UNITED NATIONS, Oct 20 (NNN-XINHUA) — The UN Security Council on Thursday adopted a resolution to extend the ban on the illicit export of petroleum, including crude oil and refined petroleum products, from Libya.

Resolution 2701, which won the unanimous support of the 15-member council, extends the ban for 15 months, till Feb. 1, 2025.

WASHINGTON, Oct 20 (Reuters) - Astronomers have detected an intense flash of radio waves coming from what looks like a merger of galaxies dating to about 8 billion years ago - the oldest-known instance of a phenomenon called a fast radio burst that continues to defy explanation.

PARIS, October 20. /TASS/: The current Ukrainian authorities will have to concede the loss of territory if they want to achieve peace, preserve their sovereignty and avoid further escalation of the conflict, Jacques Sapir, a specialist in global economics and research director of the Paris-based Higher School of Social Sciences (·cole des Hautes ·tudes en Sciences Sociales) said on the website of the quarterly Front Populaire magazine.

"The scale of human losses speaks to the obvious urgency of negotiations, even on a smaller scale, on establishing a ceasefire," he believes.

19 October 2023; AA: As the ongoing Israel-Palestine conflict enters its 13th day having claimed the lives of over 5,000 people, an Israeli academic says it is unlikely Tel Aviv will be held accountable for allegedly using disproportionate force in Gaza.

OSLO, Oct 20 (Reuters) - A Chinese container vessel and a Russian-flagged ship investigated over damage to a gas pipeline in the Gulf of Finland were also present at the sites, and at around the time two telecoms cables sustained damage, vessel tracking data showed.

Early on Oct. 8, a gas pipeline and a telecoms cable connecting Finland and Estonia were broken, in what Finnish investigators say may have been deliberate sabotage.

On Tuesday, Sweden said a third link, connecting Stockholm to Tallinn, had been damaged at roughly the same time as the other two.

HOUSTON (AP) — A Texas judge has ruled that Infowars host Alex Jones cannot use bankruptcy protection to avoid paying more than $1.1 billion to families who sued over his conspiracy theories that the Sandy Hook school massacre was a hoax.

The decision is another significant defeat for Jones in the wake of juries in Texas and Connecticut punishing him over spreading falsehoods about the nation’s deadliest school shooting. U.S. District Judge Christopher Lopez of Houston issued the ruling Thursday.

ST. PETERSBURG, October 20. /TASS/: Low-power nuclear reactors and small compact nuclear power plants have become one of the major trends in modern world energy, and only Russia can present concrete achievements in the form of projects that are currently being implemented in this area, according to Rosatom CEO Alexey Likhachev.

ADDIS ABABA, Oct. 20 (Xinhua) -- The United Nations World Food Program (WFP) said that a funding shortfall is hampering its humanitarian response in Ethiopia.

"WFP is facing a funding shortfall of 219 million U.S. dollars until the end of the year. In effect, WFP has reprioritized 50 percent of the targeted beneficiaries under its nutrition activity," the WFP said in its latest Ethiopia humanitarian situation report issued late Thursday.

Ethiopia has faced conflict, displacement, and drought over the past few years, worsening food insecurity in the East African country.

BOGOTA, Oct 20 (NNN-AGENCIES) — Colombian President Gustavo Petro announced late Thursday that his country will open an embassy in Ramallah, Palestine.

Petro issued the statement after meeting with Palestinian Ambassador Raouf Al-Maliki.

“I have expressed my position to achieve an international peace conference that opens the way for two independent and free states,” the President said on X following the meeting.

RIYADH, Oct 20 (Reuters) - The Saudi crown prince and president of the United Arab Emirates met on Friday, state media reported, as the two Gulf states worked to overcome their differences amid a conflict between Israel and Hamas that threatens to engulf the Middle East.

Saudi state news agency SPA showed footage of Crown Prince Mohammed bin Salman, the kingdom's de facto ruler, receiving UAE President Mohammed bin Zayed Al Nahyan at Riyadh's airport.

WASHINGTON (AP) — An Army private who fled to North Korea before being returned home to the United States last month has been detained by the U.S. military, two officials said Thursday night, and is facing charges including desertion and possessing sexual images of a child.

The eight counts against Pvt. Travis King are detailed in a charging document seen by The Associated Press. The officials who confirmed King’s confinement spoke to The Associated Press on condition of anonymity because the charges have not been publicly announced.

AMMAN/CAIRO, Oct 20 (Reuters) - Protesters from Jakarta to Tunis on Friday demanded an end to Israel's bombardment of Gaza after nearly two weeks of intense air and artillery strikes that authorities there say have killed 4,100 people.

Israel is gearing up for a ground war in the tiny, crowded Palestinian enclave aimed at eradicating Hamas, the militant Islamist group that rampaged into Israeli towns on Oct. 7, killing 1,400 people and seizing hostages.