North America

Washington, Jul 2 (AFP/PTI) The United States on Monday proposed USD 4 billion in tariffs on a range of European Union products -- including parmesan cheese and Scotch and Irish whiskey -- over subsidies for commercial aircraft.

The list also includes sausages, hams, pasta, olives and many other cheeses including reggiano, provolone, edam and gouda.

"Today, the Office of the US Trade Representative is issuing for public comment a supplemental list of products that could potentially be subject to additional duties," it said in a statement.

UNITED NATIONS, Jul 02 (APP): The United Nations peacekeeping chief has praised Pakistani troops for the “great dedication and professionalism” they have displayed in serving the world body’s peacekeeping missions around the globe that contribute to the maintenance of international peace and security.

WASHINGTON, July 1 (Xinhua) -- U.S. President Donald Trump and French President Emmanuel Macron on Monday discussed over phone issues concerning Iran and the Democratic People's Republic of Korea (DPRK), the White House said.

The two leaders discussed the Iran's decision to surpass the limit of the low-grade enriched uranium stockpile under the Iran nuclear deal and Trump's latest meeting with Kim, the White House said in a statement, without offering any details.

Macron reportedly said that he was hoping to convince Trump to renew negotiations with Iran.

NEW YORK, July 1 (Xinhua) -- The U.S. Toy Association was "relieved" at Washington's decision to halt additional new tariffs on Chinese imports, the association said Monday.

"It is our hope that renewed negotiations will produce meaningful progress, while we remain adamant that tariffs on children's toys is the wrong approach and should never come to pass," said Steve Pasierb, president and chief executive of the association, in a statement.

WASHINGTON (AP) — President Donald Trump is kicking off a flag-waving weekwith the false statement that he gave troops their first raise in a decade.

TRUMP: “You also got very nice pay raises for the last couple of years. Congratulations. Oh, you care about that. They care about that. I didn’t think you noticed. Yeah, you were entitled. You know, it was close to 10 years before you had an increase. Ten years. And we said, ‘It’s time.’ And you got a couple of good ones, big ones, nice ones.” — remarks Sunday to service members at Osan Air Base, South Korea.

MENLO PARK, Calif. (AP) — A Facebook mail facility near company headquarters was evacuated Monday after a routine check found mail possibly containing the nerve agent sarin.

Authorities put the site under quarantine as they conducted additional testing. Four buildings were evacuated and three have been cleared for people to come back in, said Facebook spokesman Anthony Harrison in a statement. The suspicious package was delivered around 11 a.m. to one of the company’s mail rooms, he said.

“Authorities have not yet identified the substance found,” Harrison wrote.

WASHINGTON (AP) — President Donald Trump signed a $4.6 billion aid package on Monday to help the federal government cope with the surge of Central American immigrants at the U.S.-Mexico border.

Many Democratic lawmakers were hoping for more. They wanted to provide stronger protections for how migrants are treated at holding facilities and to make it easier for lawmakers to make snap visits.

SAN FRANCISCO (AP) — A woman who was prosecuted in Montana for trying to drown her baby son more than a decade ago has been accused of killing the now 12-year-old boy by drowning him in California, authorities said Monday.

Sheriff’s deputies found the boy and his 7-year-old brother unresponsive in a full irrigation canal near a cornfield. An autopsy said Jackson Telnas died of drowning, and officials said the younger boy is hospitalized in critical condition but didn’t detail what injuries he suffered.

Clint, Texas (AP) — For almost two weeks, a 12-year-old migrant girl said she and her 6-year-old sister were held inside a Border Patrol station in Texas where they slept on the floor and some children were locked away when they cried for their parents.

She was one of hundreds of migrant children who have been held this year in holding cells at a U.S. Customs and Border Protection station near El Paso that has come under fire for holding children in squalid and unsanitary conditions.

WASHINGTON (AP) — She is President Donald Trump’s new top spokeswoman. But she said barely a word during what became her introduction to the world.

Stephanie Grisham received a baptism by fire over the weekend as she accompanied the president on his high-stakes trip to Asia and threw her body into a fracas with North Korean security officials.