New York

United Nations, Sep 4 (PTI) Near-record violence in Afghanistan in the last few weeks creates an atmosphere of mistrust and risks derailing the peace negotiations set to begin soon between the Afghan government and the Taliban, according to a top UN official in the war-ravaged country.

The planned negotiations stem from a landmark pact the US signed with the Taliban in February to promote a peaceful settlement to the Afghan war, the longest overseas military intervention by the American military.

ROCHESTER, N.Y. (AP) — Seven police officers involved in the suffocation death of Daniel Prude in Rochester, New York, were suspended Thursday by the city’s mayor, who said she was misled for months about the circumstances of the fatal encounter.

Prude, 41, who was Black, died when he was taken off life support March 30. That was seven days after officers who encountered him running naked through the street put a hood over his head to stop him from spitting, then held him down for about two minutes until he stopped breathing.

NEW YORK, Sep 03 (APP): Pro-India politicians in the Indian Illegally Occupied Jammu and Kashmir (IIOJK) feel “betrayed, disillusioned and disenfranchised” by New Delhi’s unilateral action to end the disputed state’s special status on August 5, 2019, the New York Times said in a report on the situation in the valley.

“We used to tell the world that Kashmir belongs to India,” Peerzada Lateef Shah, one of the politicians the newspaper described as “moderates” who now repents his past stance, was quoted as saying.

UNITED NATIONS, Sept 3 (NNN-Xinhua) — A United Nations official in Libya urged the Security Council to press for an immediate de-escalation of tensions and a return to negotiations, following the call from rival political leaders for a ceasefire on Aug 21.

“It is becoming a regrettable cliche to appear before you and warn that Libya is at a critical juncture, but yet I am compelled to pronounce these same words again,” Stephanie Williams, the deputy head of the United Nations Support Mission in Libya for political affairs, told Council members via video-teleconference.

UNITED NATIONS, Sept. 2 (Xinhua) -- United Nations Secretary-General Antonio Guterres on Wednesday noted "with concern" the imposition by the United States of sanctions against the Chief Prosecutor of the International Criminal Court (ICC) and another senior official, in the latest of a series of unilateral policy moves against the body.

UNITED NATIONS, Sept. 2 (Xinhua) -- United Nations Secretary-General Antonio Guterres told world leaders on Wednesday that the COVID-19 pandemic has become a game-changer for international peace and security.

The world has "entered a volatile and unstable new phase" in terms of the impact of COVID-19 on peace and security, the UN chief told a virtual meeting with world leaders.

GAME CHANGER

NEW YORK (AP) — When Michael Cohen testified before Congress last year, Republican lawmakers worried aloud that President Donald Trump’s former fixer would parlay the spectacle — and his criminal exploits — into a bestseller.

“It pains me that we are sitting here adding another chapter to his book,” said Rep. Carol Miller of West Virginia.

A year and a half later, Cohen is poised to cash in on a memoir chronicling his time as a Trump acolyte, despite state and federal laws that in many cases ban people from profiting off notoriety caused by their crimes.

(AP) --- A Black man who had run naked through the streets of a western New York city died of asphyxiation after a group of police officers put a hood over his head, then pressed his face into the pavement for two minutes, according to video and records released Wednesday by the man’s family.

UNITED NATIONS, Sep 02 (APP): Prime Minister Imran Khan will address the landmark 75th session of the UN General Assembly (UNGA) via video-link on September 25, according to an initial list of speakers officially released on Tuesday.

The high-level general debate of the 193-member assembly in which the Pakistani leader will speak, traditionally a high-profile annual UN event, will open on September 22.

NEW YORK (AP) — A federal appeals court Tuesday granted President Donald Trump a temporary reprieve in the long-running fight over his tax returns, barring Manhattan’s top prosecutor from getting the records while Trump’s lawyers embark on another bid to overturn the subpoena seeking them.

With a temporary stay in place and Trump expecting a return to the Supreme Court, it’s unlikely that the case will be resolved or any tax returns will be turned over before the November election. The three-judge panel ruled after hearing brief arguments from both sides.