Page 9 - Usa

China's Huawei attempting to dominate 5G services, steal data: US lawmaker

Highlighting the dire threat posed by Chinese companies to US security, Senator Tom Cotton accused the Chinese tech giant Huawei of attempting to dominate 5G technology and stealing Americans' data

3 held for running illegal call centres to dupe US-based senior citizens

The Delhi Police has arrested three men for allegedly running illegal call centres here and defrauding senior citizens based in the US on the pretext of providing them with technology support against "malfunctioning" of their computers, officials said on Friday. The accused, identified as Jatin Lamba, Harshad Madaan and Vikas Gupta, were held in Delhi after police conducted overnight raids, whereas their counterpart Jayant Bhatia was arrested by Canadian Law Enforcement Agency from Toronto and Kulwinder Singh was arrested by the FBI, USA from New Jersey, they said. Police said Jatin Lamba with his brother Gagan Lamba was running a company from Ganesh Nagar, New Delhi camouflaging as a tech support company and used to run call centres that targeted US citizens. Deputy Commissioner of Police (IFSO, Special Cell) Prashant K Gautam said Gupta has been involved in the scam as calling agent to provide tech support to fix the technical glitch in the computer of the victim. Madaan, the DCP

Garcetti well-qualified to serve as US Ambassador to India: White House

Former Los Angeles Mayor Eric Garcetti is well-qualified to serve as the US Ambassador to India, the White House said Thursday. The statement comes days after influential senator Chuck Grassley opposed Garcetti's nomination as he faces an allegation of sexual harassment by one of his staff members. White House Press Secretary Karine Jean-Pierre, however, told reporters at her daily news conference that a diplomat in India is a priority. As you know, this is a priority and continues to be a priority for us. Mayor Garcetti is well-qualified to serve in this vital role, she said. Grassley's remarks on the Senate floor came amidst the White House intensifying its efforts to push Garcetti in the position which has remained vacant for nearly two years. India currently chairs G20, resulting in scores of diplomatic activities between the two countries, and the Biden administration wants to have its envoy in New Delhi at the earliest. Garcetti, who served as the 42nd mayor of Los Angeles f

Georgia, New Hampshire ban Chinese app TikTok over security concerns

Governors Brian Kemp of Georgia and Chris Sununu of New Hampshire on Thursday immediately banned the use of TikTok and popular messaging applications from all computer devices controlled by their state governments, saying the Chinese government may be able to access users' personal information. Both Republican governors banned the messaging app WeChat and other apps owned by Chinese firm Tencent. Sununu went further, banning apps owned by Chinese firm Alibaba and telecommunications hardware and smartphones made by Chinese firms including Huawei and ZTE. Kemp also banned Telegram, saying its Russian control poses similar risks. The state of Georgia has a responsibility to prevent any attempt to access and infiltrate its secure data and sensitive information by foreign adversaries such as the CCP, Kemp wrote in a memo, using an acronym for the Chinese Communist Party. As such, it is our duty to take action to preserve the safety and security of our state against the CCP, entities it .

US House passes referendum for vote on Puerto Rico's political status

The U.S. House passed a bill Thursday that would allow Puerto Rico to hold the first-ever binding referendum on whether to become a state or gain some sort of independence, in a last-ditch effort that stands little chance of passing the Senate. The bill, which passed 233-191 with some Republican support, would offer voters in the U.S. territory three options: statehood, independence or independence with free association. It is crucial to me that any proposal in Congress to decolonize Puerto Rico be informed and led by Puerto Ricans, said Rep. Ral Grijalva, D-Ariz., chairman of the House Natural Resources Committee, which oversees affairs in U.S. territories. The proposal would commit Congress to accept Puerto Rico into the United States as the 51st state if voters on the island approved it. Voters also could choose outright independence or independence with free association, whose terms would be defined following negotiations over foreign affairs, U.S. citizenship and use of the U.S

US imposes new penalties on entities involved in Russia's financial sector

The United States on Thursday imposed a new round of financial penalties on people and entities involved in Russia's financial sector, with the targets including one of that country's richest men, Vladimir Potanin, his family and a commercial bank he acquired this year. The Treasury Department's Office of Foreign Assets Control also imposed sanctions on more than 40 people linked to the Russian financial sector and 17 subsidiaries of VTB Bank Public Joint Stock Company also known as VTB Bank Russia's second largest bank. VTB Bank was designated for sanctions in February. The State Department issued separate diplomatic designations on the people and companies. Western nations and other allies have imposed a range of penalties meant to crush Russia's finances due to Russian President Vladimir Putin's invasion of Ukraine. Russia's Central Bank faces restrictions that target access to the more than $600 billion in reserves that the Kremlin has at its disposal. Allied countries have .

Taking Fed lead, Bank of England and ECB raise rates by 50 basis points

Britain's central bank on Thursday raised its key interest rate again but toned down the pace as inflation shows signs of easing, mirroring action by the US Federal Reserve and ahead of an anticipated identical move by European policymakers. The Bank of England raised the benchmark rate by half a percentage point, to 3.5 per cent, the highest level in 14 years. It was the ninth consecutive increase since December 2021 and follows last month's outsized three-quarter point hike, the biggest in 30 years. This time, officials opted for less aggressive action after data this week showed inflation slipped from a 41-year high, but they warned that more hikes are likely to come. The bank last month forecast a prolonged recession in the UK and consumer price inflation staying very high in the near term. Should that scenario play out, further rate increases may be required for a sustainable return of inflation" to its 2 per cent target, bank's Monetary Policy Committee said. There are ...

Russia-Ukraine war: Moscow warns 'consequences' if US sends missiles

Russia's Foreign Ministry warned Thursday that if the United States confirms reports that it plans to deliver sophisticated air defense missiles to Ukraine, it would be another provocative move by the U.S. that could prompt a response from Moscow. Ministry spokesperson Maria Zakharova said in a weekly briefing Thursday that the U.S. has effectively become a party to the war in Ukraine, following reports that it will provide Kyiv with Patriot surface-to-air missiles, the most advanced the West has yet provided to help Ukraine's military repel Russian aerial attacks. Zakharova added that growing amounts of U.S. military assistance, including the transfer of such sophisticated weapons, "would mean even broader involvement of military personnel in the hostilities and could entail possible consequences. She did not specify what the consequences might be. U.S. officials said Tuesday that Washington was poised to approve sending a Patriot missile battery to Ukraine, finally agreeing to an

US registers 50% increase in weekly Covid-19 cases among children

About 41,000 child Covid-19 cases were reported in the US in the week ending December 8, an increase of about 50 per cent over the weekly average in the previous eight weeks

US plans for more migrant releases when asylum restrictions end next week

The Department of Homeland Security said more migrants may be released into the United States to pursue immigration cases when Trump-era asylum restrictions end next week in one of its most detailed assessments ahead of the major policy shift. The department reported faster processing for migrants in custody on the border, more temporary detention tents, staffing surges and increased criminal prosecutions of smugglers, noting progress on a plan announced in April. But the seven-page document dated Tuesday included no major structural changes amid unusually large numbers of migrants entering the country. More are expected with the end of Title 42 authority, under which migrants have been denied rights to seek asylum more than 2.5 million times on grounds of preventing spread of COVID-19. A federal judge in Washington ordered Title 42 to end December 21 but Republican-led states asked an appeals court to keep it in place. The Biden administration has also challenged some aspects of

US, Africa seal $15 billion in trade investments during Washington summit

The United States committed to $15 billion worth of two-way trade deals with several countries in Africa during a summit in Washington this week, the White House said on Wednesday

Twitter must tell fired workers about severance lawsuit, says US judge

Filed by a handful of workers, the suit alleges Twitter failed to give the required 60 to 90 days notice about the mass layoffs and is shortchanging the former employees on severance pay

Biden administration proposes ban on misleading Medicare Advantage ads

The Biden administration on Wednesday proposed a ban on misleading ads for Medicare Advantage plans that have targeted older Americans and, in some cases, convinced them to sign up for plans that don't cover their doctors or prescriptions. The rule, proposed by the Centers for Medicare and Medicaid Services, would ban ads that market Medicare Advantage plans with confusing words, imagery or logos. The rule also would ban ads that don't specifically mention a health insurance plan by name. It's an aggressive step to tackle a growing problem in the Medicare Advantage marketplace, a booming business that offers privately run versions of the government's Medicare program for people who are 65 and older or have disabilities. Nearly half of all Medicare enrollees about 28 million are now turning to Medicare Advantage plans. And some have been deceived by television commercials, online ads and mailers put out by the marketing agencies and brokers that some insurers have hired to win over

US charges 7 Russian nationals with military tech plot on govt orders

The US has charged five Russian nationals, including a suspected Federal Security Service (FSB) officer for allegedly conspiring to obtain military-grade and dual-use technologies from US companies

US lawmakers introduce bipartisan legislation to ban Chinese app TikTok

US Senator Marco Rubio introduced bipartisan legislation to ban the Chinese social media platform TikTok from operating in the United States

EU moves closer to new data transfer deal over spying concerns with US

The European Union moved closer to a clinching a revamped deal over transatlantic data transfers aimed at resolving concerns about U.S. spying with a draft decision that confirms comparable safeguards to those in the EU, which has stringent privacy rules. The EU's executive Commission released its draft decision approving the pact Tuesday, which follows a breakthrough preliminary agreement in March between Brussels and Washington to resolve a yearslong battle over the privacy of EU citizens' data that businesses routinely store in the U.S. That breakthrough was hailed by business groups, which said it will provide certainty to thousands of companies, including tech giants like Google and Facebook, sending data between Europe, which has stricter data privacy regulations, and the comparatively lax U.S., which lacks a comprehensive federal privacy law. Frictions over the transfers had raised the prospect that companies might need to keep European data out of the U.S. We are now confid

Massive US storm brings tornadoes to South, areas under blizzard threat

A massive storm blowing across the country spawned tornadoes that wrecked homes and injured a handful of people in parts of Oklahoma and Texas, including the Dallas-Fort Worth area, as much of the central United States from the Rocky Mountains to the Midwest braced Tuesday for blizzard-like conditions. An area stretching from Montana into western Nebraska and Colorado was under blizzard warnings, and the National Weather Service said that as much as 2 feet (61 centimeters) of snow was possible in some areas of western South Dakota and northwestern Nebraska. Ice and sleet were expected in the eastern Great Plains. In the south, a line of thunderstorms that moved across North Texas and Oklahoma in the early morning hours brought tornadoes, damaging winds, hail and heavy rain, said National Weather Service meteorologist Tom Bradshaw. Authorities on Tuesday reported dozens of damaged homes and businesses and several people injured. In the Fort Worth suburbs, photos sent by the North ...

Investors see growth in Asian equities, currencies as US CPI eases

The consumer price index reading supports forecasts for the Federal Reserve to reduce the pace of monetary tightening

Biden signs gay marriage law, calls it 'a blow against hate in all forms'

A celebratory crowd of thousands bundled up on a raw Tuesday afternoon to watch President Joe Biden sign gay marriage legislation into law, a joyful ceremony that was tempered by the backdrop of an ongoing conservative backlash over gender issues. This law and the love it defends strike a blow against hate in all its forms, Biden said on the South Lawn of the White House. And that's why this law matters to every single American. Singers Sam Smith and Cyndi Lauper performed. Vice President Kamala Harris recalled officiating at a lesbian wedding in San Francisco. And the White House played a recording of Biden's television interview from a decade ago, when he caused a political furor by unexpectedly disclosing his support for gay marriage. Biden was vice president at the time, and President Barack Obama had not yet endorsed the idea. I got in trouble, Biden joked of that moment. Three days later, Obama himself publicly endorsed gay marriage. Lawmakers from both parties attended ...

USDA announces another climate-smart agriculture project worth $325 million

The federal government on Monday announced another $325 million for agricultural projects that are intended to reduce greenhouse gas emissions. The latest list of 71 recipients for the U.S. Department of Agriculture's Climate-Smart Commodities programme primarily involve small and underserved farmers and ranchers. The payments follow $2.8 billion awarded in September to 70 projects, mostly larger-scale efforts backed by universities, businesses and agricultural groups. USDA Secretary Tom Vilsack announced the latest round of funding at Tuskegee University, a historically Black college in Alabama, saying it's vital that small operations benefit from the programme. It's important that we send a message that it's not about the size of your operation, that you don't only benefit from the programmes like this if you're a large-scale producer, Vilsack told The Associated Press. If you're a producer that historically has not been able to participate fully and completely in programmes at