United States: Gun manufacturers seek new markets targeting kids
Americas
05:28
Issued on:
05:28 min
In the United States, gun ownership is a constitutional right. Recently, a federal appeals court overturned a ban on Americans aged 18 to 21 purchasing firearms. Yet, they are the leading cause of death among children and adolescents in the country. Some, encouraged by their parents, learn to shoot at a young age. Others face tragic consequences. We bring you this report from France 2.
Hashtags
Try Our AI Features
Explore what Daily8 AI can do for you:
Comments
No comments yet...
Related Articles
Euronews
4 hours ago
- Euronews
US pulls some embassy staff from Middle East as Iran tensions rise
The US has ordered the departure of non-essential embassy staff and their families from the Middle East over heightened security concerns in the region. The decision comes amid an apparent impasse in US-Iran nuclear talks, with US President Donald Trump saying he was "less confident" the pair would reach a deal. The US State Department on Wednesday announced it would be partially evacuating personnel from the US embassy in Baghdad to "keep Americans safe, both home and abroad." The US embassy in Baghdad already operates at limited staffing due to security risks, and the order will not affect a large number of personnel. The department has also authorised the departure of non-essential personnel and family members from its embassies in Bahrain and Kuwait. US Defence Secretary Pete Hegseth authorised the 'voluntary departure of military dependents from locations' across the region, US Central Command said in a statement. The command 'is monitoring the developing tension in the Middle East.' Earlier Wednesday, the UK's maritime agency issued a warning to ships in the region that an escalation of tensions could impact shipping. It advised vessels to be cautious in the Persian Gulf, the Gulf of Oman, and the Strait of Hormuz — waterways that all border Iran. Iraq's state-run Iraqi News Agency said the evacuation of some nonessential employees from the US Embassy in Baghdad was part of 'procedures related to the US diplomatic presence in a number of Middle Eastern countries, not just Iraq,' adding that Iraqi officials 'have not recorded any security indicators that warrant an evacuation.' Tensions have escalated recently amid a deadlock in negotiations between the US and Iran over Tehran's advancing nuclear program. The ongoing Israel-Hamas war — now over 18 months — has heightened concerns of a broader conflict that could draw in the US, Israel, Iran and its regional allies. Speaking at the Kennedy Centre in Washington on Wednesday, Trump said staff were being "moved out, because it could be a dangerous place. We'll see what happens." When asked if there was anything that could be done to reduce tensions in the region, Trump responded that Tehran "can't have a nuclear weapon, firstly." Talks between Washington and Tehran seek to limit Iran's nuclear programme in exchange for relief from the crushing economic sanctions the US has placed on the country. Iran says its nuclear programme is peaceful. The next and sixth round of talks, which had been tentatively scheduled for this weekend in Oman, now looks increasingly likely to be cancelled, according to two officials who spoke to AP on condition of anonymity. In a separate interview with the New York Post's 'Pod Force One' podcast, Trump said he was "getting more and more less confident about' a deal. 'They seem to be delaying, and I think that's a shame. I'm less confident now than I would have been a couple of months ago. Something happened to them," he said in the interview released on Wednesday. Iran's mission to the UN posted on social media that 'threats of overwhelming force won't change the facts." US militarism "only fuels instability," the mission claimed. Iranian Defence Minister General Aziz Nasirzadeh separately told journalists Wednesday that Tehran would be ready to respond to airstrikes. 'If conflict is imposed on us, the opponent's casualties will certainly be more than ours, and in that case, America must leave the region, because all its bases are within our reach,' he said. 'We have access to them, and we will target all of them in the host countries without hesitation.' Amid growing tensions with Tehran, the top US military officer for the Middle East, General Erik Kurilla, was scheduled to testify before the Senate Armed Services Committee on Thursday, but that testimony has now been postponed, according to the committee's website. The Pentagon has not commented on the postponement.
Euronews
5 hours ago
- Euronews
US partially pulls embassy staff from Iraq as tensions rise
The US has ordered the departure of non-essential embassy staff and their families from the Middle East over heightened security concerns in the region. The decision comes amid an apparent impasse in US-Iran nuclear talks, with President Donald Trump saying he was "less confident" the pair would reach a deal. The State Department on Wednesday announced it would be partially evacuating personnel from the US embassy in Baghdad in order to "keep Americans safe, both home and abroad." The US embassy in Baghdad already operates at limited staffing over security risks, and the order will not affect a large number of personnel. The department has also authorised the departure of non-essential personnel and family members from its embassies in Bahrain and Kuwait. Defence Secretary Pete Hegseth authorised the 'voluntary departure of military dependents from locations' across the region, US Central Command said in a statement. The command 'is monitoring the developing tension in the Middle East.' Earlier Wednesday, the UK's maritime agency issued a warning to ships in the region that an escalation of tensions could impact shipping. It advised vessels to be cautious in the Persian Gulf, the Gulf of Oman, and the Strait of Hormuz — waterways that all border Iran. Iraq's state-run Iraqi News Agency said the evacuation of some nonessential employees from the US Embassy in Baghdad was part of 'procedures related to the US diplomatic presence in a number of Middle Eastern countries, not just Iraq,' adding that Iraqi officials 'have not recorded any security indicators that warrant an evacuation.' Tensions have escalated recently amid a deadlock in negotiations between the US and Iran over Tehran's advancing nuclear program. The ongoing war — now over 18 months — between Israel and Hamas in Gaza has heightened concerns of a broader conflict that could draw in the US, Israel, Iran, and its regional allies. Speaking at the Kennedy Centre in Washington on Wednesday, President Trump said staff were being "moved out, because it could be a dangerous place. We'll see what happens." When asked if there was anything that could be done to reduce tensions in the region, Trump responded that Tehran "can't have a nuclear weapon, firstly." The talks seek to limit Iran's nuclear programme in exchange for relief from the crushing economic sanctions the US has placed on the country. Iran says its nuclear programme is peaceful. The next and sixth round of talks, which had been tentatively scheduled for this weekend in Oman, now looks increasingly likely to be cancelled, according to two officials who spoke to AP on condition of anonymity. In a separate interview with the New York Post's 'Pod Force One' podcast, Trump said he was "getting more and more less confident about' a deal. 'They seem to be delaying, and I think that's a shame. I'm less confident now than I would have been a couple of months ago. Something happened to them," he said in the interview released on Wednesday. Iran's mission to the UN posted on social media that 'threats of overwhelming force won't change the facts." US militarism "only fuels instability," the mission claimed. Iranian Defense Minister General Aziz Nasirzadeh separately told journalists Wednesday that Tehran would be ready to respond to airstrikes. 'If conflict is imposed on us, the opponent's casualties will certainly be more than ours, and in that case, America must leave the region, because all its bases are within our reach,' he said. 'We have access to them, and we will target all of them in the host countries without hesitation.' Amid growing tensions with Tehran, the top US military officer for the Middle East, General Erik Kurilla, was scheduled to testify before the Senate Armed Services Committee on Thursday, but that testimony has now been postponed, according to the committee's website. The Pentagon has not commented on the postponement. Myanmar is on "a path to self-destruction" if violence in the conflict-wracked Southeast Asian nation doesn't end, the UN envoy has warned. Julie Bishop told the UN General Assembly that "alarmingly" the violence didn't end after a powerful earthquake in late March devastated parts of the capital, Naypyidaw, and the country's second-largest city, Mandalay, killing more than 3,000 people and injuring thousands more. Ceasefires announced by some parties have largely not been observed, "embedding a crisis within a crisis," and people in Myanmar must now deal with the raging conflict and the earthquake's devastation, Bishop said. "A zero-sum approach persists on all sides," she said. "Armed clashes remain a barrier to meeting humanitarian needs. The flow of weapons into the country is fuelling the expectations that a military solution is possible." A widespread armed struggle against military rule in Myanmar began in February 2021 after generals seized power from the elected government of Aung San Suu Kyi. More than 6,600 civilians are estimated to have been killed by security forces, according to figures compiled by non-governmental organisations. The military takeover triggered intensified fighting with long-established armed militias organised by Myanmar's ethnic minority groups in its border regions, which have struggled for decades for more autonomy. It also led to the formation of pro-democracy militias that support a national unity government established by elected lawmakers barred from taking their seats after the army takeover. More than 22,000 political prisoners are still in detention, Bishop said, including Suu Kyi, who turns 80 on 19 June, and the ousted president, Win Myint. The UN envoy said she detected "some openness to political dialogue with some regional support, but there is not yet broader agreement on how to move forward." In meetings with the country's leaders, Bishop said she encouraged them to reconsider their strategy, which has left the country more divided. She also warned against elections, planned for December or January, saying they risk fuelling greater resistance and instability unless there is an end to the violence and they can be held in an inclusive and transparent way. Bishop said she has been coordinating further action with Othman Hashim, the special envoy for Myanmar from the 10-nation Association of Southeast Asian Nations (ASEAN) and they agreed to visit Myanmar together. The UN envoy said she had a meeting online on Monday with representatives of the Rohingya minority from Myanmar and Bangladesh. She said the situation for the Rohingya in Myanmar's northern Rakhine state remains dire, with up to 80% of civilians living in poverty and caught in crossfire between the government's military forces and the Arakan Army, the well-armed military wing of the Rakhine ethnic minority, and "subject to forced recruitment and other abuses." More than 700,000 Muslim Rohingya fled to Bangladesh from Myanmar starting in late August 2017 when Myanmar's military launched a "clearance operation." Members of the ethnic group face discrimination and are denied citizenship and other rights in the Buddhist-majority nation. Bishop said there's hope that a high-level conference on the Rohingya and other minorities called for by the UN General Assembly on 30 September will put a spotlight on the urgency of finding "durable solutions" to their plight.
France 24
9 hours ago
- France 24
'Terrifying': Migrants fret over LA raids, but still look for work
"People were hiding under wood, in the trash, wherever they could find a little hole," said Oscar Mendia, a Guatemalan who estimated 25 people were arrested. "It was like something out of a movie." The raid was part of an anti-immigration crackdown ordered by President Donald Trump that has seen factories and work sites targeted since Friday, sparking days of angry protests in America's second biggest city. "It all started here," Mendia said, pointing to the parking lot where around 20 workers had gathered on Wednesday. Mendia, who has lived undocumented in the United States for 26 years, had never been involved in a raid before, not even during Trump's first term. "It's one thing to see it on television," he said, "But it's another to experience it firsthand." 'Families to support' Stories of migrants being held in crowded cells, unable to speak to family or lawyers before being rapidly deported are frightening, said another man, aged 40, who did not provide a name. But they are not enough to keep these workers away from the parking lot, where they gather in the hope of snagging off-the-books work in construction, farming or manual labor. "It's difficult, but we have to work, we have families to support," said the man, who sends most of his money to Honduras to provide for his six children. Mendia, who also used remittances to educate and raise his three children in Guatemala, says men like him have less to fear in this anti-immigration climate. But for the new generation, the situation "is terrifying," he said. "They come with hope, they come dreaming of a future." Beside him, a 21-year-old nods nervously. The young man was saved from Friday's raid because he had already been picked up for a construction project by the time the armed federal agents arrived. On Monday, he almost didn't come back, but ultimately realized he had no choice. "We need to do it," he told AFP. Paying taxes The men's stories are echoed in parking lots, car washes and on construction sites all over Los Angeles and throughout the United States. They fled countries devastated by economic and political crises, or by violence, in search of work to support their families. After difficult and dangerous journeys, they work for low salaries, doing the kind of back-breaking jobs many Americans have long since abandoned -- and often pay taxes. Undocumented migrants contributed nearly $90 billion to the public purse in 2023, according to an analysis by the American Immigration Council. 'Country of immigrants' Trump returned to power this year after campaigning on a pledge to conduct the biggest deportation operation in US history. The ramped-up raids this week appear to be part of a push to make do on that promise, and come after White House Deputy Chief of Staff Stephen Miller reportedly ordered ICE (Immigration Customs and Enforcement) bosses to make at least 3,000 arrests every day. In Los Angeles, a city with large foreign-born and Latino populations, the idea of these masked men swooping has horrified people, many of whom personally know undocumented people. "Why is Donald Trump doing this?" asked a Mexican man who arrived in the United States nearly three decades ago. The man, who asked not to be identified, said it was unfair to go after hard-working people who are just trying to make a living. "Why is he attacking Los Angeles? Because we are a power, because we are the ones who make the economy," he said, "This country will fall without Latinos." The migrants of the 21st century might be largely Latinos, but America's rich history is one of waves of different people coming to these shores. "This is a country of immigrants," said Mendia, recalling Trump's own German roots. © 2025 AFP
