USA

ST. PAUL, Minn. (AP) — Closing arguments were expected Tuesday in the federal trial of three former Minneapolis police officers charged with violating George Floyd’s civil rights, with jurors to get the case after a month of testimony.

Thomas Lane was the final officer to present his defense, testifying Monday he didn’t realize how dire Floyd’s condition was while handcuffed, facedown on the street with Officer Derek Chauvin’s knee pressed to his neck — until paramedics turned Floyd over.

21 Feb 2022; MEMO: Israel is pressing the United States about the terms of an emerging Iranian nuclear deal, Israeli officials said on Monday, raising the prospect of a bilateral day-after agreement with Washington to address their worries, Reuters reports.

While not a party to the nuclear negotiations between Iran and world powers in Vienna, Israel has conferred with the US administration in hope of wielding more clout over any revival of a 2015 deal with Tehran that was reached over its objections.

United Nations, Feb 22 (AP) The U.S. ambassador to the United Nations has dismissed as nonsense Russian President Vladimir Putin's announcement that he is putting Russian troops in separatist areas of eastern Ukraine as peacekeepers, saying their presence is clearly the basis for Russia's attempt to create a pretext for a further invasion of Ukraine.

Washington, Feb 22 (PTI) Strongly condemning President Vladimir Putin's decision to recognise the so-called Donetsk and Luhansk People's Republics as independent, US Secretary of State Tony Blinken on Monday said that this is a clear attack on Ukraine's sovereignty and territorial integrity.

Putin signed decrees to recognise the Donetsk and Luhansk People's Republics as independent.

UNITED NATIONS, Feb 21 (APP): Pakistan has called for addressing the root-causes of conflicts, including the use of force, foreign intervention, occupation, xenophobia, Islamophobia and hate speech as well as poverty, inequality, and exploitation, while commenting on United Nations Secretary General’s “New Agenda for Peace” in a UN panel.

Washington, Feb 21 (PTI) President Joe Biden has accepted "in principle" a meeting with President Vladimir Putin provided Russia does not invade Ukraine, the White House has said, in a last-ditch diplomatic overture brokered by French President Emmanuel Macron to ease one of the worst security crises in Europe in decades.

The US has repeatedly warned of Russia's plans to invade Ukraine and threatened to impose tough sanctions on Moscow if it goes ahead with its plans. However, Russia has denied that it plans to attack Ukraine.

ST. PAUL, Minn. (AP) — The trial of three former Minneapolis police officers charged with violating George Floyd’s civil rights heads into what may be its final week Monday, with the third officer yet to take his turn on the stand.

Thomas Lane is expected to testify as his attorney presents his case, the last to do so in the nearly month-long proceeding before the federal trial moves to closing arguments and then to the jury.

WASHINGTON, Feb 20 (Reuters) - The Biden administration on Sunday refused to unleash sanctions on Russia ahead of a widely anticipated Russian invasion of Ukraine despite mounting criticism from Kyiv and domestic rivals.

The United States and Britain have repeatedly cautioned in recent days that Russia is about to launch a military invasion of Ukraine, a plan Russia denies. Sanctioning Vladimir Putin's government before he invades would just guarantee such a crisis happens immediately, U.S. officials argue.

Portland, Feb 20 (AP) China has failed to live up to its promise to buy more Maine lobster under a deal that opened the door to an easing of a trade war under former President Donald Trump, Maine's congressional leaders say.

Maine's lobster industry was hurt by retaliatory Chinese tariffs in 2018 and failed to see substantial export gains after China committed to buying an additional USD 200 billion in US goods, the delegation contends.

WASHINGTON, Feb 19 (NNN-MERCOPRESS) — A robot dog designed and manufactured in the United States by Ghost Robotics and which had been in the earlier stages of development last year has been given its marching orders for a major assignment.

The Ghost Robotics V60, is an autonomous ground drone that goes by the name of Robot Dog – but a year ago, its future military potential was considered still a little way off.

Now, Robot Dog is being deployed to the US border with Mexico to tackle what the government has described as “non-environmental threats.”