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US ups diplomatic efforts with China on Taiwan, support to Russia

The Biden administration on Friday ramped up its diplomatic efforts to press China to end provocative actions against Taiwan and warned it about any active support for Russia in its war against Ukraine. Secretary of State Antony Blinken made both cases in a meeting with his Chinese counterpart on Friday in a meeting on the sidelines of the annual UN General Assembly in New York, according to US officials. The session was one of the few that Blinken kept on his schedule after the death of his father on Thursday. The officials wouldn't describe the Chinese response, but said Foreign Minister Wang Yi was receptive to the messages and that the two men discussed the need to maintain open lines of communication and responsibly manage the US-China relationship, especially during times of tension. The talks between Blinken and Wang come amid a period of intense tensions on both issues and ahead of an expected meeting in November between Presidents Joe Biden and Xi Jinping. Biden's recent ..

US seeks stronger labour, environmental standards in Asia to counter China

The US is outlining its goals for a new trade deal with Australia, Japan, South Korea and nine other nations meant to signal the country's commitment to working with the Indo-Pacific region at a time of growing Chinese clout. The Office of the US Trade Representative on Friday released its negotiating objectives for the Indo-Pacific Economic Framework, a deal with the 12 nations launched in May. Among them, the US wants the Indo-Pacific countries to improve their labour and environmental standards and ensure their markets remain open to competition, while also taking steps to ease supply-chain backlogs at border crossings. After the Trump administration's clashes with US allies, Asian countries have welcomed America's reengagement in the region, which also comes at a time of considerable economic disruption arising from COVID-19 and Russia's invasion of Ukraine. But many were disappointed the framework doesn't lower tariffs or provide signatories with more access to the US market.

US aircraft carrier arrives in South Korea ahead of joint military exercise

The nuclear-powered aircraft carrier USS Ronald Reagan arrived in the South Korean port of Busan on Friday ahead of the two countries' joint military exercise that aims to show their strength against growing North Korean threats. The joint drills will be the first involving a US aircraft carrier in the region since 2017, when the US sent three aircraft carriers including the Reagan for naval drills with South Korea in response to North Korean nuclear and missile tests. The allies this year have revived their large-scale military drills that were downsized or shelved in previous years to support diplomacy with Pyongyang or because of COVID-19, responding to North Korea's resumption of major weapons testing and increasing threats of nuclear conflicts with Seoul and Washington. The South Korean navy said its combined training with the Reagan battle group is meant to boost the allies' military readiness and to show "the firm resolve by the Korea-US alliance for the sake of peace and ...

India among world leaders to join US in seeking UN Security Council reforms

A number of world leaders have joined the United States in seeking reforms in the UN Security Council and including India as one of its permanent members, giving momentum to the demand for expansion of the powerful wing of the United Nations. Japanese Prime Minister Fumio Kishida stressed reforming the United Nations, including its security council "to return to the vision and principles of the UN Charter, with the strengthening of the UN's functions, including disarmament and non-proliferation". In his address at the annual session of the UN General Assembly, Portuguese Prime Minister Antnio Costa said, "We need a representative, agile and functional security council that can respond to the challenges of the 21st century without becoming paralysed, and whose actions are scrutinized by other members of the United Nations." Costa sought a security council that incorporates a comprehensive view of security, recognising the role of climate change as an accelerant of conflict. Observin

US calls on world to stop Russia from further nuclear threats, Ukraine war

The United States called on other nations to tell Russia to stop making nuclear threats and end the horror of its war in Ukraine as all three countries' top diplomats spoke but didn't quite meet at a high-profile UN Security Council meeting on Thursday. Held alongside the annual UN General Assembly gathering of world leaders, the session followed a striking development in the war this week: Russia called up a portion of its reserves for the first time since World War II. At the same time, President Vladimir Putin said his nuclear-armed country will use all means available to us to defend itself if its territory is threatened. US Secretary of State Antony Blinken saw Putin's remark as particularly menacing given plans for referendums in Russian-controlled parts of eastern and southern Ukraine on whether to become part of Russia. Western nations have condemned those votes as illegitimate and nonbinding. But, in their wake, Moscow might then see any Ukrainian attempt to retake those

US heartened by PM Modi's comments to Putin last weekend: Pentagon official

The United States is heartened by the recent comment made by Prime Minister Narendra Modi to Russian President Vladimir Putin that this is not the time for war in Ukraine, a senior Pentagon official said on Thursday. Prime Minister Modi had met President Putin in Uzbekistan city Samarkand on the sidelines of the Shanghai Cooperation Organisation summit, which concluded last week, and during the meeting Modi told the Russian president, Today's era is not an era of war, and I have spoken to you on the phone about this." On his part, Putin told Modi that he was aware of India's concerns over the Ukraine conflict and that Russia will do everything possible to end it as soon as possible. The US has said that it is heartened by the comments made by Prime Minister Modi. We were heartened by Prime Minister Modi's comments last weekend, Dr Ely Ratner, Assistant Secretary of Defense for Indo-Pacific Security Affairs told a group of reporters and think-tank experts during a virtual round ...

US, India now more closely aligned than ever in the past: Pentagon official

The relationship between India and the United States today are more closely aligned in than ever in the past, a senior Pentagon official has said, noting that they are focused on the long game which is building the partnership into the future and supporting India's ability to shape a favorable balance of power in the Indo Pacific. We view the US India partnership as central to our vision for a free and open Indo Pacific. While there may be bumps in the road along the way, we are really focused on the long game which is building our partnership into the future and supporting India's ability to shape a favourable balance of power in the Indo Pacific, Dr. Ely S. Ratner, Assistant Secretary of Defense for Indo-Pacific Security Affairs told a group of reporters and think-tank experts during a virtual round table. He said that External Affairs Minister S Jaishankar is scheduled to meet the Defense Secretary Lloyd Austin at the Pentagon on Monday. This comes on the heels of a lengthy ...

Cost of making a classic lunch at a US diner is 13% more now, shows data

Food costs in the US are up 11.4 per cent from a year ago, the most since 1979, and are a key driver behind the nation's 8.3 per cent overall inflation rate

US declares public health emergency for Puerto Rico after hurricane Fiona

US Department of Health and Human Service has declared a public health emergency for Puerto Rico due to the severe flooding caused by hurricane Fiona which made a landfall earlier this week

Joe Biden, UN Chief discuss Ukraine war, black sea grain deal in New York

US President Joe Biden held discussions with UN Secretary-General Antonio Guterres on Wednesday on issues including the Russia-Ukraine war and the Black Sea grain deal.

US lawmakers call for strong ties with India, hail Indian-Americans' help

: Top Senators and influential Congressmen have advocated for a strong India-US tie and underscored the contribution of the Indian-American community in this matter. At the Indian Independence Day celebrations event at the US Capitol on Wednesday, Senator Joe Manchin, a West Virginia Democrat, recalled his visits to India and seeing "the greatness of the largest democracy in the world in full action". "Had it not been for the Indian community that came to West Virginia to provide their services, most of rural West Virginia would not have health care today," he said while observing that a major section of healthcare service in the rural US is provided by Indian-American doctors. The event was organized by the American Association of Physicians of Indian Origin (AAPI) in association with the American Hindu Coalition and the Federation of India and Indian Diaspora Studies. Senator Cindy Hyde-Smith stressed the importance of having strong relations between India and the United ...

Court lifts hold on Mar-a-Lago classified records in Trump documents probe

In a stark repudiation of Donald Trump's legal arguments, a federal appeals court on Wednesday permitted the Justice Department to resume its use of classified records seized from the former president's Florida estate as part of its ongoing criminal investigation. The ruling from a three-judge panel of the US Court of Appeals for the 11th Circuit amounts to an overwhelming victory for the Justice Department, clearing the way for investigators to continue scrutinizing the documents as they evaluate whether to bring criminal charges over the storage of of top-secret records at Mar-a-Lago after Trump left the White House. The court also pointedly noted that Trump had presented no evidence that he had declassified the sensitive records, as he has repeatedly maintained, and rejected the possibility that Trump could have an "individual interest in or need for" the roughly 100 documents marked as classified. The government had argued that its investigation had been impeded by an order from

US prez Biden, UK PM Truss seek to smooth over Northern Ireland divide

US President Joe Biden and UK Prime Minister Liz Truss declared themselves staunch allies Wednesday as they tried to patch up a divide over Brexit's impact on peace in Northern Ireland. The leaders met at the United Nations two days after they attended the funeral of Queen Elizabeth II in London, and Britain hopes the global goodwill toward the late queen will help smooth out bumps in relations with the US and other allies caused by the UK's departure from the European Union. The US, in particular, is concerned that Brexit has rattled the foundations of the 1998 Good Friday peace accord that ended 30 years of sectarian violence. We are both committed to protecting the Good Friday Agreement of Northern Ireland, and I'm looking forward to hearing what's on your mind, Biden said at the start of the meeting at the UN General Assembly in New York. Truss said she was looking forward to discussing the Belfast Good Friday Agreement and how we make sure that's upheld into the future. Truss

US House passes election law overhaul in response to Trump's Jan 6 move

The House has passed legislation to overhaul the rules for certifying the results of a presidential election as lawmakers accelerate their response to the Jan. 6, 2021, insurrection and Donald Trump's failed attempt to remain in power. The bill, which is similar to bipartisan legislation moving through the Senate, would overhaul an arcane 1800s-era statute known as the Electoral Count Act that governs, along with the US Constitution, how states and Congress certify electors and declare presidential election winners. While that process has long been routine and ceremonial, Trump and a group of his aides and lawyers unsuccessfully tried to exploit loopholes in the law in an attempt to overturn his defeat to Joe Biden in the 2020 election. Democrats are pushing to pass the bill before the end of the year and ahead of the 2024 election cycle as Trump is considering another run. While at least 10 GOP senators have signed on to the Senate version, the House vote fell mostly along party ..

North Korea denies US claims of sending arms to Russia amid Ukraine war

North Korea says it hasn't exported any weapons to Russia during the war in Ukraine and has no plans to do so, and said US intelligence reports of weapons transfers were an attempt to tarnish North Korea's image. In comments to state media on Thursday, an unidentified North Korean defense official told the US to stop making "reckless remarks" and to "keep its mouth shut." Biden administration officials earlier this month confirmed a declassified US intelligence assessment that Russia was in the process of purchasing arms from North Korea, including millions of artillery shells and rockets. North Korean arms exports to Russia would violate United Nations resolutions banning the country from importing or exporting weapons. The North Korean official stressed that Pyongyang has never recognized the "unlawful" UN Security Council sanctions against the country "cooked up by the US and its vassal forces." The official said the export and import of military equipment is a "lawful right ..

Joe Biden acknowledges geopolitical shifts, says will not seek new Cold War

US President Joe Biden has acknowledged that there are "shifting geopolitical trends" in relation to China, but said that the US does not seek conflict or want another cold war

Russian separatists release 10, including 2 US veterans held in Ukraine

Two US military veterans who disappeared three months ago while fighting Russia with Ukrainian forces were among 10 prisoners, including five British nationals, released by Russian-backed separatists as part of a prisoner exchange mediated by Saudi Arabia, officials said Wednesday. Alex Drueke, 40, and Andy Huynh, 27, went missing in the Kharkiv region of northeastern Ukraine near the Russian border June 9. Both had traveled to Ukraine on their own and became friends because both are from Alabama. The families announced their release in a joint statement from Dianna Shaw, an aunt of Drueke. "They are safely in the custody of the US embassy in Saudi Arabia and after medical checks and debriefing they will return to the states," the statement said. Shaw said both men have spoken with relatives and are in "pretty good shape", according to an official with the US embassy. The Saudi embassy released a statement saying it helped secure the release of 10 prisoners from Morocco, the Unite

US-India in talks to reduce country's dependence on Russian arms, energy

Russia is "no longer a reliable weapons supplier", and Indians are "coming to understand" that they could benefit from finding other suppliers, an official of the US State Department said

Nearly 14.7 million kids infected with Covid-19 since 2020 in US: Report

Almost 14.7 million children in the US have tested positive for Covid-19 since the onset of the pandemic in early 2020, according to the latest report by the American Academy of Pediatrics

Pak's ISI calls me enemy for anti-radical stand: Indian-American official

Indian-American Congressman Raja Krishnamoorthi has said that Pakistan's spy agency ISI considers him an "enemy" because of his stand against the radicals in the South Asian country. The Democratic Party lawmaker from Illinois said this while addressing community members during a fundraiser hosted by him in Boston at the residence of eminent Indian American R V Kapur, president of the US India Security Council (USISC). He (Krishnamoorthi) said that the ISI in Pakistan views him as an enemy for his stand against radicals in Pakistan. He reiterated that he respected all religions and never discriminated against any colour, race or religion, according to a press statement issued by the US India Security Council. Krishnamoorthi assured the Indian-American community to continue to support strategic relations between the US and India if he won so that this friendship could deter China from its ambitions in the pacific. The lunch among others was attended by several eminent Indian America