USA

WASHINGTON (AP) — America’s top general said the United States could now face a rise in terrorist threats from a Taliban-run Afghanistan. That warning comes as intelligence agencies charged with anticipating those threats face new questions after the U.S.-backed Afghan military collapsed with shocking speed.

WASHINGTON (AP) — President Joe Biden and other top U.S. officials were stunned on Sunday by the pace of the Taliban’s nearly complete takeover of Afghanistan, as the planned withdrawal of American forces urgently became a mission to ensure a safe evacuation.

The speed of the Afghan government’s collapse and the ensuing chaos posed the most serious test of Biden as commander in chief, and he was the subject of withering criticism from Republicans who said that he had failed.

NEW YORK, Aug 15 (NNN-Xinhua) — A tour bus rollover in New York State on Saturday left dozens of people injured, New York State Police said.

At approximately 12:41 p.m. local time, New York State Police responded to a rollover crash involving a tour bus on a toll road in the town of Brutus in Cayuga County in central New York State, said the State Police in a press release.

UNITED NATIONS, Aug. 13 (Xinhua) -- United Nations Secretary-General Antonio Guterres on Friday called on Taliban militants to immediately halt their offensive against government forces and return to the negotiating table in good faith, in the interest of Afghanistan, and its people.

The top UN official told reporters at the UN headquarters in New York that humanitarian needs were "growing by the hour" and the country largely spinning out of control.

QUINCY, Calif. (AP) — The danger of new fires erupting across the West because of unstable weather conditions added to the burden already faced by overstretched crews battling blazes across the region.

Thunderstorms pushed flames in Northern California on Saturday closer to two towns not far from where the Dixie Fire last week destroyed much of the small town of Greenville, a gold rush-era community.

MIAMI (AP) — A young mother had just celebrated her first wedding anniversary and was one of six members of a Jacksonville church to die over a 10-day span.

Another Florida woman had just given birth to her first child, but was only able to hold the newborn girl for a few moments before dying.

A California man died a few weeks shy of his 53rd birthday while his wife was on a ventilator at the same hospital in Oakland, unaware of his passing on Aug. 4.

WASHINGTON (AP) — President Joe Biden authorized an additional 1,000 U.S. troops for deployment to Afghanistan, raising to roughly 5,000 the number of U.S. troops to ensure what Biden called an “orderly and safe drawdown” of American and allied personnel.

U.S. troops will also help in the evacuation of Afghans who worked with the military during the nearly two-decade war.

UNITED NATIONS, Aug 14 (APP): Pakistan’s national flag was unfurled Friday in the United Nations (UN) compound by Ambassador Munir Akram to mark the country’s Independence Day, as a top UN official said that Munir Akramcan count on the world body.

“We count on Pakistan and all of you. And Pakistan can count on the United Nations,” Deputy Secretary-General Amina Mohammed told a large gathering of UN officials of Pakistani origin and officers and staff of the Pakistan Mission to the UN celebrating the 74th anniversary of the country’s establishment.

WASHINGTON, Aug 14 (NNN-AGENCIES) — July was the world’s hottest month ever recorded, a US federal scientific and regulatory agency has reported.

The data shows that the combined land and ocean-surface temperature was 0.93C (1.68F) above the 20th Century average of 15.8C (60.4F).

It is the highest temperature since record-keeping began 142 years ago. The previous record, set in July 2016, was equalled in 2019 and 2020.

Experts believe this is due to the long-term impact of climate change.

WASHINGTON, Aug. 13 (Xinhua) -- The U.S. Food and Drug Administration (FDA) on Thursday authorized a third dose of COVID-19 vaccines for people with weakened immune systems.

"The country has entered yet another wave of the COVID-19 pandemic, and the FDA is especially cognizant that immunocompromised people are particularly at risk for severe disease," Acting FDA Commissioner Janet Woodcock said in a statement.