US calls for vote on UN resolution on troops’ sex abuse

US calls for vote on UN resolution on troops’ sex abuse

UNITED NATIONS

The United States called for a vote today on what would be the first U.N. Security Council resolution to confront the escalating problem of sexual abuse by U.N. peacekeepers, a measure that U.S. Ambassador Samantha Power said is critical to help end sex crimes, especially against children.

In an impassioned speech, Power pressed the United Nations to go further and provide information on why numerous cases were not investigated.

Calif. moves to raise smoking, vaping age

SACRAMENTO, Calif.

California lawmakers voted Thursday to raise the legal age for purchasing and using tobacco and e-cigarettes from 18 to 21, putting the nation’s most-populous state on the brink of becoming only the second after Hawaii to bar teenagers from lighting up, dipping or vaping.

Before it can become law, Democratic Gov. Jerry Brown must sign the legislation, which already has passed the state Assembly. His spokesman said the governor generally does not comment on pending legislation.

Only Hawaii has adopted the higher age limit statewide, although dozens of cities, including New York and San Francisco, have passed similar laws of their own.

1,000 forced from homes in La. floods

ELM GROVE, La.

Huge military trucks rumbled through neighborhoods in northern Louisiana on Thursday in search of families trapped by days of relentless rain, while men in rain gear waded through floodwaters up to their chests to rescue stranded animals.

The process repeated itself throughout the day and similar rescues were possible later Thursday in the southern part of the state, which also braced for heavy rain.

State officials said a 6-year-old girl was among three people killed in Louisiana during two days of severe weather that has left roads covered in water and sent more than 1,000 people fleeing their homes.

Germany: IS files are authentic

BERLIN

Thousands of files have surfaced with personal data on members of the Islamic State group – documents that might help authorities track down and prosecute foreign fighters who returned home after joining the extremists, or identify those who recruited them in the first place.

Germany’s federal criminal police said Thursday they are in possession of the files and believe they are authentic.

The announcement came after Britain’s Sky News reported it had obtained 22,000 Islamic State files that detail the real names of fighters for the group, where they were from, their telephone numbers and even names of those who sponsored and recruited them. In a joint report, Germany’s Sueddeutsche Zeitung newspaper in Munich and broadcasters WDR and NDR reported independently Monday they had obtained “many dozens” of pages of such documents itself.

Nearly 200 cases of Zika reported in US

NEW YORK

Nearly 200 cases of Zika infection have been reported in the U.S. – all traced to travel abroad.

Health officials released the numbers Thursday and pleaded for Congress to provide $1.9 billion to fight the virus in Latin America and help prevent it from spreading to the continental U.S.

Some of the money would go to Puerto Rico, where Zika is spreading locally and 159 cases have been reported.

Associated Press