A juror was excused on Thursday from Donald Trump's criminal trial after saying she felt intimidated because some aspects of her identity had been made public‚ the judge overseeing the case said. Addressing the court‚ the juror said family‚ friends and colleagues had reached out to her after deducing through press accounts that she was on the jury. &;quot;I don't believe at this point that I can be fair and unbiased‚ and let the outside influences not affect my decision-making in the...

China said it “firmly opposes” the U.S. investigation into its maritime‚ logistics and shipbuilding industries‚ calling the move a “mistake on top of a mistake.” In an official statement late Wednesday‚ China’s ministry of commerce said the U.S. provides hundreds of billions of dollars in “discriminatory” subsidies to its domestic industries‚ “yet accuses China of adopting so-called ‘non-market practices.’” “In fact‚ the development of China’s industries is the result of...

A woman who was selected to serve on the jury in former President Donald Trump's criminal trial in New York was excused Thursday after she expressed concerns about being identified publicly and questioned her ability to remain impartial. The juror‚ a young woman who was chosen to serve on Tuesday‚ said she &;quot;definitely has concerns now&;quot; after friends and family asked her if she was a juror‚ based on reports in the media about those who have been selected. &;quot;Aspects of my identity...

LONDON‚ April 18 (Reuters) - The World Health Organization and around 500 experts have agreed for the first time what it means for a disease to spread through the air‚ in a bid to avoid the confusion early in the COVID-19 pandemic that some scientists have said cost lives. The Geneva-based U.N. health agency released a technical document on the topic on Thursday. It said it was the first step towards working out how to better prevent this kind of transmission‚ both for existing diseases like...

A deadly heatwave in West Africa and the Sahel was &;quot;impossible&;quot; without human-induced climate change‚ scientists say. Temperatures soared above 48C in Mali last month with one hospital linking hundreds of deaths to the extreme heat. Researchers say human activities like burning fossil fuels made temperatures up to 1.4C hotter than normal. A separate study on drought in Southern Africa said El Ni&;ntilde;o was to blame‚ rather than climate change. A number of countries in the Sahel region...

For a glimpse of where artificial intelligence is headed in election campaigns‚ look to India‚ the world’s largest democracy‚ as it starts heading to the polls on Friday. An A.I.-generated version of Prime Minister Narendra Modi that has been shared on WhatsApp shows the possibilities for hyperpersonalized outreach in a country with nearly a billion voters. In the video — a demo clip whose source is unclear — Mr. Modi’s avatar addresses a series of voters directly‚ by name. Down the...

Qatar is reconsidering its role as cease-fire broker between Israel and Palestinian militant group Hamas‚ the Gulf state’s prime minister said‚ expressing concerns that Doha’s mediation has been subject to “political exploitation.” In a late-Wednesday statement‚ Sheikh Mohammed bin Abdulrahman Al Thani “lamented the political exploitation by some politicians with narrow interests‚ marketing their electoral campaigns through the defamation of Qatar’s role.” He did not reference any...

President Biden announced sanctions against Iranian steel and drone companies as well as 16 individuals Thursday in response to last weekend’s aerial attack by Tehran against Israel — after years of similar Iranian drones pummeling Ukraine and without clamping down on Iran’s lucrative oil exports. Leading Republicans and Democrats in Congress have asked Biden to consider going after Iranian petroleum revenue in response to Tehran’s support of Hamas terrorists in the Gaza Strip‚ but the...

The United States slapped new sanctions Thursday on 16 people and two entities associated with Iran’s drone program as it looks to punish Tehran for last weekend’s attack on Israel. The sanctions target executives of an engine manufacturer that supplies Iran’s Shahad-131 drones‚ which were used in the onslaught‚ as well as companies that service the engines and individuals associated with providing the drones to Iranian proxy forces throughout the Middle East. The Treasury Department also...

The Biden administration on Thursday announced new sanctions targeting Iran’s drone program for its recent attack on Israel. The sanctions target 16 individuals and two entities involved in Tehran’s drone production. Companies involved in the country’s steel industry and providing vehicles to Iran’s military were also targeted. “Today‚ in coordination with the United Kingdom and in consultation with partners and allies‚ we are taking swift and decisive action to respond to Iran’s...