North America

PHOENIX (AP) — The Republican Party’s embrace of Donald Trump’s election lies will be tested on Tuesday as voters in Arizona choose between candidates who say they wouldn’t have certified the results of the 2020 campaign and those who argue it’s time to move on.

WASHINGTON (AP) — As the sun was rising in Kabul on Sunday, two Hellfire missiles fired by a U.S. drone ended Ayman al-Zawahri’s decade-long reign as the leader of al-Qaida. The seeds of the audacious counterterrorism operation had been planted over many months.

U.S. officials had built a scale model of the safe house where al-Zawahri had been located, and brought it into the White House Situation Room to show President Joe Biden. They knew al-Zawahri was partial to sitting on the home’s balcony.

WASHINGTON (AP) — President Joe Biden announced Monday that al-Qaida leader Ayman al-Zawahri was killed in a U.S. drone strike in Kabul, an operation he said delivered justice and hopefully “one more measure of closure” to families of the victims of the Sept. 11, 2001, attacks on the United States.

The president said in an evening address from the White House that U.S. intelligence officials tracked al-Zawahri to a home in downtown Kabul where he was hiding out with his family. The president approved the operation last week and it was carried out Sunday.

01 August 2022; MEMO: The United States, on Monday, imposed sanctions on Chinese and other companies it said were used by one of Iran's largest petrochemical brokers to sell tens of millions of dollars' worth of Iranian products to East Asia, as Washington continues to crack down on Iranian oil sales to the region, Reuters reports.

01 August 2022; MEMO: UN Secretary-General, Antonio Guterres, thanked Turkiye on Monday for its efforts and leadership as a nascent deal to resume grain exports from Ukraine saw its first ship depart from the port of Odessa, Anadolu News Agency reports.

The departure of the Sierra Leone-flagged dry cargo ship, "Razoni", marked an "important starting point" for the agreement, Guterres said. "It must be the first of many commercial ships bringing relief and stability to global food markets," he added.

01 August 2022; MEMO: US Secretary of State, Antony Blinken, said on Monday it remains to be seen whether Tehran is willing to move forward on reviving the 2015 Iran nuclear deal and he sidestepped a question on whether Washington was prepared to return to talks on the issue, Reuters reports.

UNITED NATIONS, Aug 01 (APP): United Nations Secretary-General on Monday welcomed the departure of the first ship from the Ukrainian port of Odesa to leave carrying grain under the landmark deal signed by Ukraine, Russia and Türkiye, overseen by the UN.

The Razoni, carrying a cargo of 26,527 tonnes of corn, is the first cargo ship to leave a Ukrainian Black Sea port since February 26, just a few days after the Russian invasion began. It is bound for the Mediterranean port of Tripoli, in Lebanon.

WASHINGTON, Aug 1 (NNN-AGENCIES) – Seven people were injured, after a mass shooting in downtown Orlando, Florida, early yesterday morning, police said.

Orlando Police Chief, Eric Smith, told reporters that, the shooting followed a fight in the area of Wall Street Plaza and South Orange Avenue, at approximately 2:00 a.m. (0600 GMT), as the bars and restaurants were closing.

An unidentified shooter pulled out a handgun and fired into the crowd, injuring seven people.

All the victims are hospitalised and in stable condition, Smith said.

WASHINGTON, Aug 1 (Reuters) - The United States is ready to outline a new nuclear arms deal with Russia and called on Moscow to demonstrate its ability to negotiate in good faith, U.S. President Joe Biden said ahead of global nonproliferation discussions at the United Nations on Monday.

Biden also called on China "to engage in talks that will reduce the risk of miscalculation and address destabilizing military dynamics."

WASHINGTON (AP) — The White House is making more than $1 billion available to states to address flooding and extreme heat exacerbated by climate change.

Vice President Kamala Harris is set to announce the grant programs Monday at an event in Miami with the head of the Federal Emergency Management Agency and other officials. The competitive grants will help communities across the nation prepare for and respond to climate-related disasters.