USA

05 Aug 2021; MEMO: Britain will discuss a deadly tanker attack off the coast of Oman during a closed-door United Nations Security Council meeting on Friday, diplomats said, but the 15-member body is not expected to take any action, reports Reuters.

Britain told the Security Council on Tuesday it was "highly likely" that Iran used one or more drones to carry out the tanker attack last week, which killed two crew members – a Briton and a Romanian.

SAN DIEGO (AP) — Since President Joe Biden asked the Pentagon last week to look at adding the COVID-19 vaccine to the military’s mandatory shots, former Army lawyer Greg T. Rinckey has fielded a deluge of calls.

His firm, Tully Rinckey, has heard from hundreds of soldiers, Marines and sailors wanting to know their rights and whether they could take any legal action if ordered to get inoculated for the coronavirus.

WASHINGTON (AP) — Despite an uptick in COVID-19 cases and a shortage of available workers, the U.S. economy likely enjoyed a burst of job growth last month as it bounced back with surprising vigor from last year’s coronavirus shutdown.

The Labor Department’s July jobs report Friday is expected to show that the United States added more than 860,000 jobs last month, topping June’s 850,000, according to a survey of economists by the data firm FactSet.

WASHINGTON (AP) — Nearing decision time, senators were struggling to wrap up work on the bipartisan infrastructure plan despite hopes to expedite consideration and voting on the nearly $1 trillion proposal.

The package had appeared on track for eventual Senate passage, a rare accord between Republicans and Democrats joining on a shared priority that also is essential to President Joe Biden’s agenda. But senators hit new problems late Thursday as they worked late into the night on amendments. A procedural vote was set for Saturday.

GREENVILLE, Calif. (AP) — Eva Gorman says the little California mountain town of Greenville was a place of community and strong character, the kind of place where neighbors volunteered to move furniture, colorful baskets of flowers brightened Main Street, and writers, musicians, mechanics and chicken farmers mingled.

Now, it’s ashes.

Washington, Aug 5 (AP-PTI) Apple unveiled plans to scan US iPhones for images of child abuse, drawing applause from child protection groups but raising concern among some security researchers that the system could be misused by governments looking to surveil their citizens.

Washington, Aug 6 (PTI) Amid India's push for UN Security Council reforms, the US has said it supports building a consensus for a "modest" expansion of the Council for both permanent and non-permanent members, provided it does not diminish its effectiveness or its efficacy and does not alter or expand the veto.

UNITED NATIONS, Aug 05 (APP): The United Nations is ‘deeply concerned’ about the safety and protection of tens of thousands of people in Lashkar Gah, capital of Afghanistan’s Helmand province, who could be trapped by fighting between government forces and the Taliban, according to a U.N. spokesman.

Taliban fighters have moved in on three provincial capitals in the last few days and seized territory nationwide since U.S. said it planned a complete withdrawal of troops by September.

NEW YORK, Aug 05 (APP): Pakistan’s Ambassador to the United Nations, Munir Akram, said on Thursday that a settlement of the Kashmir dispute in accordance with the UN Security Council resolutions was a “pre-requisite” to establish sustainable peace between India and Pakistan, and to avoid another conflict in South Asia.

WASHINGTON, Aug 5 (Reuters) - President Joe Biden on Thursday offered temporary "safe haven" to Hong Kong residents in the United States, allowing what could be thousands of people to extend their stay in the country in response to Beijing's crackdown on democracy in the Chinese territory.

In a signed memo, Biden directed the Department of Homeland Security to implement a "deferral of removal" for up to 18 months for Hong Kong residents currently in the United States, citing "compelling foreign policy reasons".