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Trump's Save America fundraising group under US govt investigation: Report

A US federal grand jury is investigating former President Donald Trump's Save America fundraising group, a media report said, citing subpoenas

Greece signs deal to recover 161 ancient artifacts from US billionaire

Greece has ratified a complex deal for the return, over coming decades, of 161 striking ancient Greek artifacts from a US billionaire's collection after Athens conceded it had no evidence they'd been illegally excavated and exported. The mostly marble works date from 5300-2200 BC, and the bulk of them are from the Early Bronze Age Cycladic civilisation whose elegantly abstract but enigmatic marble figurines inspired artists from Pablo Picasso to Constantin Brancusi. Such pieces are highly prized by collectors and museums, which has spawned a wave of illegal excavations in Greece and countless forgeries. Greece's parliament on Thursday approved the agreement with New York's Metropolitan Museum of Art, a top Athens museum and a Delaware-based cultural institution to which they are being transferred. The works will return to Greece gradually from 2033-2048, after being displayed at the Met from 2023-2048. Culture Minister Lina Mendoni described them as masterpieces ... of unique ...

US announces sanctions against Iranian firms for selling drones to Russia

The US Treasury Department has announced that it is levying sanctions against four Iranian companies that it says were involved in sending drones to Russia last month for use in Moscow's war against Ukraine. Tehran-based Safiran Airport Services, Paravar Pars Company, Design and Manufacturing of Aircraft Engines, and Baharestan Kish Company were all hit with the new sanctions. Russia is making increasingly desperate choices to continue its unprovoked war against Ukraine, particularly in the face of our unprecedented sanctions and export controls, said Brian Nelson, under secretary of the Treasury for terrorism and financial intelligence on Thursday. The United States is committed to strictly enforcing our sanctions against both Russia and Iran and holding accountable Iran and those supporting Russia's war of aggression against Ukraine." Safiran coordinates Russian military flights between Iran and Russia, including those that US intelligence officials say transported Iranian unmann

Biden surpasses Trump in head-to-head 'poll 2024 rematch' with 6 point lead

US President Joe Biden and former president Donald Trump are head to head in a hypothetical 2024 presidential rerun of 2020 with the former gaining a six point lead among registered voters

Cuba says US is being unfair for keeping it on sponsors of terrorism list

Cuba's deputy foreign minister accused the Biden administration of acting immorally, illegitimately and unfairly by keeping Cuba on the list of state sponsors of terrorism, claiming it has been a victim of state-sponsored terrorism by the United States for more than 60 years. Carlos Fernandez de Cossio said in an interview with The Associated Press that maintaining Cuba on the State Department blacklist with North Korea, Iran and Syria is an easy way to punish Cuba with the overall aim of trying to make Cuba what it is not to make Cuba a failed state. The U.S. unfortunately pays no price for doing something that is illegitimate, unsustainable and immoral, he said. And even though, speaking with government officials, they find no reason why Cuba should be in the list, they claim that it is politically difficult for them. The United States imposed an economic embargo on Cuba in 1960 following the revolution led by Fidel Castro and the nationalisation of properties belonging to U.S.

Piyush Goyal pitches for higher engagements with US to create opportunities

Union Minister for Commerce and Industry Piyush Goyal on Wednesday pitched for increasing engagements with the US that will provide new opportunities to India for combating challenges in supply chains

Biden administration approves $450 mn F-16 fleet programme to Pakistan

Reversing the decision of its predecessor, the Biden Administration has approved a whooping USD 450 million F-16 fighter jet fleet sustainment programme to Pakistan. As a notification to the US Congress, the State Department has made a determination approving a possible foreign military sale of F-16 case for sustainment and related equipment for an estimated cost of USD 450 million, arguing that this will sustain Islamabad's capability to meet current and future counterterrorism threats by maintaining its F-16 fleet, The Defense Security Cooperation Agency delivered the required certification notifying Congress of this possible sale on Wednesday. This is the first major security assistance to Pakistan after Trump in 2018 had announced to stop all defense and security assistance to Pakistan alleging that Islamabad was not a partner in its fight against terrorism. The United States Government has notified Congress of a proposed Foreign Military Sales case to sustain the Pakistan Air

US Assistant Secretary Lu's India visit to deepen strategic ties: Official

The ongoing India visit of Assistant Secretary of State for South and Central Asian Affairs Donald Lu is to deepen strategic partnership with India, the State Department said has Wednesday. Lu is leading a US delegation to India from September 5th to 8th. This is to deepen the US-India Comprehensive Global Strategic Partnership. This delegation will meet with Indian officials. They will discuss ways in which the US and India can expand our cooperation to support a free, open, connected, prosperous, and resilient Indo-Pacific, State Department Deputy Spokesperson Vedant Patel told reporters at a news conference. We also understand that Assistant Secretary Lu will engage in roundtable discussions with senior business executives about how India can realize its full economic potential over the next 25 years and became a central hub in global supply chains as well, he said in response to a question.

Vladimir Putin is weaponising energy, alleges US after export cut threats

Russian President Vladimir Putin is weaponising energy, the White House has alleged, a day after he threatened to cut off all energy exports to the West if the US proceeded with its gas cap. Putin on Wednesday threatened to completely cut energy supplies to the West if it tries to cap prices of Russian exports. He also vowed to press on with Moscow's military action in Ukraine until it achieves its goals. This shows that Putin is, again, weaponising energy, by his very words, also by his actions. But the President (Joe Biden) and our partners in Europe predicted this playbook. We saw this coming, and we have been preparing for months. We have talked through the different processes of how this price cap could look, White House Press Secretary Karine Jean-Pierre said on Wednesday during her daily news conference. The US and European Union, she said, have set up a task force to work on ways to increase alternate sources of natural gas to Europe and help reduce Europe's demand for Russi

Resilient US dollar soars to 24-year high vs yen, 37-year peak vs sterling

A Northern California sheriff's deputy has turned himself in to law enforcement after he was accused in the fatal slaying of a husband and wife in their home early on Wednesday, authorities said.

US: Northern California sheriff's deputy in custody after slaying double

A Northern California sheriff's deputy has turned himself in to law enforcement after he was accused in the fatal slaying of a husband and wife in their home early on Wednesday, authorities said. Devin Williams Jr., a deputy with the Alameda County Sheriff's Office, called authorities in the hours after the shooting and said he wanted to turn himself in, officials said. Police stayed on the phone with him until the off-duty deputy was taken into custody by the California Highway Patrol. Police were called to a home in Dublin a city in the East Bay about 35 miles (56 kilometers) from downtown San Francisco around 12.45 am. The 911 caller said two people had been shot inside the residence and the suspect, later identified as Williams, had fled in a vehicle. Law enforcement officials said they were searching for Devin Williams Jr., a deputy with the Alameda County Sheriff's Office. He is considered to be armed and dangerous. Williams apparently knew the couple but investigators we

India's digital revolution offers investment opportunities to US, says FM

India's digital revolution offered investment opportunities for the United States, the South Asian country's finance minister said on Wednesday

2 suspects, including a teen, arrested in Texas drive-by shooting case

Two suspects, including a teen, have been arrested in connection with a drive-by shooting in Fort Worth last week that left a 17-year-old and a 5-year-old dead, police said Tuesday. Anthony Ray Bell-Johnson, 21, and a 16-year-old male juvenile have been charged with capital murder. In a statement, police said the pair were arrested and jailed over the Labour Day weekend. Police were not releasing the identity of the teen because of his age. It was unclear from jail records if either suspect had an attorney. Killed in the August 28 shooting were Rayshard Scott, 5, and his cousin, Jamarrien Monroe, 17. Police say a car drove up to a house in far north Fort Worth at about 2:15 pm, and a person or persons in the vehicle opened fire on the front yard. Tijuana West, Jamarrien Monroe's mother, told the Fort Worth Star-Telegram that she was upstairs when she heard what sounded like fireworks. It happened so fast, she said. I was just trying to figure out where my babies were. She said sh

Piyush Goyal applauds PM Modi's management skills at Stanford University

Union Commerce and Industry Minister Piyush Goyal, who is on a six-day visit to San Francisco and Los Angeles highlighted Prime Minister Narendra Modi's management skills at Stanford University

US authors Strout, Everett among Booker Prize finalists

American authors Elizabeth Strout and Percival Everett are up against writers from Britain, Ireland, Zimbabwe and Sri Lanka as finalists for the prestigious Booker Prize for fiction. Strout's symphony of everyday lives Oh William! and Everett's powerful novel about racism and police violence, The Trees, are on a shortlist announced Tuesday for the 50,000 pound (USD 58,000) prize. The other contenders include Zimbabwe's NoViolet Bulawayo, for animal fable Glory; Irish writer Claire Keegan's Small Things Like These; and The Seven Moons of Maali Almeida by Sri Lanka's Shehan Karunatilaka. British fantasy author Alan Garner the oldest-ever Booker nominee at 87 is on the list for Treacle Walker. Former British Museum director Neil MacGregor, who is chairing the judging panel, said several of the books are inspired by real events and address long national histories of cruelty and injustice, in Sri Lanka and Ireland, Zimbabwe and the United States. Set in different places at different

Ro Khanna introduces standalone bill in US House for CAATSA waiver to India

Indian-American Congressman Ro Khanna has introduced a stand-alone bill in the US House of Representatives that gives India specific waivers from the punitive CAATSA sanctions. CAATSA is a tough US law that authorises the administration to impose sanctions on countries that purchase major defence hardware from Russia in response to Russia's annexation of Crimea in 2014 and its alleged meddling in the 2016 US presidential elections. The law was brought in 2017 and provides for punitive actions by the US government against any country engaged in transactions with the Russian defence and intelligence sectors. In October 2018, India signed a USD 5 billion deal with Russia to buy five units of the S-400 air defence missile systems, despite a warning from the then-Trump administration that going ahead with the contract may invite US sanctions. The S-400 is known as Russia's most advanced long-range surface-to-air missile defence system. The resolution, which has also been endorsed by ...

US hopes China, India will take advantage of Russia oil price cap: Official

U.S. Deputy Treasury Secretary Wally Adeyemo said he was hopeful that China and India would join the coalition of countries seeking to impose a price cap on Russian oil or simply use the cap

Ex-Miss America Mund's entry pushes GOP Rep out of North Dakota House race

Former Miss America Cara Mund's entry into North Dakota's US House race has led the Democratic candidate to drop out, citing pressure from his own party to step aside. Mund entered the race in August as an independent, citing her support for abortion rights as a major reason. Tuesday was the deadline for her to submit 1,000 petitions to qualify for the ballot. North Dakota's only House seat is currently held by GOP Rep. Kelly Armstrong, who won his second term in the deeply conservative state in 2020 with 69% of the vote. Armstrong opposes abortion rights. Haugen opposes abortion rights and said Sunday that his stance cost him support in the party, the Bismarck Tribune reported. He said he didn't see a path to winning. Democratic-NPL Party Chairman Patrick Hart said in a statement that he doesn't "tell anyone what to do, but that he supports Haugen's decision to drop out. Haugen, a University of Mary graduate adviser in Bismarck who has long worked as a paramedic, faced no opposit

Internet service providers drop legal challenge to privacy law in US

One of the strictest internet privacy laws in the United States has withstood a legal challenge, as a group of telecommunication providers has dropped its bid to overturn the Maine standard. Maine created one of the toughest rules in the nation for internet service providers in 2020 when it began enforcing an opt-in web privacy standard. The law stops the service providers from using, disclosing, selling or providing access to customers' personal information without permission. Industry associations swiftly sued with a claim that the new law violated their First Amendment rights. A federal judge rejected that challenge, but legal wrangling continued. The groups, which include the country's biggest telecommunications providers, filed to dismiss the lawsuit on Sept. 2, said Maine Attorney General Aaron Frey. Frey said the state's privacy law held up despite the efforts of an army of industry lawyers organized against us, and now other states can follow Maine's lead. Maine's Legislatu

Joe Biden blasts 'extreme' GOP members in Labour Day battleground trips

President Joe Biden excoriated MAGA Republicans" and the extreme right on Monday, pitching personal Labour Day appeals to union members in two key swing states that he hopes will turn out in force for his party in November. The middle class built America, Biden told a workers' gathering at park grounds in Milwaukee. Everybody knows that. But unions built the middle class. Later Monday, he flew to West Mifflin, outside Pittsburgh returning to Pennsylvania for the third time in less than a week and just two days after his predecessor, Donald Trump, staged his own rally in the state. The unofficial start of fall, Labour Day also traditionally starts a political busy season where campaigns scramble to excite voters for Election Day on November 8. That's when control of the House and Senate, as well some of the country's top governorships, will be decided. Trump spoke Saturday night in Wilkes-Barre, near Scranton, where Biden was born. The president made his own Wilkes-Barre trip la