New York

Judge sentences man who sent pipe bombs to Dems to 20 years

NEW YORK (AP) — A Florida amateur body builder who admitted sending pipe bombs to prominent Democrats and CNN was sentenced to 20 years in prison Monday by a judge who concluded the bombs purposely were not designed to explode.

Cesar Sayoc, 57, wept and crossed himself, appearing relieved, when U.S. District Judge Jed S. Rakoff announced the sentence.

Prosecutors had urged a life prison term for Sayoc, who pleaded guilty earlier this year after mailing 16 pipe bombs days before the midterm elections last fall.

Pakistan calls for steps to protect children in conflict zones, occupied territories

UNITED NATIONS, Aug 5 (APP): A Pakistani delegate has urged the international community to find effective ways to protect children in conflict zones and occupied territories where, he said, they continue to suffer as their rights are violated.

“In conflict zones and occupied territories, we are witnessing a deeply troubling breakdown in humanity and a diminishing respect for human life and dignity,” Haseeb Gohar, the Pakistani delegate, told the UN Security Council.

UN chief regrets ending of US-Russia arms control pact

UNITED NATIONS, Aug 3 (APP): United Nations (UN) Secretary-General Antonio Guterres has expressed his “deep regret” that the landmark Intermediate-Range Nuclear Forces (INF) Treaty between the United States and Russia came to an end.

In a statement issued by his spokesperson, the UN chief recalled that he had “consistently called on both the United States and Russian Federation to resolve their differences through the consultation mechanisms provided for in the Treaty and regrets they have been unable to do so”.

Indonesia calls for solution to end violations against children in armed conflict

UNITED NATIONS, Aug. 2 (Xinhua) -- Indonesia will take "clear and constructive" approach to find the best tailor-made solution to end and prevent grave violations against children in each conflict situation, a diplomat from the country said on Friday.

NYPD judge recommends firing officer in Eric Garner death

NEW YORK (AP) — In a reckoning five years in the making, an administrative judge on Friday recommended firing a New York City police officer over the 2014 chokehold death of an unarmed black man whose dying cries of “I can’t breathe” fueled a national debate over policing, race and the use of force.

Leaders of religious right balk at labeling Trump a racist

NEW YORK (AP) — Many religious leaders have strongly condemned President Donald Trump’s disparaging remarks about minority members of Congress. Prominent figures on the religious right have not joined in, instead maintaining public silence or insisting that Trump’s tactics reflect hard-nosed politics rather than racism.

“He does not judge people by the color of their skin,” said the Rev. Robert Jeffress, pastor of the Southern Baptist megachurch First Baptist Dallas and a frequent guest at the White House.

UN Security Council to meet on DPRK missile launches: sources

UNITED NATIONS, July 31 (Xinhua) -- United Nations Security Council will hold a closed-door meeting Thursday to discuss the latest ballistic missile launches by the Democratic People's Republic of Korea (DPRK), diplomatic sources said Wednesday.

According to a media alert issued by UN's Media Accreditation & Liaison Unit (MALU), the meeting will be held in the Security Council's consultations room Thursday morning to discuss "program of work" and "other matters."

MALU did not specify what "other matters" refer to.

Judge sets tentative date for Jeffrey Epstein’s trial

NEW YORK (AP) — A subdued Jeffrey Epstein listened passively in court Wednesday as a judge said he won’t face trial on sex trafficking charges before June 2020, and more likely a few months afterward.

There was no mention at the Manhattan federal court appearance or any visible sign of injuries after the 66-year-old financier was found on the floor of his cell last week with neck bruises.

Epstein’s lawyer, Martin Weinberg, refused to say what might have left his client with the bruises after the court hearing.

UN report says grave violations against children increase in 2018

UNITED NATIONS, July 30 (Xinhua) -- A UN report released Tuesday documented that the level of grave violations against children worldwide last year was on the raise.

The 2018 Annual Report on Children and Armed Conflict said that more than 24,000 grave violations against children were verified by the United Nations in 20 country situations.

UN envoy says Libya migrant detention centers should be shuttered

UNITED NATIONS, July 29 (Xinhua) -- A UN envoy said Monday that the detention centers for migrants in Libya should be shuttered amid insecurity resulted from the fighting around the capital Tripoli.

Ghassan Salame, UN secretary-general's special representative for Libya, told the Security Council that over 5,000 refugees and migrant people are being held at detention centers run by a government agency, of which 3800 are exposed to the ongoing fighting.

"What is required is that they be shuttered," he stressed.

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