USA

UNITED NATIONS Jul 02 (APP): UN High Commissioner for Human rights, Michelle Bachelet, has voiced serious concern that since the Taliban took power, women and girls in Afghanistan were experiencing the most significant and rapid roll-back in enjoyment of their rights across the board in decades.

Speaking at the UN Human Rights Council’s session in Geneva on the rights of Afghan women, she condemned the massive unemployment of women, the restrictions placed on the way they dress, and their access on basic services.

UNITED NATIONS, July 1 (Xinhua) -- Brazil on Friday assumed the rotating presidency of the United Nations Security Council for July.

During the month, Brazil would aim to foster greater cooperation between the Security Council and other UN bodies, especially the Peacebuilding Commission, as it can make a comprehensive contribution to discussions on renewal of peacekeeping and political missions, Ronaldo Costa Filho, Brazil's permanent representative to the UN and president of the Security Council for July, told a press briefing Friday.

DENVER, the United States, July 1 (Xinhua) -- More U.S. experts have been urging the Biden administration to scrap Trump-era additional tariffs on Chinese imports, underlining huge benefits for America to end the trade war.

BOISE, Idaho (AP) — U.S. officials are testing a new wildfire retardant after two decades of buying millions of gallons annually from one supplier, but watchdogs say the expensive strategy is overly fixated on aerial attacks at the expense of hiring more fire-line digging ground crews.

BERKELEY, Calif. (AP) — The Fourth of July holiday weekend is jamming U.S. airports with their biggest crowds since the pandemic began in 2020.

About 2.49 million passengers went through security checkpoints at U.S. airports Friday, surpassing the previous pandemic-era record of 2.46 million reached earlier in the week, according to figures released Saturday by the Transportation Security Administration.

AUSTIN, Texas (AP) — Following the horror of a human-smuggling attempt that left 53 people dead, Republican Gov. Greg Abbott ordered state troopers to inspect more trucks — again expanding a border security mission that has cost billions, given the National Guard arrest powers and bused migrants to Washington, D.C.

What Abbott’s get-tough plans haven’t done in the year since he began rolling them out is curb the number of people crossing the border.

WASHINGTON (AP) — U.S. climate envoy John Kerry said Friday that setbacks for President Joe Biden’s climate efforts at home have “slowed the pace” of some of the commitments from other countries to cut climate-wrecking fossil fuels, but he insisted the U.S. would still achieve its own ambitious climate goals in time.

AUSTIN, Texas (AP) — A prosecutor’s office said Friday that it won’t move forward with a lawsuit against Texas Attorney General Ken Paxton over his refusal to release his communications relating to his appearance at a pro-Donald Trump rally that preceded the deadly riot at the U.S. Capitol last year.

NEW YORK (AP) — Donald Trump’s social media company and some of its employees received subpoenas from both a federal grand jury and securities regulators, according to a public disclosure Friday, possibly delaying or even killing a deal promising a cash infusion needed to take on Twitter.

LOS ANGELES (AP) — A former Southern California woman who, along with her doctor husband, billed insurers $44 million for unnecessary cosmetic surgeries was sentenced Friday to eight years in federal prison, prosecutors said.

Linda Morrow, 70, also was ordered to pay $14 million in restitution. She pleaded guilty in February to conspiracy to commit health fraud and contempt of court.

Morrow and her husband, David Morrow, ran The Morrow Institute, a surgical clinic in Rancho Mirage in the California desert near Palm Springs.