USA

WASHINGTON (AP) — Russian President Vladimir Putin may use the Biden administration’s support for Ukraine as a pretext to order a new campaign to interfere in American politics, U.S. intelligence officials have assessed.

Intelligence agencies have so far not found any evidence that Putin has authorized measures like the ones Russia is believed to have undertaken in the 2016 and 2020 presidential elections in support of former President Donald Trump, according to several people familiar with the matter who spoke on condition of anonymity to discuss sensitive findings.

Washington, Apr 8 (AP-PTI) Congress voted overwhelmingly Thursday to suspend normal trade relations with Russia and ban the importation of its oil, ratcheting up the US response to Russia's invasion of Ukraine amid reports of atrocities.

House action came after the Senate approved the two bills with 100-0 votes. The measures now go to President Joe Biden to be signed into law.

SAN JOSE, April 8 (NNN-AGENCIES) — A cargo plane carrying mail and packages skidded off the runway and broke in two during an emergency landing in Costa Rica on Thursday, causing the temporary closure of the international airport in San Jose.

Smoke was billowing from the bright yellow plane of German logistics giant DHL as it ground to a halt, having slid off the runway when it spun and broke up around the rear wheels.

Two crew members aboard were “in good health,” said Costa Rica’s firefighters chief, Hector Chaves.

April 8 (Reuters) - Moderna Inc (MRNA.O) said on Friday it was recalling 764,900 doses of its COVID-19 vaccine made by its contract manufacturer Rovi (ROVI.MC) after a vial was found contaminated by a foreign body.

No safety issues have been identified, Moderna said about the lots that were distributed in Norway, Poland, Portugal, Spain and Sweden in January.

The drugmaker said the contamination was found in just one vial, and it was recalling the whole lot out of "an abundance of caution". It did not disclose what was found in the vial.

WASHINGTON, April 8 (Reuters) - The United States expressed concern on Friday about reports of ethnically motivated atrocities in Ethiopia's Tigray region and called for an end to unlawful detentions based on ethnicity.

State Department spokesman Ned Price cited a report by Human Rights Watch and Amnesty International.

"In particular, we are deeply troubled by the report’s finding that these acts amount to ethnic cleansing," he said in a statement.

NEW YORK, April 8(Reuters) - Former Goldman Sachs (GS.N) banker Roger Ng was convicted by a U.S. jury on Friday of corruption charges related to his role in helping loot hundreds of millions of dollars from Malaysia's 1MDB development fund.

The charges stemmed from one of the biggest financial scandals in history. Prosecutors charged Ng, Goldman's former top investment banker for Malaysia, for conspiring to violate an anti-corruption law and launder money.

Washington, Apr 8 (PTI) Two US lawmakers have introduced a bill in the House of Representatives that aims at granting an automatic right to H-4 visa holders to work in the country, a move which will benefit the spouses of thousands of foreigners, including Indians, and also address the labour shortage affecting American businesses.

Rome, Apr 8 (AP) The United Nations says prices for world food commodities like grains and vegetable oils reached their highest levels ever last month due to fallout from the war in Ukraine.

The UN Food and Agriculture Organization said Friday its Food Price Index, which tracks monthly changes in international prices for a basket of commodities, recorded a double-digit percentage-point increase in March from the record level already set the previous month.

08 April 2022; MEMO: The Biden administration has stated in congressional correspondence that the potential sale of F-16 fighter jets to Turkiye would serve US interests and bolster NATO unity, according to a report published on Wednesday.

UNITED NATIONS, April 7 (Xinhua) -- The UN General Assembly adopted a resolution on Thursday that allows the assembly to suspend the Russian Federation's membership in the Geneva-based UN Human Rights Council.

The draft resolution, "Suspension of the rights of membership of the Russian Federation in the Human Rights Council," obtained 93 "yes" votes and 24 "no" votes from the 193-member General Assembly. A total of 58 countries abstained. Eighteen countries did not participate in the voting.

China voted against the move pushed by the United States.