The US government could run out of money in early September unless Congress allows the administration to borrow more, Treasury Secretary Steven Mnuchin warned Friday.
The Treasury has been taking extraordinary steps since March to shuffle its cash around to continue paying its bills after hitting the $22 trillion debt limit set by Congress.
Officials have issued dire warnings that without an increase in the borrowing limit, the US could default on its debt for the first time and they have been urging the legislature to act before the summer break later this month.
"Based on updated projections, there is a scenario in which we run out of cash in early September, before Congress reconvenes," Mnuchin warned in a letter to House Speaker Nancy Pelosi.
Pelosi late Thursday said she is working to finalize a deal that would temporarily raise the debt ceiling before the House of Representatives shuts down July 26, according to news reports.
The House is not scheduled to reopen until September .

US Treasury warns it will run out of cash in early September

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UN ambassadors from 37 countries released a letter Friday defending China's treatment of Uighur and other minorities in the Xinjiang region, in direct response to Western criticism earlier this week.
Envoys from across the EU -- along with Australia, Canada and Japan and New Zealand -- had earlier co-signed a text denouncing China's conduct in Xinjiang, where one million people, mostly ethnic Uighurs, are reportedly being held in internment camps.
On Friday a diverse group of states -- including Russia, Saudi Arabia, Nigeria, Algeria and North Korea -- replied on Beijing's behalf.
"We commend China's remarkable achievements in the field of human rights," said the letter, also signed by Myanmar, the Philippines, Zimbabwe and others.
"We take note that terrorism, separatism and religious extremism has caused enormous damage to people of all ethnic groups in Xinjiang," it said.
Rights groups and former inmates describe the internment sites in Xinjiang as "concentration camps" where ...

37 countries defend China over Xinjiang in UN letter

South African soldiers will deploy in Cape Town's crime-ridden townships after a surge of shootings, gang violence and murders in one of the country's top tourist destinations, the head of the defence forces said Friday.
They will bolster the city's struggling police force for three months, patrolling on foot and in vehicles through districts identified as criminal hotspots.
Soldiers have been used in similar missions in Cape Town before but violence has peaked in recent months in the sprawling townships of the Cape Flats area, one of the most violent places in South Africa.
General Solly Shoke, chief of the South African National Defence Force (SANDF), said the military "will deploy a battalion with support elements during the operation."
The size of the deployment was not revealed nor the start date, expected to be within days.
Neighbourhoods including Bonteheuwel, Delft, Hanover Park and Philippi East have been plagued by gang-related violence, with the much-criticised  police ...

S Africa military set to deploy against Cape Town gangs

An upcoming UN report featuring a blacklist of child rights violators is expected to refrain from toughening criticism of the Saudi-led coalition fighting in Yemen despite a bus bombing last year that killed scores of children, according to diplomats.
UN Secretary-General Antonio Guterres is due to release the annual list of shame later this month ahead of a Security Council meeting on children and armed conflicts scheduled for August 2.
The coalition was put on the UN blacklist in 2016 and later removed after Saudi Arabia reacted furiously, threatening to cut funding to UN programs.
To appease Riyadh, the United Nations split the list into two sections in 2017 and put the coalition on "Section B" -- which highlights efforts by the Saudi-led group to avoid killing and maiming children in Yemen.
According to diplomats with knowledge of the report, Guterres has received a draft recommendation from his UN envoy who determined that the coalition should remain on the separate section of ...

UN drafts 'list of shame' over child deaths in Yemen

US President Donald Trump confirmed Friday that agents of the Immigration and Customs Enforcement agency will launch raids across the country this weekend to round up thousands of undocumented migrants for deportation.
"They came in illegally," he told reporters at the White House. "They are going to take people out and they are going to send them back to their country."
Trump said ICE would focus mainly on people with convictions, including gang members, but also others.
"It starts on Sunday and they're going to take people out and they're going to bring them back to their countries," Trump told reporters at the White House.
"Or they're going to take criminals out, put them in prison, or put them in prison in the countries they came from."
While the focus will be on removing criminals, Trump said the raids would also target "people that came into our country, not through a process, that just walked over a line. They have to leave."
The ICE raids are expected to take place in 10 major 

Trump confirms immigration raids set for the weekend

At least six people were killed and 14 wounded Friday when a suicide bomber attacked a wedding ceremony in eastern Afghanistan, an official told AFP.
The Islamic State group's Afghanistan affiliate later claimed responsibility for the bombing in Nangarhar province close to the Pakistan border, where a host of insurgent organisations operate.
"This morning at 8:00 am (0330 GMT), a suicide bomber detonated himself at a wedding ceremony ... in Pachiragam district," Attaullah Khogyani, the Nangarhar governor's spokesman, told AFP.
He said six people had been killed and 14 wounded, a change from an earlier toll of five dead and 40 wounded.
"All the villagers were gathered for a wedding ceremony," said witness Saleem Jan, who was himself a guest and who was wounded in the blast.
Speaking to AFP from hospital, he described confusion as the bomb exploded and people began running.
"I didn't know what happened," he said. "When I turned my face I saw dozens of people were wounded, lying on the ..

At least six dead in suicide blast at Afghan wedding

South Sudan's exiled opposition leader Riek Machar says he is ready to meet his rival President Salva Kiir to talk peace, if certain conditions on his freedom were met.
In a letter to Kiir's security adviser, seen by AFP Friday, Machar laid out a series of demands before the pair could sit down face-to-face in Juba.
South Sudan slid into war in 2013 just two years after gaining independence, when Kiir accused his former deputy Machar of plotting a coup.
But the rivals struck a peace deal in September and agreed to set up a unity government.
That power-sharing arrangement was supposed to take effect in May but was delayed until November, and the process has stalled.
Machar said he was ready to sit down face-to-face with Kiir and discuss a way forward if certain assurances were made.
"I believe this is the time to evaluate the process as two months of extended period have passed without substantial progress," Machar wrote.
Among the demands, Machar said he must be allowed to travel ...

South Sudan's Machar says ready for talks with rival Kiir

Barcelona announced the signing of Antoine Griezmann on Friday after the Spanish champions paid La Liga rivals Atletico Madrid the 120 million euro ($135 million) release clause required to sign the World Cup winner.
"The player will sign a contract with his new club for the next five seasons, through to 30 June 2024, with a buyout clause of 800 million euros," Barca said in a statement.
Friday's announcement brings to an end a dispute between the two clubs and Griezmann, who had long aimed to move to the Catalan giants.
The 28-year-old failed to show up for his side's pre-season gathering on Sunday after he had announced in May he would be leaving the Wanda Metropolitano, even though he could not reveal his destination until his release clause dropped from 200 million euros to 120 million euros at the start of the month.
Last week Atletico accused Barcelona and Griezmann of a "lack of respect" after the Barca president Josep Maria Bartomeu revealed the two clubs had held talks about .

Barcelona bag Griezmann after stumping up 120 million euros

Internet giant Google acknowledged Thursday that a language expert it partnered with had leaked sensitive Dutch audio data, following a report by the Belgian media group VRT.
Google also acknowledged that its Google Assistant device was liable to "false accept" pickups that would allow it to record by mistake without having been activated by users.
The group said it partnered with language experts to create products like Google Assistant, and that "one of these language reviewers has violated our data security policies by leaking confidential Dutch audio data." VRT said it had listened to more than 1,000 recordings from devices in Belgium and the Netherlands, of which 153 were accidental.
They included users discussing their personal lives or children, and some who revealed personal data such as their address.
"We are conducting a full review of our safeguards in this space to prevent misconduct like this from happening again," a Google statement said.
The company emphasised that its .

Google says partner leaked classified Dutch data

Gibraltar police said Friday they have arrested two more officers from a seized Iranian tanker suspected of breaching EU sanctions by shipping oil to Syria, a day after detaining the captain and chief officer.
All four men are Indian nationals and are being questioned in connection with an "investigation of the suspected export of crude oil to the Banyas refinery in Syria", the Royal Gibraltar Police said in a statement.

Gibraltar police arrest two more officers of detained Iranian tanker

Valtteri Bottas topped the times ahead of team-mate Lewis Hamilton as Mercedes dominated Friday's second free practice for the British Grand Prix.
The Finn topped the times with an early best lap in one minute and 26.732 to end up outpacing the defending five-time champion and series leader by 0.069 seconds.
Charles Lerclerc was third ahead of his Ferrari team-mate Sebastian Vettel, the Monegasque driver lapping two-tenths off Bottas's best pace.
Pierre Gasly followed up his time-topping performance in the morning's opening session by taking fifth for Red Bull ahead of British rookie Lando Norris of McLaren and Max Verstappen in the second Red Bull.
Carlos Sainz was eighth in the second McLaren ahead of Alex Albon of Toro Rosso and Sergio Perez of Racing Point on an overcast and cool day with a gusty wind in central England.
The session was largely uneventful, but did feature a rare off-track excursion across some grass by Hamilton.
British rookie George Russell of Williams was hit by 

Bottas edges Hamilton in Silverstone practice

At least 13 civilians were killed Friday in Syrian regime air strikes in the country's northwest, including three children, a war monitor said.
Another 45 civilians were wounded in the strikes across the jihadist-held Idlib region, according to the Syrian Observatory for Human Rights.
Those killed included three people in Idlib city, which until Friday had been spared strikes by the regime and its Russian ally since they stepped up bombardment of the region more than two months ago.
"It's the first time that the raids hit the centre of Idlib, after being confined until now to its suburbs," said Observatory head Rami Abdel Rahman.
Last month, a civilian was killed in an air strike on the outskirts of the regional capital, considered the stronghold of Syria's former Al-Qaeda affiliate Hayat Tahrir al-Sham (HTS).
The group in January took full administrative control of the Idlib region, home to three million people, although other jihadist groups and rebel factions are also ...

Regime air strikes kill 13 civilians in northwest Syria

US Labor Secretary Alex Acosta resigned Friday, amid a backlash over a secret plea deal he negotiated a decade ago with Jeffrey Epstein, the financier accused of sexually abusing young girls.
Acosta, 50, a former federal prosecutor, had been facing mounting calls to quit over the deal that saw Epstein serve just 13 months in a county jail.
"I called the president this morning and told him that I thought the right thing was to step aside," Acosta said in a joint appearance with President Donald Trump at the White House.
Epstein, 66, was charged on Monday by prosecutors in New York with one count of sex trafficking of minors and one count of conspiracy to commit sex trafficking of minors. He faces up to 45 years in prison if convicted.
Trump, who had defended Acosta after Epstein's arrest, described him as a "tremendous talent" and "great secretary of labour" who had done a "very good job."
The president said Patrick Pizzella, Acosta's deputy, "will do the job. Highly recommended by ...

US Labour Secretary Acosta resigns over Epstein affair

Sweden will not sign a UN treaty calling for the ban of nuclear weapons, foreign minister Margot Wallstrom said Friday.
"The government will, as it stands now, not sign the convention on a prohibition of nuclear arms," Wallstrom told reporters at a press briefing in Stockholm.
The UN treaty on the Prohibition of Nuclear Weapons (TPNW), which calls for the ban of "nuclear weapons or other nuclear explosive devices," was adopted by the UN General Assembly in July of 2017 with the approval of 122 countries, including that of Sweden.
Wallstrom noted that while Sweden had voted in favour, it had also expressed concern about the lack of a clear definition in the treaty of which weapons would be covered, and how it would relate to other treaties, such as the Treaty on the Non-Proliferation of Nuclear Weapons (NPT).
Instead of signing the treaty, Sweden would seek observer status, Wallstrom said, adding her country remained committed to a world free of nuclear arms.
"I would have wished we ...

Sweden says not signing UN nuclear treaty

US President Donald Trump has declared a state of emergency as Tropical Storm Barry bears down on New Orleans, as the southern city braces for extreme winds over the weekend.
The weather system is expected to reach hurricane strength Friday or early Saturday when it nears Louisiana's coast, according to the National Hurricane Center (NHC), and has already caused major flooding in the low-lying city.
Trump on Thursday issued a national disaster declaration, which will allow federal agencies to participate in emergency relief efforts, in response to a request by Louisiana governor John Bel Edwards.
"Thank you President Trump for quickly responding to my request... We appreciate the support of the White House and our federal partners as we continue our unprecedented flood fight," the governor said in a tweet Thursday.
The Department of Homeland Security (DHS) separately announced that it would temporarily halt immigration enforcement activity in areas subject to the state of ...

Trump declares state of emergency as storm bears down on New Orleans

Pro-EU centre-right economist Gitanas Nauseda was sworn in as Lithuania's new president on Friday, vowing to tackle inequality in the Baltic eurozone state.
The 55-year-old independent, who replaces outgoing Dalia Grybauskaite, is a political novice who spent most of his career in commercial banking.
Although Lithuanian presidents do not directly craft economic policy, Nauseda said he would seek cross-party deals to bridge the gap between the rich and poor and decrease regional differences.
"We talked about a two-speed Europe but we did not notice that we created a two-speed Lithuania," Nauseda said in parliament after taking the oath of office.
"We will not have a welfare state if we care only about ourselves while social inequality increases."
Nauseda received 66 per cent of the vote in the May presidential runoff after a race dominated by bread-and-butter issues in the nation of 2.8 million people.
All the key candidates firmly backed EU and NATO membership, signalling that ...

Lithuania's new president sworn in, vowing to tackle inequality

Japanese and South Korean officials held hours of talks Friday to discuss a worsening diplomatic row that has prompted Washington to offer to mediate between the US allies.
The meeting between representatives from Japan's trade ministry and South Korea's foreign ministry ran hours longer than expected but there was no sign of a detente in the simmering dispute.
Japan last week ramped up long-running tensions over the use of forced labour during World War Two by announcing restrictions on exports used by South Korean chip and smartphone companies.
The move sparked anger in Seoul, but also raised international concern about the effect on the global tech supply chain and the possibility of price hikes for consumers.
Tokyo says the constraints, which apply to three chemicals as well as technology transfers, were made necessary by a "loss of trust" in relations with Seoul, but also accuses South Korea of improperly handling exports of sensitive materials from Japan.
And Japanese officials .

South Korea, Japan hold talks as diplomatic row worsens

Alex Acosta announced his resignation as US labor secretary Friday, amid criticism of a secret plea deal he negotiated a decade ago with Jeffrey Epstein, the financier accused of sexually abusing young girls.
"I called the president this morning and told him that I thought the right thing was to step aside," Acosta said in a joint appearance with President Donald Trump at the White House.

US Labor Secretary Acosta announces resignation over Epstein affair

Indonesia's president promised Friday to fight the European Union over plans to restrict the use of palm oil in biofuels.
Brussels wants to limit the materials that can be used in fuel that is counted towards its renewable energy targets.
It has set a 2030 limit for phasing out palm oil, which environmentalists say drives deforestation and climate change.
But the plans have angered big palm oil producing nations like Indonesia and Malaysia, whose economies are dependent on the commodity.
In an interview with Bloomberg News published Friday, Indonesian President Joko Widodo said he was determined to get the EU to change its rules.
"For me, if there is discrimination like that, I will fight because of the 16 million farmers and workers in this business," he said.
"Palm oil is a strategic commodity for Indonesia."
Palm oil and its associated industries contribute roughly four per cent to Indonesia's GDP and provide a livelihood for six percent of the population.
Jakarta last year earned .

Indonesia president vows to fight EU palm oil rules

Auto giants Volkswagen and Ford announced Friday they were expanding their alliance to include the development of self-driving cars.
The announcement accelerates cooperation among otherwise competing global auto giants as they face enormous costs in developing new electric vehicle and self-driving technologies.
Volkswagen will invest USD2.6 billion in capital and assets in Ford's self-driving unit Argo AI to market new-technology vehicles in the United States and Europe.
"While Ford and Volkswagen remain independent and fiercely competitive in the marketplace, teaming up and working with Argo AI on this important technology allows us to deliver unmatched capability, scale and geographic reach," Ford chief Jim Hackett said in a statement.
VW's investment values Argo at more than $7 billion and will allow Ford to use VW technology to market "at least one" high-volume fully electric vehicle to European consumers starting in 2023.
Ferdinand Dudenhoeffer, an analyst in Germany with the ...

Ford, Volkswagen expand alliance to electric autos

Britain will send a second warship to the Gulf, officials said Friday, temporarily deploying two vessels near Tehran's waters as tensions surge after armed Iranian boats threatened a British oil tanker.
Government officials said the move was part of a pre-planned rotation and was meant to ensure a continued British naval presence in one of the most important but volatile oil shipping routes in the world.
The decision was announced days after the British government raised the alert level in the waters around Iran to its highest level.
A government spokesman said the HMS Duncan was "deploying to the region to ensure we maintain a continuous maritime security presence while HMS Montrose comes off task for pre-planned maintenance and crew change over".
The HMS Montrose was forced to warn off three fast Iranian gunboats on Wednesday that UK officials said were trying to "impede" the progress of a British supertanker through the Strait of Hormuz in the Gulf.
A source with knowledge of the ..

AFP

AFP

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