USA

UNITED NATIONS, July 2 (Reuters) - Top U.N. officials warned the Security Council on Friday that more than 400,000 people in Ethiopia's Tigray were now in famine and that there was a risk of more clashes in the region despite a unilateral ceasefire by the federal government.

After six private discussions, the Security Council held its first public meeting since fighting broke out in November between government forces, backed by troops from neighboring Eritrea, and TPLF fighters with Tigray's former ruling party.

WAKEFIELD, Mass. (AP) — An hourslong standoff with a group of heavily armed men that partially shut down Interstate 95 ended Saturday with 11 suspects in custody, Massachusetts state police said.

The standoff shut down a portion of I-95 for much of the morning, causing major traffic problems during the Fourth of July holiday weekend. Authorities said the interstate is now reopened and the shelter-in-place orders for Wakefield and Reading were lifted.

LOS ANGELES (AP) — A 27-year-old man was charged Saturday with illegally transporting tons of explosives he purchased in Nevada — including several that left a trail of destruction and injuries after they blew up in a Los Angeles neighborhood.

Arturo Ceja III faces the federal charges, according to the U.S. Attorney’s office in Los Angeles.

SURFSIDE, Fla. (AP) — Rescue crews made way for demolition teams at the site of a collapsed South Florida condo building as officials shifted their focus to bringing down the unstable remainder of the structure ahead of a tropical storm.

The search and rescue mission was suspended Saturday afternoon so workers could begin the precarious business of boring holes to hold explosives in the concrete of the still-standing portion of the Champlain Towers South tower in Surfside, Miami-Dade Assistant Fire Chief Raide Jadallah told relatives awaiting word on missing loved ones.

PHOENIX (AP) — They flaunted their participation in the Jan. 6 riot at the U.S. Capitol on social media and then, apparently realizing they were in legal trouble, rushed to delete evidence of it, authorities say. Now their attempts to cover up their role in the deadly siege are likely to come back to haunt them in court.

UNITED NATIONS, Jul 03 (APP): Pakistan has called for urgent international support to enable Middle-Income Countries (MICs) deal with the challenges that are obstructing them in achieving the Sustainable Development Goals (SDGs).

“The time is now for the UN Development System, the international community, the global economic ecosystem and the private sector to come together in support of the efforts of middle-income countries,” the acting Pakistan permanent representative to the UN, Aamir Khan, told a high-level on the situation of such countries.

WASHINGTON, July 3 (NNN-AGENCIES) — The Biden administration on Friday hit 22 senior Myanmar officials and family members with sanctions over the government’s crackdown on democracy protests after the coup. 

Treasury announced the move against seven members of the Myanmar military and 15 spouses and adult children of previously sanctioned officials as part of the US response to the February coup and subsequent violence against demonstrators in the country.

NEW YORK, July 2 (Reuters) - A U.S. judge on Friday said a South Korean man wanted on embezzlement charges related to a 2014 ferry sinking that killed 304 people, mainly high school students, is subject to extradition to his home country.

U.S. Magistrate Judge Judith McCarthy said South Korea had demonstrated probable cause to extradite Yoo Hyuk-Kee on all seven counts he faced.

Yoo will remain in federal custody as the case progresses to a district judge, also in the federal court for the Southern District of New York.

02 July 2021; MEMO: The US State Department has criticised Israel for not making significant effort to combat human trafficking or meet international standards to combat trafficking.

02 July 2021; MEMO: The US Treasury said on Friday it removed sanctions on three Iranians but said this did not reflect a change in its sanctions policy toward Iran and had nothing to do with talks on restoring US and Iranian compliance with the 2015 Iran nuclear deal, Reuters reported.