North America

Seattle (US), Aug 11 (AP) A "suicidal" airline mechanic stole an empty Alaska Airlines plane and took off from Sea-Tac International Airport in Washington state before crashing near a small island, officials said.

Preliminary information suggests that the 29-year-old mechanic stole the Horizon Air Q400 and the crash occurred because the person was "doing stunts in air or lack of flying skills," the Pierce County Sheriff's Department said.

MOSCOW, August 10. /TASS/. Russia has blocked Washington’s bid to expand sanctions against North Korea at a UN Security Council committee, because the US stance is entirely unconvincing, the Russian Foreign Ministry said in a statement on Friday.

10 Aug 2018; AFP: Vice President Mike Pence on Thursday unveiled details of plans to build a US Space Force that would become the sixth branch of America's massive military, saying the time has come to prepare for "the next battlefield."

President Donald Trump ordered the creation of Space Force in June, arguing the Pentagon needs it to tackle vulnerabilities in space and assert US dominance in orbit.

WASHINGTON, August 9. /TASS/. Washington has not provided any facts and evidence to prove Moscow’s involvement in the Skripal incident, the Russian embassy in the United States said in a statement.

"On August 8, 2018, our Deputy Chief of Mission was informed in the State Department of new "draconian" sanctions against Russia for far-fetched accusations of using the "Novichok" nerve agent against a UK citizen S.Skripal and his daughter by the "Russian Government". We grew accustomed to not hearing any facts or evidence," the statement reads.

SAN FRANCISCO, Aug. 7 (Xinhua) -- Tourism experts warn that the booming U.S. tourism industry may take a hit by the escalating trade tensions between the United States and China.

"There will be impacts on the tourism. The question is how long. We hope it's temporary," Barry Lin, vice general manager of destination marketing services at Chinese online travel agency Tuniu, told Xinhua on Tuesday.

Washington, Aug 8 (PTI) The IMF today described the Goods and Services Tax (GST) as a "milestone reform" in India's tax policy, but pushed for a simplified structure, saying the multiple rate structure and other features could give rise to high compliance and administrative costs.

In its annual country report, the International Monetary Fund also said that a dual rate structure with a low standard rate and an additional higher rate on select items can be progressive and preserve revenue neutrality.

By Yoshita Singh

New York, Aug 8 (PTI) US President Donald Trump has nominated a prominent Indian-American law professor and legal expert to an agency on privacy and civil liberties.

Aditya Bamzai, a professor at University of Virginia's School of Law, has been nominated by Trump to be a member of the Privacy and Civil Liberties Oversight Board for the remainder of a six-year term expiring January, 29, 2020.

By Yoshita Singh

New York, Aug 8 (PTI) A US Navy veteran has been sentenced to three consecutive life sentences on hate crime charges for killing Indian engineer Srinivas Kuchibhotla and wounding two others after he thought they were Iranians at a suburban Kansas City bar last year.

Adam Purinton of Olathe shot and killed Kuchibhotla, and wounded two others Indian national Alok Madasani and Kansas resident Ian Grillot at Austins Bar & Grill in Olathe, Kansas, in February 2017.

Washington, Aug 7 (AFP) US President Donald Trump today said that sanctions reimposed on Iran were the "most biting ever" as he warned other countries from doing business with Tehran.

"The Iran sanctions have officially been cast. These are the most biting sanctions ever imposed, and in November they ratchet up to yet another level," he wrote in an early morning tweet.

UNITED NATIONS, Aug 7 (APP): Marking the 73rd anniversary of the U.S. atomic bomb attack on the Japanese city of Hiroshima, the top United Nations disarmament official has voiced concern that after decades of momentum towards a nuclear-free world, “progress has stalled.”