North America

NEW YORK (AP) — Frank James posted dozens of videos ranting about race, violence and his struggles with mental illness. One stands out for its relative calm: A silent shot of a packed New York City subway car in which he raises his finger to point out passengers, one by one.

Even as police arrested James on Wednesday in the Brooklyn subway shooting that wounded 10 people, they were still searching for a motive from a flood of details about the 62-year-old Black man’s life.

Washington, Apr 14 (PTI) The US should help India address its defence needs so as to reduce its dependence on Russia, an influential Indian-American community leader has quoted a top Republican Senator as saying.

According to the Congressional Research Service (CRS) report, since 2010, Russia has been the source of nearly two-thirds (62 per cent) of all Indian arms imports and India has been the largest Russian arms importer, accounting for nearly one-third (32 per cent) of all Russian arms exports.

Washington, Apr 14 (AP) In anticipation of a new Russian offensive in eastern Ukraine, President Joe Biden has approved an 800 million package of military assistance, including additional helicopters and the first provision of American artillery.

The Ukrainians also will receive armored personnel carriers, armored Humvees, naval drone vessels used in coastal defense, and gear and equipment used to protect soldiers in chemical, biological, nuclear and radiological attacks.

13 April 2022; MEMO: Israeli diamond traders are helping to fund President Vladimir Putin's war in Ukraine, according to a report in the Haaretz. It's claimed that a loophole in US law allows traders to sell Russian diamonds if they come via Israel.

NEW YORK, April 13 (NNN-Xinhua) — Global COVID-19 cases topped 500 million on Tuesday, according to the Center for Systems Science and Engineering at Johns Hopkins University.

The global case count amounted to 500,074,490, with 6,183,035 deaths worldwide showed the data.

The United States reported 80,456,912 cases and 986,019 deaths, both the highest counts around the world, accounting for more than 16 percent of the global cases and more than 16 percent of the global deaths.

UNITED NATIONS, April 13 (Reuters) - Poor countries face economic ruin from simultaneous crises of food, energy and finance due to supply disruptions caused by Russia's invasion of Ukraine, U.N. Secretary-General Antonio Guterres said on Wednesday.

Russia is the world's top exporter of combined oil and gas, and Russia and Ukraine are both major producers of grain, together accounting for around a third of global exports. World commodity prices have hit records, hurting countries that rely on imports.

WASHINGTON, April 13 (Reuters) - The World Bank, International Monetary Fund, UN World Food Program and World Trade Organization on Wednesday called for urgent, coordinated action on food security, and appealed to countries to avoid banning food or fertilizer exports.

In a joint statement, the leaders of the four institutions warned that the war in Ukraine was adding to existing pressures from the COVID-19 crisis, climate change and increased fragility and conflict, threatening millions of people worldwide.

WASHINGTON (AP) — Mentions of Donald Trump have been rare at the first few trials for people charged with storming the U.S. Capitol, but that has changed: The latest Capitol riot defendant to go on trial is blaming his actions on the former president and his false claims about a stolen election.

Dustin Byron Thompson, an Ohio man charged with stealing a coat rack from the Capitol, doesn’t deny that he joined the mob on Jan. 6, 2021. But his lawyer vowed Tuesday to show that Trump abused his power to “authorize” the attack.

SAN FRANCISCO (AP) — California’s first-in-the-nation reparations task force meets in person Wednesday, the first time members have gathered face-to-face since their inaugural meeting nearly a year ago and mere weeks after the group voted to limit restitution to descendants of enslaved Black people.

SALADO, Texas (AP) — Nearly two dozen people were injured when tornadoes swept through central Texas as part of a storm system that was expected to spawn more twisters and damaging winds Wednesday.

The storms caused widespread damage Tuesday in Salado, about 50 miles (80 kilometers) north of Austin. Bell County Judge David Blackburn said 23 people were injured, one of them critically. Twelve of the injured were taken to hospitals, Blackburn said.