North America

USA: FBI arrests Kansas detective long accused of corruption

KANSAS CITY, Mo. (AP) — A former Kansas City, Kansas, police detective who has long been accused of sexually preying on Black women during criminal investigations was indicted Thursday on charges that he sexually abused two women, the FBI said.

Roger Golubski, 69, was arrested at his home in Edwardsville after a federal grand jury indicted him on six counts of civil rights violations. He was expected to make his first court appearance Thursday afternoon.

USA: Buttigieg awards grant to tear down divisive Detroit highway

WASHINGTON (AP) — A long-delayed plan to dismantle Interstate 375, a 1-mile (1.6-kilometer) depressed freeway in Detroit that was built by demolishing Black neighborhoods 60 years ago, was a big winner of federal money Thursday, the first Biden administration grant awarded to tear down a racially divisive roadway.

The $104.6 million is among $1.5 billion in transportation grants handed out to 26 projects nationwide thanks to increased funding from the 2021 bipartisan infrastructure law.

Medic: Russians tortured Ukrainian detainees, often to death

WASHINGTON (AP) — A life-saving Ukrainian volunteer medic captured by Russian forces during their deadly siege of the port city of Mariupol told U.S. lawmakers Thursday how Russians routinely tortured her and others, killing many detainees, in her most detailed public account of her months in captivity.

Yuliia Paievska, detained in Mariupol in March and held by Russian and pro-Russian forces for three months, spoke to lawmakers with the Helsinki Commission, a government agency created in part to promote compliance with human rights internationally.

Biden: Tentative railway labor deal reached, averting strike

WASHINGTON (AP) — President Joe Biden announced Thursday that a tentative railway labor agreement has been reached, averting a nationwide strike that could have been devastating to the economy before the pivotal midterm elections.

Railroads and union representatives had been in negotiations for 20 hours at the Labor Department well past midnight to hammer out a deal, as there was a risk of a strike starting on Friday that could have shut down rail lines across the country.

US imposes sanctions on affiliates of Iran's IRGC over cyber activities

14 Sep 2022; MEMO: The United States imposed sanctions on Wednesday on individuals and entities it linked to Iran's Revolutionary Guard for what it called Tehran's "malicious" cyber and ransom ware activity, Reuters reports.

The sanctions were part of a joint response by several US agencies, including the departments of Justice and State, the US Treasury said in a statement.

UN chief urges rich nations ‘not to lose one moment’ in helping flood-hit Pakistan

UNITED NATIONS, Sep 14 (APP): Pakistan needs a “massive inflow of financial resources” to help it cope with the devastation caused by the climate-induced floods, UN Secretary-General Antonio Guterres said Wednesday, as he appealed to wealthy countries “not to lose one moment’ in coming to the aid of the country.

“What is happening in Pakistan demonstrates the sheer inadequacy of the global response to the climate crisis, and the betrayal and injustice at the heart of it,” he told his annual pre-General Assembly press conference in response to a question from APP correspondent.

USA: IMF confirms plan to expand emergency aid to help countries deal with food shocks

WASHINGTON, Sept 14 (NNN-AGENCIES) — The International Monetary Fund (IMF) confirmed that it is moving toward expanding emergency financing for countries hit by surging food prices and shortages triggered by the war in Ukraine, with some 20 to 30 countries seen most in need.

IMF managing director Kristalina Georgieva said the fund’s executive board members were “very positive” about the proposed “food shock window” when they met informally on Monday, and she hoped they would approve it to allow a swift disbursal of funds.

UN chief appeals for cooperation to address ‘world in peril’

UNITED NATIONS, Sept 14 (NNN-AGENCIES) — UN Secretary-General Antonio Guterres called for solidarity and cooperation to address a “world in peril” at the opening of the 77th United Nations General Assembly.

“We face a world in peril across our work to advance peace, human rights and sustainable development,” Guterres said, citing conflicts and climate change, a “broken global financial system,” poverty, inequality, hunger and divisions.

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