North America

WASHINGTON (AP) — President Donald Trump’s lawyers plunged into his impeachment trial defense Saturday by accusing Democrats of striving to overturn the 2016 election, arguing that investigations of Trump’s dealings with Ukraine have not been a fact-finding mission but a politically motivated effort to drive him from the White House.

“They’re here to perpetrate the most massive interference in an election in American history,” White House counsel Pat Cipollone told senators. “And we can’t allow that to happen.”

New York, Jan 25 (PTI) Exposure to traffic-related air pollution (TRAP) during early childhood is associated with structural changes in the brain at the age of 12, according to a study which warns that the pollutants may affect physical and mental development in kids.

According to the study, published in the journal PLOS ONE, children with higher levels of TRAP exposure at birth had reductions at age 12 in the brain's gray matter volume, and outer layer thickness compared to children with lower levels of exposure.

Washington, Jan 25 (PTI) Amid protests over the Citizenship Amendment Act in India, a top American diplomat has underscored the importance of the principle of equal protection under the law.

Acting Assistant Secretary of State for South and Central Asia Alice Wells, who has just returned from a trip to the region besides attending the Raisina Dialogue in New Delhi, said on Friday that her visit offered an opportunity to hear more regarding developments with the new citizenship law.

25 January 2020; AFP: High wind forced Boeing to again delay the inaugural flight of its long-haul 777X aircraft on Friday.

"We'll try again tomorrow," Boeing said on Twitter, aiming for a 10:00 am (1800 GMT) flight from the airfield in Everett, Washington near the company's headquarters.

"Wind levels prevented us from flying today. We will continue to provide updates on our website and through social media."

25 January 2020; AFP: Donald Trump's lawyers prepared to deliver his first full-throated defense Saturday in the Senate's historic impeachment trial, after Democratic prosecutors spent three days making their case for the US president's removal from office.

WASHINGTON (Reuters) - U.S. President Donald Trump on Friday discussed the security of telecommunications networks with British Prime Minister Boris Johnson, the White House said, as Britain nears a decision on Huawei’s role in the country’s future 5G network.

“The two leaders discussed important regional and bilateral issues, including working together to ensure the security of our telecommunications networks,” the White House said in a statement about the phone call.

WASHINGTON (Reuters) - U.S. President Donald Trump on Friday signed a proclamation increasing tariffs on derivative steel products by an additional 25 percent and boosting duties on derivative aluminum products by an additional 10 percent.

Trump said Argentina, Australia, Brazil, Canada, Mexico and South Korea are exempt from the additional tariffs on derivative steel products, and Argentina, Australia, Canada and Mexico are exempt from the added duties on derivative aluminum articles.

UNITED NATIONS, Jan. 24 (Xinhua) -- UN Deputy Secretary-General Amina Mohammed on Friday warned of the "qualitative crisis" in the world's education, pointing out that many students at school are not acquiring the knowledge and skills they need.

Mohammed made the remarks in her speech at the opening session of a high-level interactive dialogue on education, convened by UN General Assembly President Tijjani Muhammad-Bande to mark the second International Day of Education.

WASHINGTON (AP) — At first, President Donald Trump stated inaccurately that no U.S. troops were injured in the Iranian missile attack against them in Iraq. Then he prematurely minimized those injuries as doctors tried to determine how severe they were.

On Friday, the Pentagon said that in fact, 34 troops suffered traumatic brain injuries in the attack and half remain under medical observation in Germany or back in the U.S. more than two weeks later.

WASHINGTON (AP) — The Pentagon disclosed on Friday that 34 U.S. service members suffered traumatic brain injuries in Iran’s missile strike this month on an Iraqi air base, and although half have returned to work, the casualty total belies President Donald Trump’s initial claim that no Americans were harmed. He later characterized the injuries as “not very serious.”

Eight of the injured arrived in the United States on Friday from Germany, where they and nine others had been flown days after the Jan. 8 missile strike on Iraq’s Ain al-Asad air base.