USA

WASHINGTON (AP) — Short of an all-out invasion, Russian President Vladimir Putin could take less dramatic action in Ukraine that would vastly complicate a U.S. and allied response. He might carry out what President Joe Biden called a “minor incursion” — perhaps a cyberattack — leaving the U.S. and Europe divided on the type and severity of economic sanctions to impose on Moscow and ways to increase support for Kyiv.

20 Jan 2022; MEMO: The United Nations Children's Fund (UNICEF), the United Nations Relief and Works Agency for Palestine Refugees in the Near East, UNRWA, and the Office of the United Nations High Commissioner for Human Rights, OHCHR, have called on the Israeli authorities to immediately and unconditionally release Amal Nakhleh, a seriously-ill Palestinian teenager who has been in Israeli detention without charge or trial for over a year.

Washington, Jan 21 (PTI) Top American lawmakers have urged the Joe Biden administration to initiate a litigation process at the World Trade Organization against India subsidising its farmers over half of the value of production for wheat.

US Wheat Associates, which has been aggressively pushing for such a move by the administration, has welcomed the letters by members of the Congress and Senate.

UNITED NATIONS, Jan 20 (NNN-IRNA) – Iran’s Ambassador and Permanent Representative to the United Nations, Majid Takht Ravanchi, referred here yesterday, to the criminal acts of the Zionist regime in occupied Palestine, saying, UNSC must oblige Israel, to put an end to its systematic violations of human rights, in occupied Palestinian territories. 

The situation in the Occupied Palestinian Territory continues to deteriorate, posing a threat to international peace and security. 

WASHINGTON, Jan 20 (NNN-AGENCIES) — US President Joe Biden said his administration is considering redesignating Yemen’s Houthi movement as an international terrorist organisation following drone and missile attacks on the United Arab Emirates (UAE) claimed by the group.

His comment at a news conference came shortly after the Emirati Embassy tweeted that UAE Ambassador Yousef Al Otaiba urged the Biden administration to restore the designation in response to Monday’s strikes on Abu Dhabi airport and a fuel depot.

UNITED NATIONS, Jan 20 (NNN-IRNA) – Iran’s Ambassador and Permanent Representative to the United Nations, Majid Takht Ravanchi, referred here yesterday, to the criminal acts of the Zionist regime in occupied Palestine, saying, UNSC must oblige Israel, to put an end to its systematic violations of human rights, in occupied Palestinian territories. 

The situation in the Occupied Palestinian Territory continues to deteriorate, posing a threat to international peace and security. 

UNITED NATIONS, Jan 20 (Reuters) - China delayed a U.S. bid to impose U.N. sanctions on five North Koreans on Thursday, diplomats said, a day after Pyongyang suggested it may resume tests of nuclear weapons and long-range missiles.

The move by China came ahead of a closed-door U.N. Security Council meeting on North Korea later on Thursday -- the second in two weeks -- after Pyongyang fired tactical guided missiles on Monday.

UNITED NATIONS, Jan. 18 (Xinhua) -- UN High Commissioner for Human Rights Michelle Bachelet on Tuesday called for strategies and investment to ensure women's full and meaningful participation in peace processes.

Between 1992 and 2019, only 13 percent of negotiators, 6 percent of mediators and 6 percent of signatories in major peace processes worldwide were women, she said.

WASHINGTON (AP) — The number of Americans applying for unemployment benefits rose to the highest level in three months as the fast-spreading omicron variant continued to disrupt the job market.

Jobless claims rose for the third straight week — by 55,000 to 286,000, highest since mid-October, the Labor Department reported Thursday. The jump in claims marked the biggest one-week increase since mid-July.

SAN JUAN, Puerto Rico (AP) — The party of Barbados’ Prime Minister Mia Mottley appeared to swept every legislative seat in the first elections the island nation has held as a republic since casting off the British monarchy, according to preliminary results released Thursday.

Mottley’s Barbados Labor Party seemed to have secured all 30 seats in the House of Assembly, the lower house of the island’s Parliament, which would give the island’s first female leader a second term as prime minister. A majority of 16 seats was required for a win.