USA

WASHINGTON (AP) — The impeachment inquiry is revealing vivid new details about the high-level unease over President Donald Trump’s actions toward Ukraine, and those of his personal lawyer, Rudy Giuliani, as the swift-moving probe by House Democrats showed no signs Tuesday of easing.

The testimony from the witnesses, mainly officials from the State Department and other foreign policy posts, is largely corroborating the account of the government whistleblower whose complaint first sparked the impeachment inquiry, according to lawmakers attending the closed-door interviews.

USA (AP) - Elizabeth Warren repeatedly came under attack during Tuesday’s Democratic presidential debate as rivals accused the Massachusetts senator of ducking questions about the cost of Medicare for All and her signature “wealth tax” plan.

The pile-on was the clearest sign yet that Warren has a new status in the crowded Democratic primary: a front-runner in the contest to take on President Donald Trump next year.

WASHINGTON, October 15. /TASS/: Turkey’s military operation in northern Syria hampered efforts against the Islamic State terrorist group (outlawed in Russia), and led to the release of many captured militants, US Secretary of Defense Mark Esper said in a statement released on Monday.

15 October 2019; AFP: The White House's alleged effort to pressure Ukraine so alarmed former national security advisor John Bolton that he alerted a lawyer, his former aide said on Monday, according to US media.

WASHINGTON (Reuters) - U.S. President Donald Trump on Monday demanded Turkey stop its military incursion in Syria and imposed new sanctions on the NATO ally as Trump scrambled to limit the damage from his much-criticized decision to clear U.S. troops from Turkey’s path.

Vice President Mike Pence said Trump had told Turkish President Tayyip Erdogan in a phone call on Monday to agree to an immediate ceasefire. He also said he would travel to the region soon to try to mediate the crisis.

Pence said Trump had been firm with Erdogan on the phone.

UNITED NATIONS, Oct 15 (NNN-Prensa Latina) — UN Secretary-General Antonio Guterres appointed US diplomat Helen Meagher La Lime as special representative for Haiti and head of the United Nations Integrated Office there.

The appointment comes on the eve of the Security Council’s consideration of the status of the United Nations Mission for Justice Support in Haiti (MINUJUSTH).

WASHINGTON, Oct 15 (NNN-AGENCIES) — The United States slapped sanctions on Turkey Tuesday as it demanded an end to its deadly incursion against Syrian Kurdish fighters, accusing its NATO partner of putting civilians at risk and allowing the release of Daesh extremists.

The actions came hours after Syrian government troops returned for the first time in years to parts of northeastern Syria, invited by Kurdish fighters desperate for protection as the United States pulls out.

WASHINGTON, Oct. 14 (Xinhua) -- U.S. scientists found a new catalyst that can split water and generate hydrogen, which could bring down the cost of producing gas, said a study published on Monday.

The catalyst, consisting of cobalt phosphide nanoparticles deposited on carbon, could replace the expensive platinum catalyst to generate hydrogen on an electrolyzer equipment, according to the study that appears in Nature Nanotechnology.

UNITED NATIONS, Oct. 14 (Xinhua) -- UN Secretary-General Antonio Guterres "is gravely concerned over the military developments in northeast Syria," as the number of civilian casualties increase and the number of displaced persons swells to 160,000, his spokesman said on Monday.

Stephane Dujarric, the spokesman, said Guterres continues to call for maximum restraint, reminding that any military operation must fully respect international law and humanitarian aid access.

SAN FRANCISCO (AP) — California’s top utility regulator blasted Pacific Gas and Electric on Monday for what she called “failures in execution” during the largest planned power outage in state history to avoid wildfires that she said, “created an unacceptable situation that should never be repeated.”

The agency ordered a series of corrective actions, including a goal of restoring power within 12 hours, not the utility’s current 48-hour goal.