USA

15 September 2023; MEMO: The Biden administration, on Thursday, imposed sanctions on five Turkish companies and a Turkish national, accusing them of helping Russia evade sanctions and supporting Moscow in its war against Ukraine, Reuters reports.

According to the report, the companies are accused of helping repair sanctioned vessels tied to Russia’s Defence Ministry and helping the transfer of “dual-use goods”.

16 September 2023; MEMO: The International Monetary Fund (IMF) has urged that Israel lift its restrictions on the Palestinian economy and occupied territories to give way for improving investment opportunities.

UNITED NATIONS, Sept 15 (Reuters) - World leaders meet at the United Nations next week in the shadow of geopolitical tensions - largely fueled by the war in Ukraine - as Russia and China vie with the United States and Europe to win over developing countries.

Russia's war in Ukraine, well into its second year, will again be a focus of the annual gathering in New York, with Ukrainian President Volodymyr Zelenskiy attending in person for the first time since the conflict started.

NEW YORK, Sept 14 (Reuters) - A New York state appeals court judge on Thursday temporarily halted the scheduled Oct. 2 trial in New York Attorney General Letitia James' fraud lawsuit against Donald Trump and his family business, a spokesman for the court said.

The order came after the former U.S. president sued Justice Arthur Engoron, the trial judge overseeing the case, accusing him and James of defying a court order that could narrow the lawsuit, according to a report in the Daily Beast.

NEW YORK, Sept. 15 (Xinhua) -- The United Auto Workers (UAW) union announced late Thursday to begin a strike against all Big Three U.S. automakers.

"The UAW Stand Up Strike begins at all three of the Big Three," the union said in a post on the social media platform X, adding that workers were striking at plants for General Motors, Stellantis and Ford.

The first ever strike of all three at once in the union's 88-year history came after it failed to clinch a deal on a new contract by a deadline on Thursday.

WASHINGTON (AP) — The Justice Department is challenging efforts by former President Donald Trump to disqualify the Washington judge presiding over the case charging him with plotting to overturn the results of the 2020 election.

Prosecutors with special counsel Jack Smith’s team wrote in a court filing late Thursday that there was “no valid basis” for U.S. District Judge Tanya Chutkan to recuse herself.

(AP) --- Mitt Romney’s announcement this week that he will not seek another term in the U.S. Senate came with a distant echo of his father’s departure from politics five decades ago.

Mitt and his father, George Romney, at one time were top Republican contenders for the presidency, but fell short of the White House. Both ended their careers in elected office with a sense their party had lost its bearings. And both called for a more humane party, one that prioritizes civility and principle over resentments and score-settling.

HAMPTON, Va. (AP) — Students were dancing in the aisles and their seats in the Hampton University auditorium long before Vice President Kamala Harris took the stage for the first stop of her fall college tour.

Jaden Clemons and Layth Carpenter, both 18-year-old freshmen, said they viewed Harris as “authentic” and “relatable” as the alum of Howard University, another historically Black school.

WASHINGTON (AP) — As the Biden administration heralds the forthcoming release of five U.S. citizens detained by Iran, President Joe Biden is also confronting questions about the price being paid to bring them — and other detainees — home.

The billions of dollars being unfrozen for Iran and the release of five prisoners charged in America are just the latest sizable concessions by the U.S. government in the name of securing the freedom of wrongfully detained Americans.

WASHINGTON (AP) — President Joe Biden on Friday dispatched two of his top aides to Detroit to help resolve the strike by unionized autoworkers, expressing sympathy for the union by suggesting that the Big 3 automakers should share their “record profits.”

“No one wants to strike,” the Democratic president said in brief remarks at the White House. “But I respect workers’ right to use their options under the collective bargaining system and I understand the workers’ frustration.”