US

Raccoon 'dragged US baby across room' in Philadelphia attack

Four-month-old Jourini Black suffered claw marks to the face when the raccoon attacked her while she slept then dragged her across the floor.

"She was laying on the floor - across the room - blood all over her face and her PJs," her mother told US media.

The girl has undergone surgery but could take a year for her to fully recover.

Her mother, Ashley Rodgers, says the attack happened late on Wednesday when she took her other child, a six-year-old boy, to the bathroom.

"We heard a sound upstairs and we see a raccoon run down the steps," she told CBS News.

Kava craze hits the USA

Kavafied is the brain child of former NFL player Matt Masifilo, who developed a simple and quick way to make kava at the end of his 2014 season with the Tampa Bay Buccaneers. 

He says people in the USA are catching on to the kava craze and the demand for the Pacific Island beverage is at an all-time high.

“There’s not enough kava right now to meet demand, especially with the phenomenon of the American kava bar scene that’s exploding on to the market right now."

Donald Trump signs directive to send astronauts back to Moon

It will focus on long-term explorations and use of the Moon's surface, in partnership with the private sector.

Mr Trump also said the program would lay the foundation for an eventual mission to Mars, although he did not give a date for this.

Correspondents say any realistic effort will probably need Congress to agree to a big funding boost.

There is bipartisan support for further space exploration but parties disagree over the timeline and budget.

US recognises Jerusalem as Israeli capital

"This is a long overdue step to advance the peace process and work towards a lasting agreement," the US president said.

"Today we finally acknowledge the obvious, that Jerusalem is Israel's capital."

He acknowledged there would be disagreement and dissent but said the announcement marked the beginning of a new approach to the Israel-Palestinian conflict.

Mr Trump's decision, a core pledge of his election campaign last year, will upend decades of American policy that has seen the status of Jerusalem as part of a "two-state solution" for Israelis and Palestinians.

US urges all nations to cut ties with Pyongyang

Speaking at the UN Security Council, US envoy Nikki Haley said President Trump had asked his Chinese counterpart to cut off oil supplies to Pyongyang.

She said the US did not seek conflict but that North Korea's regime would be "utterly destroyed" if war broke out.

The warning came after Pyongyang tested its first missile in two months.

US adds North Korea to list of state sponsors of terror

In a cabinet meeting, he said the move would trigger "very large" additional sanctions to be announced on Tuesday.

Mr Trump blamed the country's nuclear programme, and support for what he called international acts of terrorism.

While announcing the decision, the US president said it "should have happened a long time ago".

Mr Trump said that North Korea had "repeatedly supported international acts of terrorism" and added that the regime must act lawfully and also cease its nuclear weapons programme.

US expects Manus refugees will be resettled

Fifty-four refugees from Australian offshore detention on Manus and Nauru arrived in the US in September, under a deal to resettle up to 1250 refugees.

The embassy said this was the first group to be resettled and that all refugee cases proceed with different timeframes.

It said the White House confirmed in January that the US would honor the arrangement with Australia to consider resettling refugees from Nauru and Papua New Guinea, who are of special interest to the United Nations refugee agency due to their high level of vulnerability.

Donald Trump calls for end of 'green card' immigration lottery

Australian style merit-based immigration.

Paris accord: US and Syria alone as Nicaragua signs

The deal unites the world's nations in tackling climate change.

Nicaragua refused to sign it last year, arguing that it did not go far enough to tackle the problem.

In June President Donald Trump said the US would withdraw from the deal, but the rules of the agreement state that this cannot be done until 2020.

The president said it was part of his "solemn duty to protect America" and he would seek a new deal that would not disadvantage US businesses.

North Korea urges Australia to distance itself from US

The note denounces the US president's warning that America would destroy North Korea if forced to defend itself.

Australian PM Malcolm Turnbull said the letter had been sent to other nations.

He said it demonstrated that diplomatic pressure on North Korea was working, despite the document being "basically a rant" consistent with earlier rhetoric.

The one-page letter was sent via North Korea's embassy in Indonesia and attributed to the Foreign Affairs Committee of Pyongyang's Supreme People's Assembly.