Page 49 - United States

Biden on ending hunger in US by the end of decade: 'I know we can do this'

President Joe Biden said Wednesday his administration's goal of ending hunger in the US by the end of the decade was ambitious but doable, if only the nation would work together toward achieving it. I know we can do this," Biden told an auditorium full of public health officials, private companies and Americans who have experienced hunger. They were gathered for the first White House conference on hunger, nutrition and health since 1969. It was the president at his most optimistic, sketching out a future where no child in the US would go hungry, and diet-related diseases would diminish because of better, healthier food alternatives and access to vast outdoor spaces. That's why we're here today, to harness our greatest resource: Our fellow Americans," Biden said. Everyone, everyone has an important role to play. The 1969 conference, hosted President Richard Nixon, was a pivotal moment that influenced the U.S. food policy agenda for 50 years. It led to a major expansion of the ...

US announces $1.1 bn more in military aid for Ukraine to counter Russia

The US will provide an additional USD 1.1 billion in aid to Ukraine, with funding for about 18 more advanced rocket systems and other weapons to counter drones that Russia has been using against Ukrainian troops, the Biden administration announced Wednesday. The latest package is being provided under the Ukraine Security Assistance Initiative, which funds contracts to purchase weapons and equipment. And it brings the total of US aid to Ukraine to nearly USD 17 billion since the Biden administration took office. The aid announcement comes as Russia moves to annex parts of Russian-occupied Ukraine that held Kremlin-orchestrated referendums on living under Moscow's rule. The votes were denounced by Kyiv and the West as illegal and rigged. We will not be deterred from supporting Ukraine, we will continue to stand with the Ukrainian people, and provide them with the security assistance they need to defend themselves, for as long as it takes, White House press secretary Karine Jean-Pierre

Hurricane warning extended in Florida ahead of potentially devastating Ian

A hurricane warning has been extended southward on the west coast of the southeastern US state of Florida to Chokoloskee, forecasters said

US defends move to approve F-16 jet fleet sustainment programme to Pak

The US on Tuesday defended its decision to approve a USD 450 million F-16 fighter jet fleet sustainment programme to Pakistan, saying it is "our obligation" to provide military equipment to ensure that the planes are maintained and sustained to bolster Islamabad's capability to deal with "clear" terrorist threats. Early this month, the Biden administration reversed the decision of the previous Trump administration to suspend military aid to Islamabad for providing safe havens for the Afghan Taliban and the Haqqani network, and approved the F-16 fighter jet fleet sustainment programme to Pakistan. External Affairs Minister S Jaishankar, who is on a visit to the US, has questioned the rationale behind Washington's USD 450 million F-16 security assistance to Pakistan. "This is a sustained program for F-16s that Pakistan has long had. These are not new, this is sustaining what they have. We've a responsibility and obligation to whomever we provide military equipment to, that it's ...

Spike in oil price is breaking India's back, says Jaishankar in US

India, which has a USD 2,000 per capita economy, is concerned over the spike in the price of oil due to the Russia-Ukraine conflict and it is "breaking our back," External Affairs Minister S Jaishankar said on Tuesday. Addressing a joint press conference with US Secretary of State Antony Blinken after holding bilateral talks, Jaishankar said there is a very deep concern among developing countries about how their energy needs are addressed. Speaking about the Ukraine war, he said: "We have taken the position privately, publicly, confidentially and consistently that this conflict is not in anybody's interest." The best way forward is to return to dialogue and diplomacy, he said. "Look, we have concerns about the price of oil but we are a USD 2,000 per capita economy. When the price of oil is breaking our back and it's our big concern," he said. Jaishankar was responding to a question on a cap on Russian oil. "In the past whenever we have been able to contribute something, we have b

Kamala Harris to visit DMZ on Thursday as tensions rattle region

The trip on Thursday will focus the world's attention on the vice president, who has sought to burnish both US influence -- and her own foreign policy credentials

ByteDance-owned TikTok inching toward US security deal to avoid sale

US lawmakers and TikTok are hammering out a plan, under which the short-form video app would make changes to its data security and governance without requiring its parent firm ByteDance to sell it

Wall Street banks review contingency plan as China-Taiwan tension escalates

While financial services executives said they view the risk of armed conflict in North Asia as low, they see tit-for-tat sanctions between the US and China that disrupt the flow of finance and trade

Most Democrats say ditch Joe Biden as 2024 nominee: WaPo-ABC poll

Joe Biden not a favourite 2024 nominee of US Democrats and Democrat-leaning independents

Ceremony and controversy await Kamala Harris during visit to Asia

Attending funerals on behalf of the United States is normally a straightforward assignment for a vice president, but Kamala Harris will confront controversy at nearly every turn as she visits Asia for the memorial honouring former Japanese Prime Minister Shinzo Abe. American allies are seeking clarity after mixed messages over whether President Joe Biden would send troops to defend Taiwan from a Chinese invasion, a potential conflict that could swiftly engulf the rest of the region. There's the potential for more provocations from North Korea, which test-fired a missile shortly before Harris' departure on Sunday from Washington. Meanwhile, South Korea and Japan are inching toward a reconciliation that would heal some of the wounds left from World War II, with the US gingerly trying to nudge along the process. And there's resentment over a new US law that makes electric vehicles built outside of North America ineligible for subsidies. Even Abe's state funeral on Tuesday itself is a

Refurbished 13-inch MacBook Pro with M2 available for sale in US, Canada

In the US, Apple offers the 13-inch MacBook Pro with M2 with 256GB and 512GB of storage for $1,169 and $1,349, respectively.

Emergency declared in Florida as Tropical Storm Ian strengthens

Gov. Ron DeSantis has declared a state of emergency for all of Florida as Tropical Storm Ian gained strength over the Caribbean and was forecast to become a major hurricane soon days as it tracked toward the state. DeSantis had initially issued the emergency order for two dozen counties on Friday. But he on Saturday expanded the warning to the entire state, urging residents to prepare for a storm that could lash large swaths of Florida. This storm has the potential to strengthen into a major hurricane and we encourage all Floridians to make their preparations, DeSantis said in a statement. We are coordinating with all state and local government partners to track potential impacts of this storm. US President Joe Biden also declared an emergency for the state, authorising the Department of Homeland Security and the Federal Emergency Management Agency (FEMA) to coordinate disaster relief efforts and provide assistance to protect lives and property. The president postponed a scheduled

CIA unveils model of al-Qaida leader al-Zawahri's hideout in Afghanistan

The CIA revealed on Saturday the model of a safe house used to brief President Joe Biden about the whereabouts of al-Qaida leader Ayman al-Zawahri before it killed him in a drone strike in Afghanistan. Shortly after al-Zawahri's death, White House officials released a photo showing Biden talking to CIA Director William Burns with a closed wooden box on the table in front of them. Now, the contents of the box a model depicting a white-walled home with at least five stories and three partially obscured balconies are on display at the CIA Museum inside the agency's Virginia headquarters. The museum is closed to the public and access is generally limited to the agency's employees and guests. The CIA allowed journalists to tour the museum, newly refurbished in time for the agency's 75th anniversary, as part of a broader effort to showcase its history and achievements. Most of the exhibits took years or decades to declassify. The al-Zawahri model home is the rare artifact that had been

Biden administration launches environmental justice office in N Carolina

Forty years after a predominantly Black community in Warren County, North Carolina, rallied against hosting a hazardous waste landfill, President Biden's top environment official visited what is widely considered the birthplace of the environmental justice movement on Saturday to unveil a national office that will distribute USD 3 billion in block grants to underserved communities burdened by pollution. Joined by civil rights leaders and participants from the 1982 protests, Michael Regan, the first Black administrator of the Environmental Protection Agency, announced he is dedicating a new senior level of leadership to the environmental justice movement they ignited. The Office of Environmental Justice and External Civil Rights comprised of more than 200 current staff members in 10 US regions will merge three existing EPA programs to oversee a portion of Democrats' USD 60 billion investment in environmental justice initiatives created by the Inflation Reduction Act. The president

Assistance to Pakistan's F-16 not designed as a message to India: Pentagon

The US has said that its decision to provide a USD 450 million sustenance package for Pakistan's F-16 fleet is not designed as a message to India rather it is associated with America's defence partnership with Islamabad which is primarily focused on counterterrorism and nuclear security. On September 8, the Biden administration approved a USD 450 million F-16 fighter jet fleet sustainment programme to Pakistan, reversing the decision of the previous Trump administration to suspend military aid to Islamabad for providing safe havens for the Afghan Taliban and the Haqqani network. India has conveyed to the US its concerns over Washington's decision to provide a sustenance package for Pakistan's F-16 fighter jet fleet. In a notification to the US Congress, the State Department made a determination approving a possible foreign military sale for sustainment and related equipment for an estimated cost of USD 450 million, arguing that this will sustain Islamabad's capability to meet curren

Regulating Digital India

Discriminatory algorithms will be the most complex of challenges for regulators

Tesla recalls nearly 1.1 mn US vehicles to update window reversing software

Tesla said it was not aware of any warranty claims, field reports, crashes, injuries, or deaths related to the recall

'Not a bluff': Vladimir Putin calls up 300,000 reservists to take on West

President Vladimir Putin on Wednesday ordered a partial mobilisation of some 300,000 reservists after the Russian military suffered a series of setbacks in the raging conflict with Ukraine, saying the move was essential to protect Russia's sovereignty as the "West is seeking to weaken, divide and finally destroy this country." Putin made the announcement in a televised address to the nation in which he also said that Russia will use all the means at its disposal to protect its territory, warning the West that "this is not a bluff". Ahead of his much-anticipated address, Putin had signed an Executive Order for the call-up to start the mobilisation immediately. Since early September, Ukraine forces have swiftly recaptured large swaths of land in Ukraine's Kharkiv region that Russian troops took over in early weeks of the war which began on February 24. The stretched-out frontline, the constant shelling of Russian borderline areas by the Ukrainian military and attacks on liberated ...

Gap widens between US, India on interest rate hikes since pandemic low

US has hiked rates by 75 basis points on Wednesday to help keep inflation in check

Putin mobilises 300,000 more troops, wields Ukraine nuclear threat

"Those who are trying to blackmail us with nuclear weapons should know that the wind patterns can also turn in their direction," the president said, accusing the US and allies of seeking to "destroy"