North America

WASHINGTON, Apr 17 (APP): The Kashmir Diaspora Coalition (KDC) and its six international affiliate advocacy organizations Sunday called on the leaders of Group of 20, an economic cooperation bloc comprising 19 industrialized countries and the European Union, not to participate in the group’s meetings in Indian occupied Kashmir, an internationally recognized disputed territory.

WASHINGTON, April 17 (Reuters) - The U.S. Supreme Court on Monday declined to hear an appeal from a Texas inmate convicted of robbery who argues that the 27 years he was forced by prison officials to spend in solitary confinement violated the constitutional bar against "cruel and unusual."

The justices turned away Dennis Hope's appeal of a lower court's ruling that he had failed to show that his prolonged solitary confinement violated the U.S. Constitution Eighth Amendment prohibition on excessive punishment.

WASHINGTON, April 17 (Reuters) - Republican U.S. House Speaker Kevin McCarthy plans to make his case for cuts in federal spending to accompany a lifting of the government's $31.4 trillion debt ceiling in a speech at the New York Stock Exchange on Monday.

His speech comes as the federal government ticks closer to the moment sometime this summer when it will no longer be able to meet its financial obligations. Without action by the divided Congress, that would trigger a historic default that would shake the U.S. and world economies.

NEW YORK (AP) — Republicans upset with Donald Trump’s indictment are escalating their war on the prosecutor who charged him, trying to embarrass him on his home turf partly by falsely portraying New York City as a place overrun by crime.

The House Judiciary Committee, led by U.S. Rep. Jim Jordan, an Ohio Republican, is holding a field hearing Monday near the offices of Manhattan District Attorney Alvin Bragg.

UNITED NATIONS (AP) — First the Russians gave the U.N. spotlight to the commissioner of children’s rights accused with President Vladimir Putin of war crimes for deporting Ukrainian children to Russia, sparking a walkout by the U.S. and several others.

Then Russia went after the West by claiming it is violating international laws in arming Ukraine, drawing blistering retorts that Ukraine has every right to defend itself against Putin’s invading army.

NEW YORK (AP) — Without citing a reason, the Delaware judge overseeing a voting machine company’s $1.6 billion defamation lawsuit against Fox News announced late Sunday that he was delaying the start of the trial until Tuesday.

The trial, which has drawn international interest, had been scheduled to start Monday morning with jury selection and opening statements.

DADEVILLE, Ala. (AP) — Alabama law enforcement officers Sunday were imploring people to come forward with information about a shooting that killed four people and injured 28 others during a teenager’s birthday party.

Among those killed was a high school senior who planned to play college football and was celebrating his sister’s 16th birthday. The shooting erupted Saturday night at a dance studio in downtown Dadeville.

16 Apr 2023; MEMO: The UN will commemorate Nakba Day, which marks the creation of the state of Israel in historical Palestine, for the first time in 2023, according to media reports Saturday, Anadolu reports.

"Commemorating the Nakba must be at the top of our priorities in order to preserve our narrative, which we must adhere to and convey to the whole world," the Palestinian WAFA news agency quoted Palestinian President Mahmoud Abbas.

16 Apr 2023; MEMO: The UN chief on Saturday condemned the "outbreak of fighting" between the Sudanese army and the paramilitary Rapid Support Forces, Anadolu reports.

"The Secretary-General calls on the leaders of the Rapid Support Forces and the Sudanese Armed Forces to immediately cease hostilities, restore calm and initiate a dialogue to resolve the current crisis," said Stephane Dujarric, spokesperson for UN Secretary-General Antony Guterres.

UNITED NATIONS, April 16 (NNN-AGENCIES) — At a time of terrible divisions in the world, leaders from multiple faiths joined together at UN Headquarters in New York to observe a moment of prayer for peace. 

UN Secretary-General António Guterres noted that the gathering was taking place at a unique moment:  on the last Friday of Ramadan, as Christians celebrate Easter, Jews mark the end of Passover, and Sikhs enjoy the festival of Vaisakhi.   

“Even the calendar is sending a message of unity,” he remarked.