North America

Washington, May 31 (PTI) A rocket ship built by Elon Musk's SpaceX company on Saturday successfully blasted off with two NASA astronauts into orbit from the US state of Florida on their way to the International Space Station, marking the dawn of a new age in commercial space travel.

The blastoff from Kennedy Space Center in Florida also assumes significance as it marks the launch of humans into orbit from US soil for the first time in nearly a decade.

Washington, May 31 (PTI) US President Donald Trump on Saturday postponed the "outdated" Group of Seven summit that he planned to hold in June at the White House, seeking inclusion of India and some other countries to the grouping of world's top economies.

Trump told reporters, travelling with him on board the Air Force One from Florida to Washington DC, that he is "postponing it until September" and plans to invite Russia, South Korea, Australia and India.

31 May 2020; AFP: For nearly a decade, the UN Security Council has been frequently paralyzed by Russia's obstinacy over the Syrian crisis. Today, however, it is the US-China rivalry that has infected a growing array of issues, according to officials and diplomats.

As recently as 2017, an understanding between Washington and Beijing allowed the United Nations on three occasions -- involving separate sets of economic sanctions -- to project international unity in the face of the North Korean nuclear threat.

31 May 2020; AFP: Latin America's beleaguered airlines will take up to three years to recover losses due to the coronavirus pandemic, and in the meantime desperately need government help, according to experts surveying the damage to the industry.

The International Air Transport Association (IATA) estimates it will take at least that time for the region's airlines to inch back to their pre-pandemic level for domestic and regional flights.

Long-haul services to the United States and Europe will take until 2024 to come back, it says.

NEW YORK, May 31 (NNN-XINHUA) – Protests over Minnesota black man, George Floyd’s death turned violent in New York City, with around 200 protesters arrested, local media said.

Tensions flared after a generally peaceful demonstration on Friday afternoon. In the borough of Brooklyn, people clashed with officers and a police van was set on fire with some other vans vandalised. In another location, protesters threw water bottles at police.

Some 200 arrests were made, mostly with minor charges. Some officers were injured, The New York Times reported.

HAVANA, May 31 (NNN-PRENSA LATINA) – The Cuban government declared, on Saturday, its full support of the World Health Organisation (WHO), after the United States announced it is terminating its relationship with the global organisation.

Cuban Foreign Minister, Bruno Rodriguez wrote on his Twitter account that, Cuba lends “its full support” to WHO and its management of the COVID-19 pandemic.

WASHINGTON (AP) — Minnesota Sen. Amy Klobuchar seems a less likely choice to become Joe Biden’s running mate on his presidential ticket following this week’s death of a black man in police custody in Minneapolis, a key ally of the former vice president said.

Rep. James Clyburn, D-S.C., told reporters on Friday that while he believes Klobuchar is “absolutely” qualified to be vice president, “This is very tough timing for her.”

WASHINGTON (AP) — As protests over the death of George Floyd grow in cities across the U.S., government officials have been warning of the “outsiders” -- groups of organized rioters they say are flooding into major cities not to call for justice but to cause destruction.

WASHINGTON (AP) — Police fired pepper spray at demonstrators near the White House and the D.C. National Guard was called in as pockets of violence and vandalism erupted during a second straight night of protests over the death of George Floyd in Minneapolis and President Donald Trump’s response to it.

Hundreds of people converged on the White House and marched along the National Mall, chanting “Black Lives Matter,” “I can’t breathe” and “No justice, no peace.”

CAPE CANAVERAL, Fla. (AP) — A rocket ship built by Elon Musk’s SpaceX company thundered away from Earth with two Americans on Saturday, ushering in a new era in commercial space travel and putting the United States back in the business of launching astronauts into orbit from home soil for the first time in nearly a decade.