USA

UNITED NATIONS, Sep 19 (APP): Afghanistan, climate change and the coronavirus crises will dominate discussions at the U.N. General Assembly’s hybrid high-level debate starting Tuesday in which a large number of world leaders, including Prime Minister Imran Khan, are set to participate, as security is tightened in New York.

Despite U.S. requests that member states send pre-recorded messages to curb the spread of the coronavirus, 83 heads of state, 43 prime ministers, three deputy prime ministers and 23 foreign ministers are scheduled to address the General Assembly in person.

NEW YORK, September 18. /TASS/: Russian businessman Oleg Tinkov has reached an agreement with the US Department of Justice regarding his tax fraud case, according to court documents uploaded to the database of the United States District Court for the Northern District of California.

According to the document, the sides submitted a joint request to the judge, saying they had reached an agreement to settle the case.

The sides requested the judge to appoint a court session on October 1.

NEW YORK, September 19. /TASS/: The Crew Dragon spacecraft, the first flight manned entirely by civilians, landed in the Atlantic Ocean near Florida, according to a livestream on the SpaceX website.

The spacecraft was in orbit for about three days. The crew includes Memphis child hospital medic Hayley Arceneaux, 29, professor of geology Sian Proctor, 51, Lockheed Martin employee Chris Sembroski, 41, and US billionaire Jared Isaacman, 38. Isaacman was the one who paid for all four seats on the spacecraft; however, the sum of the contract has not been disclosed.

WASHINGTON, Sept. 19 (Xinhua) -- A sharply shrunk right-wing rally on Saturday was held peacefully before the long fencing of U.S. Capitol amid high police alert and tight media presence, crying out over the treatment of Jan. 6 Capitol rioters.

Just a crowd of not many people gathered at noon time in a small park with the Capitol in clear view, far less than the number that authorities had estimated. Prior to the event, the U.S. Department of Homeland Security reportedly expected about 700 protesters would show up.

WASHINGTON (AP) — Dental work for seniors on Medicare. An end to sky’s-the-limit pricing on prescription drugs. New options for long-term care at home. Coverage for low-income people locked out of Medicaid by ideological battles.

WASHINGTON (AP) — President Joe Biden goes before the United Nations this week eager to make the case for the world to act with haste against the coronavirus, climate change and human rights abuses. His pitch for greater global partnership comes at a moment when allies are becoming increasingly skeptical about how much U.S. foreign policy really has changed since Donald Trump left the White House.

RIVERSIDE, Calif. (AP) — Mourners in California said prayers and their final goodbyes Saturday to three Marines killed in last month’s bombing in Afghanistan.

Family and friends of Lance Cpl. Kareem Nikoui packed a church in Riverside to celebrate the life of the 20-year-old Marine from Norco.

He was one of 13 U.S. troops killed in a horrific suicide bombing at Afghanistan’s Kabul airport, which also claimed the lives of more than 160 Afghans, on Aug. 26.

DEL RIO, Texas (AP) — Haitian migrants seeking to escape poverty, hunger and a feeling of hopelessness in their home country said U.S. plans to speedily send them back will not deter them as thousands of people remained encamped on the Texas border Saturday after crossing from Mexico.

People continued wading across the Rio Grande on Saturday afternoon, re-entering Mexico to purchase water, food and diapers in Ciudad Acuña before returning to the Texas encampment under and near a bridge in the border city of Del Rio.

WASHINGTON, September 18. /TASS/: The US government understands France’s decision to recall its ambassador from Washington for consultations, National Security Council (NSC) Spokesperson Emily Horne said in a statement.

"We have been in close touch with our French partners on their decision to recall Ambassador [Philippe] Etienne to Paris for consultations. We understand their position and will continue to be engaged in the coming days to resolve our differences, as we have done at other points over the course of our long alliance," the statement says.

WASHINGTON, Sept 17 (Reuters) - A drone strike in Kabul last month killed as many as 10 civilians, including seven children, the U.S. military said on Friday, apologizing for what it called a "tragic mistake".

The Pentagon had said the Aug. 29 strike targeted an Islamic State suicide bomber who posed an imminent threat to U.S.-led troops at the airport as they completed the last stages of their withdrawal from Afghanistan.

Even as reports of civilian casualties emerged, the top U.S. general had described the attack as "righteous".