Page 27 - United States

Defence chiefs of US, India discuss global security, bilateral cooperation

Seeking to deepen US-India military ties, the defence chiefs of the two countries have shared their assessments of the regional and global security environment and discussed ways to deepen bilateral cooperation and interoperability. The call between US Joint Chiefs of Staff Gen Mark A Miley and his Indian counterpart Chief of the Indian Defence Force Gen Anil Chauhan took place amidst increased tension between India and China on the border. The two military leaders shared assessments of the regional and global security environment and discussed ways to deepen bilateral military ties and interoperability, Joint Staff Deputy Spokesperson Joseph R. Holstead said on Wednesday in a readout of the call. The US and India share a strong military-to-military relationship under the US-India Major Defence Partnership," Holstead said, adding that India plays a "key role" in maintaining a free Indo-Pacific. "India is a key regional leader and an important partner in maintaining a free and open

IRS policy mandatory presidential audit policy goes under spotlight

An IRS policy governing the audits of tax returns filed by US presidents is under new scrutiny after a report published by a congressional panel found the agency failed to perform the mandatory inspection of Donald Trump's returns until Congress pressed for information about the process. The three-point policy states that individual returns for the president and the vice president are subject to mandatory review, should always be kept in an orange folder, should be kept from the eyes of IRS employees, and should be locked in a secure drawer or cabinet when the examiner or reviewer is away from the work area. The report released on Tuesday by the Democratic majority on the House Ways and Means Committee said the process, which dates to 1977, was dormant, at best during the early years of the Trump administration. Democrats in Congress are responding by introducing legislation that would codify the IRS policy into law with more stringent requirements. Tax experts say the failure to .

South Korea, US mulling live-fire drills to mark 70th yr of alliance

South Korea and the US are considering staging their first large-scale combined live-fire demonstration in six years in 2023 to mark the 70th anniversary of the establishment of their alliance

'Powerful' winter storm to batter parts of US through the end of week

A "powerful" winter storm will batter the central and eastern parts of the US through the end of the week, forecasters said

Zelenskyy says war with Russia ends with Ukraine's sovereignty restored

Ukrainian President Volodymyr Zelenskyy paid a defiant wartime visit to Washington on Wednesday to thank US leaders and ordinary Americans for their support in fighting off Russia's invasion and pledged there would be no compromises" in trying to bring an end to the war. President Joe Biden and Congress responded with billions in new assistance and a pledge to help Ukraine pursue a just peace. Biden welcomed Zelenskyy to the Oval Office, saying the U.S. and Ukraine would continue to project a united defense as Russia wages a brutal assault on Ukraine's right to exist as a nation. Zelenskyy, on his first known trip outside his country since Russia invaded in February, said he wanted to visit earlier and his visit now showed the situation is under control, because of your support. For me as a president, just peace' is no compromises, Zelenskyy told reporters. He said the war would end once Ukraine's sovereignty, freedom and territorial integrity were restored, as well as the payback f

'It's an honour to be by your side': Biden tells Zelenskyy at White House

Ukrainian President Volodymyr Zelenskyy thanked President Joe Biden, U.S. lawmakers and ordinary people of America for their support as he visited the White House on Wednesday. Biden told Zelenskyy that Ukrainians inspire the world, before the two leaders began an Oval Office summit that was Zelenskyy's first known trip outside his home country since Russia invaded in February. In a brief remarks before reporters, Biden told Zelenskyy that it's an honor to be by your side and he pledged continued financial, military and humanitarian aid for Ukraine. Biden also warned that Russia is trying to use winter as a weapon" in the war. Zelenskyy said he wanted to visit the United States at an earlier time, but could not. He stressed that the war is not over and that his country faces many challenges in battling Russia.

Covid-19 cases in the US surpass 100 million: Johns Hopkins University

The number of Covid-19 cases registered in the US since the start of the pandemic in early 2020 exceeded a staggering 100 million, Johns Hopkins University has said, amid a sharp spike in caseloads globally and the WHO making a strong pitch for vaccination. Japan, the US, the Republic of Korea, Brazil and China have witnessed a sudden spike in coronavirus cases over the last week. US-based Johns Hopkins University in its latest update said that 100,003,837 coronavirus cases were reported in the country so far. The virus has also claimed the lives of 1,088,236 people in the US, it added. Meanwhile, close to 8,000 and 10,000 people die of COVID-19 every week, said Maria Van Kerkhove, an infectious disease epidemiologist who serves as the technical lead for the COVID-19 response team at the World Health Organisation (WHO). She told 'Science in 5' that the WHO target of vaccinating 70 per cent of the population in every country has not been achieved so far. Vaccination against COVID-

Mexico plans to ask US Prez Biden for up to $48 bn for solar projects

Mexico plans to ask US President Joe Biden for as much as USD 48 billion in financing for solar projects, Foreign Relations Secretary Marcel Ebrard said on Tuesday. Ebrard said the request will be presented to Biden at the upcoming January 9-10 meeting of US, Canadian and Mexican leaders in Mexico City. Mexico hopes to build solar energy parks in the northern border state of Sonora, along with power transmission lines. Mexico hopes to receive some of the funding from the North American Development Bank, or NADBank. The bank funds green development projects, but has never provided financing on anything near the scale Mexico is requesting. Mexico also may get some of the funding between now and 2030 by issuing debt bonds. The solar parks are to be run by Mexico's state-owned utility, which has been involved in a trade dispute between Mexico and the United States. The US and Canada accuse President Andrs Manuel Lpez Obrador of trying to favor Mexico's state-owned utility over power

Mandaviya to review Covid situation amid spurt in cases in US, China

Union Health Minister Mansukh Mandaviya will review the COVID-19 situation on Wednesday in view of a fresh spurt in cases in some countries such as Japan, South Korea, Brazil, China and the US, official sources said. The minister will review the COVID-19 situation at 11:30 am on Wednesday "considering the international scenario", they said. The secretaries of health and Ayush ministries, Department of Pharmaceuticals and Department of Biotechnology, Indian Council of Medical Research (ICMR) Director General Rajiv Bahl, Member (Health) of NITI Aayog V K Paul and National Technical Advisory Group on Immunization (NTAGI) Chairman N L Arora and other senior officials will attend the meeting. Meanwhile, the Union health ministry on Tuesday urged all states and union territories to ramp up the whole genome sequencing of positive samples to keep track of newer variants. In a letter to states and UTs, Union Health Secretary Rajesh Bhushan said such an exercise will enable timely detection

6.4-magnitude earthquake kills 2, injures 11 in North California's Eureka

At least two people were killed and 11 others injured after a massive 6.4-magnitude earthquake struck Northern California's Eureka area

US to send $1.8 billion in aid, patriot battery, to Ukraine against Russia

The US will send USD 1.8 billion in military aid to Ukraine in a massive package that will for the first time include a Patriot missile battery and precision guided bombs for their fighter jets, US officials have said, as the Biden administration prepares to welcome Ukrainian President Volodymyr Zelenskyy to Washington. US officials on Tuesday described details of the aid on condition of anonymity because it has not yet been announced. The aid signals an expansion by the U.S. in the kinds of advanced weaponry it will send to Ukraine to bolster the country's air defenses against what has been an increasing barrage of Russian missile strikes. The package, which was expected to be announced Wednesday, will include about $1 billion in weapons from Pentagon stocks and another USD 800 million in funding through the Ukraine Security Assistance Initiative, which funds weapons, ammunition, training and other assistance, officials said. Zelenskyy and other Ukraine officials have pressed Weste

Beijing building up unoccupied land features in South China Sea, says West

While China has previously built out disputed reefs, islands in the area, the West presented images of what they called the first known instances of a nation doing so on the territory

US House committee votes to release Trump's tax information to public

House Ways and Means Chairman Richard Neal released a report about the Internal Revenue Service's audits of Trump's taxes late Tuesday, but the actual tax returns will be made public in a few days

India to host next round of negotiations of US-led IPEF in February

Negotiations will include supply chain, tax and anti-corruption pillars under IPEF

Constructive dialogue between India-Pak for betterment of their people: US

A constructive dialogue between India and Pakistan is for the betterment of the people of the two countries, the United States has said and reiterated that its relationships with either of them is not zero-sum. We have a global strategic partnership with India. I have also spoken about the deep partnership we have with Pakistan. These relationships in our mind are not zero-sum. We do not view them in relation to one another, US State Department spokesperson Ned Price told reporters at his daily news conference on Monday. Each of them is indispensable to the United States and to the promotion and the pursuit of the shared goals that we have with India and Pakistan, he said in response to a question. The fact that we have partnerships with both countries leaves us not wanting to see a war of words between India and Pakistan. We would like to see constructive dialogue between India and Pakistan. We think that is for the betterment of the Pakistani and Indian people. There is much work

Young Indian-Americans face race bias as early as preschool, shows study

Apart from reporting hate crimes, the adolescents also discussed the difficulties they faced balancing their Indian identity with their desire to be seen as American

US clashes over Russia using Iran drones in Ukraine war; accuses UN

The United States and its allies clashed with Iran and its ally Russia over Western claims that Tehran is supplying Moscow with drones that have been attacking Ukraine and the US accused the UN secretary-general of yielding to Russian threats and failing to launch an investigation. At a contentious Security Council meeting Monday on the resolution endorsing the 2015 nuclear deal between Iran and six major powers, the United States and Iran also accused each other of responsibility for stalled negotiations on the Biden administration rejoining the agreement that former President Donald Trump pulled out of in 2018. Iran's U.N. Ambassador Amir Saeid Iravani insisted Iran's negotiating team exercised maximum flexibility in trying to reach agreement and even introduced an innovative solution to the remaining issues to break the impasse. But he claimed the unrealistic and rigid approach of the United States led to the current stalled talks on the 2015 agreement, known as the JCPOA. Let's

A look at some of the laws Trump allegedly broke, according to Jan 6 panel

The committee's nine members agreed Monday that their 17-month probe found enough evidence to urge that Trump and others face four federal criminal charges

FTX crypto exchange founder agrees to extradition to US, says attorney

Sam Bankman-Fried may be ready to come to the US to face criminal charges related to the collapse of cryptocurrency exchange FTX following a chaotic court appearance in the Bahamas. A lawyer for Bankman-Fried was quoted as saying Monday the disgraced FTX founder has agreed to be extradited to the United States. A court hearing was stopped earlier in the day when his attorneys said it was premature for him to stand before the court. Jerone Roberts, a local defense attorney for Bankman-Fried, told The New York Times that lawyers will prepare the necessary documents for extradition. Mr. Bankman-Fried wishes to put the customers right, and that is what has driven his decision, the Times quoted Roberts telling reporters. It was not immediately clear when extradition could occur. The court appearance came just a week after Bankman-Fried's lawyers had initially said that they planned to fight extradition. An extradition hearing had been scheduled for Feb. 8. The reversal could speed up th

US looking to strengthen relationship with Ecuador, says US President Biden

With Ecuadorian President Guillermo Lasso by his side, President Joe Biden said the US is looking to expand and strengthen the US relationship with one of its staunchest allies in South America and a country that is getting plenty of attention from China. Lasso's visit to Washington comes as his tiny nation is on the verge of completing a trade agreement with China, the United States' strongest economic competitor. China this year surpassed the United States as Ecuador's top trading partner on non-petroleum goods. The already fragile economy in oil-exporting Ecuador was battered by the coronavirus outbreak. One of Lasso's top priorities when he took office last year was to sign a free trade agreement with the United States. Ecuador wants to join Colombia and Chile as the only other countries in South America to enjoy such privileged status. But Biden, in the first two years of his presidency, has shied away from entering new trade pacts as he's focused on first settling a U.S. econo