North America

UNITED NATIONS, Sep 18 (APP): The total number of migrants globally reached an estimated 272 million this year, posting an increase of 51 million since 2010, according to data released by the United Nations on Tuesday.

Currently, migrants comprise 3.5 per cent of the global population, compared to 2.8 per cent in the year 2000, based on the International Migrant Stock 2019, a data-set released by the Population Division of the UN Department of Economic and Social Affairs (DESA).

18 Sep 2019; MEMO: A senior US official on Tuesday called for a UN Security Council response to the attacks on Saudi oil facilities that the United States blames on Iran, but it was unclear what action he sought or whether Washington might secure Russian cooperation.

WASHINGTON, Sept. 17 (Xinhua) -- A U.S. House of Representatives panel on Tuesday formally invited Boeing CEO Dennis Muilenburg to testify on the grounded 737 MAX that has been involved in two deadly crashes since October 2018 in which a total of 346 people were killed.

Peter DeFazio, chair of the House Committee on Transportation and Infrastructure, also asked John Hamilton, chief engineer of the company's commercial airplanes division, to appear before the panel.

Muilenburg and Hamilton have been asked to testify on Oct. 30.

WASHINGTON, Sept. 17 (Xinhua) -- U.S. Treasury announced on Tuesday that it has imposed sanctions on three individuals and 16 entities which it claimed have connections with a corruption network profiting from a Venezuelan food subsidy project.

The targeted individuals are relatives of Colombian businessman Alex Nain Saab Moran and the son of Saab's business partner Alvaro Enrique Pulido Vargas, according to a statement from the Treasury.

The designated entities are owned or controlled by Saab himself or people related to him, said the statement.

UNITED NATIONS, Sept. 17 (Xinhua) -- The 74th session of the UN General Assembly opened at UN Headquarters in New York on Tuesday.

Tijjani Muhammad-Bande, president of the 74th session of the General Assembly, declared the opening of the 2019-2020 session of the most representative body of the United Nations.

In his remarks to the opening plenary meeting, Muhammad-Bande asked for action in line with the theme of this year's General Debate: "Galvanizing multilateral efforts for poverty eradication, quality education, climate action and inclusion."

WASHINGTON, Sept 18 (NNN-AGENCIES) — More than 125 migrant mothers and children have sued the U.S. government, claiming the Trump administration has violated the rights of asylum-seekers through the arbitrary and capricious implementation of a virtual asylum ban at the southern border.

The lawsuit, filed late on Monday, was the first to challenge President Donald Trump over asylum since the U.S. Supreme Court decided last week that an anti-asylum rule will be allowed to take effect while a separate lawsuit on its underlying legality is heard.

WASHINGTON (AP) — In the face of criticism that Facebook is not doing enough to combat extremist messaging, the company likes to say that its automated systems remove the vast majority of prohibited content glorifying the Islamic State group and al-Qaida before it’s reported.

But a whistleblower’s complaint shows that Facebook itself has inadvertently provided the two extremist groups with a networking and recruitment tool by producing dozens of pages in their names.

PHILADELPHIA (AP) — The high-stakes fight for working-class voters moved to Pennsylvania on Tuesday as a slate of Democratic White House hopefuls vowed to use the power of the presidency to crack down on corporate America and strengthen organized labor.

WASHINGTON (AP) — Officials say an Air China jet bound for Beijing made an emergency return Tuesday to Dulles International Airport after reporting an engine fire.

In a statement, the Federal Aviation Administration says that the Air China flight landed safely Tuesday in Washington after reporting an engine fire and that its pilot was in contact with air traffic control at all times.

The FAA says Air China Flight 818 departed Dulles at 4:39 p.m. EDT and returned at 5:54 p.m.

WASHINGTON (AP) — Democrats controlling the House are steering clear of controversy in a short-term, government-wide spending measure that’s needed to prevent a government shutdown at the end of September.