WASHINGTON: The Trump administration is ending special protections for Salvadoran immigrants, forcing nearly 200,000 to leave the country or face deportation, officials said Monday. El Salvador is the fourth country whose citizens have lost Temporary Protected Status under President Donald Trump, and they have been, by far, the largest beneficiaries of the program, which provides humanitarian relief for foreigners whose countries are hit with natural disasters or other strife.One official said Salvadorans will have until September 2019 to leave the country or try to adjust their legal status.Homeland Security Secretary Kirstjen Nielsen's decision, while not surprising, will send shivers through parts of Washington, Los Angeles, New York, Houston and other metropolitan areas that are home to large numbers of Salvadorans, who have enjoyed special protection since earthquakes struck the Central American country in 2001. Many have established deep roots in the US, starting families and … [Read more...] about US orders 200,000 ‘special protection’ Salvadorans to leave
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Asia stocks near historic highs, US earnings loom
Asian shares neared all-time peaks on Monday after Wall Street boasted its best start to a year in over a decade, with brisk economic growth and benign inflation proving a potent cocktail for risk appetite.MSCI’s broadest index of Asia-Pacific shares outside Japan .MIAPJ0000PUS added 0.1 percent having climbed 3.1 percent last week, its strongest performance in six months.At 587.99 the index is within spitting distance of the record top of 591.50 hit in November 2007.Australian stocks gained 0.3 percent to notch another decade summit, while South Korea .KS11 rose 0.1 percent. Japan’s Nikkei .N225 was closed for a holiday but touched its highest since 1992 last week.“It was the global synchronized growth that drove earnings and equity markets higher last year and the global economy has entered 2018 firing on all cylinders,” said analysts at Bank of America Merrill Lynch, predicting the global economy could expand at 4 percent or more this year.“This growth … [Read more...] about Asia stocks near historic highs, US earnings loom
US expansion catches eye of Banpu, PTTEP
Thai energy firms Banpu Plc and PTT Exploration and Production Plc (PTTEP) are reacting to the announced increase in petroleum production by the US by increasing their investment in the Marcellus and Utica shale regions. The US move to expand petroleum production by opening up oil and gas resources in many areas is expected to stimulate the economy and create jobs this year.Thailand's biggest coal miner and coal exporter, Banpu Plc, will spend close to US$500 million (16.1 billion baht) by 2020 to acquire five shale gas production sites in the US. This move is in line with its strategy to acquire cash-generating assets.Banpu started expanding its business upstream in 2016 and has acquired $320 million (10.3 billion baht) worth of shale gas assets since then. Some of these assets are located in the Northeast Marcellus shale gas plate of Pennsylvania.Banpu chief executive Somruedee Chaimongkol said the acquisitions will give the company nearly 80% of the working interest in 112 wells … [Read more...] about US expansion catches eye of Banpu, PTTEP
Brutal cold snap stuns US East Coast after blizzard
BOSTON/NEW YORK: A blanket of bone-chilling arctic air covered the US East Coast and Midwest on Saturday, creating dangerous conditions as tens of millions of people struggled to clean up from a blizzard that dumped deep, drifting snow in many areas this week. Wind chill and freeze warnings stretched from Florida to New England and inland to states to the Upper Midwest, while the National Weather Service warned of freezing rain from Kansas to Ohio.In some areas, officials warned residents that exposed skin could freeze within minutes. Cities from Houston to Boston have stepped up efforts to bring the homeless to shelters.The cold snap complicated efforts by crews to clear snow and ice from roadways after a blizzard clobbered the East Coast on Thursday and Friday, forcing hundreds of schools to close and causing commuter rail services to suspend or reduce service.Cold and snowy weather was blamed for at least 18 deaths in the past few days, including four in North Carolina traffic … [Read more...] about Brutal cold snap stuns US East Coast after blizzard
McMaster: US has seen signs of Russian ‘subversion and disinformation’ in upcoming Mexican election
National Security Adviser H.R. McMaster said in mid-December that the US had seen signs of Russia interference in Mexico’s upcoming presidential election. Analysts and officials have warned for some time about the potential for Russian attempts to influence the result of that vote. Such interference would likely be part of an effort to undermine Western countries and US influence around the world. The US has seen “initial signs” of Russian “subversion and disinformation and propaganda” in Mexico’s presidential campaign, according to National Security Adviser Gen. H.R. McMaster McMaster made the comments when asked about Russia during a mid-December event at the Jamestown Foundation in Washington, DC, according to Mexican magazine Reforma. “For example, with Russia we are concerned, increasingly concerned, with these sophisticated campaigns of subversion and disinformation and … [Read more...] about McMaster: US has seen signs of Russian ‘subversion and disinformation’ in upcoming Mexican election