USA

WASHINGTON (AP) — One year after the nation was brought to a near-standstill by the coronavirus, President Joe Biden pledged in his first prime-time address to make all adults eligible for vaccines by May 1 and raised the possibility of beginning to “mark our independence from this virus” by the Fourth of July. He offered Americans fresh hope and appealed anew for their help.

UNITED NATIONS, Mar 11 (APP): The United Nations General Assembly President, Volkan Bozkir of Turkey, and the President of Economic and Social Council (ECOSOC), Ambassador Munir Akram of Pakistan, had their monthly meeting Wednesday to coordinate the activities of UN’s two organs in order to make them “impactful”.

In a tweet, Bozkir said that the meeting was aimed at ensuring that UNGA and ECOSOC work effectively and in harmony despite the challenges posed by coronavirus pandemic.

WASHINGTON, March 10 (Xinhua) -- The U.S. Senate on Wednesday voted to confirm Merrick Garland to be President Joe Biden's attorney general.

Senators voted 70-30 on Garland's nomination to lead the Justice Department, showing solid bipartisan support.

"I'm voting to confirm Judge Garland because of his long reputation as a straight shooter and a legal expert. His left-of-center perspective has been within the legal mainstream," said Senate Minority Leader Mitch McConnell ahead of the vote. 

UNITED NATIONS, March 10 (Xinhua) -- United Nations Secretary-General Antonio Guterres on Wednesday urged the international community to continue to reach all Syrians in need of humanitarian assistance.

"It is imperative that we continue to reach all Syrians in need of humanitarian assistance," the UN chief said at the press encounter marking the 10th anniversary of the Syrian conflict at the UN headquarters in New York.

The secretary-general warned that the situation "remains a living nightmare" in Syria.

Washington, Mar 9 (PTI) There has been inordinate delay in issuing of H-4 work authorisation permits to certain categories of spouses of those possessing H-1B foreign work visas, the most sought after among Indian IT professionals, a group of highly talented Indian women in the US has said.

An H-4 visa is issued by the US Citizenship and Immigration Services (USCIS) to immediate family members (spouse and children under 21 years of age) of the H-1B visa holders, most of whom are Indian IT professionals.

MINNEAPOLIS (AP) — Potential jurors in Derek Chauvin’s murder trial return Thursday to continue a selection process moving more quickly than expected. Meanwhile, the former policeman charged in George Floyd’s death faced the prospect of an additional third-degree murder charge.

Five jurors have been seated after just two days of screening by attorneys and Judge Peter Cahill, who had set aside at least three weeks to fill the panel.

CHICAGO (AP) — As Prince Harry and Meghan’s TV interview reverberates internationally, it’s left the more than 50 million viewers grappling with the couple’s claims of racism and lack of support that Meghan says drove her to thoughts of suicide.

WASHINGTON (AP) — The number of migrant children and families seeking to cross the U.S. southwest border has surged to levels not seen since before the pandemic, a challenge for President Joe Biden as he works to undo the restrictive immigration policies of his predecessor.

Statistics released Wednesday by U.S. Customs and Border Protection showed the number of children and families increased by more than 100% between January and February. Kids crossing by themselves rose 60% to more than 9,400, forcing the government to look for new places to hold them temporarily.

WASHINGTON (AP) — A new agreement with South Korea on sharing the cost of keeping U.S. troops on the Korean peninsula is early evidence that President Joe Biden is shifting America’s approach to alliances in Asia and beyond. It shows he will cut allies a break to build unity in competition against China and Russia.

WASHINGTON (AP) — Marking a year of loss and disruption, President Joe Biden will use his first prime-time address since taking office to steer the nation toward a hungered-for sentiment — hope — in the “next phase” of the fight against the pandemic that has killed more than 529,000 Americans.

Previewing his remarks, Biden said he would “talk about what we’ve been through as a nation this past year, but more importantly, I’m going to talk about what comes next.”