International
Wall Street stocks end mixed after bumpy day

AFP
US equities went for a ride Tuesday, ending the day mixed after bouncing around for most of the session as investors digested solid retail company earnings but disappointing housing data.
Shares started the day in the doldrums after data showed new US home construction dove in July, but were buoyed when Walmart reported a jump in revenues, with the retail giant also saying its annual profit would not be as bad as it predicted three weeks ago.
The Dow Jones Industrial Average gained 0.7 percent to finish the day at 34,152.01, while the broad-based S&P 500 was up 0.2 percent to 4,305.2.
Meanwhile, the tech-rich Nasdaq Composite Index retreated, falling 0.2 percent to end at 13,102.55 after recovering from the low point of the day.
The weak housing data — new US home construction projects started in July tumbled 9.6 percent — gave rise to more fears about the economy since the real estate market drives a lot of other spending.
But manufacturing rebounded, according to Federal Reserve data.
And Walmart’s results indicated consumers are still spending, though the chain warned that it is seeing signs of shoppers holding off on buying some goods due to high prices. Home Depot also reported solid earnings.
And oil prices declined for the third day, on the hope for a boost in global supply, while US gas prices at the pump continued to drop further below $4 a gallon, in more good news for American families.
“We can’t say that Walmart had extraordinary results but it was better than expected. Overall Wall Street was too pessimistic,” Gregori Volokhine of Meeschaert Financial Services told AFP.
“We can say that a large part of the rally was simply because people had positioned themselves wrong.”
Walmart shares jumped 5.1 percent on the positive results that came after the company slashed its profit forecast late last month.
Home Depot rose 4.1 percent following a 7.6 percent increase in quarterly earnings to $5.2 billion.
International
Man arrested after deliberately driving into seven children in Osaka

Japanese police arrested a man on Thursday after he rammed his car into a group of seven schoolchildren in an apparent deliberate attack in the city of Osaka.
The children, who were on their way home from school, sustained injuries and were taken to the hospital. All seven remained conscious, according to local authorities.
An Osaka police officer, speaking on condition of anonymity, said the suspect is a 28-year-old man from Tokyo. The officer shared statements the man made after his arrest: “I was fed up with everything, so I decided to kill people by driving into several elementary school children,” the suspect reportedly said.
The man has been arrested on suspicion of attempted murder.
The injured children, aged between seven and eight, included a seven-year-old girl who suffered a fractured jaw. The six other children—all boys—suffered minor injuries such as bruises and scratches and were undergoing medical evaluation.
Witnesses described the car as “zigzagging” before hitting the children. One witness told Nippon TV that a girl was “covered in blood” and the others appeared to have scratches.
Another witness said the driver, who was wearing a face mask, looked to be in shock when school staff pulled him from the vehicle.
Violent crimes are rare in Japan, though serious incidents do occur from time to time. In 2008, Tomohiro Kato drove a two-ton truck into pedestrians in Tokyo’s Akihabara district, then fatally stabbed several victims. Seven people were killed in that attack.
Internacionales
Clashes erupt during may day protests across France amid calls for better wages

May Day protests in France were marked by a heavy police presence and clashes between demonstrators and law enforcement in several cities.
In Paris, Lyon, and Nantes, thousands took to the streets to demand better wages, fairer working conditions, and to voice their dissatisfaction with President Emmanuel Macron’s government.
While the majority of the demonstrations remained peaceful, isolated confrontations broke out in some areas. Protesters threw objects at the police, prompting the use of tear gas and resulting in several arrests.
Videos showing police crackdowns circulated widely on social media, drawing criticism from labor unions and human rights advocates, who denounced the authorities’ response to the protests.
International
Kristi Noem credits Trump for mass migrant deportations by mexican president

U.S. Secretary of Homeland Security Kristi Noem claimed that Mexican President Claudia Sheinbaum has deported “more than half a million” migrants due to pressure from former President Donald Trump.
During a cabinet meeting highlighting the “achievements” of Trump’s administration in its first 100 days, Noem asserted that under the Republican leader’s influence, “Mexico has finally come to the table” to negotiate on migration and fentanyl trafficking.
“The president of Mexico told me she has returned just over half a million people before they reached our border,” Noem stated, criticizing media reports that suggest the Biden administration deported more migrants than Trump’s.
“I wish those deportations were counted,” Noem added, “because those people never made it to our border—she sent them back because you made her.” She went on to thank Trump: “They never made it here because they got the message—because you were so aggressive.”
Noem has made controversial claims about Sheinbaum in the past, prompting the Mexican leader to refute them.
On April 1, Sheinbaum responded to one such statement by declaring, “The president answers to only one authority, and that is the people of Mexico,” after Noem said on Fox News that she gave Sheinbaum “a list of things Trump would like to see” and that Mexico’s actions would determine whether Trump granted tariff relief.
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