USA

WASHINGTON, April 24. /TASS/: The US Armed Forces will hold military exercise Northern Edge 2021 in Alaska from May 3 to May 14, involving an aircraft carrier strike group, about 15,000 soldiers and officers, as well as approximately 240 different aircraft from all types of US Armed Forces, the US Air Force Pacific Command announced on Friday.

UNITED NATIONS, April 23 (Xinhua) -- United Nations Secretary-General Antonio Guterres on Friday called for strong multilateral action to address the common crises and threats that the international community is facing.

"We need strong multilateral action now, to emerge from the pandemic safely, to address the climate crisis, and to build stronger, safer communities and societies," the UN chief said in his video message marking the International Day of Multilateralism and Diplomacy for Peace, which falls on April 24 annually.

WASHINGTON (AP) — President Joe Biden spoke with Turkey’s President Recep Tayyip Erdogan on Friday as Biden prepared to move forward with a campaign pledge to formally recognize that atrocities committed against the Armenian people by the Ottoman Empire more than a century ago were genocide.

WASHINGTON (AP) — What did the world learn at Joe Biden’s global summit about his vision of the battle to save the world’s climate?

For two days, Biden and his team of climate experts pressed his case that tackling global warming not only can avert an existential threat, but also benefit the U.S. economy — and the world’s as well.

WASHINGTON (AP) — Pressure is growing on President Joe Biden to take action to prevent the completion of a Russian gas pipeline to Europe that many fear will give the Kremlin significant leverage over U.S. partners and allies. Yet such action could provoke an enormous rift in trans-Atlantic relations, notably with Germany, at a time when Biden has made restoring good ties with Europe a priority.

NEW YORK (AP) — Ghislaine Maxwell faced her trial judge in person for the first time Friday as lawyers squabbled over exactly when she should be tried on sex trafficking charges that allege that she procured teenage girls for Jeffrey Epstein to sexually abuse at his posh residences.

ELIZABETH CITY, N.C. (AP) — Seven North Carolina deputies have been placed on leave in the aftermath of a Black man being shot and killed by members of their department serving drug-related search and arrest warrants, authorities said Friday.

The disclosure comes as calls increase for the release of deputy body camera footage amid signs, including emergency scanner traffic, that Andrew Brown Jr. was shot in the back and killed as he was trying to drive away.

WASHINGTON (AP) — The world moved closer to curbing the worst of global warming after this week’s climate summit. But there’s still a long way to go, and the road to a safer future gets even rockier from here.

(AP) --- U.S. health officials lifted an 11-day pause on COVID-19 vaccinations using Johnson & Johnson’s single-dose shot on Friday, after scientific advisers decided its benefits outweigh a rare risk of blood clot.

The government uncovered 15 vaccine recipients who developed a highly unusual kind of blood clot out of nearly 8 million people given the J&J shot. All were women, most under age 50. Three died, and seven remain hospitalized.

UNITED NATIONS, Apr 23 (NNN-WAFA) – UN Middle East envoy, Tor Wennesland, yesterday urged international support for the first Palestinian elections in 15 years.

“The successful completion of inclusive Palestinian elections is a critical step towards renewing democratic legitimacy of the Palestinian Government,” Wennesland told a virtual meeting of the Security Council on the Palestine question, speaking from Jerusalem.