North America

Virginia students were prepared for shooting, not aftermath

CHARLOTTESVILLE, Va. (AP) — Students huddled inside laboratory closets and darkened dorm rooms across the University of Virginia while others moved far away from library windows and barricaded the doors of its stately academic buildings after an ominous warning flashed on their screens: “RUN. HIDE. FIGHT.”

USA: Walmart offers to pay $3.1 billion to settle opioid lawsuits

Retail giant Walmart on Tuesday become the latest major player in the drug industry to announce a plan to settle lawsuits filed by state and local governments over the toll of powerful prescription opioids sold at its pharmacies with state and local governments across the U.S.

The $3.1 billion proposal follows similar announcements Nov. 2 from the two largest U.S. pharmacy chains, CVS Health and Walgreen Co., which each said they would pay about $5 billion.

USA: GOP on cusp of retaking House control with slim majority

WASHINGTON (AP) — Republicans were on the cusp of retaking control of the House late Monday, just one victory shy of the 218 seats the party needs to secure a majority, narrowing the path for Democrats to keep the chamber and raising the prospect of a divided government in Washington.

Democrats have already won control of the Senate, securing 50 seats with a runoff in Georgia next month that could give President Joe Biden’s party an additional seat. The GOP came into the election needing to gain a net of just five seats for House control.

Envoy to demand improvement of conditions for Russians jailed in US at White House meeting

BUTNER /North Carolina/, November 15. /TASS/. Russian Ambassador to Washington Anatoly Antonov plans to raise the issue of softening the conditions of Russians jailed in the US at a meeting with White House officials, as he himself told reporters after visiting Russian citizen Roman Seleznev in prison in Butner, North Carolina.

"Tomorrow (on Tuesday - TASS) I will be at the White House to discuss other things but I will definitely raise the issue of the inhumane imprisonment conditions of Russian nationals," the envoy pointed out.

US Secretary of State Blinken to attend 2022 FIFA World Cup match in Qatar next week

MOSCOW, November 15. /TASS/. US Secretary of State Antony Blinken will attend the 2022 FIFA World Cup in Qatar next week, Politico, a US-based political daily, reported on Tuesday.

According to the report, Blinken is set to attend a match of the quadrennial global football championship on November 21 between the national teams of the United States and Wales.

Politico also stated that the US secretary of state "is also expected to hold talks with Qatari leaders," but did not provide further details.

World's population just hours away from reaching 8 bln

UNITED NATIONS, Nov. 15 (Xinhua) -- The world's population is projected to reach 8 billion on Tuesday, Nov. 15, the United Nations (UN) reminded the international community on Monday.

It is "a milestone in human development," said the UN press release. "This unprecedented growth is due to the gradual increase in human lifespan owing to improvements in public health, nutrition, personal hygiene and medicine."

Canada: Permanent residents can now be part of military; Indians likely to benefit

Toronto, Nov 14 (PTI) The Canadian Armed Forces (CAF) have announced that permanent residents, which includes a large number of Indians, will now be allowed to enlist, as the military struggles with low recruitment levels, according to a media report.

The move also comes five years after the Royal Canadian Mounted Police (RCMP) announced that they're changing their "outdated recruitment process" which will allow permanent residents who have lived in Canada for 10 years to apply, CTV News reported.

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