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The deaths or disappearances of at least 10 top US scientists and researchers with access to information related to aerospace, defence and extra-terrestrial life have kicked off a row here, prompting the administration to order a probe. Earlier this week, US President Donald Trump was briefed on the deaths and disappearances of key scientists, and more details will be available over the next week and a half. According to reports in the American media, the earliest of the deaths dates back to July 2023. Michael David Hicks, a NASA Jet Propulsion Laboratory physicist who specialised in comets and asteroids, passed away on July 30, 2023. The cause of his death was not disclosed. Congressman Eric Burlison, a Republican from Missouri and member of the House Oversight Committee, said he has been drawing attention to some of the disappearances for quite some time as he found them "too coincidental". The lawmaker argued the fate of the scientists is almost "certainly" linked to the access
President Donald Trump on Saturday directed his administration to speed up reviews of certain psychedelic drugs, including ibogaine, which recently has been embraced by combat veterans and conservative lawmakers despite having serious safety risks. Ibogaine and other psychedelics remain banned under the federal government's most restrictive category for illegal, high-risk drugs. But the administration is taking steps to ease restrictions and spur research on using the drugs for medical purposes, including conditions like severe depression. "Today's order will ensure that people suffering from debilitating symptoms might finally have a chance to reclaim their lives and lead a happier life," Trump said as he signed an executive order on the drugs. The Republican president said his directive will help "dramatically accelerate" access to potential treatments. "If these turn out to be as good as people are saying, it's going to have a tremendous impact," he said. Veteran organisations a
The duelling blockades in the Strait of Hormuz lurched into uncharted waters on Saturday as the United States pressed ahead with its campaign to choke off Iranian ports and Iran reversed an initial move to reopen the waterway, firing on a ship attempting to pass. Confusion over the critical chokepoint threatened to deepen the energy crisis roiling the global economy and push the two countries toward renewed conflict, even as mediators expressed confidence a new deal was within reach. Iran's joint military command said on Saturday that "control of the Strait of Hormuz has returned to its previous state ... under strict management and control of the armed forces." It warned that it would continue to block transit through the strait as long as the US blockade of Iranian ports remained in effect. Two gunboats from Iran's Revolutionary Guard opened fire on a tanker transiting the Strait of Hormuz, the British military's United Kingdom Maritime Trade Operations centre said on Saturday. It
India has strongly rejected allegations by the US Trade Representative in its investigations on excess structural capacity and production involving several countries, including India, asserting that the initiation notice has failed to provide "cogent rationale" to substantiate the claims. India requests that the USTR issue a negative determination with respect to India and terminate the investigation against it, according to a submission from New Delhi to the USTR. On March 11, the US announced initiation of investigations against its trading partners, including India, China, Japan and the EU, to look into and address "unfair foreign practices" that adversely impact American manufacturing. United States Trade Representative (USTR) Jamieson Greer announced the initiation of a probe regarding the "acts, policies, and practices" of various economies under Section 301(b) of the Trade Act of 1974, relating to structural excess capacity and production in manufacturing sectors. The econom
US President Donald Trump confirmed in a phone interview with NewsNation that talks among the US, Iran and Pakistan had begun, though he does not know how successful they could be. When asked how negotiations would go, Trump said: "I have no idea." The US president said he would know shortly if he felt Iran was acting in good faith about resolving the war. Trump added that the US knew where mines had been placed in the Strait of Hormuz and that the military was bringing equipment to remove them.
The Trump administration has revoked the green cards of more long-term Iranian residents of the United States who are related to current or former senior Iranian officials. The State Department said Saturday it had taken action against Seyed Eissa Hashemi, a Los Angeles-area psychology teacher, his wife and son, all of whom were Iranian born lawful permanent residents of the US. The department said in a statement released as talks to end the war with Iran were getting underway in Pakistan that they had been taken into custody by immigration authorities and are slated for deportation. Hashemi, it said, is the son of Masoumeh Ebtekar who served as a spokeswoman for the attackers who took over the US Embassy in Tehran in 1979 and was later promoted to be Iran's first female vice president. Just last week, the State Department revoked the green cards of the niece and grand-niece of former Islamic Revolutionary Guard Corps chief Qasem Soleimani, who was killed in a US airstrike in Baghd
Commerce and Industry Minister Piyush Goyal on Thursday said India is looking at preferential market access for its products in the US and asserted that the country's relations with America are "very robust" with a deep strategic partnership across technology, defence, trade and investment. He said that India's trade pact with the US is "best" as compared to its competitor countries. "Our relations are very robust. We have a deep strategic partnership on several aspects, on technology, on defence, on trade and on investments, and our approach is that India should get preferential market access," Goyal told reporters here. The country, he said, is sitting on a "very sweet spot" in promoting trade with the US. "Being the world's fastest growing economy, India holds huge promise for investors who will continue to look at the India opportunity in greater numbers and greater value in the future," he added. On March 27, the minister held a meeting with the US Trade Representative Jamies