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How China, US and others watered down a key UN climate document

The US State Department declined to comment. A senior administration official defended the final IPCC summary for policymakers, saying it was clear about the critical message

Tech job still pays $120 an hour despite mass layoffs in US tech industry

In the past two weeks Meta Platforms Inc. announced it was cutting another 10,000 jobs and eliminating 5,000 open roles, Amazon.com Inc. laid off an additional 9,000 workers and job-hunting website

Why does US lawmakers see Chinese-owned TikTok as a security threat?

US lawmakers have grilled TikTok CEO Shou Zi Chew about data security and harmful content, with some pushing to ban the popular short-video app nationwide. A Singaporean native, Chew told the lawmakers that TikTok prioritises user safety and as he sought to avert a ban by downplaying the app's ties to China. Both Republican and Democratic representatives aggressively questioned Chew on topics including TikTok's content moderation practices, its data security plans, and past spying on journalists. Here's a look at some of the concerns about TikTok and its ownership. WHY DOES WASHINGTON SAY TIKTOK IS A THREAT? TikTok, which has over 150 million American users, is a wholly owned subsidiary of Chinese technology firm ByteDance Ltd., which appoints its executives. ByteDance is based in Beijing but registered in the Cayman Islands, as is common for privately owned Chinese companies. Its headquarters is in Beijing's northwestern Haidian district, home to key universities and a hub for t

TikTok CEO grilled, calls India's ban 'hypothetical' and theoretical

Chew faced hostile questioning from the House Energy and Commerce Committee as he verbally danced to make the case that the social media giant is taking real action

US not considering 'blanket' bank deposit insurance: Treasury Secy Yellen

Yellen has earlier said that the US is prepared to take further actions to protect depositors if smaller lenders are threatened

TikTok sends influencers to Washington as troubles grow amid possible ban

TikTok is ramping up a public relations campaign to fend off the possibility of a nationwide ban by the Biden administration, and it's bringing some unconventional advocates to help: online influencers. Dozens of TikTok creators some with millions of followers on the video-sharing app came to Capitol Hill on Wednesday to lobby in favour of the platform, one day before lawmakers are slated to grill the company's chief executive about concerns over user data falling into the hands of the Chinese government. Shou Zi Chew plans to tell Congress on Thursday that TikTok, which was founded by Chinese entrepreneurs, is committed to user safety, data protection and security, and keeping the platform free from Chinese government influence. He will also answer questions from U.S. lawmakers worried about the social media platform's effects on its young user base. At the heart of TikTok's trouble is a Chinese national intelligence law that would compel Chinese companies to fork over data to th

Significant human rights issues like arbitrary killings in India: US report

India experienced significant human rights issues in 2022, including unlawful and arbitrary killings, freedom of press and violence targeting religious and ethnic minorities, a US report claimed on Monday. Released by Secretary of State Antony Blinken, the annual human rights reports of the State Department is a mandatory requirement of the US Congress giving details of human rights status in countries across the world. The latest edition of the annual report slams Russia and China for the massive violation of human rights in these two countries along with some other nations like Iran, North Korea and Myanmar. Russia's full-scale war against Ukraine beginning in February 2022 has resulted in massive death and destruction, with reports of members of Russia's forces committing war crimes and other atrocities, including summary executions of civilians and horrific accounts of gender-based violence, including sexual violence against women and children, Blinken said in the report. In ..

India conveys strong protest to US over vandalism at Indian Consulate

India on Monday lodged a strong protest with the US Charge d'Affaires here over vandalism at the Indian consulate general in San Francisco by some pro-Khalistan elements. The Ministry of External Affairs (MEA) said the US Government was asked to take appropriate measures to prevent recurrence of such incidents. India conveyed its strong protest at the vandalisation of the property of the Consulate General of India in San Francisco, it said. "The US government was reminded of its basic obligation to protect and secure diplomatic representation. It was asked to take appropriate measures to prevent recurrence of such incidents," the MEA said. "Our Embassy in Washington D.C. also conveyed our concerns to the US State Department along similar lines," it said in a brief statement.

Layoffs in US will bring lot of work to India: GlobalLogic CEO Nitesh Banga

Layoffs by Big Tech in the US are expected to bring a lot of work to India and the country's IT sector is poised to gain significantly during the slowdown, a top official of the US-based firm GlobalLogic said. In an interview to PTI, GlobalLogic President and CEO Nitesh Banga said the company is looking to acquire talents in India and plans to grow its employee base by 25-35 per cent every year. He said India is not going to see much of a slowdown even as there are a lot of layoffs happening in the US. "If Google, Twitter or Facebook or any of these customers actually lay off people in the US, it's not that they don't need to build products. They still need to continue to do their work and I believe that a lot of that work will come to India, because they will still need the talent to keep doing the work, although they will look for cost efficiencies," Banga said. The Hitachi group IT company has close to 15,000 or approximately 50 per cent of its global employee base, in India. "

US B-1B strategic bomber returns to S.Korea as N.Korea fires missile

A B-1B bomber was previously deployed to the peninsula on March 3, Yonhap news agency reported

West puts spotlight on North Korea rights abuses; China, Russia oppose

The United States, its Western allies and experts shone a spotlight on the dire human rights situation and increasing repression in North Korea at a UN meeting on Friday that China and Russia denounced as a politicised move likely to further escalate tensions on the Korean peninsula. China blocked the US from broadcasting the informal Security Council meeting globally on the internet, a decision criticised by US Ambassador Linda Thomas-Greenfield as an attempt to hide North Korea's atrocities from the world. Webcasting requires agreement by all 15 council members. But the US envoy said Beijing's effort was in vain because the meeting will be made public, and the US and many others will continue to speak out against Pyongyang's human rights abuses and threats to international peace. James Turpin, a senior official in the Office of the UN High Commissioner for Human Rights, said the ongoing tensions on the Korean peninsula pose a threat to regional and international peace and security

Meta rolling out its paid verification in US for Instagram, Facebook users

Meta CEO Mark Zuckerberg has announced that the company is rolling out its paid subscription plan for Facebook and Instagram to users based in the US

Banking crisis impact: Rate cut in US prerequisite for sustained gold rally

The current surge in prices of yellow metal, sparked by the banking crisis, may be followed by a period of volatility

US manufacturing output ekes out gains in Feb due to high interest rate

The Institute for Supply Management's measure of national manufacturing activity has contracted for four straight months

TikTok can threaten America's safety, national security: White House

Chinese-owned video hosting service TikTok can threaten America's safety and its national security, the White House said on Thursday

In a first, Indian-American to serve as Assistant Secy of US Air Force

His nomination was advanced by Senator Amy Klobuchar, who said that Chaudhary has the qualifications and experience needed for this critical role

China accuses US of spreading disinformation, suppressing TikTok

China accused the United States on Thursday of spreading disinformation and suppressing TikTok following reports that the Biden administration was calling for its Chinese owners to sell their stakes in the popular video-sharing app. The U.S. has yet to present evidence that TikTok threatens its national security and was using the excuse of data security to abuse its power to suppress foreign companies, Foreign Ministry spokesperson Wang Wenbin told reporters at a daily briefing. The U.S. should stop spreading disinformation about data security, stop suppressing the relevant company, and provide an open, fair and non-discriminatory environment for foreign businesses to invest and operate in the U.S., Wang said. TikTok was dismissive Wednesday of a report in The Wall Street Journal that said the Committee on Foreign Investment in the U.S., part of the Treasury Department, was threatening a U.S. ban on the app unless its owners, Beijing-based ByteDance Ltd., divested. If protecting ..

With Saudi deals, US, China are now battling for influence in Mideast

In a matter of days, Saudi Arabia carried out blockbuster agreements with the world's two leading powers, signing a Chinese-facilitated deal aimed at restoring diplomatic ties with its arch-nemesis Iran and announcing a massive contract to buy commercial planes from US manufacturer Boeing. The two announcements spurred speculation that the Saudis were laying their marker as a dominant economic and geopolitical force with the flexibility to play Beijing and Washington off each other. They also cast China in an unfamiliar leading role in Middle Eastern politics. And they raised questions about whether the US-Saudi relationship frosty for much of the first two years of President Joe Biden's term has reached a dtente. But as the Biden administration takes stock of the moment, officials are pushing back against the notion that the developments amount to a shift in the dynamics of the US-China competition in the Middle East. The White House scoffs at the idea that the big aircraft deal

Mizoram exports bird's eye chilli to US for first time to expand the market

Mizoram has exported locally grown bird's eye chilli', a Mizo organic chilli, to the United States for the first time as part of an initiative to expand the market and boost farmers' income, an official said on Wednesday. State Agriculture Minister C. Lalrinsanga flagged off 7.5 metric ton of typical Mizo chilli to the US from south Mizoram's Lunglei district on Tuesday, the official said. The organic chilli was harvested by farmers from the three southern districts of Lunglei, Siaha and Lawngtlai, she said. The shipment is being transported to Visakhapatnam in Andhra Pradesh from where it will be sent to Nevada in the US, she said. The initiative was taken jointly by International Competence Centre for Organic Agriculture (ICCOA) under Mission Organic Value Chain Development for North Eastern Region (MOVCD-NER) and Mission Organic Mizoram (MOM) of the agriculture department. Flagging off the consignment, Lalrinsanga congratulated the Farmer Producer Companies (FPCs) for successf

EU closer to end trade dispute with US, moves on Green Deal funds

The European Union moved closer to ending a trade dispute with US President Joe Biden on Wednesday following months of wrangling over the billions of America-first incentives in his clean technology plans and said it would ramp up a similar subsidy-laden effort at home. European Commission President Ursula von der Leyen told the parliament plenary that in its attempt to produce at least 40 per cent of the clean tech needed by 2030 in the 27-nation bloc, it would allow for the tax breaks and the flexible use of EU funds on top of simplifying and speeding up industrial approvals. She spoke of a striking symmetry between the US efforts and the European Green Deal plans. Both of them are simultaneously a climate strategy and a strategy for investment and growth, von der Leyen said. Her upbeat comments came on the eve of the European Commission, the EU's executive arm, tabling plans for the Net-Zero Industry Act on industrial incentives and a Critical Raw Materials Act, which seeks to .