North America

UNITED NATIONS, Oct 16 (APP): Pakistan has reaffirmed its full support to the call by the United Nations (UN) human rights office for an investigation of the gross and systematic human rights violations in Jammu and Kashmir, saying the situation in the disputed state had now become “dire”.

Washington, Oct 16 (PTI) India has halved its poverty rate since the 1990s and achieved a seven plus growth rate over the last 15 years, the World Bank said on Tuesday.

India is both critical to the success of global development efforts, including eliminating extreme poverty, and as an influential leader for global goods such as addressing climate change, the bank said ahead of the annual meeting between it and the International Monetary Fund.

WASHINGTON (Reuters) - The United States carried out a secret cyber operation against Iran in the wake of the Sept. 14 attacks on Saudi Arabia’s oil facilities, which Washington and Riyadh blame on Tehran, two U.S. officials have told Reuters.

The officials, who spoke on condition of anonymity, said the operation took place in late September and took aim at Tehran’s ability to spread “propaganda.”

One of the officials said the strike affected physical hardware, but did not provide further details.

WASHINGTON (Reuters) - U.S. President Donald Trump has vetoed a joint resolution of Congress that sought to terminate his declaration of a national emergency on the southern border with Mexico, the White House said on Tuesday.

Trump declared the emergency to circumvent Congress and take money already designated for other programs to pay for the U.S.-Mexico border wall he promised to build during his 2016 campaign.

Last month, the Democratic-led House passed the joint resolution by 236-174, as 11 Republicans and one independent joined Democrats to vote in favor.

WASHINGTON (Reuters) - Democratic presidential hopefuls denounced President Donald Trump’s decision to pull U.S. troops back from northern Syria, saying in an Ohio debate on Tuesday he had endangered America’s longtime Kurdish allies while empowering foes Russia and Syria.

In the first Democratic presidential debate since Trump announced the withdrawal, the 12 candidates on the stage were united in painting the Republican president as reckless and a danger to American interests around the world.

WASHINGTON, Oct. 15 (Xinhua) -- U.S. Vice President Mike Pence on Tuesday declined to submit documents related to the Trump administration's dealings with Ukraine as requested by a congress request.

In a letter to the House of Representatives on Tuesday -- the deadline for Pence to hand over the records -- Matthew Morgan, the vice president's counsel, repeated the Trump administration's view that the ongoing impeachment inquiry led by House Democrats is "unfair" and lacks "due process."

WASHINGTON, Oct. 15 (Xinhua) -- The International Monetary Fund (IMF) on Tuesday lowered its global growth forecast for 2019 to 3 percent in the newly-released World Economic Outlook (WEO) report, down 0.2 percentage point from its estimation in July.

Noting that this is the slowest pace since the global financial crisis, IMF chief economist Gita Gopinath said during a press conference at the global lender's headquarters that "growth continues to be weakened by rising trade barriers and growing geopolitical tensions."

WASHINGTON (AP) — The impeachment inquiry is revealing vivid new details about the high-level unease over President Donald Trump’s actions toward Ukraine, and those of his personal lawyer, Rudy Giuliani, as the swift-moving probe by House Democrats showed no signs of easing.

The testimony from the witnesses, mainly officials from the State Department and other foreign policy posts, is largely corroborating the account of the government whistleblower whose complaint first sparked the impeachment inquiry, according to lawmakers attending the closed-door interviews.

ALBUQUERQUE, N.M. (AP) — A New Mexico man convicted of killing his parents and three younger siblings when he was 15 apologized to the rest of his family Tuesday as he asked a judge for an opportunity at rehabilitation and redemption.

Nehemiah Griego, now 22, was the last person to address the court during an emotional daylong sentencing hearing. He expressed remorse for the 2013 killings, saying he was a different person at the time.

USA (AP) -- Democratic Rep. Alexandria Ocasio-Cortez of New York is endorsing Bernie Sanders for president and will appear with him at a rally in her home district this weekend.

Sanders deputy communications director Sarah Ford confirmed the news Tuesday.

The endorsement is a major boon for the 78-year-old Vermont senator, who has faced questions over his health since suffering a heart attack two weeks ago.