Sunday, April 18

Tag: Us

Ahead of US visit, China terms Taiwan exercises ‘combat drills’
14Apr By News RoomNo Comments
World

Ahead of US visit, China terms Taiwan exercises ‘combat drills’

China described its military exercises near Taiwan as “combat drills” on Tuesday, hours before the arrival of senior former US officials in Taipei on a trip to signal President Joe Biden’s commitment to Taiwan and its democracy. Taiwan has complained over the proximity of repeated Chinese military activity, including fighter jets and bombers entering its air defence zone and a Chinese aircraft carrier exercising off the island, claimed by Beijing. Twenty-five Chinese air force aircraft including fighters and nuclear-capable bombers entered Taiwan’s air defence identification zone (ADIZ) on Monday, the largest reported incursion by Taipei to date. China’s Taiwan Affairs Office said Taiwan’s government and separatists were colluding with “external forces”, seeking provocation and to...
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Joe Biden to address US Congress as lawmakers consider infrastructure plan
14Apr By News RoomNo Comments
World

Joe Biden to address US Congress as lawmakers consider infrastructure plan

US President Joe Biden will speak to a joint session of the US Congress on April 28, accepting an invitation from House of Representatives Speaker Nancy Pelosi, a fellow Democrat. “The President has accepted the invitation of the Speaker of the House to address a Joint Session of Congress on April 28, the night before his 100th day in office,” the White House said in a prepared statement. The speech will give Biden, 78, an opportunity to deliver a sales pitch to millions of Americans for his US$2.3 trillion  infrastructure proposal, which is the subject of a partisan debate in Congress. It comes as he faces several daunting domestic challenges, including the coronavirus pandemic and record numbers of migrants crossing the US border with Mexico. Abroad he must manage confrontations...
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US report reveals troubling human rights abuses in Pakistan
13Apr By News RoomNo Comments
World

US report reveals troubling human rights abuses in Pakistan

US State Department has issued its report on human rights condition in different countries across the world. It has also discussed Pakistan, in terms of different issues including human rights violation, freedom of expression, the plight of minorities, militancy, and other issues. In the chapter on Pakistan, the report has mentioned "threats of violence, or unjustified arrests or prosecutions against journalists, use of criminal libel laws to prosecute social media speech and censorship, and site blocking." A prominent feature of the rights report is the plight of women in Pakistan. The US State Department underlined a wide array of reasons for the plummeting women's rights in Pakistan and the increase in female marginalization in the country. The report said that the reasons include b...
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Probe ordered after US police pepper-spray Black soldier
12Apr By News RoomNo Comments
World

Probe ordered after US police pepper-spray Black soldier

 The governor of the US state of Virginia vowed a full investigation yesterday after footage emerged of two police officers detaining a Black army officer at gunpoint and pepper-spraying him in the face. Lieutenant Caron Nazario, who is Black and Latino, repeatedly asked what he had done wrong and said, “This is really messed up,” as the officers holding guns demanded he get out of his car. The police accused him of not cooperating. Nazario, wearing his military uniform, was driving a newly bought SUV when the officers ordered him to pull over because he did not have permanent licence plates, news reports said. Virginia governor Ralph Northam said in a statement he had instructed police to conduct an “independent investigation” into the incident, which he said was “disturbing a...
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Indian Techie, Wife Found Dead In US; Daughter, 4, Seen Crying On Balcony
9Apr By News RoomNo Comments
Highlights, India, World

Indian Techie, Wife Found Dead In US; Daughter, 4, Seen Crying On Balcony

An Indian couple was found dead at their home in the US after neighbours saw their four-year-old daughter crying alone in the balcony of their house, family sources said on Friday. Some US media outlets said the couple died of an apparent stabbing in their North Arlington apartment. The husband apparently stabbed and sliced his wife in the abdomen as she unsuccessfully tried to fight him off in their living room, a US media report said. The bodies of Balaji Bharat Rudrawar (32) and his wife Arati Balaji Rudrawar (30) were found at their 21 Garden Terrace apartment in the Riverview Gardens complex of North Arlington borough in New Jersey which has just over 15,000 residents. "The bodies were found on Wednesday after neighbours saw my granddaughter crying in the balcony and infor...
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Joe Biden tackles ‘ghost guns’ and US firearms violence
8Apr By News RoomNo Comments
World

Joe Biden tackles ‘ghost guns’ and US firearms violence

President Joe Biden will unveil measures today aimed at curbing rampant US gun violence, especially seeking to prevent the spread of untraceable “ghost guns,” White House officials said. Biden has come under pressure from his Democratic party to tackle the bloodshed, most recently highlighted by mass killings as far apart as Colorado, Georgia, and California. In addition to relatively modest measures on the politically hyper-sensitive issue, Biden will announce his nomination of David Chipman, a gun-control proponent, to head the Bureau of Alcohol, Tobacco, Firearms, and Explosives — a central agency in the fight against gun violence. Reflecting the lack of political unity around anything to do with firearms restrictions, the ATF has not had a Senate-confirmed director since 2015. ...
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US warns China over moves on Philippines, Taiwan
8Apr By News RoomNo Comments
World

US warns China over moves on Philippines, Taiwan

The United States yesterday warned China against what the Philippines and Taiwan see as increasingly aggressive moves, reminding Beijing of Washington’s obligations to its partners. “An armed attack against the Philippines’ armed forces, public vessels or aircraft in the Pacific, including in the South China Sea, will trigger our obligations under the US-Philippines Mutual Defence Treaty,” State Department spokesman Ned Price told reporters. “We share the concerns of our Philippine allies regarding the continued reported massing of PRC maritime militia near the Whitsun Reef,” Price said, referring to the People’s Republic of China. More than 200 Chinese boats were first spotted on March 7 at Whitsun Reef, around 320 kilometres (200 miles) west of Palawan Island in the contested Sout...
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US: Supreme Court Justice suggests more regulations for social media platforms like Twitter
6Apr By News RoomNo Comments
World

US: Supreme Court Justice suggests more regulations for social media platforms like Twitter

A US Supreme Court Justice Clarence Thomas has said that Congress should consider whether laws should be updated to better regulate social media platforms that have "unbridled control" over "unprecedented" amounts of speech. According to CNN, the provocative and controversial opinion comes as Twitter banned former President Donald Trump from its platform for violating its rules on incitement of violence. Some conservatives have called on more regulations in the tech world to combat what they view as political bias on social media. "If part of the problem is private, concentrated control over online content and platforms available to the public, then part of the solution may be found in doctrines that limit the right of a private company to exclude," Thomas wrote in a 12-page concurri...
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Top leaders of US, Russia to hold parleys in New Delhi today
6Apr By News RoomNo Comments
Highlights, India, World

Top leaders of US, Russia to hold parleys in New Delhi today

Russian foreign minister Sergei Lavrov and US special presidential envoy for climate John Kerry both landed in the national capital on Monday evening. Russian Foreign Minister Lavrov, on a two-day visit to India is set to hold talks with his External Affairs minister S Jaishankar today. Detailed talks are expected on the ongoing peace negotiations on Afghanistan. Lavrov and Jaishankar will meet in the backdrop of an extended troika organised by Moscow last month in which the US, Pakistan, and representatives of the Afghanistan government, members of the Taliban took part. India was not invited for the meet. Russia has maintained that India is a key regional country and has a stake in peaceful Afghanistan. Kabul also wants India to play a more prominent role. While Moscow is holdin...
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US, Japan, South Korea vow to continue cooperation to Denuclearize North Korea
3Apr By News RoomNo Comments
World

US, Japan, South Korea vow to continue cooperation to Denuclearize North Korea

The national security advisors from the United States, Japan, and South Korea have agreed to continue trilateral cooperation to denuclearize North Korea, the three officials said in a joint statement provided by the White House. "The national security advisors shared their concerns about North Korea's nuclear and ballistic missile programs and reaffirmed their commitment to address and resolve these issues through concerted trilateral cooperation towards denuclearization," the statement said on Friday. US National Security Advisor Jake Sullivan, Japanese National Security Secretariat chief General Shigeru Kitamura, and South Korean National Security Office Director Suh Hoon met in Washington earlier on Friday to consult on the United States' review of its North Korea policy and to di...
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US couple arrested in plan to join IS in Yemen
2Apr By News RoomNo Comments
World

US couple arrested in plan to join IS in Yemen

A US couple was charged yesterday with support for a terror group after trying to board a Yemen-bound ship to join the Islamic State group, the Justice Department said. James Bradley, 20, of New York and Arwa Muthana, 29, from Alabama were stopped Wednesday as they stepped onto the gangplank of a cargo ship in Newark, New Jersey. The Justice Department said that Bradley had expressed violent extremist views since at least 2019, and in contacts with an undercover law enforcement agency last year repeatedly said he believed in the Islamic State group. He also told the undercover agent he was willing to carry out an attack against a US target, including possibly the US Military Academy at West Point. Bradley had already drawn the FBI's attention after a friend of his was arrested in...
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US blasts China over ‘genocide’, Russia for targeting critic Navalny
1Apr By News RoomNo Comments
World

US blasts China over ‘genocide’, Russia for targeting critic Navalny

The United States highlighted a deteriorating picture for human rights across the world, calling out China's repression of Uighurs and Russia's targeting of political dissidents among other abuses. The State Department released reports on the rights situation last year in nearly 200 countries, which are required annually by law and include detailed reports on geopolitical rivals like Russia and China. "The trend lines on human rights continue to move in the wrong direction," Secretary of State Antony Blinken said. Some governments used Covid crisis as a "pretext to restrict rights and consolidate authoritarian rule", he said. In China, the authorities disappeared four citizen journalists reporting on the initial Covid-19 outbreak in Wuhan. Academics in China who strayed from the offi...
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US surpasses 30 million Covid-19 cases amid vaccinations
25Mar By News RoomNo Comments
World

US surpasses 30 million Covid-19 cases amid vaccinations

The United States on Wednesday surpassed 30 million cases of COVID-19 even as the country is making progress on the number of vaccinations. While daily new infections have decreased significantly from their peak in January, new cases remain high at around 55,000 cases per day, while 1,000 people are dying every day despite a decline in casualties due to vaccinations, reported The Hill. Meanwhile, hundreds of spring breakers have been flocking to the streets, beaches, and restaurants in Miami Beach in Florida, prompting health officials to urge people not to let down their guard. Health officials have also warned against states lifting coronavirus restrictions until a wider share of the population is vaccinated. "When I'm often asked, 'Are we turning the corner?' my response is ...
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UNHRC session: US co-sponsors UK led resolution on human rights violations in Sri Lanka
25Mar By News RoomNo Comments
World

UNHRC session: US co-sponsors UK led resolution on human rights violations in Sri Lanka

The United States on Wednesday (local time) co-sponsored a resolution led by the United Kingdom on "Promoting reconciliation, accountability, and human rights in Sri Lanka" in the 46th session of the UN Human Rights Council (UNHRC). The United States, in collaboration with the Sri Lanka Core Group and like-minded countries, worked to include a mandate for the Office of the UN High Commissioner for Human Rights (OHCHR) to collect, analyze and preserve information and evidence and to develop possible strategies for future accountability processes for violations of human rights and international humanitarian law, said the official statement of UNHRC. "We hope to continue working through UN mechanisms and partner countries to support this major step towards accountability," said the US i...
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India, US to re-establish Homeland Security Dialogue
24Mar By News RoomNo Comments
Highlights, India, World

India, US to re-establish Homeland Security Dialogue

US Secretary of Homeland Security Alejandro N Mayorkas recently spoke to Indian Ambassador to US Taranjit Singh Sandhu, wherein they agreed to re-establish the US-India Homeland Security Dialogue. According to a statement released by Homeland Security, both sides on Monday also agreed to discuss important issues such as cybersecurity, emerging technology, and violent extremism. During his talks on Monday, Mayorkas expressed his desire to further strengthen the partnership between the Indian government and the US Department of Homeland Security. During their discussion, both sides highlighted the positive engagement that has already taken place during US President Joe Biden's administration, including with the Quad, which addressed concrete commitments to cooperate on COVID-19, cli...
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