USA

03 August 2022; MEMO: The United States said yesterday that it has "no DNA confirmation" of the death of Al-Qaeda leader Ayman Al-Zawahiri, who was apparently killed in a drone attack in the Afghan capital Kabul on Sunday.

"We do not have DNA confirmation, and we don't need it," White House spokesperson John Kirby told reporters. He explained that the US government had "visual confirmation" as well as confirmation "through other sources." Kirby added that there was a "small Al-Qaeda presence remaining in Afghanistan."

NEW YORK, August 2. /TASS/: The United States sees no reasons for the escalation of tension with China in light of US House of Representatives Speaker Nancy Pelosi to Taiwan, National Security Council Strategic Coordinator for Communications John Kirby told reporters on Tuesday.

UNITED NATIONS, Aug 2 (NNN-AGENCIES) — UN head Antonio Guterres warned that a misunderstanding could spark nuclear destruction as the United States, Britain and France urged Russia to stop “its dangerous nuclear rhetoric and behaviour.”

At the opening of a key nuclear Non-Proliferation Treaty (NPT) conference in New York, Guterres warned that the world faced “a nuclear danger not seen since the height of the Cold War.”

NEW YORK, Aug 2 (Reuters) - Oil futures rose about 2% on Tuesday as traders worried that this week's meeting of OPEC+ producers may not lead to a further boost in crude supply.

The Organization of the Petroleum Exporting Countries and allies including Russia, known as OPEC+, meet on Wednesday. Two of eight sources said a modest output hike would be discussed. The rest said a boost was unlikely.

OPEC+ trimmed its forecast for an oil market surplus this yearby 200,000 barrels per day (bpd) to 800,000 bpd, three delegates told Reuters. [nL1N2ZE104]

UNITED NATIONS, Aug. 2 (Xinhua) -- China on Monday assumed the rotating presidency of the Security Council for August with the priorities of facilitating dialogue and cooperation for common security and supporting Africa's capacity-building for sustaining peace.

Amid a shifting international landscape, the Security Council must revisit the role of dialogue and cooperation for common security, said Zhang Jun, China's permanent representative to the United Nations.

WASHINGTON (AP) — Jill Biden says she didn’t doubt that she could keep teaching as first lady and overcame the skepticism that she could handle both jobs by instructing her staff to “figure it out.”

In a new interview in the September issue of Real Simple magazine, the first lady describes how she uses Post-it notes to manage her large family, and offers marriage advice to newlyweds hoping to celebrate 45 years of marriage as she and President Joe Biden did on June 17.

Biden is the first first lady to continue her career outside the White House.

NEW YORK (AP) — JetBlue Airways lost $188 million in the second quarter, as fuel costs nearly tripled and wiped out a large increase in revenue during the early part of the peak vacation-travel season.

The loss reported Tuesday was wider than Wall Street expected. JetBlue was unable to keep pace with bigger rivals, who posted profits for the quarter on full planes and higher fares.

Shares of JetBlue fell 6% in late-morning trading Tuesday.

MIAMI (AP) — It’s one of the seafood industry’s most gruesome hunts.

Every year, the fins of as many as 73 million sharks are sliced from the backs of the majestic sea predators, their bleeding bodies sometimes dumped back into the ocean where they are left to suffocate or die of blood loss.

But while the barbaric practice is driven by China, where shark fin soup is a symbol of status for the rich and powerful, America’s seafood industry isn’t immune from the trade.

PHOENIX (AP) — Republican primary voters in Arizona and Kansas on Tuesday are deciding whether to elevate loyalists to former President Donald Trump who support his false claims that he won the 2020 election and send them to the general election.

The GOP primary elections for secretary of state are the latest this year to feature candidates who doubt the security of their states’ elections despite the lack of evidence of any problems widespread enough to change the results. Republican voters elsewhere have split on sending those candidates to the November ballot.

(AP) --- New research hints that even a simple exercise routine just might help older Americans with mild memory problems.

Doctors have long advised physical activity to help keep a healthy brain fit. But the government-funded study marks the longest test of whether exercise makes any difference once memory starts to slide — research performed amid a pandemic that added isolation to the list of risks to participants’ brain health.