North America

UNITED NATIONS (AP) — Russia’s top diplomat warned Tuesday that the European Union “is becoming militarized at a record rate” and aggressive in its goal of containing Russia.

Foreign Minister Sergey Lavrov told a news conference he has no doubts that there is now “very little difference” between the EU and NATO.

Lavrov said they recently signed a declaration, which he said essentially states that the 31-member NATO military alliance will ensure the security of the 27-member EU political and economic organization.

CAMBRIDGE, Mass. (AP) — Former New Zealand Prime Minister Jacinda Ardern, who led her country through a devastating mass shooting, will be temporarily joining Harvard University later this year, Kennedy School Dean Douglas Elmendorf said Tuesday.

Ardern, a global icon of the left and an inspiration to women around the world, has been appointed to dual fellowships at the Harvard Kennedy School. She will serve as the 2023 Angelopoulos Global Public Leaders Fellow and a Hauser Leader in the school’s Center for Public Leadership beginning this fall.

WASHINGTON (AP) — Geraldine Tyler, now 94, lost her one-bedroom condo in Minneapolis over $2,300 in unpaid taxes, plus interest and penalties. Hennepin County sold the apartment for $40,000 and kept every penny.

Tyler’s lawyers say the county violated constitutional protections against having property taken without “just compensation” and excessive fines. The Supreme Court, which hears arguments Wednesday, will decide.

NEW YORK (AP) — New York prosecutors have asked a judge to bar Donald Trump from using evidence from his criminal case to attack witnesses, citing what they say is the former president’s history of making “harassing, embarrassing, and threatening statements” about people he’s tangled with in legal disputes.

WASHINGTON (AP) — No honking geese are likely to interrupt his speeches this time.

As President Joe Biden seeks a second term, he won’t have to depend on glitchy Zoom connections, or deliver remarks in largely vacant theaters with attendees in chairs ringed by circle markings on the floor to ensure enough social distancing. His advisors won’t scrutinize the 1918 flu outbreak for clues on pandemic-era voting.

WASHINGTON (AP) — A ground assault by the Taliban killed the Islamic State militant who spearheaded the August 2021 suicide bombing at the Kabul airport that left 13 U.S. troops and about 170 Afghans dead during the chaotic U.S. withdrawal from Afghanistan, U.S. officials said Tuesday.

Initially, neither the U.S. — nor apparently the Taliban — were aware that the mastermind was dead. He was killed during a series of battles early this month in southern Afghanistan between the Taliban and the Islamic State group’s affiliate, according to several officials.

UNITED NATIONS, Apr 25 (APP): Meat, eggs and milk offer crucial sources of much-needed nutrients which cannot easily be obtained from plant-based foods, a new report issued Tuesday by the Food and Agriculture Organization (FAO), a Rome-based UN agency, says.

This is particularly vital during key life stages such as pregnancy and lactation, childhood, adolescence and older age, says the study, entitled Contribution of terrestrial animal source food to healthy diets for improved nutrition and health outcomes, according to the report.

HAVANA, April 25 (NNN-ACN) — Željka Cvijanović, president of Bosnia and Herzegovina, arrived Monday in Cuba for an official visit that will last until April 26.

The Bosnian head of state will hold talks with local authorities and carry out other activities of interest, informed the Cuban foreign ministry.

HOUSTON, April 25 (NNN-XINHUA) — Nine teenagers were injured in a shooting at an after-prom party over the weekend in Jasper, south-central US state Texas, Jasper County Sheriff’s Office said in a statement.

Shortly after midnight on Sunday, police officers responded to the gunfire at a residence about 130 miles northeast of Houston, it said, adding that “upon arrival, nine victims were found to have non-life-threatening gunshot wounds.”

According to the ongoing investigation, about 250 people were present at the party.

WASHINGTON, April 25 (Reuters) - U.S. President Joe Biden on Tuesday formally launched his 2024 re-election bid, promising protection against right-wing extremists and highlighting the Jan. 6, 2021, attack on the U.S. Capitol by supporters of then-President Donald Trump.

Vowing to "finish this job" of leading America, Biden also vowed to fight efforts to limit women's healthcare, cut Social Security and ban books as well as so-called MAGA extremists -- a reference to supporters of Trump, who is also running for a second term in 2024 after losing to Biden in 2020.