USA

UN, August 19. /TASS/: The Zaporozhye nuclear power plant (NPP) in Ukraine, needs to be demilitarized, UN Secretary General Antonio Guterres said on Friday.

"First of all, what is true is that if it is demilitarized as we propose, the plant, the problem will be solved," the UN chief’s press office quoted him as saying to journalists upon a visit to the city of Odessa.

"Obviously, the electricity from Zaporozhye [NPP] is Ukrainian electricity, and it's necessary, especially during the winter for the Ukrainian people, and this principle must be fully respected," he added.

Aug 19 (Reuters) - International Monetary Fund staff will visit Sri Lanka at the end of August with a goal of making progress on a staff-level agreement for an aid package in the near term to help the island nation weather a severe economic crisis, the IMF said on Friday.

Staff from the global lender will be in Colombo, the capital, from Aug. 24-31, the IMF said.

SAN FRANCISCO, Aug. 18 (Xinhua) -- Multiple people have been reportedly killed after two planes collided while attempting to land in Watsonville, U.S. State of California, authorities tweeted Thursday afternoon.

The crash happened around 2:56 p.m. (2156 GMT) at the Watsonville Municipal Airport and multiple agencies rushed to the scene at around 3:37 p.m. (2237 GMT), according to the city's official Twitter account.

An investigation into the incident is underway. 

BILLINGS, Mont. (AP) — The U.S. oil industry hit a legal roadblock in January when a judge struck down a $192 million oil and natural gas lease sale in the Gulf of Mexico over future global warming emissions from burning the fuels. It came at a pivotal time for Chevron, Exxon and other industry players: the Biden administration had curtailed opportunities for new offshore drilling, while raising climate change concerns.

BOSTON (AP) — Three men, including a Mafia hitman, have been charged in the 2018 prison killing of notorious Boston crime boss James “Whitey” Bulger, the Justice Department said Thursday.

Bulger’s death raised questions about why the known “snitch” was placed in the West Virginia prison’s general population instead of more protective housing.

WASHINGTON (AP) — Last week’s attack on author Salman Rushdie and the indictment of an Iranian national in a plot to kill former national security adviser John Bolton have given the Biden administration new headaches as it attempts to negotiate a return to the 2015 nuclear deal with Iran.

A resolution may be tantalizingly close. But as the U.S. and Europe weigh Iran’s latest response to an EU proposal described as the West’s final offer, the administration faces new and potentially insurmountable domestic political hurdles to forging a lasting agreement.

WILMINGTON, Del. (AP) — President Joe Biden will host a White House summit next month aimed at combating a spate of hate-fueled violence in the U.S., as he works to deliver on his campaign pledge to “heal the soul of the nation.”

WASHINGTON (AP) — Millions of people in the United States will be spared from big increases in health care costs next year after President Joe Biden signed legislation extending generous subsidies for those who buy plans through federal and state marketplaces.

The sweeping climate, tax and health care bill sets aside $70 billion over the next three years to keep out-of-pocket premium costs low for roughly 13 million people, just before the reduced prices were set to expire in a year beset by record-high inflation.

NEW YORK (AP) — Stocks fell in afternoon trading on Wall Street Friday, putting major indexes on track for losses that will end a solid run of weekly gains.

The S&P 500 fell 1.1% as of 1:16 p.m. Eastern. The benchmark index is now on track to break a four-week winning streak. The Nasdaq fell 1.9% and is also set to end four weeks of gains.

The Dow Jones Industrial Average fell 202 points, or 0.6%, to 33,796 and is slightly in the red for the week.

(AP) --- Lawyers for two men charged with conspiring to kidnap Michigan Gov. Gretchen Whitmer called investigators to the witness stand Friday to try to raise questions about their tactics in 2020 and highlight scornful attitudes.

The defense rested its case on the ninth day of trial. Closing arguments were scheduled for Monday in federal court in Grand Rapids, Michigan.

Adam Fox and Barry Croft Jr. declined to testify. They are on trial for a second time after a jury in April couldn’t reach a unanimous verdict but acquitted two other men.