North America

WASHINGTON, December 15. /TASS/: The United States is reinstating its unilateral restrictions on the Iranian uranium enrichment facility in Fordow on December 15. All previous exceptions to the sanctions regime expire on Sunday, an official representative of the US Department of State told TASS.

15 December 2019; AFP: Five years ago this week, Washington and Havana surprised the world when they agreed to reopen diplomatic ties severed in 1961, but relations have since slid downhill as if on a fresh layer of Cold War ice.

United States President Donald Trump has regularly assailed Cuba on Twitter and tightened sanctions over the Communist-run island's human rights record and its support for Venezuela's socialist regime.

WASHINGTON (Reuters) - The U.S. Supreme Court on Friday agreed to hear President Donald Trump’s appeals in three separate cases to prevent his financial records, including tax returns, being handed over to Democratic-led House of Representatives committees and a New York prosecutor.

UNITED NATIONS, Dec. 14 (Xinhua) -- The UN Security Council has called for maximum restraint and urged all to refrain from violence or the destruction of critical infrastructure in demonstrations in Iraq.

The Security Council members expressed "grave concern" at the loss of life of those demonstrating and at the killing, maiming, and arbitrary arrests of unarmed demonstrators, a press statement said on Friday.

NEW ORLEANS (AP) — Officials announced Saturday that no data was held for ransom and that a recovery operation is getting underway after a cyberattack a day earlier triggered a shutdown of city government computers in New Orleans.

Chief Information Officer Kim LaGrue, speaking at a news conference with Mayor LaToya Cantrell and others, said the city hadn’t heard from any hackers or received any demands.

NOLA.com reported that LaGrue described the cyberattack as “minimal” and that officials expect to move quickly to bring computers fully back online.

MEXICO CITY (AP) — Just days after a landmark agreement on a trade pact to replace the North American Free Trade Agreement, Mexico objected Saturday to legislation introduced in the U.S. Congress as part of an eventual ratification of the deal.

ATLANTA (AP) — A shooting that wounded one man in a mall food court sent suburban Atlanta shoppers fleeing in panic Saturday.

The Cobb County Police Department said in a statement that the man was wounded at Cumberland Mall around 1 p.m. following an argument and that the shooting suspect ran away. The victim was taken to a hospital, where Cobb County Police spokeswoman Ofc. Sarah O’Hara said he was in surgery and “expected to survive his injuries.”

Police said they have identified a suspect and are looking for him, but O’Hara provided no further details.

NEW YORK, December 14. /TASS/: The United States has not yet entered the state of cold war with China, US Secretary of Defense Mark Esper told a New York-based think tank, Council on Foreign Relations, on Friday.

"I think it’s premature to call it a cold war," he said when asked whether the United States has entered the Cold War with China.

Commenting on the recent trade agreement with China, Esper said that trade was "an important component of our relationship with China."

WASHINGTON, December 14. /TASS/: The implementation of an agreement that US and China had signed during the first stage of bilateral negotiations will help to de-escalate trade tensions worldwide, Managing Director of the International Monetary Fund (IMF) Kristalina Georgieva said on Friday.

"We welcome today's announcement by China and the United States on "Phase One" trade discussions. When implemented, this will help to de-escalate trade tensions and begin to reverse some of the tariffs imposed by both countries since 2018," Georgieva said in a Twitter post.

NEW YORK, December 14. /TASS/: The United States views Russia and China as its main rivals and is particularly concerned by their growing capabilities in the space and cyber domains, US Secretary of Defense Mark Esper US Secretary of Defense Mark Esper told a New York-based think tank, Council on Foreign Relations, on Friday.