World opinion shifts against Russia as Ukraine worries grow
The tide of international opinion appears to have decisively shifted against Russia, as a number of non-aligned countries joined the United States and its allies in condemning Russiaโs war in Ukraine and its threats to the principles of the international rules-based order.
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Mexico, US draw up outlines of new security framework
High-level delegations from Mexico and the United States have laid out the outlines of a new security framework for the bilateral relationship that at least conceptually mark a departure from the mindset that steered their cooperation over the past decade.
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Officials: Many Haitian migrants are being released in US
U.S. officials say many Haitian migrants camped in a small Texas border town are being released in the United States, undercutting the Biden administrationโs public statements that Haitians who enter the country illegally face immediate expulsion.
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US and Mexico seek ways to do more on irregular immigration
In consecutive visits this month, Vice President Kamala Harris and Homeland Security Secretary Alejandro Mayorkas have conveyed to the most important U.S. partner that the Biden administration is taking a more nuanced approach to immigration than its predecessor, but still asking what more Mexico can do.
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Mexico to rely heavily on Chinese vaccines
An elderly woman gets her shot of the Pfizer vaccine for COVID-19 in Mexico City, Monday, March 8, 2021. (AP Photo/Marco Ugarte)MEXICO CITY โ Mexico announced a huge bet on Chinese vaccines Tuesday, without making public any information about their efficacy. The total of 32 million doses, plus at least 4 million doses of the CanSino shot, would dwarf the estimated 5 million vaccine doses Mexico has acquired so far from other sources. Mexico has administered only about 4.7 million doses of all vaccines, a tiny amount given the countryโs population of 126 million. AdInoculations with Chinese vaccines already have begun in more than 25 countries.
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Top US diplomat 'visits' Mexico, Canada on virtual trip
Secretary of State Antony Blinken, second from right, speaks during a virtual meeting at the State Department in Washington, Friday, Feb. 26, 2021, with Canadian Foreign Minister Marc Garneau who is in Ottawa, Canada. But they were geographically far apart Friday as Secretary of State Antony Blinken, because of the pandemic, started a new chapter in North American relations with virtual visits to Mexico and Canada in what was billed as his first official trip. โThe United States has long-standing relationships with both Mexico and Canada," Blinken said afterward. The secretary began his virtual visits with Mexico, a country Trump repeatedly disparaged in his campaign and early in his presidency, though relations turned more cordial under Lรณpez Obrador. AdBiden last week made his first bilateral meeting, also virtual, with Canadian Prime Minister Justin Trudeau, who at times had a frosty relationship with Trump.
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The Latest: Tennessee probe finds wasted vaccines
___WASHINGTON โ Coronavirus vaccine makers tell Congress to expect a big increase in the delivery of doses over the coming month. AdLooking ahead to summer, Pfizer and Moderna expect to complete delivery of 300 million doses each, and J&J aims to provide an additional 100 million doses. ___MADRID โ Spain has registered 7,461 new coronavirus cases and 443 more deaths. AdThe country has reached a total of 3.1 million cases and 68,000 confirmed deaths. Ad___GENEVA โ The head of the World Health Organization is criticizing the lack of access to coronavirus vaccines for the worldโs poor.
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The Latest: Hong Kong ease pandemic rules as cases decline
FILE - In this Feb. 7, 2020 file photo, people wearing masks attend a vigil for Chinese doctor Li Wenliang, in Hong Kong. (AP Photo/Kin Cheung, File)HONG KONG โ Hong Kong is reducing social distancing rules following a sharp drop in new coronavirus cases, including restarting indoor dining and reopening gyms. More than two-thirds of the new cases were in Seoul area, home to half of South Koreaโs 51 million people. The company has contracted to provide 100 million doses โ enough for 100 million Americans โ by the end of June. โWe just need the vaccine to arrive.โ___ATLANTA โ Snowy and icy weather across much of the nation has โsignificantlyโ delayed shipments of COVID-19 vaccine to Georgia, state health officials said Wednesday.
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UN chief urges global plan to reverse unfair vaccine access
The coronavirus has infected more than 109 million people and killed at least 2.4 million of them. America's top diplomat said the U.S. also plans to provide โsignificant financial supportโ to COVAX through the GAVI vaccine alliance, and will work to strengthen other multilateral initiatives involved in the global COVID-19 response. Indiaโs External Affairs Minister Subrahmanyam Jaishankar also called for a halt to โvaccine nationalismโ and encouragement for internationalism. he said Russia is ready to discuss progress on implementing the only resolution the Security Council has adopted on the pandemic. After three months of difficult negotiations, the council last July 1 endorsed fhe secretary-generalโs call for cease-fires in major global conflicts to tackle COVID-19.
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Mexican president works from isolation after virus test
Lรณpez Obrador appeared โwith resolute spirit, working and looking good,โ Foreign Affairs Secretary Marcelo Ebrard, who is also isolating and awaiting test results, said on Twitter. On Monday, the WHO chief said via Twitter: โI am sorry to hear that you have tested positive for #COVID19, President @lopezobradorโ . Stay strong!โAt the start of the pandemic Lรณpez Obrador was criticized for leaning into crowds and giving hugs. Lรณpez Obrador is known to be stubborn and more often doubles down on a position rather than retreat in the face of criticism. ___Associated Press video journalist Lissette Romero and AP writer Mark Stevenson in Mexico City and writer Jamey Keaten in Geneva contributed to this report.
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Mexico's president says he's tested positive for COVID-19
Mexico President Andrs Manuel Lpez Obrador says he has tested positive for COVID-19 and is under medical treatment, Sunday, Jan. 24, 2021. (AP Photo/Marco Ugarte, File)MEXICO CITY โ Mexican President Andrรฉs Manuel Lรณpez Obrador said Sunday he has tested positive for COVID-19 and that the symptoms are mild. Early in the pandemic, asked how he was protecting Mexico, Lรณpez Obrador removed two religious amulets from his wallet and proudly showed them off. At the start of the pandemic Lรณpez Obrador was criticized for still leaning into crowds and giving hugs. Besides Lรณpez Obrador, other Latin American leaders who have tested positive for the coronavirus are Brazilโs President Jair Bolsonaro, Guatemalaโs Alejandro Giammattei, Hondurasโ Juan Orlando Hernรกndez and Boliviaโs then-interim President Jeanine รnรฉz.
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Mexico starts giving first shots of Pfizer-BioNtech vaccine
The country's 1.4 million health workers will be the first to get the shots, followed by the elderly, those with underlying health conditions that make them more vulnerable to the disease, and teachers. Foreign Relations Secretary Marcelo Ebrard said Mexico was the first country in Latin America to get the vaccine, though others were close behind. In Costa Rica, which is the third country in the region to begin using the Pfizer vaccine, the first shot was given Thursday to Elizabeth Castillo, 91. Argentina, which has run into problems obtaining the Pfizer vaccine, received a flight carrying 300,000 doses of the Russian Sputnik V vaccine. Argentina plans to become the first country in Latin America to administer the Russian vaccine starting next week.
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The Latest: Brazil is latest to ban flights from Britain
A demonstrator wears a face shield with a red handprint, mimicking blood, to protest Brazilian President Jair Bolsonaro's handling of the deadly coronavirus pandemic in Brasilia, Brazil, Wednesday, Dec. 23, 2020. ___NASHVILLE, Tenn. โ Dozens of Tennessee hospitals have stopped taking transfer patients because they are overwhelmed during one of the nationโs worst recent outbreaks of COVID-19 cases. ___DENVER โ Colorado has started vaccinating correctional workers as the state sees a surge of coronavirus cases in its prisons. ___BOSTON โ Help is on the way for Massachusetts small businesses struggling during the coronavirus pandemic, with Gov. COVID-19 cases have been declining in New Mexico, but the economic fallout from the pandemic continues.
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Mexican president wants to restrict US agents in Mexico
(AP Photo / Marco Ugarte )MEXICO CITY โ Mexicoโs President Andrรฉs Manuel Lรณpez Obrador has tossed another hot potato to U.S. President-elect Joe Biden with a proposal that would restrict U.S. agents in Mexico and remove their diplomatic immunity. โThe proposal is that foreign agents will not have any immunity,โ according to a summary of the president's proposal to the Mexican Senate published Friday. โThe proposal requires that foreign agents give Mexican authorities the information they gather,โ according the proposed changes. Itโs going to be leaked, itโs going to compromise agents, itโs going to compromise informants," Vigil said. โNinety percent of the information sharing goes from the DEA to Mexico, rather from Mexico to the US.
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Mexico says it wants its ex-officials tried in Mexico
Regarding drug traffickers and others whose crimes affect the United States, Ramรญrez said, โthat justifies them being tried in the United States." Roberto Velasco, Mexicoโs director general of North American Affairs, said generally, crimes in Mexico would be investigated and prosecuted in Mexico. He was also accused of introducing cartel leaders to other corrupt Mexican officials. That decision came after reports that Mexico had threatened to expel the Drug Enforcement Administrationโs regional director and agents. Mexican officials complained that the U.S. failed to share evidence against Cienfuegos and that his arrest came as a surprise.
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US drops case against ex-Mexican general after pressure
The officials asked not to be named because they were not authorized to speak publicly about the case. He was also accused of introducing cartel leaders to other corrupt Mexican officials. Mexican officials complained that the U.S. failed to share evidence against Cienfuegos and that his arrest came as a surprise. In the case of Cienfuegos, Mexican officials have taken no official position on whether he is innocent or guilty, saying that was up to the attorney generalโs office to decide. U.S. civil rights lawyer Ron Kuby said the Cienfuegos case marks an odd capstone to the Trump administration.
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Mexican president taps loyalist as new security chief
MEXICO CITY โ Mexican President Andrรฉs Manuel Lรณpez Obrador proposed a former journalist and long-time Mexico City government bureaucrat to be the countryโs new security chief Friday at a time when the country is on track to set a new annual homicide record. Lรณpez Obrador said he had not asked her in advance and she was currently in quarantine, recovering from COVID-19. When Lรณpez Obrador was Mexico City mayor from 2000 to 2005, Rodrรญguez held posts in public security and was social development secretary. Lรณpez Obrador has given more responsibility than any other president in modern times to the military and not just in the security realm. โWe couldnโt pretend it was going to be easy to fix the problem.โ__AP writer Christopher Sherman in Mexico City contributed to this report.
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Low expections in Mexico as US election approaches
FILE - In this June 23, 2020, file photo, President Donald Trump tours a section of the border wall in San Luis, Ariz. During his 2016 primary run, Trump sought to mark his ground as a hard-line immigration enforcer who would build a great, great wall on our southern border. Nearly four years later, Trump still has work to do completing his wall and much that has been completed has been paid by U.S. taxpayers despite promises otherwise. (AP Photo/Evan Vucci, File)
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Low expections in Mexico as US election approaches
For example, when Mexico was on the brink of defaulting on treaty obligations governing water-sharing this month, the Trump administration provided a graceful exit. Trump made Mexico an immigration waiting room for the U.S. and some say effectively pushed the U.S. frontier south for immigrants. Thousands of asylum seekers were forced to wait out their cases in Mexican border cities before the pandemic allowed the U.S. to effectively suspend its asylum system at the border. Mexico might expect greater recognition of shared responsibility from a Biden administration, but Mexicoโs own security strategy has been difficult to decipher. The Trump administration has focused on deporting undocumented immigrants and narrowing the path to legal entry.
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Authorities: Top Mexico official helped smuggle drugs to US
In this court artist sketch, former Mexican defense secretary Gen. Salvador Cienfuegos Zepeda's appears in federal court, Friday, Oct. 16, 2020 in Los Angeles. LOS ANGELES โ Mexicoโs former defense secretary helped a cartel smuggle thousands of kilograms of cocaine, heroin, methamphetamine and marijuana into the United States in exchange for bribes, according to court documents unsealed Friday. Mexico authorities donโt identify any drug cartel as H-2, which, according to U.S. officials, was led by Juan Francisco Patrรณn Sรกnchez. Garcia Luna, who served under former President Felipe Calderรณn, has pleaded not guilty to drug trafficking charges. ___This story has been corrected to say Cienfuegos is Mexicoโs former defense secretary, not foreign defense secretary.
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Arrest of former Mexican defense minister shakes military
FILE - In this Friday, Sept. 15, 2017, file photo, Mexico's Defense Secretary Gen. Salvador Cienfuegos Zepeda gestures as U.S. Defense Secretary Jim Mattis listens during a reception ceremony in Mexico City. Mexico's top diplomat says the country's former defense secretary, Gen. Salvador Cienfuegos, has been arrested in Los Angeles. Mexico's defense secretary is not just another Cabinet post. The president doesnโt just choose a defense secretary โ he chooses from a list of acceptable candidates that the generals submit. Mexicoโs Defense Department had no immediate reaction to Cienfuegosโ arrest.
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Mexico's ex-defense secretary arrested in Los Angeles
FILE - In this April 16, 2016 file photo, Mexico's Defense Secretary Gen. Salvador Cienfuegos Zepeda salutes soldiers at the Number 1 military camp in Mexico City. Mexico's Foreign Relations Secretary Marcelo Ebrard wrote in his Twitter account Thursday, Oct. 15, 2020, that U.S. Ambassador Christopher Landau had informed him that Gen. Cienfuegos has been arrested in Los Angeles. (AP Photo/Marco Ugarte, File)MEXICO CITY โ Former Mexican defense secretary Gen. Salvador Cienfuegos, who led the countryโs armed forces for six years under ex-President Enrique Peรฑa Nieto, has been arrested at Los Angeles International Airport, Mexicoโs top diplomat said Thursday. Mexicoโs Defense Department had no immediate reaction to the arrest.