USA

SAN FRANCISCO, July 31 (Xinhua) -- Facebook announced Tuesday that its security unit has found a coordinated campaign on its platform aiming to exerting political influence ahead of the upcoming U.S. mid-term elections in the next few months.

The world's largest social media network said it has removed 32 Pages and accounts from Facebook and Instagram for being "involved in coordinated inauthentic behavior."

UNITED NATIONS, July 30 (NNN-UNNS) -- The United Nations has welcomed a new law which grants extra autonomy to Muslim communities living in the Southern Philippines, describing it as a “landmark achievement on the road to lasting peace”.

Philippine President, Rodrigo Duterte, signed the new legislation, formally known as the Organic Law for Bangsamoro in the Autonomous Region in Muslim Mindanao, on Thursday, raising hopes that years of separatist violence involving central Government troops and militants from the Moro Islamic Liberation Front, can be brought to an end.

WASHINGTON, July 30 (Xinhua) -- American scientists identified a substance in blood as a biomarker for depression and pointed to a new class of antidepressants that could be freer of side effects and faster-acting than those in current use.

People with depression have low blood levels of acetyl-L-carnitine (LAC), a nutritional supplement that is being sold in drugstores, according to a study published on Monday in the Proceedings of the National Academy of Sciences.

WASHINGTON, July 30 (Xinhua) -- American and Chinese scientists developed a new nanoparticle vaccine that could effectively protect mice against influenza A virus, according to a study published on Monday in the Proceedings of the National Academy of Sciences.

The double-layered vaccine made with peptides showed strong potential for combating influenza viruses, providing a promising approach for developing universal influenza vaccines.

WASHINGTON, July 30 (Xinhua) -- U.S. President Donald Trump said here on Monday that he is ready to meet with Iranian President Hassan Rouhani without preconditions.

"I'd meet with anybody. I believe in meeting," Trump told a joint news conference with visiting Italian Prime Minister Giuseppe Conte, when asked whether he was willing to meet with the Iranian leader.

July 29, 2018; Two gunmen opened fire, killing 3 and wounding 7, on a crowd outside a bar in New Orleans. One of the wounded is in critical condition.

Two males and a female victim "were pronounced dead at the scene," police spokesman Aaron Looney said a statement.

LOS ANGELES, July 29 (NNN-Xinhua) -- At least five people have been killed, more than 500 structures have been destroyed, tens of thousands of people were evacuated and more than 80,000 acres have been burned by a destructive wildfire in the Shasta County in the western U.S. state of California.

Two young children and their 70-year-old great-grandmother died in the wildfire that swept into the city of Redding with devastating speed, their family said Saturday.

By Lalit K Jha

Washington, Jul 27 (PTI); A key Congressional committee has unanimously passed a crucial bill on Tibet under which Chinese officials responsible for discriminating against Americans who try to enter Tibet would be banned from entering the US.

The bill titled 'The Reciprocal Access to Tibet Act', seeking unhindered access to Tibetan areas to US officials, journalists and common citizens, something which is routinely denied by the Chinese government, now moves to the House of Representatives.

Washington, Jul 25 (PTI); President Donald Trump has said the US is ready to make a "real deal" with Iran over its nuclear programme, days after he warned Tehran of historic consequences for threatening America.

Trump in May pulled the US out of the 2015 Iran nuclear agreement struck by the Obama administration by calling it the "the worst" deal ever negotiated.

Addressing the national convention of the Veterans of Foreign Wars, Trump said his administration stands ready for Iran to come back to the negotiating table.

By Lalit K Jha

Washington, Jul 24 (PTI); The US will never trust Russia or its President Vladimir Putin, America's envoy to the UN Nikki Haley has said amidst an uproar over President Donald Trump's alleged bonhomie with his Russian counterpart.

Trump, who met with Putin in Helsinki last week, has been slammed by the US media and political opponents for failing to defend the American intelligence community during a much-talked about Press conference with Putin in Helsinki after their first summit.