USA

UNITED NATIONS, Jan 12 (APP): UN Secretary-General Antonio Guterres has extended his profound condolences to the Royal family, the Government and people of Oman on the passing away of Sultan Qaboos Bin Said.

“Sultan Qaboos led Oman for 50 years and spearheaded the transformation of Oman into a prosperous and stable country,” the Secretary-General said in a statement issued his spokesperson, Stephane Dujarric.

Sultan Qaboos, 79, passed away in Muscat on Friday night.

WASHINGTON, January 12. /TASS/: US President Donald Trump has called on the Iranian government to allow human rights groups to monitor the ongoing protests in the country, expressing support for the protesters.

"To the brave, long-suffering people of Iran: I've stood with you since the beginning of my Presidency, and my Administration will continue to stand with you. We are following your protests closely, and are inspired by your courage," he wrote on Twitter. The US leader also published a similar message in Farsi.

12 January 2020; AFP: US President Donald Trump said Saturday the United States was monitoring Iranian demonstrations closely, warning against any new "massacre" as protests broke out after Tehran admitted to shooting down a passenger plane.

SAN ANTONIO, Texas (Reuters) - U.S. presidential candidate Michael Bloomberg told Reuters he is ready to spend much of his vast fortune to oust Republican President Donald Trump from the White House in 2020, rejecting criticism from rivals for the Democratic nomination that the billionaire is trying to buy the U.S. election.

WASHINGTON, Jan. 11 (Xinhua) -- U.S. President Donald Trump lashed out at Democrats on Saturday over his impeachment by the House and a delayed trial in the Senate.

In a string of tweets, Trump called the impeachment a partisan "hoax," while claiming his innocence and criticizing House Speaker Nancy Pelosi, who initiated an inquiry in September 2019 that led to his impeachment.

"New polling shows that the totally partisan Impeachment Hoax is going nowhere. A vast majority want the Do Nothing Democrats to move on to other things now!" Trump wrote.

PORTSMOUTH, N.H. (AP) — More than two dozen men and women say they were physically, sexually and emotionally abused as children at New Hampshire’s state-run youth detention center over the course of three decades, according to attorneys who have filed a class action lawsuit on their behalf.

Washington, Jan 12 (AFP/PTI) The United States will expel at least a dozen Saudi military students accused of extremist links and child pornography, after an investigation into a shooting rampage by a Saudi officer in Florida, media reported Saturday.

In December, Mohammed Alshamrani, who was in the United States as part of a Saudi military training program, opened fire in a classroom at the Pensacola Naval Air Station, killing three sailors and wounding eight other people before being shot dead by police.

WASHINGTON (AP) — The United States and China have agreed to resume semiannual talks on economic and trade issues, according to a published report. These discussions had been conducted in previous administrations but had been halted by the Trump administration.

The Wall Street Journal reported Saturday that the resumption of the talks, which were started in the George W. Bush administration and continued in the Obama administration, was set to be announced on Wednesday when the Trump administration signs a Phase One trade agreement with China in Washington.

LAS VEGAS (AP) — Democratic presidential candidates descended on Nevada on Saturday in an attempt to build relationships with Latino voters and win the coveted endorsement of the powerful casino workers’ Culinary Union.

Amy Klobuchar and Pete Buttigieg, both running as Midwestern moderates who’ve warned against liberal plans to move the U.S. to a government-run health insurance system, pitched themselves Saturday morning to Culinary Union workers, who prize their robust health plans.

JEFFERSON CITY, Mo. (AP) — The reins of political power in the U.S. for the next decade could be determined in this year’s elections — not necessarily by who wins the presidency, but by thousands of lower-profile contests for state legislative seats across the country.

In many states, the winners of those legislative races will have a role in drawing new districts for Congress or state legislatures based on the 2020 census. If a political party can win control of those state legislative chambers now, it can draw voting districts to boost its chances in future elections.