North America

COLDSPRING, Texas (AP) — Sheriff Greg Capers was the classic picture of a Texas lawman as he announced the capture of a suspected mass killer: white cowboy hat on his head, gold star pinned to his chest, white cross on his belt and a large pistol emblazoned with his name on his hip.

WASHINGTON (AP) — As the Russian invasion of Ukraine continues with no end in sight, NATO’s much-celebrated unity faces fresh strains when leaders gather for their annual summit this week in Vilnius, Lithuania.

The world’s biggest security alliance is struggling to reach an agreement on admitting Sweden as its 32nd member. Military spending by member nations still lags behind longstanding goals. And an inability to compromise over who should serve as NATO’s next leader forced an extension of the current secretary general’s term for an extra year.

UNITEDC NATIONS, Jul 08 (APP): Over 9,000 civilians, including over 500 children, have been killed since Russia’s invasion of Ukraine began in February 2022 — 500 days ago, the United Nations said Thursday, as the United States moves to supply cluster weapons to boost the Eastern European country’s military in its fight against Moscow’s entrenched forces.

The UN also warned that the true number of fatalities could be much higher than what they have been able to confirm.

WASHINGTON, July 8. /TASS/: The US decided to supply cluster munitions to Ukraine out of despair, but the move won’t affect Russia’s determination to achieve the goals of its special military operation, Russian Ambassador to the United States Anatoly Antonov said on Friday.

UNITED NATIONS, Jul 8 (NNN-XINHUA) – UN Secretary-General, Antonio Guterres, stands by his condemnation of Israel, for the excessive use of force in Jenin, said his deputy spokesman, yesterday.

At a press encounter at the UN headquarters in New York on Thursday, Guterres condemned Israel for its excessive use of force in Jenin, in the occupied West Bank.

WASHINGTON, July 7 (Reuters) - The U.S. National Transportation Safety Board said on Friday it is investigating an engine fire last week on a Boeing (BA.N) 737-900 MAX plane operated by United Airlines (UAL.O) at Newark Liberty International Airport in New Jersey.

The NTSB said a fire warning light indicator came on after United Airlines Flight 2376 from Fort Lauderdale, Florida landed at Newark on June 28, prompting the crew shut down one of the engines.

MEXICO CITY, July 7 (Reuters) - Two workers died and another remained missing after a raging fire broke out early on Friday morning at an offshore platform run by Mexican state oil company Pemex just off the southern edge of the Gulf of Mexico.

In posts on Twitter, Pemex said it had accounted for all other workers and said oil production had taken a major hit from the blaze.

Video circulating on social media showed the massive platform and its tangle of pipelines engulfed in flames as nearby boats sought to douse the fire with hoses.

July 7 (Reuters) - The United States announced on Friday that it would supply Ukraine with widely banned cluster munitions for its counteroffensive against occupying Russian forces, and NATO's leader said the military alliance would unite at a summit next week on how to bring Ukraine closer to joining.

Rights groups and the United Nations secretary-general questioned Washington's decision on the munitions, part of an $800 million security package that brings total U.S. military aid to more than $40 billion since Russia's February 2022 invasion of Ukraine.

HOUSTON, July 7 (Xinhua) -- The gunman who killed 23 people at an El Paso Walmart in the U.S. state of Texas in 2019 was sentenced to 90 consecutive life terms by a federal judge on Friday.

Prosecutors had recommended Patrick Crusius, a 24-year-old white supremacist targeting Latinos, receive consecutive life sentences for each of the 90 federal charges, including hate crimes and firearms offenses, to which he pleaded guilty.

UNITED NATIONS, July 7 (Xinhua) -- UN Secretary-General Antonio Guterres on Friday called for the continuation of the agreements that allow food and fertilizer exports from Russia and Ukraine.