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A group of US lawmakers has expressed concern over the total ban of the Awami League political party ahead of elections scheduled in Bangladesh early next year. The lawmakers have said that the Bangladeshi people deserve to be able to choose an elected government in a free and fair election. Ranking Member of the House Foreign Affairs Committee Representative Gregory Meeks, Chairman of the Subcommittee on South and Central Asia Representative Bill Huizenga, Ranking Member Subcommittee on South and Central Asia Sydney Kamlager-Dove and Member of Congress Julie Johnson on Tuesday sent a letter to Chief Adviser of the Interim Government of Bangladesh Mohammed Yunus expressing concern over the total ban of a political party ahead of elections in February. The letter's cosigners include Representative Tom Suozzi. The lawmakers said that it is vital that the interim government work with parties across the political spectrum to create the conditions for free and fair elections that allow
Commerce Secretary Rajesh Agrawal on Tuesday said India is actively engaged in trade discussions with the US, and hopes to conclude the talks "sooner than later" in a manner that restores deeper market access for domestic exporters. He also said that despite challenges in the US, Indian exporters have maintained their exports in that market. "We are also very deeply engaged with the United States, which is your biggest market, (and) which is having the maximum tariff as of now. "But we hope sooner than later, this is also something that we will be able to close in a way that will give deeper access in the US also, and we are able to trade that we used to do," he said. The secretary was addressing exporters in a programme organised by the Federation of Indian Export Organisations (FIEO) here. Commerce and Industry Minister Piyush Goyal, too, on Monday said that India is at an advanced stage of negotiations for a bilateral trade agreement with the US. US Deputy Trade Representative
The leaders of Denmark and Greenland insisted Monday that the US won't take over Greenland and demanded respect for their territorial integrity after President Donald Trump announced?The appointment of a special envoy to Greenland. Trump's announcement on Sunday that Louisiana Gov. Jeff Landry would be the US special envoy prompted a new flare-up of tensions over Washington's interest in the vast, semi-autonomous territory of Denmark, a NATO ally. Denmark's foreign minister said in comments to Danish broadcasters that he plans to summon the US ambassador. We have said it before. Now, we say it again. National borders and the sovereignty of states are rooted in international law," Danish Prime Minister Mette Frederiksen and her Greenlandic counterpart, Jens-Frederik Nielsen, said in a joint statement. They are fundamental principles. You cannot annex another country. Not even with an argument about international security. Greenland belongs to the Greenlanders and the US shall not tak
A federal judge on Monday questioned whether government officials could be trusted to follow orders barring them from taking Kilmar Abrego Garcia into immigration custody or deporting him. US District Judge Paula Xinis noted that Abrego Garcia was already deported without legal authority once and said she was growing beyond impatient with government misrepresentations in her court. "Why should I give the respondents the benefit of the doubt? she asked, referring to the government attorneys. Abrego Garcia's mistaken deportation and imprisonment in El Salvador in March have galvanised both sides of the immigration debate. The Trump administration initially fought efforts to bring him back to the US but eventually complied after the US Supreme Court weighed in. He returned to the US in June, only to face an arrest warrant on human smuggling charges in Tennessee. Xinis ordered Abrego Garcia released from immigration custody on Dec 11 after determining that the government had no viable .
US aircraft maker Boeing, which has faced multiple headwinds, plans to ramp up the production of its narrow-body B737 planes to 47 per month. From September onwards, the company increased the monthly production number to 42 from 38 planes. Katie Ringgold, Vice President and General Manager, 737 Program, and the Renton Site Leader for Boeing Commercial Airplanes, said 2025 is a year of stability and 2026 will be a year of growth. At a briefing at the Renton facility last week, she said the production rate will increase to 47 per month "in late spring or early summer of next year". Boeing 737 variants are widely operated by Indian carriers -- Air India, Air India Express, Akasa Air, and SpiceJet. Together, more than 150 such planes are in operation in India, and around 400 of these planes are on order by the Indian airlines. IndiGo also operates leased B737 aircraft. There has been a delay in deliveries of the Boeing 737 planes due to various issues. Ringgold said that if the Rento
India is at an advanced stage of negotiations for a bilateral trade agreement with the US, Commerce and Industry Minister Piyush Goyal said on Monday. US Deputy Trade Representative Rick Switzer was recently here with his team to take stock of these talks. The two-day talks concluded on December 11. "We are already at an advanced stage in our discussions with the US," Goyal said here while talking to the media about the conclusion of negotiations for the India-New Zealand free trade agreement. He also said that India has so far finalised FTAs with three members of the Five Eyes (FVEY) alliance - Australia, UK and New Zealand. The five countries of the intelligence sharing network are Australia, Canada, New Zealand, the UK, and the US. India is also in the process of resuming talks for a trade agreement with Canada. "We are soon going to launch discussions for the ToR (terms of reference) with Canada also," Goyal said adding "this reflects the growing strategic importance of Indi
A US court has given its final approval for the proposed settlement of class action lawsuits against Infosys McCamish, according to a BSE filing by Infosys on Saturday. Under the proposed terms, Infosys McCamish Systems had agreed to pay USD 17.5 million into a fund to settle all the pending class action lawsuits related to a cybersecurity incident in 2023, which identified the Infosys subsidiary as the main source. If the settlement is not appealed within 30 days, "it will become effective and resolve all allegations made in the class action lawsuits without admission of any liability", Infosys said. In February 2024, Bank of America named Infosys McCamish Systems as the source of a data breach that it said affected 57,028 customers. As per the notification, the breach occurred on October 29, 2023, and was discovered on October 30 that year. The Bengaluru-headquartered IT major said the proposed agreement would settle all the pending class action lawsuits and resolve all allegati
Jordan confirmed Saturday that its air force took part in strikes launched by the United States on Islamic State group targets in Syria in retaliation for the killing of three US citizens earlier this month. The US launched military strikes Friday on multiple sites in Syria to eliminate Islamic State group fighters and weapons in retaliation for an attack by a Syrian gunman that killed two US troops and an American civilian interpreter almost a week earlier. The Jordanian military said in a statement that its air force participated in precise airstrikes... targeting several ISIS positions in southern Syria, using a different abbreviation for the Islamic State group. Jordan is one of 90 countries making up the global coalition against IS, which Syria recently joined. The US military did not say how many had been killed in Friday's strikes. The Syrian Observatory for Human Rights, a UK-based war monitor, reported that at least five people were killed, including the leader and members
Union Minister for Housing and Urban Affairs Manohar Lal Khattar on Saturday said that India will soon overtake the US in terms of the length of the Metro rail network. Currently, India is in the third position as far as the total length of Metro rail corridors is concerned, he said. Bhopal has become the 26th city in the country to have Metro trains. In terms of the length of Metro lines, we rank third in the world with a network spanning 1,083 km. With the addition of today's 7 km, it will become a 1,090-km network, he said. China tops the list, followed by the US with a total Metro length of 1,400 km, he said. With 900 km of Metro project in the pipeline, the country will surpass the US with the addition of 300 km soon, Khattar said during a programme to inaugurate the first phase of the Bhopal Metro rail project. Besides Khattar, Madhya Pradesh Chief Minister Mohan Yadav also launched the service in the state capital. The first phase of the Bhopal Metro's Orange Line, the ...
The year 2025 marked a defining shift in India's outbound travel landscape, with millennials and Gen Z leading nine out of 10 international trips, a new report has revealed. The annual travel report, released by travel-banking fintech platform Niyo, highlights how young, digital-first and experience-driven Indians are reshaping global travel trends through smarter planning, solo exploration and cost-conscious decision-making. Gen Z and Millennials accounted for 9 in 10 international trips. Two-thirds of these journeys originated from Delhi, Bengaluru and Mumbai, reflecting the strong influence of India's leading metros in outbound travel, the report findings said. Solo travel emerged as the dominant preference among Indian travellers, with 63.8 per cent of trips undertaken by individuals. Couples accounted for 19.93 per cent of trips, followed by families at 12.26 per cent and groups at 4.01 per cent, indicating a growing inclination towards independent travel. Short-haul Asian ...
A business jet with six people aboard crashed Thursday at a regional airport in North Carolina used by NASCAR teams and Fortune 500 companies, erupting in a large fire and killing multiple people, authorities said. Flight records show the plane was registered to a company run by retired NASCAR driver Greg Biffle. There were six people on the Cessna C550 that crashed while landing at Statesville Regional Airport, about 45 miles (72 kilometers) north of Charlotte, the Federal Aviation Administration said. I can confirm there were fatalities," Iredell County Sheriff Darren Campbell said. Golfers playing next to the airport were shocked as they witnessed the disaster, even dropping to the ground at the Lakewood Golf Club while the plane was overhead. The ninth hole was covered with debris. We were like, Oh my gosh! That's way too low,' said Joshua Green of Mooresville. It was scary. The National Transportation Safety Board and the FAA were investigating. AccuWeather says there was so