Page 139 - United States

US, Japan, and South Korea boost ties, ink security cooperation treaty

Kihara, Austin and Shin had agreed to institutionalize trilateral security cooperation when they last met in June in Singapore

US to upgrade military command in Japan amid growing concerns over China

The two countries agreed Sunday to upgrade the command functions of the US forces in Japan for better coordination of the US-Japan bilateral alliance

US to provide consultancy to India to build UAVs under $3 bn drone deal

India and the US have been holding discussions for the MQ-9B Predator drone deal for the last few years, under which the three services will get the 31 drones

US-Japan talks focus on bolstering cooperation amid rising China threat

Japanese and US defence chiefs and top diplomats will meet in Tokyo on Sunday for talks aimed at further bolstering their military cooperation, including by upgrading the command and control of US forces and strengthening American-licensed missile production in Japan, amid a rising threat from China. Secretary of State Antony Blinken and Defence Secretary Lloyd Austin will join their Japanese counterparts, Yoko Kamikawa and Minoru Kihara, at the Japan-US Security Consultative Committee, known as 2+2 security talks, to reaffirm their alliance following President Joe Biden 's withdrawal from the November presidential race. For the first time, the ministers will hold separate talks to reaffirm the US commitment to extended deterrence, which includes atomic weapons a shift from Japan's earlier reluctance to openly discuss the sensitive issue in the world's only country to have suffered nuclear attacks amid growing nuclear threats from Russia and China. The ministers are expected to ..

Cipla to commence supplies to US from China plant later this year

Drug major Cipla expects to commence supplies to the US market from its China facility in the second half of the current fiscal after getting approval from the American health regulator, according to its MD and global CEO Umag Vohra. Addressing shareholders in the company's Annual Report for 2023-24, he noted that the company is working with the USFDA to resolve issues with its various domestic plants. "Although we saw challenging phases with USFDA audits, I am glad to report that our China facility cleared the USFDA audit and is expected to supply to the US by the second half of FY 2024- 25," Vohra said. Sharing updates about other plants, he noted that the facilities of Patalganga and Kurkumbh in India were also cleared with a VAI (voluntary action indicated). "Our Goa site was issued observations and our Indore plant is currently being remediated. Finding resolution for these regulatory issues continues to be our top priority," Vohra said. The company has worked extensively to

US-based organisation urges IOC to let Taiwan compete under its own name

The advocacy group, in a statement issued on Friday, said that the name was a discriminatory misnomer

India and US sign first-ever deal for retrieval of antique objects

India and the United States on Friday their first agreement to prevent illegal trafficking of cultural property and return of antiquarian objects to their place of origin, the Ministry of Culture said. The US-India Cultural Property Agreement was signed by Union Cultural Secretary Govind Mohan and US envoy Eric Garcetti in the presence of Union Culture Minister Gajendra Singh Shekhawat on the sidelines of the ongoing 46th session of the World Heritage Committee at Bharat Mandapam here. Interacting with the press later, Shekhawat said it is a general agreement that will allow "smooth repatriation" of historic artefact from the US to India. He added that there are "297 items" that are "lying in the US, ready to be repatriated." India has repatriated 358 antiquities since 1976, out of these 345 have been retrieved since 2014, the minister said. "The agreement aims to prevent illegal trafficking of cultural property and retrieval of antiquarian objects to their place of origin," the

US indicts North Korean hacker for major cyberattacks, offers $10mn reward

North Korean hacker Rim Jong Hyok has been accused of orchestrating major cyber attacks on US defense, Nasa, healthcare systems, and Asian companies

In a 1st, US, Canada intercept China-Russia joint patrol jets near Alaska

A statement from Norad maintained that the bombers remained in international airspace in Alaska's Air Defence Identification Zone (ADIZ) and were 'not seen as a threat'

Netanyahu to meet Harris, Biden at important moment in US and Israel

Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu is set to make a long-awaited White House visit Thursday to meet with President Joe Biden and likely Democratic nominee Vice President Kamala Harris at an important moment for all three politicians. Netanyahu's White House visit, his first since before former President Donald Trump left office in 2020, comes at a time of growing pressure on all three to find an endgame to the nine-month war that's left more than 39,000 dead in Gaza. What's more, dozens of Israeli hostages and the remains of others who have died in captivity are still languishing in Hamas captivity. Biden is pressing to get Israel and Hamas to seal his proposal to release remaining hostages in Gaza over three phases something that would be a legacy-affirming achievement for the 81-year-old Democrat who abandoned his reelection bid earlier this week and endorsed Harris. It could also be a boon for Harris in her bid to succeed him. White House officials say that the ...

RIL gets US nod to resume crude imports from Venezuela despite sanctions

India's largest privately owned refiner plans to start purchasing Venezuelan crude soon, said the people, who asked not to be named as the information is not public

HIV medicine that costs $42,000 could be made for just $40 with profits

Lenacapavir drug hailed as 'the closest we have ever been to an HIV vaccine', is currently sold by US pharma major Gilead at Rs $42,250 for the first year

Democrats hope Harris' bluntness on abortion will translate to 2024 wins

President Joe Biden might not often use the word abortion when he talks about the overturning of Roe v. Wade, but Vice President Kamala Harris sure does. She's also toured a Planned Parenthood clinic where the procedure is performed, and routinely links the fall of Roe to the larger issue of rising maternal mortality nationwide. Now that Harris is running for president in place of Biden, Democrats and advocates for reproductive rights are hoping that her bluntness on abortion coupled with the administration's policies will help sway voters to deliver them not just the White House but key congressional seats as well. The president on the record was fabulous and the campaign was turning out multiple repro-focused ads a week, and had an army of surrogates, said Mini Timmaraju, president of Reproductive Freedom for All. But, you know, nothing is more compelling than the top of the ticket being the most compelling on the issue, and that's what we have now. In her first official rally a

US treasury dept orders banks to disclose Russian assets for forfeiture

The Treasury Department ordered the nation's banking industry to start disclosing its holdings of Russian assets on Tuesday, with the goal of eventually seizing those billions of dollars in assets and selling them to aid the devastated Ukrainian economy. The disclosure is required under a new law passed by Congress earlier this year known as the REPO Act, which gives the U.S. government the authority to seize Russian state assets held by U.S. banks, with the goal of eventually selling them and giving those funds to Ukraine. While the vast bulk of Russian assets are held in Europe, it is estimated that the U.S. banking system holds as much as $6 billion in Russian assets in trust. Banks will need to report Russian assets on their books no later than Aug. 2 to the Office of Foreign Assets Control. If a bank discovers any new Russian assets on their books after the deadline, those assets need to be reported within 10 days, the Treasury Department said. Russia's war in Ukraine, which ..

US Sen Menendez is resigning from office after his corruption conviction

U.S. Sen. Bob Menendez is resigning from office Aug. 20 following his conviction for taking bribes for corrupt acts including acting as an agent of the Egyptian government, a person familiar with the matter told The Associated Press on Tuesday. Menendez had insisted after the July 16 verdict that he was innocent and promised to appeal. The person who told the AP about Menendez's resignation did so on the condition of anonymity because the New Jersey Democrat's decision hadn't been made public. Menendez's attorney hasn't returned messages seeking comment. The resignation gives New Jersey Gov. Phil Murphy, a Democrat, the ability to appoint someone to the senate for the remainder of Menendez's term, which expires on Jan. 3. The seat was already up for election on Nov. 5. Democrats have nominated U.S. Rep. Andy Kim, who's in strong position in the Democratic-leaning state. He faces Republican Curtis Bashaw. Menendez, 70, was convicted of charges that he sold the power of his office to

GOP attacks against Harris were already bad, they are about to get worse

Even as a candidate for vice president, Harris was the target of an intense barrage of conservative attacks that claimed, among other things, that she slept her way to political prominence

Byju's US lawyers blame client in a bid to quit US bankruptcy case

For months, lenders have been trying to find $533 million in cash that Ravindran allegedly moved out of the US

Democrats donate over $50 mn online after Biden exits presidential race

The huge amount is based on a New York Times analysis of the online ticker of contributions maintained by ActBlue, the leading site processing Democratic donations

Homeland Security names independent panel to review Trump assassination bid

US Homeland Security Secretary Alejandro Mayorkas has appointed a bipartisan, independent panel to review this month's assassination attempt on former President Donald Trump, officials said Sunday. The panel members will have extensive law enforcement and security experience to conduct a 45-day independent review of the planning for and actions taken by the US Secret Service and state and local authorities before, during, and after the rally, and the US Secret Service governing policies and procedures, the Department of Homeland Security said in a statement. The first people named to the panel are former Homeland Security Secretary Janet Napolitano; Frances Townsend, former Homeland Security adviser to President George W. Bush; Mark Filip, a former federal judge and deputy attorney general to President George W. Bush; and David Mitchell, former Secretary of the Department of Public Safety and Homeland Security for the state of Delaware. Additional experts could be asked to join the

Secret Service admits denying Trump campaign's requests for more security

The Secret Service now acknowledges it denied some requests by Republican presidential nominee Donald Trump's campaign for increased security at his events in the years before the assassination attempt on him at a recent rally. In the immediate aftermath of the July 13 attack, the law enforcement agency had denied rejecting such requests. But the Secret Service acknowledged late Saturday, a week after the attempt on Trump's life, that it had turned back some requests to increase security around the former president. The reversal is likely to be a key focus of a congressional hearing on Monday where Secret Service Director Kimberly Cheatle is expected to appear before lawmakers who have been expressing anger over security lapses that allowed a 20-year-old gunman to climb atop the roof of a nearby building at Trump's rally in Butler, Pennsylvania, and fire his weapon. Trump was wounded in the right ear, one rallygoer was killed and two others were injured. The Secret Service has a va