USA

New Delhi, Feb 18 (PTI) Russia on Friday welcomed India's position on the Ukraine crisis, amid spike in tensions between the NATO countries and Moscow over the situation in the eastern European nation.

The reaction came a day after India said at the UN Security Council that "quiet and constructive diplomacy" is the need of the hour and that any step that could escalate the tension should be avoided.

WASHINGTON, Feb 17 (Reuters) - Russia has expelled the U.S. deputy chief of mission to Russia, Bart Gorman, a State Department spokesperson said on Thursday, warning of a U.S. response amid heightened fears of a Russian invasion of Ukraine.

"Russia’s action against our DCM was unprovoked and we consider this an escalatory step and are considering our response," the spokesperson said.   

WASHINGTON, Feb 17 (Reuters) - U.S. President Joe Biden said on Thursday the threat of a Russian invasion of Ukraine is "very high" but the door to a diplomatic solution remains open.

Speaking to reporters as he departed the White House, Biden said that "every indication we have is that they're prepared to go into Ukraine and attack Ukraine."

Asked how high the threat of Russian invasion was at the moment, Biden said, "It's very high." He added, "My sense is this will happen in the next several days."

UNITED NATIONS, Feb. 17 (Xinhua) -- UN Secretary-General Antonio Guterres on Wednesday called for more cooperation between the world body and the Collective Security Treaty Organization (CSTO) on Afghanistan.

The humanitarian crisis in Afghanistan is worsening by the day. Meanwhile, terrorism remains a constant threat, not only to the security of Afghanistan and the region, but to the entire world, he told a Security Council meeting on UN-CSTO cooperation.

WASHINGTON (AP) — The U.S. Senate is launching a bipartisan working group of lawmakers to scrutinize conditions within the Bureau of Prisons following reporting by The Associated Press that uncovered widespread corruption and abuse in federal prisons.

The working group, being led by Sen. Jon Ossoff, D-Ga., and Sen. Mike Braun, R-Ind., is aimed at developing policies and proposals to strengthen oversight of the beleaguered federal prison system and improve communication between the Bureau of Prisons and Congress.

ALAMOGORDO, N.M. (AP) — On past deployments Army National Guard Spc. Michael Stockwell surveilled a desolate section of the U.S.-Mexico border during a migrant surge, and guarded a ring of checkpoints and fences around New Mexico’s state Capitol after the January 2021 insurrection in Washington.

On his current mission, Stockwell helps students with assignments as a substitute science teacher at Alamogordo High School.

BILLINGS, Mont. (AP) — Former U.S. Interior Secretary Ryan Zinke misused his position to advance a commercial development project that included a microbrewery in his Montana hometown and lied to an agency ethics official about his involvement, federal investigators said Wednesday.

The investigation by the Interior Department’s inspector general found that Zinke continued work on the commercial project through a nonprofit foundation in the resort community of Whitefish even after he committed upon taking office to break ties with the foundation.

NEW YORK (AP) — A judge will hear arguments Thursday in former President Donald Trump’s fight to avoid being questioned under oath in a New York investigation into his business practices.

New York Attorney General Letitia James is seeking to enforce subpoenas her office issued in December to Trump and his two eldest children, Ivanka and Donald Trump Jr.

James, a Democrat, said her civil investigation has uncovered evidence Trump’s company used “fraudulent or misleading” valuations of assets like golf clubs and skyscrapers to get loans and tax benefits.

17 Feb 2022; MEMO: The UN has called on Israel to put an end to its policy of demolishing Palestinian homes and evicting their residents in the occupied West Bank and East Jerusalem, Anadolu has reported. The call was made by Stéphane Dujarric, the Spokesman for the UN Secretary-General, during a press conference in New York.

WASHINGTON (AP) — The Canadians who have disrupted travel and trade with the U.S. and occupied downtown Ottawa for nearly three weeks have been cheered and funded by American right-wing activists and conservative politicians who also oppose vaccine mandates and the country’s liberal leader.