USA

WASHINGTON, Dec 3 (Reuters) - Chinese leader Xi Jinping is unwilling to accept Western vaccines despite the challenges China is facing with COVID-19, and while recent protests there are not a threat to Communist Party rule, they could affect his personal standing, U.S. Director of National Intelligence Avril Haines said on Saturday.

Although China's daily COVID cases are near all-time highs, some cities are taking steps to loosen testing and quarantine rules after Xi's zero-COVID policy triggered a sharp economic slowdown and public unrest.

WASHINGTON (AP) — Performers such as Gladys Knight or the Irish band U2 usually would be headlining a concert for thousands but at Sunday’s Kennedy Center Honors the tables will be turned as they and other artists will be the ones feted for their lifetime of artistic contributions.

Actor, director, producer and human rights activist George Clooney, groundbreaking composer and conductor Tania León, and contemporary Christian singer Amy Grant will join Knight, and the entire crew of U2 in being honored by the John F. Kennedy Center for the Performing Arts.

WASHINGTON (AP) — Calista Anderson was at a sleepover when the email from a friend arrived. She was 12 years old and had just experienced the worst moment of her life: Her mother had been killed while working overseas. The email offered a further jolt.

It linked to a news article revealing that, contrary to what she had been told, her mother hadn’t worked for the State Department. She was a CIA officer.

“I called my dad and I was like, ‘Come get me from the sleepover. We need to talk,’” she said.

WASHINGTON (AP) — The Supreme Court is about to confront a new elections case, a Republican-led challenge asking the justices for a novel ruling that could significantly increase the power of state lawmakers over elections for Congress and the presidency.

The court is set to hear arguments Wednesday in a case from North Carolina, where Republican efforts to draw congressional districts heavily in their favor were blocked by a Democratic majority on the state Supreme Court because the GOP map violated the state constitution.

UNITED NATIONS, Dec 03 (APP): The UN refugee agency, UNHCR, on Friday, issued an alert over the dramatic increase in the number of people attempting to cross the Andaman Sea, from Bangladesh and Myanmar.

The Southeast Asia waterway is one of the deadliest in the world and more than 1,900 people have already made the journey since January — six times more than in 2020, the Geneva-based UN agency said.

WASHINGTON, Dec 03 (APP): The United States Friday condemned the attack on the Pakistani Embassy in Kabul targeting its head of mission, Ubaid Nizamani, and called for a full investigation.

“We offer our sympathies and wish a quick recovery to those affected by the violence,” State Department Spokesperson Ned Price told his daily press conference.

“The United States is deeply concerned by the attack on a foreign diplomat, and we call for a full and transparent investigation,” he added.

UNITED NATIONS, December 2. /TASS/: Donetsk residents cannot heat the homes amid the winter because of ongoing combat operations, UN Secretary General’s Spokesman Stephane Dujarric said on Friday.

WASHINGTON, December 3. /TASS/: The price cap for Russian oil, introduced by the United States and its partners, means in practice that the basic principles of the free market are being reshaped, the Russian embassy to the United States said in a statement.

WASHINGTON, Dec 3 (NNN-AGENCIES) — The United States added Latin American adversaries Cuba and Nicaragua as well as Russia’s Wagner Group to a blacklist on international religious freedom, opening the path to potential sanctions.

Secretary of State Antony Blinken said the Wagner Group was being designated due to involvement in abuses in the Central African Republic, where nearly a decade of bloodshed has had religious overtones.

“The United States will not stand by in the face of these abuses,” Blinken said in a statement.

NEW YORK, Dec 3 (Reuters) - Bill Hwang is seeking the dismissal of his U.S. fraud indictment over the collapse of his once-$36 billion Archegos Capital Management LP, saying prosecutors committed misconduct by sandbagging him when building their case.

Hwang made the request in a Friday night filing in Manhattan federal court, where he has pleaded not guilty to fraud and racketeering conspiracy charges over Archegos' March 2021 demise.