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UNITED NATIONS, Aug. 20 (Xinhua) -- A UN humanitarian official said Tuesday that many aid programs in Yemen are closing down due to the slow fulfillment of funding pledges for the conflict-torn country.

Ursula Mueller, UN assistant secretary-general for humanitarian affairs, told the Security Council that "only 34 percent of plan requirements have been met," while "at this time last year, the plan was 65 percent funded."

At a UN conference in February, donors pledged 2.6 billion U.S. dollars for Yemen humanitarian aid, led by Saudi Arabia and the United Arab Emirates.

UNITED NATIONS (AP) — U.S. Secretary of State Mike Pompeo told the U.N. Security Council on Tuesday that greater cooperation and “fresh thinking to solve old problems” are needed in the Middle East — but he also condemned Iran and its proxies for continuing “to foment terror and unrest” in the region.

NEW YORK (AP) — When Donald Trump assumed the presidency, conservative religious leaders drew up “wish lists’ of steps they hoped he’d take to oppose abortion and rein in the LGBTQ-rights movement. With a flurry of recent actions, Trump’s administration is now winning their praise for aggressively fulfilling many of their goals.

Mat Staver, president of the legal advocacy organization Liberty Counsel, said Trump has fulfilled about 90% of the goals on a list that Staver and other conservative leaders compiled.

NEW YORK, Aug 20 (APP): Hundreds of Pakistani-Americans gathered in Edison in the neighbouring US state of New Jersey on Sunday for the Pakistan Independence Day Parade marking 72nd anniversary of the establishment of their homeland.

Men, women and children — mostly clad in national dresses — chanted slogans in support of Kashmiri people’s struggle for freedom from India’s yoke and an end to their sufferings. They also raised vociferous slogans of “Pakistan Zinda Bad” and “Quaid-e-Azam Zinda Bad” slogans.

UNITED NATIONS, Aug. 19 (Xinhua) -- The United Nations held a wreath-laying ceremony Monday to commemorate its 22 staffers killed in the 2003 attack in the Iraqi capital of Baghdad.

The ceremony took place at Memorial Wall inside the UN General Assembly Visitors Lobby, where a flag retrieved from the bombing site is framed and preserved.

UN Deputy Secretary-General Amina Mohammed led a minute of silence in honor of all the UN personnel who sacrificed their lives in the service of the world body.

NEW YORK (AP) — Jeffrey Epstein signed a will just two days before he killed himself in jail, new court records show, opening a new legal front in what could be a long battle over the financier’s fortune.

Court papers filed last week in the U.S. Virgin Islands list no details of beneficiaries but valued the estate at more than $577 million, including more than $56 million in cash.

NEW YORK (AP) — After five years of investigations and protests, the New York City Police Department on Monday fired an officer involved in the 2014 chokehold death of Eric Garner, the black man whose dying gasps of “I can’t breathe” gave voice to a national debate over race and police use of force.

Police Commissioner James O’Neill said he fired Daniel Pantaleo, who is white, based on a recent recommendation of a department disciplinary judge.

19 August 2019; DW: The UN has warned that hostility towards Venezuelan refugees in neighboring countries will grow if aid is not increased. Of the more than $700 million that had been sought, less than $180 million has been received.

UN High Commissioner for Refugees Filippo Grandi made a plea on Sunday to increase humanitarian aid for Venezuelan refugees, as the new arrivals are overwhelming social services and sparking local tensions in neighboring countries.

NEW YORK (AP) — A homeless man from West Virginia faced charges Saturday for allegedly placing two devices that looked like pressure cookers in a New York City subway station, forcing an evacuation and snarling the morning commute, police said.

Larry Kenton Griffin II, of Bruno, West Virginia, was awaiting arraignment late Saturday in Manhattan’s central booking after he was released from a New York hospital where he was being treated and under observation. Police did not specify what, if any, injuries or condition he was being treated for.

17 August 2019; DW: Although the Security Council told India and Pakistan to resolve the Kashmir dispute bilaterally, it didn't call a formal meeting or issue a statement. Some analysts dubbed the response "lukewarm."

Members of the United Nations Security Council on Friday refrained from calling for an emergency session on the disputed Kashmir region.

Instead, they urged India and Pakistan to resolve the matter bilaterally.