LONDON (Reuters) - The United States performs poorly in U.N. rankings on progress towards global health goals due to its high levels of violence, alcohol abuse and childhood obesity, a study has found.

WASHINGTON (Reuters) - The U.S. State Department notified Congress on Wednesday that it has approved a possible sale of Boeing Co military refueling aircraft to Japan worth up to $1.9 billion, the Defense Security Cooperation Agency said.

UNITED NATIONS, Sept 21 (Reuters) - Ukrainian President Petro Poroshenko made a scathing attack on neighboring Russia on Wednesday, accusing it of "lies and manipulations" that even Soviet leaders at the height of the Cold War had not dared.

NEW YORK (Reuters) - U.S. authorities investigated on Wednesday whether anyone helped an Afghan-born American citizen charged with carrying out bombings in New York and New Jersey, while the city's top federal public defender asked for access to the suspect.

NEW YORK (Reuters) - The U.S. dollar extended losses against a basket of major currencies on Wednesday after the U.S. Federal Reserve left monetary policy unchanged and projected a less aggressive rise of interest rates in coming years.

PARIS/NEW YORK (Reuters) - The United States has begun unblocking deals by Western giants to sell jetliners to Iran in a move likely to ease complaints from Tehran over implementation of last year's sanctions deal, but test conservative opposition to the deals in both nations.

UNITED NATIONS, Sept 21 (Reuters) - In his first major United Nations speech eight years ago, President Barack Obama said he would not give up on Israeli-Palestinian peace.

Sept 21 (Reuters) - (Editor's note: Paragraph four contains language that may be offensive to some readers.) Barack Obama is meeting Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu on the sidelines of the U.N. General Assembly Wednesday, at a time when the U.S. president is considering whether to initiate an Israeli-Palestinian peace deal before he leaves office.

SANAA, Sept 21 (Reuters) - At least 6 civilians were killed on Wednesday when a Saudi-led coalition air strike hit a house in western Yemen, residents and medics said.