International

John intensifies into a category 2 hurricane and anticipates its impact in southern Mexico

The newly formed tropical storm John has intensified to a category 2 hurricane on the Saffir-Simpson scale in the Mexican Pacific, and reduces its distance with the coasts of the southern states of Guerrero and Oaxaca, where it could touch land on the date, the National Meteorological Service (SMN) reported.

The center of the cyclone, the second of the Pacific season that would pass over Mexican territory, was in the last report 90 kilometers (km) south of Punta Maldonado, in the state of Guerrero, and 155 km west-southwest of Puerto Escondido, in Oaxaca.

According to the forecasts of the organization of the National Water Commission (Conagua), John could intensify to category 3 and make landfall in the next six hours.

If the current trajectory is maintained, it would be expected that the center of Hurricane John will touch land between Santiago Pinotepa Nacional (Oaxaca), and Copala (Guerrero), tonight or early Tuesday, the SMN warned.

The phenomenon has sustained winds of 155 kilometers per hour (km/h) and gusts of 195 km/h and moves north at a speed of 9 km/h.

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The current category 2 hurricane will cause extraordinary occasional rains in Oaxaca and Guerrero; torrential in Chiapas; intense in Veracruz and Puebla; very strong in Tabasco, Michoacán and Morelos; as well as strong in the State of Mexico.

The SMN also predicted winds with gusts of up to 120 km/h and waves between three and five meters high on the coasts of Oaxaca, and gusts of between 40 and 60 km/h with waves up to three meters high on the coasts of Guerrero and Chiapas.

In addition, he reported that he established a prevention zone for the effects of Hurricane John from the east of Acapulco, in Guerrero, to Bahías de Huatulco, in Oaxaca.

The Mexican Meteorological Service asked the population to take extreme precautions, which included maritime navigation, as well as to heed the recommendations issued by the authorities of the National Civil Protection System.

John is the second cyclone of the Pacific season that would land in Mexico, where last week the storm Ileana hit in the state of Sinaloa, in the northwest of the country, where it left minor damage.

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While three cyclones have hit Mexico through the Atlantic: Hurricane Beryl and Storm Chris, which left a blank balance in July, and Storm Alberto in June, when it left six dead in Nuevo León, a state on the northern border of Mexico.

Mexican authorities predicted in May up to 41 named cyclones in the Atlantic and Pacific Oceans, of which at least five would hit the country, a figure above the average in both cases.

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.