North America

by Raimundo Urrechaga

HAVANA, Sept. 19 (Xinhua) -- Cuba is working hard to boost the Caribbean island nation's tourism industry, with a focus on attracting more Chinese investment and tourists.

Cuban Tourism Minister Manuel Marrero said on Wednesday that this also comes as part of an effort to expand Cuba-China tourism cooperation.

He told Xinhua shortly after the inauguration of the 22nd edition of the Meetings and Incentives Travel Market (MITM) Americas business fair that one of the event's objectives is to get more Chinese people to learn more about Cuba.

HALIFAX, Canada, Sept. 19 (Xinhua) -- Environmental and energy ministers from the Group of 7 gathered here Wednesday for a three-day meeting focusing on joint efforts on climate change, ocean conservation and clean energy.

Ministers of the world's advanced economies -- Canada, France, the United States, Britain, Germany, Japan and Italy -- will also hold talks on sustainable finance, plastic pollution and energy security.

WASHINGTON, Sept. 19 (Xinhua) -- U.S. Secretary of State Mike Pompeo said on Wednesday that the United States is ready to transform its relations with the Democratic People's Republic of Korea (DPRK) immediately.

In a statement regarding the outcomes of an earlier summit between leaders of South Korea and the DPRK, Pompeo said that "the United States congratulates President Moon Jae-in and Chairman Kim Jong Un on the successful outcome of their summit meeting in Pyongyang."

BILLINGS, Mont.; 19 Sep 2018; (AP) — The Trump administration on Tuesday rolled back an Obama-era rule that forced energy companies to capture methane — a key contributor to climate change that’s released in huge amounts during drilling on U.S. and tribal lands.

A replacement rule from the Interior Department rescinds mandates for companies to reduce gas pollution, which Trump administration officials say already is required by some states.

By MICHAEL BIESECKER

19 Sep 2018; AP: About 3.4 million chickens and turkeys and 5,500 hogs have been killed in flooding from Florence as rising North Carolina rivers swamped dozens of farm buildings where the animals were being raised for market, according to state officials.

The N.C. Department of Agriculture issued the livestock mortality totals Tuesday, as major flooding is continuing after the slow-moving storm’s drenching rains. Sixteen North Carolina rivers were at major flood stage Tuesday, with an additional three forecasted to peak by Thursday.

UN, September 19. /TASS/. The 73rd session of the UN General Assembly opened at the UN headquarters in New York on Tuesday, a TASS correspondent reported.

The start of the assembly’s annual work cycle was proclaimed by its president, former prime minister of Equador, Maria Fernanda Espinosa.

WASHINGTON, September 18. /TASS/. US President Donald Trump announced the introduction of 10 % duties on imports goods from China worth $ 200 bln from September 24, as well as the intention to introduce additional duties worth $267 bln, if Beijing takes retaliatory measures. This is according to a press release of the White House published on Monday.

WILMINGTON, N.C. (AP) — With Wilmington cut off from the rest of North Carolina by still-rising floodwaters from Florence, officials plan to airlift food and water to the city of nearly 120,000 people as rescuers elsewhere pull inland residents from homes threatened by swollen rivers.

The spreading disaster claimed additional lives Sunday, with at least 17 people confirmed dead, and the nation’s top emergency official said other states were in the path this week.

HAVANVA, Sept. 16 (Xinhua) -- Cuban President Miguel Diaz-Canel on Sunday said his government is open to talks with the United States based on respect towards the island country's sovereignty, independence and its political system.

In an interview to Latin American network TeleSUR, Diaz-Canel said that after U.S. President Donald Trump came into power, relations between Havana and Washington have faced a "serious setback."

MEXICO CITY, Sept. 16 (Xinhua) -- Mexico's government is confident a new North American Free Trade Agreement (NAFTA) between Canada, the U.S. and Mexico will be reached by December, Presidential Spokesman Eduardo Sanchez said on Sunday.

The government of President Enrique Pena Nieto is hoping to sign an updated version of the 1994 trade accord before his six-year term ends on Nov. 30, Sanchez told reporters.

"We're working on it. Hopefully this government will get to sign it," Sanchez said on the sidelines of Mexico's Independence Day parade.