North America

ST. PAUL, Minn. (AP) — The trial of three former Minneapolis police officers charged with violating George Floyd’s civil rights heads into what may be its final week Monday, with the third officer yet to take his turn on the stand.

Thomas Lane is expected to testify as his attorney presents his case, the last to do so in the nearly month-long proceeding before the federal trial moves to closing arguments and then to the jury.

SAN SALVADOR, Feb 20 (Reuters) - El Salvador President Nayib Bukele on Sunday said he will send Congress a proposal to grant citizenship to foreigners who invest in the Central American country as well as other initiatives to reduce government hurdles in order to attract investment projects.

Bukele did not specify whether the bills would be aimed exclusively at bitcoin-linked entrepreneurs, but during the week he referred to El Salvador as "the land of #Bitcoin freedom."

WASHINGTON, Feb 20 (Reuters) - The Biden administration on Sunday refused to unleash sanctions on Russia ahead of a widely anticipated Russian invasion of Ukraine despite mounting criticism from Kyiv and domestic rivals.

The United States and Britain have repeatedly cautioned in recent days that Russia is about to launch a military invasion of Ukraine, a plan Russia denies. Sanctioning Vladimir Putin's government before he invades would just guarantee such a crisis happens immediately, U.S. officials argue.

TORONTO (AP) — Most of the streets around the Canadian Parliament are quiet now. The Ottawa protesters who vowed never to give up are largely gone, chased away by policemen in riot gear. The relentless blare of truckers’ horns has gone silent.

But the trucker protest, which grew until it closed a handful of Canada-U.S. border posts and shut down key parts of the capital city for weeks, could echo for years in Canadian politics and perhaps south of the border.

WASHINGTON, Feb 19 (NNN-MERCOPRESS) — A robot dog designed and manufactured in the United States by Ghost Robotics and which had been in the earlier stages of development last year has been given its marching orders for a major assignment.

The Ghost Robotics V60, is an autonomous ground drone that goes by the name of Robot Dog – but a year ago, its future military potential was considered still a little way off.

Now, Robot Dog is being deployed to the US border with Mexico to tackle what the government has described as “non-environmental threats.”

WASHINGTON, Feb 19 (NNN-MERCOPRESS) –A high-ranking International Monetary Fund (IMF) official announced a full deal with Argentina “is very close,” as the Government of President Alberto Fernández hopes it will be next week, so that it can be put up for Congressional approval at the start of the new Legislature, March 1.

According to Casa Rosada sources, only the final details were still missing from the agreement. “We do not expect to close the deal this weekend, but in the middle of the next one,” the sources said. “It will surely be in the next fifteen days,” they added.

HAVANA, Feb 19 (Reuters) - Russia and Cuba will deepen ties and explore collaboration in transportation, energy, industry and banking, Cuba's Foreign Ministry said late on Friday following a visit from Russia's Deputy Prime Minister Yuri Borisov.

In a statement, Cuba's communist-run government expressed support for Russia as tensions mount in Ukraine, and accused long-time rival the United States and its allies of targeting Moscow with what it called a "propaganda war" and sanctions.

NEW YORK, Feb. 19 (Xinhua) -- The U.S. government's approach to deal with trade deficits has failed and the country has to make big adjustments in its economic structure, a renowned U.S. economist has said.

"You can't fix your deficit problem by going after your largest deficit trading partner. It didn't work with Japan. It's not working with China," Stephen Roach, a senior fellow at Yale University's Jackson Institute of Global Affairs, said Wednesday at an online dialogue organized by the Asia Society, a non-profit New York-based institution.

HARTFORD, Conn. (AP) — After agreeing to a $73 million lawsuit settlement with gun-maker Remington, the families of nine Sandy Hook Elementary School shooting victims say they are shifting their focus to ending firearms advertising with macho, military themes that exploit young men’s insecurities, all in the hopes of preventing more mass shootings.

The families say Remington used those kinds of ads to promote its AR-15-style rifles like the one used to kill 20 young children and six educators inside the Newtown, Connecticut, school on Dec. 14, 2012.

by Dr Ramzy Baroud

Mainstream US media continues to celebrate the supposed strength of the US economy. Almost daily, headlines speak of hopeful numbers, sustainable growth, positive trends and constant gains. The reality on the ground, however, tells of something entirely different, which raises the questions: Are Americans being lied to? And for what purpose?