International

Rescuers find three bodies after Peru landslide

AFP

Rescuers digging through a landslide in northern Peru said Wednesday they had recovered three dead bodies, including a one-month-old baby.

A landslide Tuesday in the town of Retamas, around 500 kilometers (310 miles) north of Lima, buried several homes and trapped at least eight people, five of whom are still missing, authorities said.

“We were able to recover the body of a third person, a 62-year-old man,” Lieutenant Carlos Alberto Valderrama, the village’s chief of police, told AFP.

Hours earlier emergency crews recovered the bodies of the baby girl and an adult male who was likely trying to protect the infant when the landslide buried them both, a police spokesman said.

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All three victims were found under the rubble of a market.

Defense Minister Jose Gavidia said the eight missing include three children.

On Tuesday, authorities had said there were 15 people missing from the mining village of around 5,000.

Gavidia also corrected a claim from Tuesday by La Libertad governor Manuel Llempen, who said at least 60 homes were buried, lowering that figure to “about seven.”

“I managed to get out in time (but) my house was buried. The landslide has left us with nothing,” said Ledy Leiva, who escaped with five family members.

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Rescue efforts went on all night into Wednesday with only a couple hours’ break. But the work was suspended late Wednesday due to heavy rain in the area.

Peruvian President Pedro Castillo arrived at the village early Wednesday to supervise rescue efforts.

“In Peru we lack a risk map, there are people who dare to put a roof over a river or drill a hole in a hill to make homes,” said Castillo, referring to poor people with no other option than to build makeshift homes in precarious places.

In 2009, at least 13 people were killed by another landslide in Retamas, which is considered a high-risk area.

Landslides are frequent in the wet summers of the Peruvian Andes.

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Tuesday’s landslide is believed to have been caused by heavy recent rainfall.

International

Florida judge sets 2027 trial in Trump’s $10 billion lawsuit against BBC

A federal judge in Florida has scheduled February 2027 for the trial in the lawsuit filed by U.S. President Donald Trump against the BBC, in which he is seeking $10 billion in damages for defamation.

Trump accuses the British broadcaster of airing a misleading edit of a speech he delivered on January 6, 2021, which, he says, made it appear that he explicitly urged his supporters to attack the U.S. Capitol in Washington.

The president filed the suit in December in federal court in Florida, alleging defamation and violations of a law governing business practices when the program was broadcast ahead of the 2024 election.

Trump is seeking $5 billion in damages for each of the two claims.

Lawyers for the BBC unsuccessfully asked the court to dismiss the case, arguing that Trump had not suffered a “legally recognizable harm,” since the investigative program Panorama, which included the edited footage, aired outside the United States.

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International

Head-of-state diplomacy key to guiding China–U.S. ties, Beijing says

Head-of-state diplomacy plays an irreplaceable strategic guiding role in China–United States relations, Chinese Foreign Ministry spokesperson Lin Jian said on Thursday during a regular press briefing, when asked about high-level exchanges between the two sides.

Lin added that in a recent phone call, U.S. President Donald Trump once again expressed his intention to visit China in April, while Chinese President Xi Jinping reiterated his invitation.

Both sides remain in communication regarding the matter, the spokesperson said.

Lin noted that the essence of China–U.S. economic and trade ties lies in mutual benefit and win-win outcomes.

“Both parties should work together to implement the important consensus reached by the two heads of state, injecting greater certainty and stability into China–U.S. economic and trade cooperation, as well as into the global economy,” he said.

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International

Trump administration to end special immigration operation in Minnesota

The administration of Donald Trump is bringing to a close its special operation targeting illegal immigration in the northern state of Minnesota, border czar Tom Homan announced Thursday, following weeks of unrest and the fatal shootings of two activists by federal agents.

Thousands of federal officers had been deployed to Minnesota in December to carry out large-scale raids against undocumented immigrants.

The operations triggered strong reactions from residents and advocacy groups, leading to daily confrontations and the deaths of two people who were shot by federal agents.

“I proposed, and President Trump agreed, that this special operation should end in Minnesota,” Homan said during a press conference in the state capital, Minneapolis.

“A significant drawdown began this week and will continue into next week,” he added.

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Homan indicated that similar enforcement efforts could be launched in other cities.

“Next week we will redeploy the agents currently here back to their home stations or to other parts of the country where they are needed. But we will continue to enforce immigration laws,” he said.