North America

KUWAIT CITY, Nov 16 (NNN-KUNA) – Kuwait is committed to the unity and stability of Yemen and restoring its security and safety, Kuwait’s Foreign Minister, Sheikh Ahmad Nasser Al-Mohammad Al-Sabah, said yesterday.

The minister made the remarks during a meeting with visiting UN Special Envoy for Yemen, Hans Grundberg.

He also stressed his country’s support for international efforts, Saudi Arabia’s peace initiative in Yemen, and relevant UN Security Council resolutions, to end the crisis in Yemen, and tackle the deteriorating humanitarian situation.

WASHINGTON, Nov 16 (NNN-AGENCIES) — The US military has defended as “legitimate” an air strike attack which killed dozens of people in Syria in 2019.

The attack on so-called Daesh fighters killed 80 people, as the group made their last stand.

The US identified 16 of the dead as militants, and four as civilians.

But officials could not conclude on more than 60, and a spokesperson said it was “highly likely” more civilians were killed.

UNITED NATIONS, Nov. 15 (Xinhua) -- United Nations Security Council on Monday extended the mandate of the United Nations Interim Security Force for Abyei (UNISFA) until Dec. 15, 2021.

Unanimously adopting Resolution 2606 and acting under Chapter VII of the Charter of the United Nations, the council reaffirmed all previous resolutions and presidential statements concerning the situation in Abyei and along the border between Sudan and South Sudan, underlining the importance of full compliance with and implementation of these.

NEW YORK, Nov. 15 (Xinhua) -- As the cold days set in, the United States is again seeing a surge of COVID-19 cases, though deaths and hospitalizations trend lower, while the federal government's vaccine mandate consistently faces legal challenges and sectoral resistence.

According to The New York Times, the seven-day average of confirmed cases of the pandemic stood at 80,885 nationwide on Sunday, with its 14-day change striking an 11-percent rise. COVID-19-related deaths were 1,133 on Sunday, with the 14-day change realizing a 16-percent fall.

WASHINGTON (AP) — The last time Joe Biden was in New Hampshire, he was a no-show at his own, sad party.

Trounced in the state’s 2020 Democratic presidential primary, Biden hopped a flight to next-up South Carolina before the polls had even closed on his fifth-place finish. On Tuesday, he returns to New Hampshire as president, eager to talk up his new $1 trillion infrastructure deal and what all that money can do for Americans.

HONOLULU (AP) — Ten years after a federal agent shot and killed a man during an altercation in a Hawaii fast-food restaurant, Honolulu’s prosecuting attorney announced Monday his office will not seek a third trial in the case.

U.S. State Department Special Agent Christopher Deedy was in Honolulu helping with security for the 2011 Asia-Pacific Economic Cooperation summit when he fatally shot Kollin Elderts in a McDonald’s. Deedy was off-duty and bar-hopping with friends when the altercation occurred during his first night in Waikiki.

AURORA, Colo. (AP) — Six teenagers were wounded Monday in a drive-by shooting in a park near a suburban Denver high school, but all were expected to survive, police said.

The victims, who range in age from 14 to 18, are all students at Aurora Central High School in Aurora, a diverse city east of Denver, said police chief Vanessa Wilson. She said she needed everyone to be “outraged” by what happened and come forward with any information they might have to help police find those responsible.

CAPE CANAVERAL, Fla. (AP) — A Russian weapons test created more than 1,500 pieces of space junk now threatening the seven astronauts aboard the International Space Station, according to U.S. officials who called the strike reckless and irresponsible.

The State Department confirmed Monday that the debris was from an old Russian satellite destroyed by the missile.

WASHINGTON (AP) — Longtime Trump ally Steve Bannon appeared before a judge on Monday to face criminal contempt charges for defying a subpoena from Congress’ Jan. 6 committee, then declared combatively outside court that he was “taking on the Biden regime” in fighting the charges.

Bannon did not enter a plea and is due back in court on Thursday for the next phase of what could be the first high-level trial in connection with January’s insurrection at the U.S. Capitol.

WASHINGTON (AP) — A coalition of organizations working to evacuate people who could be targeted by the Taliban rulers in Afghanistan appealed Monday for more assistance from the U.S. government and other nations as conditions deteriorate in the country.