US gun manufacturers have produced over 70 million firearms since 2008, quickly escalating the production of rifles and the types of semiautomatic weapons used in recent mass shootings, according to data from the US government and gun industry.

In 2016, the latest year for which data is available, firearms companies sharply increased production, building 11.5 million guns, in part due to a belief that the Democratic Party would win the presidential election that year and curtail access to semiautomatic weapons such as the AR-15 rifle.

American companies have produced more than 150 million firearms since 1986, according to the “Annual Firearms Manufacturing and Export Report” published each year by the US Justice Department.

The vast majority of all US-produced firearms were sold domestically, the Justice Department said.

The data also shows periodic spikes of production and firearm sales when there’s the possibility of new federal gun-control policies.

Remington Arms Company, one of America’s largest gun manufacturers, reported sales of firearms reached $437.8 million in 2016, up 16.7 percent from the year before.

The company said sales of “modern sporting rifles,” which includes firearms like the AR-15, increased $34.2 million that year, though it didn’t provide aggregate sales figures for this style.

The two biggest years for gun production in recent history took place in 2013 and 2016, when intense debates about whether Democrats would be able to curb access to firearms.

“Gun lovers have been convinced that their right to buy guns in general, or particular types of guns, would be taken away by the politicians and they better hurry up and get whatever guns they have considered obtaining,” said Philip Cook, professor emeritus of public policy studies at Duke University in Durham, North Carolina.

Gun sales dropped sharply in early 2017, after US President Donald Trump and the Republican Party — which oppose to gun control — took full control of government, according to sales figures from several large gun manufacturers.

To deal with last year’s falling demand, many gun companies and retailers offered steep discounts and rebates on firearms to lure more buyers.

The report comes as the National Rifle Association (NRA), a powerful gun lobby in the US, comes under increasing pressure following the mass shooting at a high school in Florida earlier this month.

Nikolas Cruz, an ex-student at Marjory Stoneman Douglas High School in Parkland, Florida, opened fire on February 14, with an AR-15-style assault rifle, killing 17 people and injuring 14 more in his former school.

It was also the 18th school shooting since January 1 in the United States, which loses around 33,000 people to gun violence every year.

Source: Presstv

Mexican President Enrique Pena Nieto has shelved a plan to visit the United States following a phone conversation with US President Donald Trump, in which the US president reportedly lost his temper.

The Washington Post first reported the development on Saturday, citing US and Mexican officials.

It said Pena Nieto was planning to visit Washington in February or March, but “shelved” his plan after a “testy” phone call with Trump on Tuesday.

The 50-minute phone call between the Mexican president and his US counterpart reached an impasse over Trump’s campaign promise of building a wall on the US’s border with Mexico and making Mexico City pay for it.

The report said the two leaders “devoted a considerable portion” of the phone conversation to discussing the border wall. Pena Nieto reportedly asked Trump to publicly affirm Mexico’s position that it will not pay for the wall. The US president refused.

According to the Mexican account of the conversation, Trump at some point “lost his temper.” According to the American version, he was frustrated by Pena Nieto’s demand.

The Mexican president had canceled an earlier trip after Trump threatened to impose a tax on Mexican imports to pay for the border wall.

During his campaign for presidency, Trump had hinted that illegal Mexican immigrants to the US were “murderers” and “rapists.” That enraged the Mexican government and people. Once the US president promised to build the wall and make Mexico pay for it, Mexico City made it clear that it was not going to.

Meanwhile, an upcoming presidential election in Mexico scheduled for July is a determining factor and any compromise by Pena Nieto may risk damaging his public image and reducing his chances for re-election.

Some experts say that a trip to the US by the Mexican president any time before the election would be a risk.

Source: Presstv

French Cameroun army strikes against suspected Southern Cameroons fighters in the Federal Republic of Ambazonia have continued after the British Minister left the territory, with intense fighting occurring in the South West Muyenge community, where French Cameroun rockets have reportedly landed on houses.  There are reports of massive killings going on in Ngolo, Melima and Bakundu and more than a thousand have escaped into the forest.

Thousands of families have also been displaced and the Christians churches are warning that the situation in Southern Cameroons is critical. The fighting in Muyenge pits French Cameroun government forces and their allies from Chad against local Ambazonian defense groups.

In a speech recently, the acting President of the Federal Republic of Ambazonia, Dr. Samuel Sako Ikome endorsed the legitimate right of Ambazonians to self defense.

By Sama Ernest

Haiti has suspended Oxfam Great Britain’s operations in the Caribbean country following allegations of sexual misconduct by some of the charity organization’s staff.

Oxfam entered Haiti after a devastating earthquake hit the island nation in 2010. There have been allegations of sexual misconduct against those sent to help the victims of the earthquake, which killed tens of thousands. Oxfam has formally apologized, expressing “shame” for the behavior of its staff.

Haiti’s Planning and External Cooperation Minister Aviol Fleurant said on Thursday that Oxfam’s suspension was ordered due to “serious failings” by Oxfam Great Britain between 2010 and 2011, and that a definitive decision on its ability to operate in Haiti would be made in two months following a review of the evidence.

“If during the two month-long investigation, I find out there is a link between the aid funds that Oxfam received on behalf of Haiti and the crime that has been committed, we will… declare Oxfam Great Britain persona non grata in the country,” Fleurant said.

In a separate statement, Fleurant accused Oxfam staff of committing acts of “sexual abuse” and exploitation.

Fleurant said the suspension of the charity’s right to operate was limited to Oxfam Great Britain and did not apply to Oxfam Canada.

Oxfam is a confederation of 19 independent charitable organizations with nearly 10,000 staff working in over 90 countries that use the name Oxfam and are led by UK-based Oxfam International, which is one of the UK’s biggest charities.

The charity, which receives hundreds of millions of dollars from government and private sources, aims to work for greater impact on the international stage to reduce poverty and injustice.

It said it had lost 7,000 regular donors since it was revealed that its staff sexually exploited vulnerable women in Haiti, according to British daily The Guardian on Tuesday.

Britain and the European Union are reviewing their funding of Oxfam amid the allegations in Haiti.

Meanwhile, Winnie Byanyima, the executive director of Oxfam International, has promised to appoint an independent commission to investigate the allegations of sexual abuse by the staff of the charity.

Byanyima described the majority of the rank and file working at the charity organization as people of values.

Source: Presstv