North America

WASHINGTON (AP) — Former White House national security adviser Michael Flynn told the special counsel’s office that people connected to the Trump administration and Congress sought to influence his cooperation with the Russia investigation, and he provided a voicemail recording of one such communication, prosecutors said in a court filing made public Thursday.

Meanwhile, the judge in the case ordered that portions of special counsel Robert Mueller’s report that relate to Flynn be unredacted and made public by the end of the month.

MANAGUA, May 16 (Xinhua): Buildings in Nicaragua swayed and some were evacuated on Thursday after a powerful earthquake and aftershocks hit the region in the Pacific, according to official reports.

According to a government report, the focus of the quake, which occurred at 10:28 a.m. local time (1628 GMT), was located 56 km west of Jiquilillo in the western region of the country at a depth of 32 km.

Rosario Murillo, vice president of Nicaragua, said that the magnitude of the earthquake was 6.3 on the Richter scale.

UNITED NATIONS, May 16 (Xinhua): The United Nations on Thursday called for "maximum restraint" from all parties amid heightened tensions between Iran and the United States and in the Gulf region.

"We are very concerned about the volatility of the situation. We call on everyone to exercise maximum restraint, prevent any escalation of and heightening of tensions," Stephane Dujarric, spokesman for UN Secretary-General Antonio Guterres, told reporters.

WASHINGTON, May 16 (Xinhua): U.S. President Donald Trump unveiled a plan on Thursday to reform the nation's immigration system, intended to favor high-skilled immigrants and restrict family-based migration.

Speaking at the White House, Trump said that his plan aims to create a "fair, modern and lawful system of immigration for the United States."

WASHINGTON, May 16 (Xinhua): U.S. President Donald Trump on Thursday held back from further escalating tension with Iran.

When asked by a reporter at the White House on Thursday morning about whether the United States was going to war with Iran, Trump replied "I hope not."

Washington has piled up military pressure on Tehran over the past week by intensifying deployment including an aircraft carrier group to the Middle East following U.S. intelligence information revealing "an escalating of threatening actions" from Iran.

WASHINGTON, May 16. /TASS/: Russian national Maria Butina jailed in the United States has filed a petition with the United States Court of Appeals against the District of Columbia Circuit’s verdict, sentencing her to an 18-month prison term, according to her appeal.

"I, the above named appellant, hereby appeal to the United States Court of Appeals for the District of Columbia Circuit from the above-stated judgment," the document says.

The statement says that the Russian woman is currently held at Oklahoma’s Grady County Jail.

16 May 2019; AFP: President Donald Trump on Wednesday pardoned disgraced British media mogul Conrad Black, who served more than three years in prison in the US for fraud and obstruction of justice.

"In 2007, prosecutors alleged that Lord Black had committed several acts of mail fraud and obstruction. The Supreme Court of the United States, however, largely disagreed and overturned almost all charges in his case," the White House said in a statement announcing the pardon.

16 May 2019; DW: Borussia Dortmund's Youssoufa Moukoko recently signed a deal worth a reported €10 million with Nike. At just 14 years old, it's a risky move for all parties involved and it isn't guaranteed to pay off in the long run.

Few would blink twice at a headline reading 'Borussia Dortmund star signs €10 million ($11.26 million) sponsorship deal.' But when the deal involves a 14-year-old it naturally garners more attention.

NEW YORK, May 15 (APP): U.S. Senator Bernie Sanders, who is a candidate for the Democratic Party’s presidential nomination, has warned that war with Iran would be “many times worse than the Iraq War,” in response to a report in The New York Times saying that the Trump administration is reviewing a plan to send up to 120,000 troops to the Middle East amid growing tensions with Tehran.

The idea was reportedly spearheaded by John Bolton, President Donald Trump’s national security adviser, who served in the George W. Bush administration at the height of the conflict in Iraq.

16 May 2019; DW: The United States claims militia with ties to Iran are planning attacks against its personnel in Iraq. Whether true or not, tensions between Iran and the US are putting Iraq in a tough position.

The United States on Wednesday ordered all non-essential American diplomatic personnel out of Iraq amid heightened tensions with Iran.