still more than three times the bank's 2% target.

WASHINGTON, Jan 24 (Reuters) - The National Transportation Safety Board (NTSB) on Tuesday faulted Ethiopia's final report into the March 2019 Boeing 737 MAX fatal crash and said investigators did not adequately address the performance of the flight crew.

NTSB chair Jennifer Homendy said in an interview that Ethiopia's Aircraft Investigation Bureau (EAIB) had made errors in its report.

TAPACHULA, Mexico (AP) — With threatening phone calls, burned minibuses and at least three drivers shot to death, street gangs more closely associated with Central America are imposing their brand of terror-based extortion on public transportation drivers in southern Mexico.

Organized crime groups including the rival Mara Salvatrucha and Barrio 18 gangs have long maintained a presence along the border between Mexico and Guatemala, but Mexican authorities say their numbers have increased over the past year as El Salvador cracks down on gang members and their criminal enterprises.

HONOLULU (AP) — A judge on Tuesday ordered a man released from prison immediately after his attorneys presented new evidence and argued that he didn’t commit the crimes he was convicted of and spent more than 20 years locked up for: the 1991 murder, kidnapping and sexual assault of a woman visiting Hawaii.

Albert “Ian” Schweitzer, who was convicted in 2000 and sentenced to 130 years in prison, should be “released from his shackles immediately,” Judge Peter Kubota ruled.

WASHINGTON (AP) — At least three presidents. A vice president, a secretary of state, an attorney general. The mishandling of classified documents is not a problem unique to President Joe Biden and former President Donald Trump.

HALF MOON BAY, Calif. (AP) — A farmworker killed seven people in back-to-back shootings in a case of “workplace violence” at two Northern California mushroom farms, officials said Tuesday as the state mourned its third mass killing in just over a week.

Chunli Zhao, 66, was booked on suspicion of seven counts of murder and one count of attempted murder, jail records showed. He was being held without bail and scheduled for a Wednesday court appearance.

UNITED NATIONS, Jan 24 (APP):: Fewer victims of people trafficking are being identified, even as the coronavirus pandemic and other crises are increasing their vulnerability, according to a new report released on Tuesday by the UN Office on Drugs and Crime (UNODC).

Globally, the number of victims detected fell by 11 per cent in 2020 from the previous year, driven by fewer detections in low and medium-income countries.

WASHINGTON, Jan 24 (Reuters) - The United States, in a reversal, appears to be dropping its opposition to sending M1 Abrams battle tanks to Ukraine and an announcement could come as soon as this week, two U.S. officials told Reuters on Tuesday.

The officials, speaking on condition of anonymity, said they were not aware of a final U.S. decision to send the Abrams to Ukraine, a move that could encourage Germany to follow.

The Pentagon could not be immediately reached for comment.

UNITED NATIONS, Jan. 23 (Xinhua) -- UN Secretary-General Antonio Guterres was shocked and saddened by the mass shooting in Monterey Park in the U.S. state of California, his spokesman said on Monday.

Five women and five men were killed while another 10 people were injured in the mass shooting Saturday night in the city of Monterey Park, 16 km east of Los Angeles downtown, local authorities said Sunday. The death toll rose to 11 as of Monday.