USA

MOSCOW, April 5. /TASS/. The United Nations Security Council will hold an emergency meeting on the situation in Libya at 3 pm (22:00 Moscow Time) on Friday, the United Kingdom Mission to the UN wrote on its Twitter page.

"The UK has called for the UN Security Council to meet in closed consultations on #Libya at 3 pm tomorrow, Friday," it said. Head of the United Nations Support Mission in Libya (UNSMIL) Ghassan Salame will brief the UNSC members on the current situation.

WASHINGTON, April 4 (Xinhua) -- The number of initial jobless claims in the United States fell to its lowest level since December 1969, according to a report released by the U.S. Department of Labor on Thursday.

In the week ending March 30, the number of people filing for U.S. unemployment benefits was 202,000, a decrease of 10,000 from the previous week's revised level, said the report.

The previous week's level was revised up by 1,000 from 211,000 to 212,000, according to the report.

UNITED NATIONS, April 4 (Xinhua) -- The United Nations said Thursday that some 170 civilians are killed by mines per month, a sharp increase in explosive hazard casualties over the past five years.

"At one point, we were optimistic that the number of victims in Afghanistan was below a hundred a year, but now we are at 170 a month," Agnes Marcaillou, director of the UN Mine Action Service, told a press conference held at the UN headquarters in New York on the International Day for Mine Awareness and Assistance in Mine Action.

Washington, Apr 4 (PTI) A free trade agreement between India and the US is a key to resolving their trade disputes as it will cover biggest irritants in ties including tariffs and mobility of Indian professionals, a top American business advocacy group has said.

Observing that the relationship between India and the US in the last five years has progressed tremendously, the advocacy group said the interest of the two largest democracies of the world are much more aligned than ever.

Washington, Apr 4 (PTI) India is one of the highest taxing nations in the world, US President Donald Trump has again slammed the country for imposing 100 per cent tariffs on American products, including the iconic Harley-Davidson motorcycles.

Such a high tariff is not fair, Trump said Tuesday during National Republican Congressional Committee Annual Spring Dinner here.

DALLAS (AP) — Texas prisons will no longer allow clergy in the death chamber after the U.S. Supreme Court blocked the scheduled execution of a man who argued his religious freedom would be violated if his Buddhist spiritual adviser couldn’t accompany him.

4 Apr 2019; AFP: Tensions soared Wednesday between the United States and two of its NATO partners, Germany and Turkey, marring a 70th birthday celebration for the alliance aimed at showing a united front against a resurgent Russia.

LOS ANGELES, April 3 (Xinhua) -- China's leading electric vehicle maker BYD has rolled out the 300th bus at its Lancaster manufacturing plant in the U.S. state of California, the company said on Wednesday.

The 300th bus, a 35-foot BYD K9S model transit bus, is one of three built for the Capital Area Transit System of Baton Rouge, capital of the U.S. state of Louisiana, the company said in a release.

WASHINGTON, April 3 (Xinhua) -- U.S. Vice President Mike Pence on Wednesday warned Turkey against purchasing the S-400 air defense system from Russia, despite Ankara's firm stance on the deal.

"Turkey must choose," Pence said at an event in Washington to celebrate the 70th anniversary of the North Atlantic Treaty Organization (NATO).

WASHINGTON, April 3 (Xinhua) -- NATO Secretary General Jens Stoltenberg said on Wednesday that the military alliance does not want a "new arms race" with Russia while urging Moscow to keep compliance with a landmark arms control treaty.

"We do not want a new arms race, we do not want a new Cold War," said Stoltenberg while addressing a joint meeting of the U.S. Congress, one of the highlights during his stay in Washington to celebrate the alliance's 70th anniversary.