USA

MINNEAPOLIS (AP) — Onlookers grew increasingly angry as they begged Minneapolis Officer Derek Chauvin to take his knee off George Floyd’s neck, but Chauvin would not let up, and another officer forced back members of the crowd who tried to intervene, witnesses testified Tuesday at Chauvin’s murder trial.

Witness after witness described how Chauvin was unmoved by their pleas, with the teenager who shot the harrowing video of the arrest that set off nationwide protests testifying that the officer gave the crowd a “cold” and “heartless” stare.

UNITED NATIONS, March 30 (NNN-AGENCIES) — UN Secretary-General Antonio Guterres called for greater debt relief and new creative financing to help poorer nations deal with the pandemic and prevent their economic recoveries from falling behind.

A “new debt mechanism” to provide more options — including debt swaps, buy-backs and cancellations — is needed, he said, as many nations have been reluctant to add debt during the global health crisis, fearing a hit to their credit ratings.

UNITED NATIONS, Mar 30 (NNN-AGENCIES) – UN Children’s Fund (UNICEF) Executive Director, Henrietta Fore, yesterday, called for more humanitarian access to Syria and for the protection of children in the war-torn country.

UNICEF and its partners need regular access to north-west Syria, to provide life-saving humanitarian assistance, Fore told the Security Council in a briefing.

The Security Council’s 12-month renewal of authorisation for cross-border delivery, provided a necessary window to help people in desperate need. But the needs are multiplying, she said.

WASHINGTON (Reuters) - President Joe Biden released his first slate of 11 federal judicial nominations on Wednesday, including three Black women for federal circuit court vacancies, a Muslim American and an Asian American and Pacific Islander.

“This trailblazing slate of nominees draws from the very best and brightest minds of the American legal profession,” Biden said in a statement that emphasized their “broad diversity of background experience and perspective.”

The nominees, which include nine women, must be confirmed by the U.S. Senate.

WASHINGTON, March 29 (Xinhua) -- U.S. President Joe Biden announced on Monday that 90 percent of adult Americans will be eligible to get COVID-19 vaccination in three weeks.

He told a White House briefing that while 90 percent of adult Americans will be eligible to get vaccinated by April 19, the remaining 10 percent will be eligible by May 1.

Biden's remarks came as the country has seen a rise in new COVID-19 cases in 27 states.

Biden said cases are "going back" as people relax safeguards. Letting down guard could make the pandemic "worse," he noted.

29 Mar 2021; MEMO: The US said on Monday it will evaluate a just signed $400 billion investment deal China struck with Iran over the weekend to see whether it will trigger sanctions under American law, Anadolu Agency reported.

"We of course will take a look and ensure that any sanctions that need to be implemented would be as it relates to this package, but we haven't looked at the specific agreement yet at this point in time," White House spokeswoman Jen Psaki told reporters.

WASHINGTON, March 29 (Xinhua) -- Currently the United States has recorded more than 10,000 infection cases of coronavirus variants as experts warn of another COVID-19 surge.

Among the total of 10,985 variants cases reported by the U.S. Centers for Disease Control and Prevention (CDC) as of Sunday, 10,579 cases were caused by the variant known as B.1.1.7, which was originally detected in Britain.

There were 288 cases of a new strain initially discovered in South Africa, called B.1.351, and 118 cases of the P.1 strain first discovered in Brazil.

(AP) --- More than a dozen states will open vaccine eligibility to all adults this week in a major expansion of COVID-19 shots for tens of millions of Americans amid a worrisome increase in virus cases and concerns about balancing supply and demand for the vaccines.

WASHINGTON (AP) — The United States on Monday suspended a trade deal with Myanmar until a democratic government is restored in the Southeast Asian country after a Feb. 1 coup followed by a violent crackdown on protests.

The military overthrew the elected government, jailed Aung San Suu Kyi and other civilian leaders and has killed and imprisoned protesters in the country also known as Burma.

WASHINGTON (AP) — When former President Donald Trump was asked to list those he considers the future leaders of the Republican Party, he quickly rattled off a list of names, including Florida Gov. Ron DeSantis and Sens. Josh Hawley and Ted Cruz. Conspicuously absent from the list: Mike Pence.