New York

NEW YORK, July 19 (Reuters) - A federal judge on Wednesday rejected Donald Trump's request for a new trial after a jury found the former U.S. president liable for sexually abusing and defaming the writer E. Jean Carroll and awarded her $5 million.

In a 59-page decision, U.S. District Judge Lewis Kaplan in Manhattan also dismissed Trump's arguments for reducing damages to less than $1 million.

Kaplan said the unanimous May 9 verdict was "almost entirely in favor of Ms. Carroll," and neither a "seriously erroneous result" nor a "miscarriage of justice."

NEW YORK, July 19 (Xinhua) -- The economic and trade ties between China and the United States connect both sides of the Pacific and are as inseparable as "threads and needles," Chinese Consul General in New York Huang Ping said here Tuesday.

UNITED NATIONS (AP) — North Korea’s U.N. ambassador defended his country’s recent long-range missile launch in a rare appearance at the U.N. Security Council on Thursday where he also accused the United States of driving the situation in northeast Asia “to the brink of nuclear war.”

UNITED NATIONS, July 17 (Xinhua) -- UN Secretary-General Antonio Guterres on Monday said he regretted Russia's decision to withdraw from the Black Sea Grain Initiative.

"I deeply regret the decision by the Russian Federation to terminate the implementation of the Black Sea Initiative, including the withdrawal of Russian security guarantees for navigation in the northwestern part of the Black Sea," Guterres said.

UN, July 17. /TASS/: Moscow’s decision to quit the grain deal also means termination of Russia’s commitments on the Memorandum of Understanding with the United Nations to the agreement, UN Secretary-General Antonio Guterres said on Monday.

NEW YORK (AP) — Donald Trump and Ron DeSantis are dominating the fight for campaign cash in the Republican presidential contest, according to federal filings made public Saturday. While some struggled, like former Vice President Mike Pence, others reported significant hauls that help ensure the GOP’s 2024 primary will be crowded for the foreseeable future.

On the Democratic side, President Joe Biden’s reelection campaign has quickly amassed a sizeable fortune. But longshot Democratic primary opponent Robert Kennedy Jr. also raised enough to ensure he won’t be ignored.

UNITED NATIONS, Jul 16 (APP): Pakistan has called for a coordinated effort to help the vulnerable nations of the Asia-Pacific region confront many climate change-related challenges like floods, heat waves, water shortages and melting glaciers.

“Together, we can build a world where climate action and sustainable development go hand in hand, leaving no one behind,” Romina Khurshid Alam, Special Assistant to the prime minister, told a U.N. conference on Sunday.

UNITED NATIONS, July 16. /TASS/: The United Nations Security Council will hold a meeting on the situation in Ukraine on Monday, which will be attended by top diplomats from a number of countries, Russian First Deputy Permanent Representative to the United Nations Dmitry Polyansky said on Sunday.

NEW YORK (AP) — Republican presidential contender Ron DeSantis is cutting campaign staff as he struggles to catch former President Donald Trump in the GOP’s crowded primary contest while facing unexpected financial pressure.

DeSantis, the Florida governor, let go fewer than 10 paid staffers late last week to help reduce operating expenses, according to a DeSantis aide granted anonymity to discuss internal campaign strategy. The staffers were involved in event planning and may soon join a pro-DeSantis super PAC.

NEW YORK, Jul 15 (APP): Nearly a month after the sinking of an overloaded boat off the Greek coast where 700 people, including Pakistanis, were killed, a prominent global humanitarian body has called on the European Union (EU) to ensure a “full, transparent” investigation into the tragedy.