USA

WASHINGTON, April 7 (Xinhua) -- Finance officials from the Group of 20 (G20) major economies on Wednesday called on the International Monetary Fund (IMF) to prepare for a new allocation of Special Drawing Rights (SDR) while agreeing to extend debt relief for the world's poorest countries through the end of 2021.

(AP) --- Last summer, two U.S. officials ventured into hostile territory for a secret high-stakes meeting with American adversaries.

The Syrian government officials they were scheduled to meet in Damascus seemed ready to discuss the fate of U.S. hostages believed held in their country, including Austin Tice, a journalist captured eight years earlier. The release of the Americans would be a boon to President Donald Trump months ahead of the election. And a breakthrough seemed possible.

WASHINGTON (AP) — The American military is warning that China is probably accelerating its timetable for capturing control of Taiwan, the island democracy that has been the chief source of tension between Washington and Beijing for decades and is widely seen as the most likely trigger for a potentially catastrophic U.S.-China war.

WASHINGTON (AP) — Finance officials of the world’s major economies on Wednesday agreed on a proposal to boost the resources of the International Monetary Fund by $650 billion as a way to provide more support to vulnerable countries struggling to deal with a global pandemic.

The Group of 20 major industrial countries issued a joint statement that also announced the approval of a final six-month moratorium on debt payments by 73 of the world’s poorest countries.

DALLAS (AP) — A judge on Wednesday ordered the release of a former Dallas police officer accused of ordering two killings in 2017 after prosecutors said that they don’t have enough evidence to move forward with the capital murder case against him.

PORTLAND, Ore. (AP) — The mayor of Portland, Oregon, and city commissioners have reached a deal on proposals intended to stem a spike in gun violence over the past year.

The compromise, approved Wednesday, would re-establish a proactive team of uniformed police officers tasked with preventing shootings. The team would operate with greater civilian oversight than its disbanded predecessor.

The move represents an about-face after city leaders in June voted to cut nearly $16 million from the police budget, reductions that included the elimination of the gun violence unit.

WASHINGTON (AP) — Without coming right out and saying it, President Joe Biden seems ready to let lapse a May 1 deadline for completing a withdrawal of U.S. troops from Afghanistan. Orderly withdrawals take time, and Biden is running out of it.

WASHINGTON (AP) — President Joe Biden is preparing to unveil a series of executive actions aimed at addressing gun violence, delivering his first major action on gun control since taking office.

Biden on Thursday will also nominate David Chipman, a former federal agent and adviser at the gun control group Giffords, to be director of the Bureau of Alcohol, Tobacco, Firearms and Explosives, according to senior Biden administration officials.

AUSTIN, Texas (AP) — Texas child welfare officials said Wednesday they received three reports alleging abuse and neglect at a San Antonio coliseum that is holding more than 1,600 immigrant teenagers who crossed the southern border.

(AP) --- President Joe Biden drew a red line on his $2.3 trillion infrastructure plan Wednesday, saying he is open to compromise on how to pay for the package but inaction is unacceptable.

The president turned fiery in an afternoon speech, saying that the United States is failing to build, invest and research for the future and adding that failure to do so amounts to giving up on “leading the world.”