USA

(Reuters) - Republicans are more pessimistic about the country’s direction than at almost any other time during Donald Trump’s presidency, as a trio of crises – the coronavirus pandemic, an economic downturn and mass protests over police brutality – buffets his administration.

WASHINGTON, June 7 (NNN-AGENCIES) — US President Donald Trump has approved a plan to withdraw 9,500 American troops from bases in Germany by September, US media say.

Trump, who has long complained that European members of Nato should spend more on their own defence, reportedly wants US troop levels capped at 25,000.

Troops would either be redeployed elsewhere or return home, US media report, citing a government official.

Tensions between the US and its Nato allies have increased under Trump.

NEW YORK, June 6 (Xinhua) -- Two police officers in Buffalo of the U.S. state of New York have been charged with felony assault after a video showed them pushing an elderly protester to the ground earlier this week, local prosecutors said on Saturday.

Robert McCabe, 32, and Aaron Torgalski, 39, pleaded not guilty to second-degree assault on Saturday. They were released without bail, according to the Erie County District Attorney John Flynn, who said at a press conference on Saturday that the officers "crossed a line."

UNITED NATIONS, June 6 (Xinhua) -- The United Nations Children's Fund (UNICEF) on Saturday denounced an attack that killed 16 people, including five girls under the age of 15, in the northeastern Democratic Republic of the Congo (DRC).

"We condemn in the strongest possible terms this attack on innocent children," said the UNICEF representative in the DRC, Edouard Beigbeder.

According to UN-verified reports, the attack took place on June 3 in Moussa, a village in the Djugu area, north of Ituri province's capital Bunia.

NEW YORK, June 6 (Xinhua) -- Confirmed COVID-19 cases worldwide topped 6.8 million on Saturday, reaching 6,804,044 as of 3:30 p.m. (1930 GMT), according to data compiled by the Center for Systems Science and Engineering (CSSE) at Johns Hopkins University.

A total of 362,678 people worldwide have died of the disease, the data showed.

NEW ORLEANS (AP) — A re-energized Tropical Storm Cristobal advanced toward the U.S. Gulf Coast on Saturday, spawning a tornado in Florida and bringing the heavy rains that already caused flooding and mudslides in Mexico and Central America.

SANTA CRUZ, Calif. (AP) — A Northern California sheriff’s deputy was killed and two law enforcement officers wounded Saturday when they were ambushed with gunfire and explosives while pursuing a suspect, authorities said.

WASHINGTON (AP) — A stronger than expected jobs report could further scramble an already uncertain picture for passing a fifth and possibly final coronavirus aid bill. The positive statistics are feeding the wait-and-see approach of the White House and its GOP allies in Congress.

WASHINGTON (AP) — Scott Nichols, a balloon artist, was riding home on his scooter from the protests engulfing Minneapolis last weekend when he was struck by a rubber bullet fired from a cluster of police officers in riot gear.

“I just pulled over and put my hands up, because I didn’t want to get killed,” said Nichols, 40. “Anybody that knows me knows I wasn’t out there to cause problems.”

WASHINGTON (AP) — Massive demonstrations against racism and police brutality filled some of the nation’s most famous cityscapes Saturday, with tens of thousands of people marching peacefully in scenes that were more often festive than tense.