USA

LOUISVILLE, Ky. (AP) — A former Kentucky police officer was found not guilty Thursday on charges he endangered neighbors the night he fired into Breonna Taylor’s apartment during a botched drug raid that resulted in Taylor’s death.

The panel of eight men and four women delivered its verdict for Brett Hankison about three hours after it took the case following closing arguments from prosecution and defense attorneys.

UNITED NATIONS, Mar 03 (APP): The World Health Organisation (WHO), a Geneva-based UN agency, says over one billion people, aged 12 to 35, risk losing their hearing due to prolonged and excessive exposure to loud music and other high volume recreational noise.

The agency gave the warning in a new international safety advice on Wednesday to tackle the rising threat of hearing loss.

NEW YORK, March 3. /TASS/: The US company SpaceX on Thursday launched a Falcon 9 rocket with another cluster of 47 satellites for its orbital Starlink network, according to a broadcast on the company’s website.

The liftoff took place at Kennedy Space Center in Florida at 9:25 ET (17:25 Moscow time).

UNITED NATIONS, March 3 (NNN-AGENCIES) — The United Nations voiced concern on Thursday over reports that a vote in Libya’s parliament to install a new government, a move that may trigger new fighting or a return to territorial division, “fell short of the expected standards.”

An emailed statement from the UN secretary general’s spokesperson said there were reports that the vote did not meet standards of transparency and procedure, and that there were acts of intimidation before the session.

WASHINGTON, March 3 (Reuters) - U.S. President Joe Biden will speak with the leaders of Australia, India and Japan on Thursday to discuss the war in Ukraine and its implications for the Indo-Pacific region, the White House said.

The meeting comes at a time of increased concern about Taiwan, a self-ruled island claimed by China, which has stepped up its alert level, wary of China taking advantage of a distracted West to move against it.

UNITED NATIONS, March 2 (Xinhua) -- A Chinese envoy on Wednesday discouraged action that may escalate the situation in Ukraine.

"Blindly exerting pressure and imposing sanctions and creating division and confrontation will only further complicate the situation and result in a rapid negative spillover of the crisis, and affect even more countries," warned Zhang Jun, China's permanent representative to the United Nations.

WASHINGTON (AP) — The House is poised to pass legislation that would dramatically boost health care services and disability benefits for veterans exposed to burn pits in Iraq and Afghanistan.

The bill set for a vote Thursday has the backing of the nation’s major veterans groups and underscores the continued cost of war years after the fighting has stopped. If passed into law, it would increase spending by more than $300 billion over the next decade, according to the Congressional Budget Office.

WASHINGTON (AP) — President Joe Biden knows better than anyone the unexpected turns a Supreme Court nomination can take after it lands on Capitol Hill.

As the longtime chairman of the Senate Judiciary Committee, Biden presided over two of the most contentious nominations in modern U.S. history and welcomed the defeat of one of them.

He steered several other candidates to confirmation but was confounded by allegations of sexual harassment against future Justice Clarence Thomas by law professor Anita Hill.

WASHINGTON (AP) — The House panel investigating the Jan. 6 insurrection at the U.S. Capitol said Wednesday for the first time that its evidence suggests crimes may have been committed by former President Donald Trump and his associates in the failed effort to overturn the outcome of the 2020 presidential election.

Washington, Mar 3 (PTI) China is provoking India at every turn just as it is doing with the United States and Washington is committed to accelerating progress in strengthening India's defence capacity to deter Chinese provocations, a senior Biden administration official has told lawmakers.

India's relationship with China is right now going through a very difficult phase after Beijing violated agreements not to bring the military forces to the eastern Ladakh border.