North America

27 Mar 2019; AFP: A New York county hit by a measles outbreak declared a state of emergency Tuesday and banned non-vaccinated minors from public places in a bid to prevent the once-eliminated disease from spreading.

The measure, which defines a public place as anywhere "more than 10 persons are intended to congregate" -- including public transport -- was announced by officials in Rockland County, 25 miles (40 kilometers) north of New York City.

28 Mar 2019; AFP: A 21-year-old American pleaded guilty Wednesday to shooting a couple dead and abducting their teenage daughter in a brutal Midwestern home invasion that shocked the nation.

The slaying of James and Denise Closs in Wisconsin last October sparked a nationwide hunt for missing 13-year-old Jayme, who spent three months in captivity before she was able to escape.

28 Mar 2019; DW: Facebook on Wednesday announced it was extending its ban on hate speech to include content related to white nationalism and separatism on both its Facebook and Instagram platforms. It will be enforced as of next week.

Facebook said in a statement "white nationalism and separatism cannot be meaningfully separated from white supremacy and organized hate groups."

28 Mar 2019; DW: A US jury has awarded $80 million (€71 million) in damages to a California man who blamed Roundup weed killer for causing his cancer.

The ruling is a blow to German chemical and pharmaceutical giant Bayer, whose subsidiary Monsanto makes the herbicide. The trial could pave the way for more cases linking Roundup's main ingredient, glyphosate, to cancer.

Safe, or 'probable human carcinogen'?

WASHINGTON, March 27. /TASS/. The US is able to increase pressure on the Venezuelan government headed by President Nicolas Maduro using military force, US President Donald Trump stated on Wednesday.

"They’ve got a lot of pressure right now. They have no money, they have no oil, they have no nothing. They’ve got plenty of pressure right now. They have no electricity," Trump said. "Other than military, you can’t get any more pressure than they have... All options are open," he added.

UNITED NATIONS, March 28. /TASS/. Washington should stop its unilateral steps undermining the Middle East settlement process, Russia’s Deputy Permanent Representative to the United Nations, Vladimir Safronkov, told the UN Security Council’s emergency meeting in the wake of the US decision to recognize Israel’s sovereignty on the Golan Heights.

WASHINGTON, March 27. /TASS/. The US will consider all possible courses of action in order to make Russian troops leave Venezuela, US President Donald Trump said during the meeting with the wife of Venezuelan opposition leader Juan Guaido at the White House, the Reuters agency reports.

"Russia has to get out," Trump stated. In response to a question about how Washington aims to accomplish this, the US leader said: "We’ll see. All options are open.".

UNITED NATIONS, March 27 (Xinhua) -- The top United Nations political official told the Security Council on Wednesday that the Secretary-General had concerns about the situation in Idlib in recent weeks amid escalating violence.

UNITED NATIONS, March 27 (Xinhua) -- A Chinese envoy said Wednesday that the Golan Heights is recognized by the international community as an occupied territory.

The UN Security Council has adopted several resolutions that demand Israeli withdrawal from the Golan Heights, which it seized from Syria in 1967, Wu Haitao, the deputy permanent representative of the Chinese mission to the United Nations, told a Security Council meeting on the Golan Heights.

UNITED NATIONS, March 27 (Xinhua) -- A Chinese envoy on Wednesday called on the international community to continue pushing for the political process in Syria.

"Years of conflict in Syria have brought untold misery to Syria and its people. The Syrian people yearn for an early peace so that they can return, rebuild, and resume a life in tranquility," said Wu Haitao, China's deputy permanent representative to the United Nations, in a Security Council meeting.