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Secretary of State Antony Blinken issued a statement Friday, arguing that “there is no reasonable justification for Taiwan’s continued exclusion” from the World Health Assembly (WHA), an annual international gathering of just about every nation in the world set to take place on May 24. While Taiwan is viewed by the United Nations as part of China, the U.S. feels it deserves it own seat at the table, especially given its early, effective response to the COVID-19 pandemic, which was first observed in China’s Hubei province....

The Russian embassy in Washington, D.C. wrote in a Facebook post that it had sent a diplomatic note to the U.S. State Department outlining that dozens of phone lines at the New York consulate general no longer worked and that it had also had problems with its internet access. The Russian mission in New York tweeted: “From January 18, the American side has completely disconnected all city telephone lines of the Consulate General of Russia in New York,” adding that there were “periodic interruptions in internet access....

The USDA predicts grocery store and supermarket prices will increase by another 3 to 4 percent in 2022 and are “expected to exceed historical averages and the inflation rate in 2021.” The report also said the Consumer Price Index, an overall measure of economy-wide inflation, increased by 7.9 percent between February 2021 and February 2022. The USDA said the food price increases were due to rises in costs in many different food categories—such as chickens, eggs and dairy—rather than just one or a few....

The number of deaths associated with COVID-19 in the U.S. was officially reported at nearly 600,000, but the newest statistics point to increasing amounts of evidence that the number of deaths connected to the coronavirus whether directly or indirectly is far greater than officially reported. Experts believe the increase in death rates can partly be attributed to people staying away from hospitals in an attempt to prevent catching COVID-19, even if they had life-threatening symptoms....

“At approx. 7:44 PM local time, U.S. Forces in Syria were attacked by multiple rockets,” U.S.-led coalition spokesperson Army Colonel Wayne Marotto said in an initial statement Monday. “There are no injuries and damage is being assessed. We will provide updates when we have more information.” In a follow-up message, he said the U.S. military had retaliated. “Update: U.S. Forces in Syria, while under multiple rocket attack, acted in self- defense and conducted counter-battery artillery fire at rocket launching positions,” Marotto said....

The international airport is being used to evacuate Americans as well as Afghan citizens and foreigners as the Taliban completes its takeover of the nation The airport was closed to arrivals and departures for hours on Monday because civilians were on the runway. Thousands have flocked to the airfield in an attempt to flee the country. Senior administration officials said they believe the U.S. can keep the airport secure long enough to complete the evacuation efforts, the AP said, but for those unable to get to the airport, the future is less certain....

By leaning into what is, in essence, a highly machined, highly efficient global co-production system—but doing so with those countries that share our values and strategically ending overreliance on regimes that seek to harm us—ally-shoring meets more robust and interlaced economic, foreign policy and national security goals. It also offers a specific program to engage allies and demonstrate that by working together, democracies can trump authoritarian models of extraction, opacity and dependency-building like China’s Belt and Road initiative....

Muguruza, ranked third in the world, came into the final major of the year with only one singles victory to her name at Flushing Meadows and the French Open champion was in danger of making a first-round exit before battling back to win 2-6, 6-0, 6-3 on Monday. Mertens, of Belgium, was playing in the main draw of a grand slam singles tournament for the first time, but was unable to take advantage of an unconvincing display from the third seed from Spain....

This course has some of the most challenging holes as weather and wind also are factors — and can change in an instant. “Pebble Beach is a course that you play once and you remember each hole forever,” Rafa Cabrera Bello said last year. “Every single hole is different from the previous one.” There are five holes that will test the golfers. It starts on the front nine with the second hole, which demands distance and accuracy....

The leadup to the 2022 U.S. Open is, unfortunately, being overshadowed by the LIV Golf Series: With Dustin Johnson, Phil Mickelson and Bryson DeChambeau playing at The Country Club in Brookline, Mass., more questions have been asked surrounding the defections from the PGA Tour than those surrounding their game entering the year’s third major tournament. Still, this year’s field features a number of enticing players and featured groups: 2021 victor Jon Rahm gets an early start on Thursday, teeing off alongside 2021 fourth-place finisher Collin Morikawa....

The world’s third-ranked player and French Open champion was upstaged by Anastasija Sevastova in straight sets in Flushing Meadows, a second consecutive disappointment in a grand slam event. Muguruza suffered a second-round exit from Wimbledon. MORE: Top images from U.S. Open Muguruza’s poor play was marked by 38 unforced errors in the 7-5, 6-4 loss. The Spaniard led 4-2 during the first set against Sevastova and served for it in the 10th game, only to drop three straight....

A statement from the U.S. Treasury Department said Johnson’s scheme involved “millions of U.S. dollars” meant for the Liberian government but used for “personal enrichment.” The Global Magnitsky Act says the U.S. can put sanctions on anyone it sees as a human rights violator. This includes freezing their assets and banning them from entering the country. In 1990, during Liberia’s 14-year civil war, Johnson’s forces captured then-President Samuel Doe, torturing and killing him while filming the incident, according to ProPublica....

A USSF spokesperson confirmed to Newsweek on Monday that the federation’s board of directors will meet Tuesday to discuss the policy, which was first reported by ESPN. The meeting was called at the urging of USSF President Cindy Parlow Cone, the organization’s first female president and a former player who was part of the team that won the 1999 Women’s World Cup. Cone is expected to recommend that the policy be ended....

Klinsmann, who has coached the men’s national team since replacing Bob Bradley in 2011, had been under contract through the 2018 World Cup. Players who could be affected by coaching change The former Bayern Munich and Germany manager’s time with the U.S. was cut short after his side lost to Mexico 2-1 at home on Nov. 11 and fell 4-0 in Costa Rica four days later. The U.S. had never lost its first two matches of the fifth and final round of CONCACAF World Cup qualifying, and Klinsmann accepted the blame for his team’s poor play to open the Hex....

A U.S. Air Force RC-135W Rivet Joint aircraft flew over the southern coast of South Korea and then above the country’s central regions on Tuesday morning, the Yonhap News Agency reported. The aircraft flew from the Kadena Air Base in Okinawa, Japan. This type of plane specializes in detecting telemetry signals before missile launches, Yonhap said. These planes are also used to analyze and predict the trajectory of missiles and accompanying warheads....

Both U.S. President Joe Biden and Iranian President Ebrahim Raisi were expected to address the annual U.N. gathering. With their delegations both in New York, Iranian Foreign Ministry spokesperson Nasser Kanaani told reporters in Tehran on Monday that discussions toward restoring full U.S. and Iranian compliance to the nuclear pact known as the Joint Comprehensive Plan of Action (JCPOA) were a possibility. Kanaani noted that Ali Bagheri Kani, Iran’s chief nuclear negotiator, would be in attendance at the General Assembly and, while “there is no specific plan to discuss the nuclear deal,” the spokesperson would “not rule out the possibility of talks regarding the nuclear deal....

Second-half goals from Lincoln and Paulinho sealed a dominant win for Carlo Amadeu’s men but they could and should have added to their goal tally. Striker Lincoln was flanked by Brenner on the left and Paulinho on the right for Brazil. Alan slotted in behind the striker with Victor Bobsin and Marcos Antonio featuring in the double pivot. Left-back Weverson and right back Wesley ran provided width next to the centre back pairing of Vitao and Lucas Halter....

Speaking at the sidelines of the FIFA Council meeting in Kolkata on Friday, Infantino said that a decision on the hosting rights for the 2019 tournament can only be made in 2018 and that it was still too early to say anything. “Certainly, that is an element we will consider but we can take a decision only early next year. For tournaments after 2020, we will take a decision in October 2018,” he said....

With the youth competition to be the first FIFA competition to be played in the country, the founder and chairperson of the Reliance Foundation Youth Sports (RFYS) Nita Ambani has stated: “These are wonderful times for Indian football.” “We have recently seen the Indian national team break into the Top 100 in world rankings after a gap of two decades. And now for the first time in the history of Indian football, India is not just participating in a FIFA World Cup competition but also hosting a full-fledged world football event,” she remarked....