Nation and world news in brief for July 23
US envoy to UN announces $60M in aid for Haiti during visit
UNITED NATIONS/WASHINGTON (Reuters) — The U.S. envoy to the United Nations announced tens of millions of dollars in aid for Haiti during a visit a month after the first contingent of Kenyan police arrived as part of an international security mission aimed at tackling gang violence.
The $60 million in humanitarian assistance announced by Ambassador Linda Thomas-Greenfield while in Haiti will support the country’s people and alleviate suffering caused by gang violence, according to a statement. It will fill critical gaps in nutrition, food security and shelter and improve water and sanitation services, among other support.
The U.S., through the Department of Defense, also will provide a “significant number” of mine-resistant ambush-protected vehicles to the international security mission. The State Department also intends to procure additional armored vehicles to assist mission personnel, according to the statement.
Anti-whaling activist detained in Greenland at Japan’s request
STOCKHOLM (Reuters) — A U.S.-Canadian anti-whaling activist has been detained in Greenland and faces possible extradition to Japan which has issued an international warrant for his arrest, the Arctic island’s police said in a statement.
Paul Watson, founder of the Sea Shepherd activist group and the Captain Paul Watson Foundation, was apprehended on Sunday when his ship docked at the port of Nuuk, police in the Danish autonomous territory added.
Japan, which says eating whale meat is part of its culture, resumed commercial whaling in 2019 and has since modernised its fleet and expanded its catch list, drawing condemnation from conservationists who fear for the fate of the large ocean mammals.
Musk: Tesla to have humanoid robots for internal use next year
(Reuters) — Tesla will have humanoid robots in “low production” for the company’s internal use next year, CEO Elon Musk said on Monday, months after he announced a rollout by the end of 2024.
The automaker will have the robots “hopefully” in high production for other companies in 2026, Musk said in a post on social media platform X.
Musk had said in April that the Tesla robot, called Optimus, would be able to perform tasks in factory by the end of this year and could be ready for sale as soon as the end of 2025.
Humanoid robots have been in development for several years by Japan’s Honda and Hyundai Motor’s Boston Dynamics. Companies are betting on them to meet potential labor shortages and perform repetitive tasks that could be dangerous or tedious such as logistics, warehousing and manufacturing.
Biden’s COVID-19 symptoms almost gone, doctor says
WASHINGTON (TNS) — President Joe Biden is on the road to recovery following his coronavirus infection, his doctor said Monday.
“His symptoms have almost completely subsided,” the 81-year-old president’s personal physician, Kevin O’Connor, wrote in a letter published by the White House.
Biden’s pulse, blood pressure, respiratory rate and temperature are still “absolutely normal,” while his oxygen saturation in room air remains excellent, O’Connor said. “His lungs remain clear.”
The president received his tenth dose of the antiviral drug Paxlovid on Monday morning and continues to fulfil all presidential duties, the doctor said.
Senate panel takes step toward potential Menendez expulsion
WASHINGTON (TNS) — The Senate returns Tuesday as uncertainty looms over the future of Sen. Bob Menendez following his conviction on federal corruption charges, with some members of the Democratic caucus calling for his expulsion if he does not step down.
The 70-year-old New Jersey Democrat has defied calls from fellow Democrats to resign, including from key leadership voices like Senate Majority Leader Charles E. Schumer of New York.
Democrats ramped up pressure on Menendez last week after a federal jury found him guilty on 16 counts, including bribery, extortion and acting as a foreign agent, in a case where the Justice Department accused him and his wife of taking bribes from New Jersey businessmen.
And on Monday, the Senate Ethics Committee notified Menendez’s counsel that panel members unanimously voted to start an adjudicatory review of alleged violations of Senate rules, according to a joint statement from the panel’s top lawmakers, Sens. Chris Coons, D-Del., and James Lankford, R-Okla.
The review, they said, is required when the panel considers disciplinary actions, such as a censure or expulsion.
Couple who attempted to cross Atlantic found dead in lifeboat
(NYT) — The bodies of two sailors who planned to sail from Nova Scotia to the Azores using green energy were found washed ashore at a Canadian national park this month, four weeks after they were last seen, authorities said. The Royal Canadian Mounted Police responded to calls July 10 that a 10-foot inflatable lifeboat containing human remains had been discovered on Sable Island National Park Reserve, according to a news release from the agency. Authorities said they believed the remains were those of the sailors, a 70-year-old man and a 60-year-old woman from British Columbia who had been reported missing June 18.
