Indian-origin Senator Kamala Harris has abruptly dropped out of the 2020 US Democratic presidential race, saying she does not have the financial resource to continue her campaign.
The surprising announcement by Harris, 55, came during a call with her campaign staffers on Tuesday.
Her decision makes the California senator the most high-profile candidate to date to drop out of the race to challenge President Donald Trump
"To my supporters, it is with deep regret -- but also with deep gratitude -- that I am suspending my campaign today," Harris said in a tweet on Tuesday.
"But I want to be clear with you: I will keep fighting everyday for what this campaign has been about. Justice for the people. All the people," Harris said.
Harris, who is of mixed Indian and African heritage, had been polling poorly in recent weeks.
A latest poll released on Monday saw her ratings dropping down to a mere three per cent, reflecting that her campaign was struggling to make traction ahead of what is being 

Indian-origin Kamala Harris drops out of 2020 US presidential race

PTI Automatic

Several Indians were among the 23 people killed and over 130 injured in an LPG tanker blast in a ceramic factory in Sudan, according to the Indian mission here.
The Indian Embassy in Sudan reported about the Indians killed in the incident that happened on Tuesday, without mentioning the number of casualties.
"So far reports suggest that there are several casualties and injuries including among Indian workers," it said in a statement on its website on Tuesday.
It said that over 50 Indian workers are reportedly working in the factory.
An AFP report quoted the Sudanese government saying that 23 people were killed and more than 130 injured in the incident, which, according to preliminary reports, indicate that necessary safety equipment was missing at the site.
"There were also inflammable materials improperly stored, which led to the spread of the fire," the government said, adding that an investigation has been launched.

Indians among 23 killed in factory fire in Sudan

United Airlines said Tuesday it had ordered 50 Airbus A321XLR aircraft, worth an estimated USD 6.5 billion, to replace an existing fleet of aging Boeings.
The new Airbus planes, which will be delivered in 2024, will allow United to retire its Boeing 757-200s, the company said.
The Airbus order is the latest blow to the American manufacturer, already deeply mired in the crisis surrounding its 737 MAX.
The 737 MAX has been grounded worldwide after two crashes that resulted in 346 deaths.
Boeing has no new aircraft to compete with the Airbus A321XLR in the mid-market range.

United Airlines orders 50 Airbus aircraft to replace Boeing 757s

Australia will face Lionel Messi and Argentina in next year's Copa America after being drawn alongside the tournament co-hosts.
The Socceroos, one of two guest teams invited to the South American football championship, will also face Paraguay, Bolivia, Uruguay and Chile in Group A.
In Group B, Asian champions Qatar, the other guest nation, will face Colombia, Brazil, Venezuela, Ecuador and Peru, with all games taking place in Colombia.
The first round designations for Australia and Qatar were the only major issue left to be decided at Tuesday's ceremonial draw.
The other teams in the two groups had already been determined based on geographical proximity to co-hosts Argentina and Colombia, which are separated by some 4,350 miles (7,000 kilometers).
Australia coach Graham Arnold said his team was relishing the prospect of facing Argentina in Buenos Aires.
"That's what it's all about, it's about testing ourselves at the highest level," Arnold said following the draw. "The players are so .

Socceroos to face Argentina at Copa America

Google's India-born Chief Executive Officer Sundar Pichai will assume the leadership role at its parent firm Alphabet after the internet giant's co-founders Larry Page and Sergey Brin stepped down from its active management, making him one of the most powerful corporate leaders of the world.
Page and Brin are stepping down as CEO and president, respectively, of Alphabet, the company announced on Tuesday.
Pichai, 47, the current CEO of Google and a longtime executive at the company, will take over as CEO of Alphabet in addition to his current role.
Considered as a significant shakeup in the Silicon Valley company, the shuffle comes at a time when Google is facing mounting scrutiny over its size, data privacy practices and potential impact on society.
With Alphabet now well-established, and Google and 'Other Bets' operating effectively as independent companies, it's the natural time to simplify our management structure, the two Google co-founders wrote in a public letter.
"We've never ..

Larry Page, Sergey Brin step down; Sundar Pichai promoted as Alphabet CEO

Gabriel Jesus scored twice as Manchester City showed no signs of giving up their Premier League title without a fight as a 4-1 victory at Burnley cut the gap on unbeaten leaders Liverpool to eight points.
Pep Guardiola's men have struggled to match the blistering standards they set in back-to-back title-winning seasons, but looked more like their old selves in what could have been a tricky trip to Turf Moor.
Jesus made the most of his chance to shine in the absence of the injured Sergio Aguero with two brilliant finishes either side of half-time to end an eight-game goal drought before long-range strikes from Rodrigo and Riyad Mahrez moved City above Leicester into second place on goal difference.
"The strikers are there to score goals and we need him," said Guardiola of Jesus's importance with Aguero also expected to miss Saturday's Manchester derby.
"His effort, his commitment is always there but strikers like him and Sergio live for the goal and it's important." Robbie Brady pulled 

Jesus finds goal touch as Man City bounce back to thrash Burnley

A proposed four-year doping ban on Russian athletes would deal a huge new blow to President Vladimir Putin's efforts to use sport to boost the country's prestige and his own reputation.
But experts say the Russian leader could also turn the ban to his advantage -- by portraying it as a politically motivated attempt by the West to once again humiliate the country at the expense of its athletes.
The executive committee of the World Anti-Doping Agency will meet in Paris on December 9 to consider a recommendation for the ban, which would exclude Russian athletes from major sports events including the 2020 Tokyo Olympics and 2022 Beijing Winter Olympics.
A WADA review panel has accused Moscow of falsifying laboratory data handed over to investigators as part of a probe into the doping allegations that have plagued Russia for years.
In power for nearly 20 years, Putin has made sport and healthy living a cornerstone of his popularity and is regularly shown on state television taking part in .

Doping casts shadow over Putin's hopes for sporting prestige

Australia's conservative government on Wednesday repealed a contentious law that allowed ill asylum-seekers languishing in Papua New Guinea and on Nauru to travel to the country for medical treatment.
The so-called "Medevac" law was passed in February, permitting refugee transfers from the Pacific nations if they were requested by two or more doctors.
About 180 have since been brought to Australia for medical support under the law, which was pushed through parliament by opposition and independent lawmakers.
Canberra has sent anyone attempting to arrive in Australia by boat to Papua New Guinea's Manus island and Nauru, and have argued the "Medevac" law offered a back door entry to the country.
It claimed the law had "exposed Australians to unacceptable risk" and weakened national security.
The law was repealed Wednesday in a tight vote after the government negotiated the support of outspoken independent Senator Jacqui Lambie, who refused to detail the conditions of giving her ...

Australia repeals law giving refugees onshore medical care

Global carbon emissions boosted by soaring natural gas use are set to hit record levels in 2019 despite a decline in coal consumption and a string of countries declaring a climate emergency, researchers said Wednesday.
In its annual analysis of fossil fuel trends, the Global Carbon Project said CO2 emissions were on course to rise 0.6 percent this year -- slower than previous years but still a world away from what is needed to keep global warming in check.
In three peer-reviewed studies, authors attributed the rise to "robust growth" in natural gas and oil, which offset significant falls in coal use in the United States and Europe.
"We see clearly that global changes come from fluctuations in coal use," said Corrine Le Quere, from the University of East Anglia, an author on the Carbon Budget report.
"In contrast the use of oil and particularly natural gas is going up unabated. Natural gas is now the biggest contributor to the growth in emissions." Atmospheric CO2 levels, which have ...

Natural gas drives record CO2 emissions in 2019

The United States Congress has passed the Uyghur Human Rights Policy Act, which among other things, proposes that America redirects resources to address the mass internment of over 1,000,000 Uyghurs and other Muslim ethnic minorities in China.
The move by the House of Representatives is expected to generate a sharp reaction from China.
The Act, which calls for an end to the detaining, torture and harassment of the Uyghur communities in China, was passed by the Senate earlier.
By passing this bill, Congress is showing that the US will not turn a blind eye to the suffering of the oppressed, House Republican Leader Kevin McCarthy said.
"As with the Hong Kong Democracy and Human Rights Act, we are sending a simple but powerful message to the Communist Party: power cannot be maintained at the expense of the rights of the people without substantial consequences, he said.
Senators Marco Rubio and Bob Menendez, Ranking Member of the Senate Foreign Relations Committee said that the bill is an .

US Congresses passes Uyghur Human Rights Policy Act

A rare canvas by French artist Paul Gauguin from his time in Tahiti fetched 9.5 million euros (USD 10.5 million) in Paris, nearly twice its estimated value, the auction house said.
The bidding had drawn keen interest amid growing controversy over Gauguin's relationships with young girls on the Polynesian island and his depictions of them.
The 1897 painting, "Te Bourao II" or "tree" in the local Tahitian language, had been expected to go for around five to seven million euros.
The buyer is an "international collector", the Artcurial auction house said, adding the artwork depicting an evocative Tahiti landscape would remain in France.
It is one of the few paintings from the post-impressionist's Tahiti period still in private hands.
According to Artcurial, the last sale in France of a Gauguin from this period was 22 years ago.
Recent years have seen increasing attention on Gauguin's attitudes to the young women who feature in the paintings of this period.
An exhibition of the painter ...

Rare Gauguin fetches 9.5 mn euros at Paris auction

An American of Lebanese descent was sentenced to 40 years in prison for buying weapons and plotting attacks on behalf of the Lebanese Shiite group Hezbollah.
Ali Kourani (34), was found guilty in May of gathering intelligence on potential attack targets, including New York's JFK International Airport and a federal building in Manhattan.
A federal court in America's financial capital convicted him of eight allegations including conspiracy to use weapons in a violent crime.
Geoffrey Berman, attorney for the Southern District of New York, said the lengthy sentence sent an important message to Hezbollah, which the United States considers a terrorist organisation.
"If you are caught planning harm against this City and its residents, you will face justice and be held accountable," he said in a statement.
Born in Lebanon but naturalised by the United States in 2009, Kourani attended several Hezbollah training camps in his country of birth and took orders from agents of the Iran-backed ...

US court sentences Hezbollah operative to 40 years in jail

United Airlines will replace some of its older Boeing planes with 50 new Airbus jets starting in 2024.
Chicago-based United announced on Tuesday that it placed an order for Airbus A321XLR jets, a long-range version of the European company's single-aisle A321neo.
They will eventually replace United's 53 Boeing 757-200s.
Terms weren't released.
United also will delay delivery of larger Airbus A350s.
The decision is a setback for Boeing, which is also based in Chicago and is reeling from the grounding of its 737 Max jets after two deadly crashes.
United Chief Commercial Officer Andrew Nocella said the Max doesn't have the range of the A321XLR and Boeing hasn't decided whether to build a new mid-size plane.
He said United will use the Airbus jets mostly between the East Coast and Europe.

United buying 50 Airbus jets to replace older Boeing planes

Mexico President Andrs Manuel Lpez Obrador said his government has rejected Democratic lawmakers' plan to allow US inspectors to check Mexican factories for labour law compliance.
Mexico wants the US Congress to approve a new North American trade accord before US elections next year complicate the picture.
Democrats are concerned Mexico's unrepresentative unions have led to low wages that drain manufacturing jobs from the US.
Lpez Obrador noted Mexico had passed reforms requiring free and fair union elections in its factories and approved a budget for monitoring.
He said some Democrats continue raising concerns about implementation and compliance and requested inspectors.
"We don't accept that," he said.
Mexico countered with an idea of panels that would include representatives of both countries and a third nation to rule on controversies.

Mexico rejects US factory inspectors as part of trade deal

Tesla co-founder Elon Musk has said that he did not literally call a British caver a pedophile during their infamous spat on Twitter, telling a Los Angeles court that he had simply defended himself from unprovoked insults.
The tech billionaire told the defamation trial jury he had been "upset" when he described British diver Vernon Unsworth -- who helped rescue youth soccer players trapped in a cave in Thailand -- as "pedo guy" in a tweet.
During the July 2018 row, Unsworth had described the 48-year-old entrepreneur's proposal to build a mini-submarine to rescue the boys as a "PR stunt."
"It was an unprovoked attack on a good-natured attempt to rescue the kids," Musk, dressed in a black suit and dark tie, told the courtroom on Tuesday.
"I was upset." "It was wrong and insulting and so I insulted him back," he said.
Musk was questioned by Unsworth's attorney Lin Wood about comments made by the caver, who had said the custom-built device would never have fit in the cave and suggested ...

Elon Musk defends 'pedo guy' tweet in defamation trial

Chile is investigating "excessive internet traffic" that could signal that an Eastern European country stoked weeks of deadly unrest, Foreign Minister Teodoro Ribero has said.
"Chilean international organisms are investigating whether or not there is direct international interference," Ribero told reporters.
"What we do know is that in the days after October 18, there was an important share of internet use coming from a country in Eastern Europe to Chile," he said.
He did not name the country nor give further details about the nature of the alleged interference.
"There is excessive internet traffic" around that period, Ribero said, including the "creation of false profiles".
Ribera's comments come after Russia denied US accusations that it used online trolling to stir up tensions in Chile, where 23 people have died in weeks of violent demonstrations that swept the South American country from October 18.
In a late October phone call to his Chile counterpart Sebastian Pinera, US ...

Chile probes Eastern European interference in protests

Indian-America Peter Mathews, also a political analyst on CNN television, will be running for Congress.
Mathews, who was born in India and immigrated to the US along with his parents at the age of 10, announced to enter the race for US House of Representatives from 47th Congressional District of California.
His father is from Kerala and mother from Tamil Nadu.
"We must move away from selfish, shortsighted policies that are destroying people's lives and our climate through Corporate Deregulation and Tax Cuts for the Rich started by Reagan and pumped up by Trump," Mathews said.
A CNN television political analyst, Mathews is a professor of political science and international relations at Cypress College.
He also makes frequent appearances on Sky News UK and BBC Radio.
According to his campaign, Mathews, if elected, will continue his life-long fight for equal treatment with human dignity for all.
"Inside and outside Congress, Peter Mathews will fight against prejudice, discrimination, and 

Indian American announces to run for Congress

Challenged by the coercive Chinese overseas aid, the US has said that it wants to help other countries follow the India model of transitioning from being an aid recipient to a partner and then to a donor.
"Our goal is to help countries move from being recipients to partners, to fellow donors. That's what we want. We want to build that coalition of the willing for the West, for the United States," USAID Administrator Mark Green said in his address to the Professional Services Council's 7th Annual Development Conference.
"We want to enhance the ability of countries like India to move from when they received sacks of food from us, to a place where they are now the fifth-largest donor to Afghanistan in financing key development there. Not every country is India. Not every country has advanced that far on their journey, Green said.
"That to us is the model, and I think it is what we offer the world that is a fundamentally different model than what China does," the top Trump Administration .

Want to help countries emulate India model of transitioning from recipient to donor: US

The United States has cautioned countries against choosing suppliers of 5G networking equipment merely on the basis of price and speed asserting that their decision will have a long-lasting and deep impact on strategic and commercial relationships.
"It's very important that leaders around the world understand that they are about to make a momentous decision on the future of how their countries communicate," a senior administration official told a group of foreign correspondents.
The senior administration official was responding to a question on the decision being taken by countries on 5G and a much aggressive push by the US that they should not opt for Chinese technology and equipment merely because it is cheap.
"In many cases these decisions seem very simple: is it cheap and is it fast? But leaders must understand that these decisions are going to be long-lasting and have deep implications for strategic and commercial relationships and thus cannot simply be based on such factors," ...

US warns countries against making 5G decision on cost,  fastness factor alone

Mexican authorities have arrested 10 alleged gunmen from a drug cartel commando that attacked a town near the US border, leaving six locals and 17 assailants dead.
At least 60 gunmen terrorized the small northern city of Villa Union over the weekend, riding into town in heavily armed four-by-fours and spraying dozens of buildings with bullets, including houses and the city hall.
The army, National Guard and police then engaged the gunmen in a series of firefights Saturday and Sunday that killed 23 people, according to an updated toll from authorities in Coahuila state.
Two kidnapped city employees, four state police and 17 gunmen died in the attack, the authorities said.
The episode marks the latest security embarrassment for leftist President Andres Manuel Lopez Obrador, who took office a year ago vowing to curb the gruesome violence of Mexico's "drug wars".
The authorities mounted a large manhunt after the attack, announcing eight new arrests Tuesday, in addition to two suspects ...

Mexico arrests 10 over deadly firefight near US border

Four employees fired by Google ahead of the Thanksgiving holiday have said that they were seeking a federal investigation into their dismissal, which they claimed was in retaliation for their labour organisation efforts.
The dismissal of the group dubbed the "Thanksgiving Four" on social media highlighted deepening tensions at Google, which had stated the employees violated data security policies.
A Medium post signed by the four said Google "fired us for engaging in protected labor organising" at the Silicon Valley giant.
"We spoke up when we saw Google making unethical business decisions that create a workplace that is harmful to us and our colleagues," said the posting signed by engineers Laurence Berland, Paul Duke, Rebecca Rivers and Sophie Waldman.
"We participated in legally protected labor organizing, fighting to improve workplace conditions for all Google workers."
The four said they would file a complaint alleging unfair labor practices with the National Labor Relations ...

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