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President Donald Trump's administration is planning to withhold some public health and transportation money from a group of Democratic-led states. Full details have not been released, including whether the states could take any steps to avoid losing the funding. The federal government cited concerns over fraud and mismanagement of taxpayer dollars, but has not presented evidence beyond remarks from Trump and others in his administration. The approach has become a familiar one for the administration, and this time focuses on frequent targets: California, Colorado, Illinois and Minnesota. Courts have so far temporarily blocked other similar efforts by this administration to restrict funds. The latest effort targets some public health and transportation funds An Office of Management and Budget official confirmed to The Associated Press that the office is telling the US Department of Transportation and the US Centers for Disease Control and Prevention to cancel grants totalling more t
Bharatiya Kisan Union leader Rakesh Tikait on Tuesday slammed the India-US trade deal and said it will protest it across villages, as he accused the Union government of lying about protecting the interests of farmers. Speaking at a press conference here on the sidelines of a public meeting, Tikait compared the present situation with one in 1992, the period soon after India opened its economy. "The way the India-US deal has happened... It is going to be dangerous for India... We will have to speak out," he said. "It is a one-sided deal, a pressure deal. It is not acceptable for Indian farmers. They will dump subsidised goods, our farmers will not be able to sell their produce," the farmer leader said. Asked about the government's assurance that farmers would be protected, he said, "The government is lying... They can claim anything. Protest is the only way." Tikait said farmers will burn effigies of US President Donald Trump and Prime Minister Narendra Modi across villages, and als
Russia has accused the US of attempting to prevent India and other countries from buying Russian oil, saying Washington is using a wide range of "coercive" measures, including tariffs, sanctions and direct prohibitions, to fulfil its objective of global economic dominance. Foreign Minister Sergey Lavrov also accused the US of using "unfair methods" to suppress competitors by imposing sanctions on Russian oil companies. "(The US) is attempting to control our trade, investment cooperation, and military-technical ties with major strategic partners, such as India and other BRICS members," Lavrov said in an interview with TV BRICS on Monday. He said that the West is reluctant to relinquish its formerly dominant positions. "With the arrival of the (US President Donald) Trump administration, this struggle to suppress competitors became particularly pronounced and open," he said. Lavrov said that Russia accepted America's proposal on Ukraine during the Alaska talks between President Vladim
A top Iranian security official will travel Tuesday to Oman, the Mideast sultanate now mediating talks between Tehran and the United States over the Islamic Republic' nuclear program aimed at halting a possible American strike. Ali Larijani, a former Iranian Parliament speaker who now serves as the secretary to the country's Supreme National Security Council, likely will carry his country's response to the initial round of indirect talks held last week in Muscat with the Americans. Larijani is due to meet with Omani Foreign Minister Badr al-Busaidi, the chief intermediary in the talks, and Oman's Sultan Haitham bin Tariq, the state-run IRNA news agency reported. IRNA described the talks as "important," without elaborating on what message Larijani will carry. Iran and the U.S. held new nuclear talks last week in Oman. Foreign Minister Abbas Araghchi, speaking Sunday to diplomats at a summit in Tehran, signaled that Iran would stick to its position that it must be able to enrich urani
The United Nations said Monday it's waiting to find out how much of the nearly USD 4 billion the United States owes the world organisation the Trump administration intends to pay and when the money will arrive. UN Secretary-General Antonio Guterres warned last week that the world body faces "imminent financial collapse" unless its financial rules are overhauled or all 193 member nations pay their dues, a message clearly directed at the United States. The US owes USD 2.196 billion to the UN's regular operating budget, including USD 767 million for this year, according to a UN official. The US also owes USD 1.8 billion for the separate budget for the UN's far-flung peacekeeping operations, and that also will rise. The US Mission to the United Nations confirmed that US Ambassador Mike Waltz said the Trump administration planned to make a significant down payment on its arrears in a matter of weeks, with the final amount still to be determined. His comments were first reported by ...
Bangladesh on Monday secured a reduced 19 per cent tariff under a trade agreement with the United States that would exempt some textiles and garments manufactured with US materials, interim government chief Muhammad Yunus said. In an X post, he said Washington had "committed to establishing a mechanism for certain textile and apparel goods from Bangladesh using US-produced cotton and man-made fibre to receive zero reciprocal tariff in (the) US market". Yunus, known for his pro-US stance, said the deal was reached after nine months of negotiations since April last year. Meanwhile, the US Treasury Department or any office of the Trump administration made no immediate comment on the development. According to Commerce Secretary Mahbubur Rahman, Bangladesh's key export-earning ready-made garments (RMG) made from cotton and synthetic fibres imported from the US would enjoy zero reciprocal duty under the deal. He said the agreement was signed in Washington by Commerce Adviser Sheikh Bash
The makers of mobile apps designed to help shoppers identify and boycott American goods say they saw a surge of interest in Denmark and beyond after the recent flare-up in tensions over US President Donald Trump's designs on Greenland. The creator of the "Made O'Meter" app, Ian Rosenfeldt, said he saw around 30,000 downloads of the free app in just three days at the height of the trans-Atlantic diplomatic crisis in late January, out of more than 100,000 since it was launched in March. Apps offer practical help ------------------------------- Rosenfeldt, who lives in Copenhagen and works in digital marketing, decided to create the app a year ago after joining a Facebook group of like-minded Danes hoping to boycott US goods. "Many people were frustrated and thinking, How do we actually do this in practical terms?'" the 53-year-old recalled. "If you use a bar code scanner, it's difficult to see if a product is actually American or not, if it's Danish or not. And if you don't know tha
President Donald Trump endorsed Nexstar Media Group's USD 6.2 billion purchase of broadcast rival Tegna on Saturday, an apparent reversal from earlier criticism of the deal. "We need more competition against THE ENEMY, the Fake News National TV Networks," Trump wrote on social media. "Letting Good Deals get done like Nexstar - Tegna will help knock out the Fake News because there will be more competition. ... GET THAT DEAL DONE." The acquisition, which Nexstar announced in August and requires regulatory approval, would bring together two companies with significant holdings in local broadcast media. Nexstar oversees more than 200 owned and partner stations in 116 markets nationwide and also runs networks like The CW and NewsNation. Meanwhile, Tegna owns 64 news stations across 51 markets. Trump criticised the purchase in November, saying: "If this would also allow the Radical Left Networks to 'enlarge,' I would not be happy." But the companies operate independently of the large ...
The US has given Ukraine and Russia a June deadline to reach an agreement to end the nearly four-year war, Ukrainian President Volodymyr Zelenskyy told reporters. If the June deadline is not met, the Trump administration will likely put pressure on both sides to meet it, he added. "The Americans are proposing the parties end the war by the beginning of this summer and will probably put pressure on the parties precisely according to this schedule," Zelenskyy said, speaking to reporters on Friday. Zelenskyy's comments were embargoed until Saturday morning. "And they say that they want to do everything by June. And they will do everything to end the war. And they want a clear schedule of all events," he said.
American goods ranging from wines and spirits to dry fruits will enter India either duty-free or at reduced import tariffs, a move expected to make these imports cheaper for domestic consumers. India and the US on Saturday announced that they have reached a framework for the first phase of the bilateral trade agreement under which both sides will reduce import duties on a number of goods to boost two-way trade. The framework will be converted into a legal agreement, which is expected to be signed by mid-March. The duty concessions will take effect on the day of implementation. According to a joint statement, India will eliminate or reduce tariffs on all US industrial goods and a wide range of American food and agricultural products, including dried distillers' grains, red sorghum for animal feed, tree nuts, fresh and processed fruit, soybean oil, and wine and spirits. The other US goods which will enjoy duty concession by India include walnuts, almonds, pistachios, and some ...
The Indian government is closely engaged with the US for electronics and IP-related matters, Union Minister Ashwini Vaishnaw said on Saturday, as the two nations announced that they have finalised a framework for an interim trade agreement. The US-India joint statement on the interim agreement for trade deal has called for addressing non-tariff barriers that affect bilateral trade. It specifically mentions barriers related to the trade in US medical devices, US Information and Communication Technology (ICT) goods. Asked about views on the statement and its expected impact, Vaishnaw said the commerce ministry is the nodal body to share details but as far as electronics is concerned India is closely engaged in the discussion. "We are very closely engaged from our side as far as electronics and IP is concerned. We believe in co-development, co-creation, we believe in IP, respecting IP. We believe that India has a lot to offer to the entire world in terms of new products, new ideas, ne