USA

WASHINGTON, March 2 (Xinhua) -- An American spacecraft designed to fly astronauts to the International Space Station (ISS) from the United States was launched Saturday morning for its debut unmanned flight.

SpaceX's Falcon 9 rocket, carrying the Crew Dragon spacecraft, lifted off at 2:49 a.m. Eastern Time (0749 GMT) from Launch Complex 39A at the National Aeronautics and Space Administration (NASA)'s Kennedy Space Center in Florida.

UNITED NATIONS, March 1 (Xinhua) -- More than two million boys and girls are currently out of school in Syria, people's resources are depleting, and more than eight in ten people live below the poverty line, the UN Humanitarian Needs Overview for Syria said on Friday.

Stephane Dujarric, spokesman for UN Secretary-General Antonio Guterres, told reporters at a regular briefing that the 2019 overview is a reminder that the crisis is far from over for millions of people in Syria who have lived through eight years of war.

UNITED NATIONS, March 1 (Xinhua) -- France and Germany are using their unprecedented "joint presidencies" of the UN Security Council in March and April to defend multilateralism and European values, said the ambassadors of the two countries on Friday.

The unique approach, which was designed as "an unprecedented expression of Franco-German partnership" at the United Nations, is both innovative and pragmatic, French ambassador to the United Nations Francois Delattre told reporters together with German ambassador Christoph Heusgen.

United Nations, Mar 1; PTI/GANASHAKTI: UN General Assembly President Maria Fernanda Espinosa is following with "great concern" the situation between India and Pakistan and calls on both sides to seek dialogue to avoid an escalation of tensions, her spokesperson said.

Espinosa's spokesperson Monica Grayley said the UNGA President stresses that the use of "diplomatic means is basically the best way to settle political differences, to settle political disputes" and hopes that the relevant parties can resolve the current situation through peaceful means.

WASHINGTON, Feb. 28 (Xinhua) -- American scientists found that catch-up sleep on the weekend couldn't repay the weekday sleep debt and such an inconsistent schedule might make things worse.

The study, published on Thursday in the journal Current Biology, has shown that sleeping in on the weekend can only help the body recover mildly but its effects do not last and even showed worse outcomes on some measures.

UNITED NATIONS, Feb. 28 (Xinhua) -- The UN Security Council on Thursday failed to adopt two competing draft resolutions on Venezuela, sponsored by the United States and Russia respectively.

The U.S. draft received nine votes in favor, three against, and three abstentions in the 15-member council. Russia and China, as well as South Africa, vetoed the resolution.

Minutes later, the Security Council voted on the Russian draft, which received four votes in favor, seven against and four abstentions.

WASHINGTON, Feb. 28 (Xinhua) -- Positive perception of China's global leadership continues to strengthen, with China's approval rating rising to its highest in almost a decade, U.S. public opinion polls conductor Gallup said Thursday.

The new Gallup report, which measured how adults in 133 countries and areas feel about the global leadership of the United States, Germany, Russia and China, showed that China earned a median 34 percent approval rating in 2018, 3 percent above its 2017 rating. The latest rating is China's highest score since 2009.

HUNTSVILLE, Texas (AP) — A Texas death row inmate once described by a prosecutor as having “a heart full of scorpions” was set to be executed Thursday for killing his estranged wife’s parents and her brother, who was a police officer.

Billie Wayne Coble was condemned for the August 1989 shooting deaths of his in-laws, Robert and Zelda Vicha, and their son, Bobby Vicha, at their homes in Axtell, northeast of Waco.

Coble, 70, would be the third inmate put to death this year in the U.S. and the second in Texas, which is the nation’s busiest capital punishment state.

DETROIT (AP) — The number of pedestrians killed on U.S. roads last year was the highest in 28 years, according to a report from a safety organization.

Using data reported by states, the Governors Highway Safety Association estimates that 6,227 pedestrians were killed last year. That’s up 4 percent from 2017 and 35 percent since 2008.

The association blames the increase on factors that include distracted or impaired drivers, more people walking to work, and more SUVs on the road, which cause more severe injuries in collisions with people on foot.

28 Feb 2019; AP: Security experts say the U.S. government is likely exaggerating the threat it says the Chinese telecommunications giant Huawei poses to the world’s next-generation wireless networks.

Washington has mounted an intense diplomatic offensive that paints Huawei as an untrustworthy servant of Beijing’s intelligence agencies.