USA

UNITED NATIONS, September 24. /TASS/: Western sanctions are aimed, directly or indirectly, against virtually all the remaining countries of the world and should be lifted immediately, Belarusian Foreign Minister Sergey Aleynik told the 78th session of the UN General Assembly.

"Unilateral coercive measures, imposed by the West are aimed against the rest of the world, directly or indirectly. They should be lifted immediately. This is necessitated by the common sense and shared interests of all humankind," the top Belarusian diplomat said.

UNITED NATIONS, September 24. /TASS/: Belarus supports the proposal to expand the UN Security Council by adding new permanent members from Asia, Africa and Latin America, Belarusian Foreign Minister Sergey Aleynik has told the UN General Assembly.

UNITED NATIONS, September 24. /TASS/: The US government plans to set up a military base on a territory of Guyana and Venezuela in order to exacerbate the dispute between the two nations and plunder energy resources, Venezuelan Foreign Minister Yvan Gil Pinto said.

NEW YORK, Sept 24 (NNN-Bernama) — Malaysian Prime Minister Anwar Ibrahim said his four-day visit to the United States has successfully highlighted Malaysia’s stance on global issues and raised the country’s profile on the international stage.

He said the visit also provided an opportunity for him to share the country’s policies and aspirations related to international relations.

El Paso, Sept 24 (Reuters) Sept 23 (Reuters) - The dramatic increase in migrants crossing the U.S. border from Mexico has pushed the city of El Paso, Texas, to "a breaking point," with more than 2,000 people per day seeking asylum, exceeding shelter capacity and straining resources, its mayor said on Saturday.

"The city of El Paso only has so many resources and we have come to ... a breaking point right now," Mayor Oscar Leeser said at a news conference.

Sept 24 (Reuters) - A NASA capsule carrying the largest soil sample ever collected from an asteroid is due to return to Earth on Sunday, expected to streak through the atmosphere and parachute into the Utah desert to deliver its celestial specimen to scientists.

The robotic spacecraft OSIRIS-REx is scheduled to release the gumdrop-shaped capsule, transporting about a cup of gravelly asteroid material, at 6:42 a.m. EDT (1042 GMT) for a final descent to Earth, climaxing a seven-year voyage.

WASHINGTON, Sept. 24 (Xinhua) -- Three people were shot dead in a targeted attack in Atlanta, the southeastern U.S. state of Georgia, on Saturday afternoon, said local police.

Officers responded to a call reporting that someone had been shot in the city's West End neighborhood around 1:30 p.m. (1730 GMT), the Associated Press quoted police as saying.

The shooting occurred near a mall, police said in a news release, adding that a preliminary probe showed a man opened fire at two people, one of whom fired back. All three were shot and died.

CHICAGO, Sept. 23 (Xinhua) -- Negotiations between the United Auto Workers (UAW) and Big Three U.S. automakers continued Saturday as the union's strike against the three enters the 9th day.

On Friday, UAW added 38 General Motors Co. and Stellantis NV parts distribution centers to strike, involving 5,600 workers.

The union is pushing for significant wage increases, an end to the tiered wage system, and cost-of-living increases, among other demands, the Detroit News reported Saturday.

Ford Motor Co. is spared from the expansion of the strike.

UNITED NATIONS, Sept. 23 (Xinhua) -- Russian Foreign Minister Sergei Lavrov on Saturday scorned U.S. double standards over the Golan Heights and the Donbass region in Ukraine.

WASHINGTON (AP) — President Joe Biden is set to establish diplomatic relations Monday with two South Pacific nations, the Cook Islands and Niue, as his administration aims to show to Pacific Island leaders that it is committed to increasing American presence in the region.

The announcement comes as Biden prepares to welcome leaders to Washington for a two-day U.S.-Pacific Island Forum Summit expected to focus heavily on the impact of climate change.