USA

MORGAN CITY, La. (AP) — For the sixth time in the Atlantic hurricane season, people in Louisiana are once more fleeing the state’s barrier islands and sailing boats to safe harbor while emergency officials ramp up command centers and consider ordering evacuations.

The storm being watched Wednesday was Hurricane Delta, the 25th named storm of the Atlantic’s unprecedented hurricane season. Forecasts placed most of Louisiana within Delta’s path, with the latest National Hurricane Center estimating landfall in the state on Friday.

MADISON, Wis. (AP) — A Black Wisconsin police officer who fatally shot a Black teenager outside a suburban Milwaukee mall in February won’t be charged because he had reasonable belief that deadly force was necessary, a prosecutor said Wednesday.

Wauwatosa Officer Joseph Mensah shot 17-year-old Alvin Cole outside Mayfair Mall on Feb. 2 after police responded to a reported disturbance at the shopping center.

WASHINGTON (AP) — It had the ingredients of a President Donald Trump campaign speech: dangerous immigrants, attacks on Democrat-run cities, even a mention of “America First.”

But it was Chad Wolf, acting secretary of the Department of Homeland Security, announcing a routine, and relatively minor, enforcement operation Wednesday at a Washington news conference.

“It’s not about Republicans, it’s not about Democrats, it’s not about elections,” Wolf insisted, twice, to reporters.

WASHINGTON (AP) — President Donald Trump credited an experimental drug treatment with helping his recovery from COVID-19 and suggested his diagnosis could be a “blessing in disguise” in the nation’s battle against the pandemic. But there is no way for the president or his doctors to know whether the drug had any effect.

SALT LAKE CITY (AP) — Trading barbs through plexiglass shields, Republican Mike Pence and Democrat Kamala Harris turned the only vice presidential debate of 2020 into a dissection of the Trump administration’s handling of the coronavirus pandemic, with Harris labeling it “the greatest failure of any presidential administration.”

Pence, who leads the president’s coronavirus task force, acknowledged that “our nation’s gone through a very challenging time this year,” yet vigorously defended the administration’s overall response to a pandemic that has killed 210,000 Americans.

UNITED NATIONS, Oct 7 (NNN-SANA) – The United Nations’ concern over the economic downturn in Syria is rising, as COVID-19 cases increase and more than 11 million people are in urgent need of aid, a UN spokesman said.

“Basic food items are now out of reach for many families, with food prices at record levels, after more than tripling in the past year,” said Stephane Dujarric, spokesman for UN Secretary-General, Guterres.

Dujarric cited reports of families queuing for hours in some areas to buy subsidised necessities, such as bread and fuel.

WASHINGTON, Oct 7 (NNN-AGENCIES) — The global downturn caused by the coronavirus pandemic will not be as bad as originally feared thanks to a flood of government spending, but the crisis is far from over, IMF chief Kristalina Georgieva said.

“The picture today is less dire… allowing for a small upward revision to our global forecast for 2020,” she said in a speech ahead of IMF-World Bank fall meetings next week, where the IMF is due to present its updated forecasts.

Washington, Oct 7 (PTI) The Trump administration has announced new restrictions on H-1B nonimmigrant visa programme which it said is aimed at protecting American workers, restoring integrity and to better guarantee that H-1B petitions are approved only for qualified beneficiaries and petitioners, a move which is likely to affect thousands of Indian IT professionals.

UNITED NATIONS, Oct. 6 (Xinhua) -- Pakistan on Tuesday made a joint statement on behalf of 55 countries at the General Debate of the Third Committee of the UN General Assembly, opposing interference in China's internal affairs under the pretext of Hong Kong.

UNITED NATIONS, Oct. 6 (Xinhua) -- China's permanent representative to the United Nations, Zhang Jun, on Tuesday refuted groundless accusations against China on issues related to Xinjiang and Hong Kong by the United States and a few other countries.

Speaking at the General Debate of the Third Committee of the UN General Assembly, Zhang resolutely rejected their statements and wrongful acts of interfering in China's internal affairs with the excuse of human rights and provoking confrontation among member states at the United Nations.