North America

10 Dec 2018; DW: UN member states have adopted the UN's controversial migration compact at a conference in Morocco. A number of countries have refused to sign the nonbinding accord, among them the US.

The Global Compact for Safe, Orderly and Regular Migration has been formally adopted by UN member states at a conference in the Moroccan capital Marrakech.

10 Dec 2018; DW: US firms are by far at the top of the global arms trade, according to an expert report. Germany's largest defense company landed at 25th among the globe's top 100; Russia, Turkey and China are also boosting production.

US companies hold more than half of the world market share for military equipment, according to a recent study by the Stockholm International Peace Research Institute, SIPRI.

10 Dec 2018; AFP: Mexico's new President Andres Manuel Lopez Obrador said Sunday he would reverse shrinking investment in the state oil company by pouring $3.7 billion into Pemex in 2019, in a bid to boost crude and refined products' output.

"We are going to increase investment in Pemex by 75 billion pesos from what was authorized for 2018," the leftist president said in a speech in his home state of Tabasco.

NEW YORK (AP) — Stocks around the world are falling Monday, and U.S. indexes are mostly lower after flirting with sharp losses. Energy and financial companies are faring the worst.

The benchmark S&P 500 is on track for its fourth loss in a row, and the Dow Jones Industrial Average lost as much as 507 points before recovering somewhat.

The British pound is dropping to its lowest level in more 18 months after the U.K. prime minister postponed a vote on its departure from the European Union, and oil has resumed its sharp slide.

VANCOUVER, British Columbia (AP) — China raised the pressure on the United States and Canada as a bail hearing for a top Chinese technology executive resumed Monday in Vancouver, British Columbia.

Meng Wanzhou, the chief financial officer of Chinese telecommunications giant Huawei and daughter of its founder, was detained at the request of the U.S. during a layover at the Vancouver airport on Dec. 1 — the same day that Presidents Donald Trump and Xi Jinping of China agreed to a 90-day cease-fire in a trade dispute that threatens to disrupt global commerce.

WASHINGTON (AP) — President Donald Trump is in denial when it comes to the Russia investigation and other scandals besieging him.

The president insists he’s been fully vindicated by court filings released Friday that lay out the level of cooperation from two of his former top advisers, whom prosecutors have accused of lying to federal investigators or Congress. In fact, Trump’s Justice Department puts him in even greater legal jeopardy by directly implicating him in an illegal scheme involving hush money payments to a porn actress and a former Playboy model.

9 Dec 2018; AFP: The world is talking about the Migration Compact, but the UN says its Refugee Pact is just as important. The agreement is up for a vote this week at a conference in Marrakesh. Can it win over the United States?

Ahead of a General Assembly vote next week, all 193 United Nations member nations have expressed support for the Refugee Pact, with one lone hold-out: the United States.

SAN FRANCISCO (AP) — A dog that survived the catastrophic wildfire in Northern California apparently protected the ruins of his home for almost a month until his owner returned.

Madison was there waiting when Andrea Gaylord was allowed back to check on her burned property in Paradise this week.

Gaylord fled when the Nov. 8 fire broke out and decimated the town of 27,000. An animal rescuer who responded to Gaylord’s request to check on Madison first spotted the male Anatolian shepherd mix several days later.

WASHINGTON (AP) — For the first time, prosecutors have tied President Donald Trump to a federal crime, accusing him of directing illegal hush-money payments to women during his presidential campaign in 2016.

WASHINGTON (AP) — President Donald Trump said Saturday that chief of staff John Kelly will leave his job by year’s end amid an expected West Wing reshuffling reflecting a focus on the 2020 re-election campaign and the challenge of governing with Democrats reclaiming control of the House.