Page 128 - United States

Quad is more strategically aligned, relevant than ever: White House

The upcoming Quad summit in Delaware will show that the four-country group is more strategically aligned and more relevant than ever before, the White House said Wednesday. "We believe that you'll see coming out of this summit that the Quad is more strategically aligned and more relevant than ever before," John Kirby, White House National Security Council Strategic Communications Director told reporters at a news conference here. Kriby's comments came ahead of US President Joe Biden's hosting of the other three QUAD leaders from Australia, India, and Japan in Wilmington, Delaware on Saturday. Kirby said the current Quad Summit will be the first time that the US has hosted foreign leaders in Wilmington, the president's hometown. "And he's very excited about that, about showing them a place and a community that shapes so much of the public servant and the leader that he became. It's also a reflection of his belief that like politics, foreign policy is also personal," he said. Kirby

Vietnam's Communist Party chief Lam to meet Google, Meta in US next week

The US-ASEAN Business Council (USABC), which is one of the organisers of the Sept. 23 event, declined to share a list of participants

India 'big abuser' of US trade ties, says Trump ahead of meeting PM Modi

Donald Trump, hoping to make a comeback as the US president, criticised India as a "big abuser" of trade while praising PM Modi as a 'fantastic' man at an election campaign in the US

FBI probes suspicious packages sent to election officials in dozen states

The FBI and the US Postal Inspection Service on Tuesday were investigating the origin of suspicious packages that have been sent to or received by elections officials in more than a dozen states, but there were no immediate reports of injuries or that any of the packages contained hazardous material. The latest packages were sent to elections officials in Georgia, Kentucky, Massachusetts, Missouri, New York, and Rhode Island. Mississippi authorities reported a package was delivered there on Monday, and the Connecticut Secretary of State's office on Tuesday also said the FBI alerted them of a suspicious package that was intercepted. The FBI is collecting the letters, some of which contained "an unknown substance," spokesperson Kristen Setera of the agency's Boston office said in a statement. "We are also working with our partners to determine how many letters were sent, the individual or individuals responsible for the letters, and the motive behind the letters," she said. "As this i

'Firehose' storm hits part of North Carolina; scientists see climate change

The Carolinas braced for a storm that forecasters warned could bring heavy rain as much as 6 to 8 inches in some spots. But one narrow band got a firehose that dumped as much as 20 inches in a so-called 1,000-year flood that shocked many with its intensity. The storm that left homes flooded, cars submerged and schools closed Tuesday in parts of North Carolina wasn't really a surprise to scientists who have long said that such rainfalls are one marker of climate change. Data shows one of the strongest relationships between climate change and precipitation is that as the atmosphere warms, the capacity to hold water increases. Therefore we see more intense rainfall in a shorter period of time, said Andrew Kruczkiewicz, senior researcher at the Columbia Climate School at Columbia University. Monday's deluge centred on Carolina Beach south of Wilmington, where more than 18 inches (46 centimeters) of rain fell in 12 hours and almost 21 overall. That much rain qualifies as a 1,000-year ..

Houthi official says US offered to recognise Sanaa govt; US denies claims

The Houthi official's remarks came a day after a ballistic missile from the Iran-aligned group reached central Israel for the first time

US-India relationship has bright path ahead, says American diplomat

China and Russia are concerned about the strengthening India-US relationship because it promotes inclusivity, peace, and the peaceful resolution of disputes, along with valuing diverse voices in society, a top US diplomat said Monday. "Frankly, why do you think China and Russia are so concerned about this partnership? Because we bring a way of life to the rest of the world, that is about inclusivity, about peace, about the peaceful resolution of disputes, about the rule of law, and it's about hearing everyone's voice in a society," Richard Verma, the Deputy Secretary of State for Management and Resources said at the prestigious Hudson Institute, in response to a question, after he delivered remarks on India-US relationship. Verma said the relationship between India and US is "a very different mode" than how some of the adversaries of the latter operate. The diplomat noted that this uniqueness is why President Joe Biden has described the relationship between both countries as the ...

Big oil companies defeat US consumer lawsuit over production, prices

The court also found a lack of proof that the oil companies violated antitrust law by conspiring to raise prices

Israel's Minister of Defence Gallant updates senior advisor to Biden on war

Minister Gallant emphasised that the possibility for an agreement is running out

US expresses frustration with Israel's military about strikes in Gaza

The US ambassador to the United Nations on Monday accused Israel's military of striking schools, humanitarian workers and civilians in Gaza in a sign of growing American frustration with its close ally as the war approaches its first anniversary. Israel has repeatedly said it targets Hamas militants, who often hide with civilians and use them as human shields, in retaliation for the October 7 attacks in southern Israel that killed about 1,200 people and launched the war in Gaza. US Ambassador Linda Thomas-Greenfield was unusually outspoken against the Israeli military at a UN Security Council meeting, saying many of the strikes in recent weeks that injured or killed UN personnel and humanitarian workers were preventable. Many council members cited last week's Israeli strike on a former school turned civilian shelter run by the UN agency helping Palestinian refugees, known as UNRWA, in which six UNRWA staffers were among at least 18 people killed, including women and children. Israe

US justice dept says Google saw ad startup AdMeld as threat and bought it

The purchase of the company was portrayed by the Justice Department in its monopolisation trial against the Alphabet Inc. unit as an example of so-called killer acquisitions

US military completes withdrawal from junta-ruled Niger, says official

The withdrawal of US troops from Niger is complete, an American official said Monday. A small number of military personnel assigned to guard the US Embassy remain, Pentagon spokesperson Sabrina Singh told reporters. Earlier this year, Niger's ruling junta ended an agreement that allowed US troops to operate in the West African country. A few months later, officials from both countries said in a joint statement that US troops would complete their withdrawal by the middle of September. The US handed over its last military bases in Niger to local authorities last month, but about two dozen American soldiers had remained in Niger, largely for administrative duties related to the withdrawal, Singh said. Niger's ouster of American troops following a coup last year has broad ramifications for Washington because it's forcing troops to abandon critical bases that were used for counterterrorism missions in the Sahel. Groups linked to al-Qaida and the Islamic State group operate in the vast .

US charges employee of Chinese aerospace giant for hacking Nasa, military

Song allegedly tried to hack individuals working at major research universities in Georgia and five other states as well as private-sector aerospace companies, according to the statement

Suspicious packages sent to election officials in at least five US states

Suspicious packages were sent to election officials in at least five states on Monday, but there were no reports that any of the packages contained hazardous material. Powder-containing packages were sent to secretaries of state and state election offices in Iowa, Nebraska, Tennessee, Wyoming and Oklahoma, officials in those states confirmed. The FBI and US Postal Service were investigating. It marked the second time in the past year that suspicious packages were mailed to election officials in multiple state offices. The latest scare comes as early voting has begun in several states less than two months ahead of the high-stakes elections for president, Senate, Congress and key statehouse offices around the nation, causing disruption in what is already a tense voting season. Several of the states reported a white powder substance found in envelopes sent to election officials. In most cases, the material was found to be harmless. Oklahoma officials said the material sent to the ...

TikTok and US face off in court over law that could lead to platform ban

TikTok faced off with the US government in federal court on Monday, arguing a law that could ban the platform in a few short months is unconstitutional while the Justice Department said it is needed to eliminate a national security risk posed by the popular social media company. In a more than two hour appearance before a panel of three judges at a federal appeals court in Washington, attorneys for the two sides -- and content creators -- were pressed on their best arguments for and against the law that forces the two companies to break ties by mid-January or lose one of their biggest markets in the world. Andrew Pincus, a veteran attorney representing the two companies, argued in court that the law unfairly targets the company and runs afoul of the First Amendment because TikTok Inc. -- the US arm of TikTok -- is an American entity. After his remarks, another attorney representing content creators who are also challenging the law argued it violates the rights of US speakers and is .

Judge rejects former Trump aide Meadows' bid to move Arizona election case

A judge has rejected a bid by Mark Meadows, chief of staff to former President Donald Trump, to move his charges in Arizona's fake elector case to federal court, marking the second time he has failed in trying to get his charges out of state court. In a decision Monday, US District Judge John Tuchi said Meadows missed a deadline for asking for his charges to be moved to federal court and failed to show that the allegations against him related to his official duties as chief of staff to the president. Meadows faces charges in Arizona and Georgia in what authorities allege was an illegal scheme to overturn the 2020 election results in Trump's favour. He had unsuccessfully tried to move charges in the Georgia case last year. While not a fake elector in Arizona, prosecutors said Meadows worked with other Trump campaign members to submit names of fake electors from Arizona and other states to Congress in a bid to keep Trump in office despite his November 2020 defeat. Meadows has pleaded

Viral Video: Arizona man finds a Lego piece stuck in his nose for 3 decades

An Arizona man shared a video on his Instagram account stating that in the 1990s, at the age of "six or so," he dislodged a Lego piece stuck in his nose for 26 years.

'No one trying to kill Kamala': Elon Musk reacts to Donald Trump episode

Elon Musk was criticised on Monday for questioning why no one targets Biden or Harris after Donald Trump survived an assassination attempt while golfing in Florida

TikTok heads to court over US law that could ban popular platform

The US government and TikTok will go head-to-head in federal court on Monday as oral arguments begin in a consequential legal case that will determine if or how a popular social media platform used by nearly half of all Americans will continue to operate in the country. Attorneys for the two sides will appear before a panel of judges at the federal appeals court in Washington. TikTok and its China-based parent company, ByteDance, are challenging a U.S. law that requires them to break ties or face a ban in the U.S. by mid-January. The legal battle is expected to reach the U.S. Supreme Court. The law, signed by President Joe Biden in April, was a culmination of a years-long saga in Washington over the short-form video-sharing app, which the government sees as a national security threat due to its connections to China. But TikTok argues the law runs afoul of the First Amendment while other opponents claim it mirrors crackdowns sometimes seen in authoritarian countries abroad. In cour

Rifle poking from bushes: How Donald Trump escaped latest assassination bid

Former US president Donald Trump survived a suspected second assassination attempt on Sunday while golfing in Florida. The suspect, Ryan Routh, has been arrested