USA

WASHINGTON (AP) — The defense team in the Capitol riot trial of the Oath Keepers leader is relying on an unusual strategy with Donald Trump at the center.

Lawyers for Stewart Rhodes, founder of the extremist group, are poised to argue that jurors cannot find him guilty of seditious conspiracy because all the actions he took before the siege on Jan. 6, 2021, were in preparation for orders he anticipated from the then-president — orders that never came.

CHARLESTON, S.C. (AP) — Rescuers searched for survivors among the ruins of Florida’s flooded homes from Hurricane Ian while authorities in South Carolina waited for daylight to assess damage from its strike there as the remnants of one of the strongest and costliest hurricanes to ever hit the U.S. continued to push north.

UNITED NATIONS, Sep 30 (APP): Pakistan has called for the mobilization of all possible resources to help developing countries eradicate poverty and hunger and achieve the Sustainable Development Goals (SDGs) to offset the devastating impact of the increase in food, fuel prices and the decline in economic growth on the large segment of the world’s population.

WASHINGTON, Sept 30 (Reuters) - U.S. Secretary of State Antony Blinken said the United States will act at the U.N. Security Council on Friday to hold Russia accountable for Moscow's referendums and proclaimed annexation of parts of Ukraine.

U.S. Ambassador to the U.N. Linda Thomas-Greenfield said on Tuesday the United States would jointly introduce a resolution with Albania that will call on member states not to recognize any altered status of Ukraine and obligate Russia to withdraw its troops.

A Security Council meeting is scheduled for 3pm local time on Friday.

WASHINGTON, Sept 29 (Reuters) - A federal judge on Thursday ruled that former President Donald Trump does not have to provide the court with a sworn statement attesting to whether he believes the list of items seized by the FBI from his Florida estate is accurate and complete.

WASHINGTON, Sept 30 (Reuters) - U.S. national security adviser Jake Sullivan and NATO Secretary-General Jens Stoltenberg on Friday discussed concerns over Russia's attempted annexation of Ukraine territory and the apparent sabotage of the Nord Stream 2 pipeline, the White House said in a statement.

"In the wake of the apparent sabotage of Nord Stream pipelines in the Baltic Sea, they discussed protection of critical infrastructure," the White House statement said.

HOUSTON, Sept. 29 (Xinhua) -- A warden of a detention center and his brother have been arrested after opening fire on a group of migrants who stopped to drink water along a farm road in western Texas near the U.S.-Mexico border, Texas authorities said on Thursday.

One male migrant was killed and a female wounded in the shooting on Tuesday evening near the town of Sierra Blanca, about 140 km southeast of El Paso, a border city.

The wounded is recovering at the Del Sol Medical Center in El Paso, according to the Texas Department of Public Safety (DPS).

WASHINGTON (AP) — Federal Reserve Vice Chair Lael Brainard said Friday that U.S. interest rates will likely have to remain high for an extended period to combat inflation, capping a week of tough rhetoric by Fed officials.

WASHINGTON (AP) — Justice Ketanji Brown Jackson made her first appearance on the Supreme Court bench in a brief courtroom ceremony Friday, three days before the start of the high court’s new term.

President Joe Biden, Vice President Kamala Harris and their spouses attended the invitation-only ceremonial investiture for Jackson, the first Black woman on the Supreme Court.

Chief Justice John Roberts wished the 52-year-old Jackson a “long and happy career in our common calling,” the traditional welcome for a new justice.

NEW YORK (AP) — Scientists have been measuring the scale of the massive methane leak from damaged pipelines in the Baltic Sea, with the latest figures equating the levels of gas escaping to the annual emissions of some whole countries. It is believed to be the single biggest recorded gas leak over a short period of time.

But as serious as the methane escaping from ruptured pipelines may be, there are alarming incidents of massive methane releases around the world frequently.