US & Canada

The US government says the economy grew more slowly in 2018 than it previously estimated, downgrading its estimate from 3% to 2.5%. US President Donald Trump had frequently boasted of the 3% growth figure as evidence that his policies invigorated the economy. The US Commerce Department lowered its estimate of …

Four people were shot dead and two wounded on Thursday in a shooting spree that spread across four three neighborhoods in Los Angeles, California, and triggered a 12-hour manhunt before police tackled and arrested an armed suspect. A Los Angeles police spokesman identified the suspect as Gerry Zaragoza, 26, and …

The U.S. Senate will vote within days on whether to override President Donald Trump’s vetoes of legislation to block the sale of precision-guided munitions to Saudi Arabia and the United Arab Emirates, Majority Leader Mitch McConnell said on Wednesday. McConnell said the Senate would hold the vote before Aug. 2, …

Former special counsel Robert Mueller is testifying before the House Judiciary Committee about his investigation into alleged collusion between Donald Trump’s presidential campaign and the Kremlin. Despite claims that the probe would lead to high-level indictments that would end Trump’s presidency, Mueller’s probe failed to unearth any evidence of Trump’s …

US Democratic Representative Rashida Tlaib, one of the four minority lawmakers targeted in President Donald Trump’s recent racisit tweets, has vowed to hold her ground and fight the Republican head of statement until he is impeached. “I’m not going nowhere, not until I impeach this President,” Tlaib said at the …

Two US police officers in Louisiana have been fired over a Facebook post suggesting congresswoman Alexandria Ocasio-Cortez should be shot. Charles Rispoli wrote that the Democrat needed “a round”, which was then “liked” by a fellow officer. The police chief of Gretna said it was “an embarrassment to our department”. …

Iran’s Intelligence Ministry says it has identified and destroyed an integrated network of operatives serving the US Central Intelligence Agency (CIA) inside the country. The Ministry’s director-general for counterintelligence said Monday that Iran captured 17 professional spies working on behalf of the CIA throughout last year and some of those …

Iran’s Revolutionary Guard Corps released footage which it says disproves the US claim of shooting down an Iranian drone over the Strait of Hormuz, showing the video was transmitted after the alleged time it was destroyed. The elite military unit published the footage on Friday and it was aired and …

The United States said on Thursday that a U.S. Navy ship had “destroyed” an Iranian drone in the Strait of Hormuz after the aircraft threatened the vessel, but Iran said it had no information about losing a drone. In the latest episode to stir tensions in the Gulf, U.S. President …

The House voted Wednesday to undo President Trump’s attempt to sidestep Congress and complete several arms sales benefiting Saudi Arabia and the United Arab Emirates. Congress is heading for a showdown with President Donald Trump after the House voted on Wednesday to block his administration from selling billions of dollars …

A US judge has sentenced Mexican drug kingpin Joaquín “El Chapo” Guzmán to life in prison plus 30 years. Guzmán, 62, was found guilty of 10 charges, including drug trafficking and money laundering, by a federal court in New York in February. He escaped a Mexican jail through a tunnel …

The US House of Representatives has voted to condemn President Donald Trump after a series of attacks aimed at four congresswomen. The symbolic resolution denounced Trump’s “racist comments that have legitimized fear and hatred of New Americans and people of color”. Trump had been accused of racism and xenophobia for …

A senior Iraqi parliamentarian warns that the US embassy in Baghdad is involved in “suspicious activities,” saying agents of the Israeli spy agency Mossad and the Daesh terrorist group have been spotted regularly visiting the diplomatic mission. “The US embassy in Baghdad has turned into a center for Israel’s Mossad …

After Donald Trump told four progressive Democrats to “go back” to where they came from in a tweet on Sunday, Twitter exploded with users rebuking the president as “racist,” making the hashtags #RacistInChief and #TrumpIsARacist trend across America. Trump, on Sunday morning, referenced an ongoing feud between freshman progressive Democrats …

Trump completely lacked an exit strategy when he pulled out of the Iran nuclear deal and made the decision out of pure animosity towards his predecessor, the ex-UK ambassador to the US said, according to a new embarrassing leak. Desperate to save the Joint Comprehensive Plan of Action (JCPOA), then-UK …

Sir Kim Darroch has resigned as UK ambassador to the US, amid a row over leaked emails critical of Trump’s administration. The ambassador was branded “a very stupid guy” by the US president after emails emerged calling his administration “clumsy and inept”. The Foreign Office praised Sir Kim’s “professionalism and …

Britain’s ambassador to the U.S., Sir Kim Darroch, reportedly described Donald Trump as “inept” and at risk of ending his presidency in “disgrace.” An unprecedented leak of recent official diplomatic cables, reported by the Mail on Sunday, revealed Sir Kim’s frank views on the U.S. leader. In one excoriating message, …

Emergency officials in southern California’s high desert are braced for strong, potentially dangerous aftershocks from a major earthquake that damaged buildings, ruptured gas lines and sparked numerous fires near its remote epicenter. The magnitude 7.1 tremor rocked the Mojave desert town of Ridgecrest near Death Valley National Park as darkness …

A Virgin Atlantic flight has made an emergency landing in Boston after a fire broke out on board. The plane was traveling from New York to London on Thursday night when the fire started, forcing the crew to divert the flight. No major injuries were reported and all 217 passengers …

Iraqi Defense Ministry announced Friday that its minister, Najah al-Shammari, ordered to form an inquiry commission following the release of an audio clip attributed to the commander of Anbar operations, Mahmoud al-Falahi, to communicate with the CIA. Iraqi Defense Minister “ordered the formation of an inquiry commission to find out …