USA

UNITED NATIONS, Jun 20 (APP): The head of the United Nations Mission in Afghanistan has emphasized that the goal of all ongoing peace efforts must be to start formal negotiations between the Afghan Government and the Taliban to reach an agreement that would end the long-running war in the strife-torn country.

WASHINGTON, June 19 (Xinhua) -- U.S. Special Representative for Iran Brian Hook on Wednesday described U.S. latest move in the Middle East as "defensive", reaffirming that Washington seeks a "comprehensive and enduring deal" with Tehran.

"No one should be uncertain about our desire for peace or our readiness to normalize relations should we reach a comprehensive deal," Hook said during a congressional hearing over U.S. Iran policy.

UNITED NATIONS, June 19 (Xinhua) -- A spokesperson for UN Secretary-General Antonio Guterres said on Wednesday that the power and authority to launch international follow-up criminal investigations on Saudi journalist Jamal Khashoggi's death lie with UN member states.

Stephane Dujarric, the spokesperson, told the press that the UN chief does not have the power or the authority to launch criminal investigations without a mandate from a competent intergovernmental body.

NEW YORK, June 20. /TASS/: Russian citizen Oleg Tishchenko, whom the United States accused of attempting to smuggle F-16 fighter jet manuals out of the country, has partially admitted his guilt and will be deported to Russia , according to information uploaded to the court database in Utah.

According to court filings, Tishchenko pleaded guilty to two of the five counts brought against him. The remaining three counts were lifted.

SAN FRANCISCO (AP) — The Federal Trade Commission is in the late stages of an investigation into how Google’s YouTube handles children’s videos, a probe prompted by complaints that the company failed to protect kids who used the service and improperly collected their data.

WASHINGTON (AP) — The top U.S. trade negotiator said he will meet with his Chinese counterpart to discuss a trade dispute between the world’s two biggest economies before a summit next week in Japan between Presidents Donald Trump and Xi Jinping of China.

WASHINGTON (AP) — President Donald Trump awarded the Presidential Medal of Freedom on Wednesday to economist Arthur Laffer, whose disputed theories on tax cuts have guided Republican policy since the 1980s.

Laffer, 78, advised Trump during his presidential campaign and co-wrote a flattering book, “Trumponomics: Inside the America First Plan to Revive Our Economy.” Laffer says lower tax rates change people’s behavior and stimulate economic growth, creating more tax revenue for the government, not less.

WASHINGTON (AP) — Former top White House adviser Hope Hicks refused to answer questions related to her time in the White House in a daylong interview with the House Judiciary Committee, dimming Democrats’ chances of obtaining new or substantive information about President Donald Trump in their first interview with a person linked to his inner circle.

Frustrated Democrats leaving the meeting Wednesday said Hicks and her lawyer rigidly followed White House orders to stay quiet about her time there and said they would be forced to go to court to obtain answers.

ANCHORAGE, Alaska (AP) — It’s not America’s Top 40, but it’s a cutting edge song.

Federal marine biologists for the first time have recorded singing by one of the rarest whales on the planet, the North Pacific right whale.

National Oceanic and Atmospheric Administration researchers used moored acoustic recorders to capture repeated patterns of calls made by male North Pacific right whales.

ANCHORAGE, Alaska (AP) — Alaska teens hoping to cash in on a $9 million offer from a Midwest millionaire brutally killed a developmentally disabled woman on a popular trail outside Anchorage, shooting her in the back of the head and dumping her body in a river, authorities allege.