USA

UNITED NATIONS, Mar 26 (APP): UN Secretary-General Antonio Guterres Saturday called for making “peace with nature” in his message for Earth Hour, commemorated annually on the last Saturday of March.

“Without nature’s help, we cannot thrive or even survive on this planet Earth”, the UN chief said, noting that climate disruption, biodiversity loss and pollution threaten lives, jobs and health the world over.

“It’s time to re-evaluate and reset our relationship with nature,” he said, describing 2022 as “a year to change course.”

UNITED NATIONS, Mar 26 (APP): Around 13 million people in Ukraine are unable to flee hostilities due to blockades and damaged roads while the high number of civilian casualties and destruction of infrastructure points to possible war crimes in the ongoing Russian military offensive, United Nations agencies have warned.

The conflict in Ukraine has so far displaced at least 10 million people, over 3.7 million of whom have sought refuge abroad, according to the UN.

NEW YORK, March 26. /TASS/: The United States is set to impose sanctions against Russian companies who provide goods and services to the Russian military and intelligence, the Wall Street Journal reported.

According to the paper’s sources, the new sanctions may be announced early next week.

Among the companies that may be affected are equipment makers Sertal and Serniya Engineering. The US authorities also mull sanctions against microelectronics company NII Vektor, chipmaker JSC Mikron and supercomputer company T-Platforms.

WASHINGTON, March 26 (Reuters) - U.S. Secretary of State Antony Blinken flies on Saturday to Israel, where he will attend an Israeli-Arab summit during a visit also likely to be dominated by discussions about the Iran nuclear talks and Russia's invasion of Ukraine.

Blinken will meet Israeli Prime Minister Naftali Bennett on Sunday, the U.S. State Department said. Bennett has been trying to mediate an end to the month-old Ukraine-Russia conflict.

WASHINGTON, March 26 (Xinhua) -- The Executive Board of the International Monetary Fund (IMF) on Friday approved a 44-billion-U.S. dollar loan for Argentina to help the South American country tackle high inflation, ease the debt burden and promote economic growth.

The Washington-based lender approved a 30-month extended fund facility, allowing for the immediate disbursement of 9.7 billion dollars, a statement said.

NEW YORK, March 26 (Xinhua) -- U.S. Federal Reserve officials' hint of a more aggressive hike of the benchmark interest rate in recent days pushed up key Treasury yields and concerns over a possible economic recession in 2023 or later.

John C. Williams, president of Federal Reserve Bank of New York, on Friday joined a chorus of a number of other central bankers saying he is open to raising interest rates by 50 basis points (bps) at some point.

LOS ANGELES, March 26 (Xinhua) -- Influenza cases are increasing in most parts of the United States, and the highest level has been recorded in central and south-central regions, according to data released Friday by the U.S. Centers for Disease Control and Prevention (CDC).

There have been at least 3.1 million flu illnesses, 31,000 hospitalizations and 1,800 related deaths so far this season, the CDC estimated.

The number of reported flu-related hospital admissions has increased each week for the past seven weeks, according to the CDC.

MADISON, Wis. (AP) — The push by Republicans to conduct partisan ballot reviews similar to the one that unfolded last year in Arizona has spread beyond the battleground states where former President Donald Trump disputed his loss, an effort that has had mixed legislative success but has sown doubts about whether future elections can be trusted.

While most of the bills are unlikely to become law, the debates and public hearings in GOP-controlled state legislative chambers have added fuel to the false claims that widespread fraud cost Trump reelection in 2020.

NEW YORK (AP) — Ukraine, which has waged a staunch defense against Russian invasion, says it has pioneered a new source of financial support: People around the world who have donated millions of dollars directly to its war effort via cryptocurrencies such as bitcoin.

NEW YORK (AP) — “Senator,” she said, letting out an audible sigh.

In that singular moment, Supreme Court nominee Ketanji Brown Jackson spoke for countless Black women who have had to gather all the patience, strength and grace within to answer insinuating questions about their credentials, qualifications and character.

It was Day One of questioning at the Senate Judiciary Committee as the Harvard-educated Jackson, the first Black woman to be nominated for the nation’s highest court, was making history.