Page 141 - United States

Retired diplomat Vinay Kwatra nominated as new US ambassador to secure ties

Kwatra, who retired as India's foreign secretary earlier this month, will look to bring certainty to the India-US relationship

Ukraine faces twin challenges of fighting Russia, shifting US politics

After almost 30 months of war with Russia, Ukraine's difficulties on the battlefield are mounting even as its vital support from the United States is increasingly at the mercy of changing political winds. A six-month delay in military assistance from the US, the biggest single contributor to Ukraine, opened the door for the Kremlin's forces to push on the front line. Ukrainian troops are now fighting to check the slow but gradual gains by Russia's bigger and better-equipped army. The next two or three months are going to be probably the hardest this year for Ukraine, military analyst Michael Kofman of the Carnegie Endowment said in a recent podcast. Lurking in the background is another nagging worry for Ukraine: how long will Western political and military support critical for its fight last? On Monday, former President Donald Trump chose Sen. JD Vance of Ohio as his running mate for the Republican ticket in November's U.S. election, and Vance wants the United States to attend to

Islamic State attacks in Iraq, Syria set to double this year: US military

The US Central Command said Wednesday that the Islamic State group is trying "to reconstitute as the number of attacks in Syria and Iraq is on track to double those of the previous year. IS has claimed 153 attacks in both countries in the first six months of 2024, CENTCOM said in a statement. According to a US defence official, who spoke on condition of anonymity as he wasn't allowed to speak publicly on the matter, the group was behind 121 attacks in Syria and Iraq in 2023. The increase in attacks indicates ISIS is attempting to reconstitute following several years of decreased capability, CENTCOM said. The announcement comes just after the 10-year mark since the militant group declared its caliphate in large parts of Iraq and Syria. At its peak, the group ruled an area half the size of the United Kingdom where it attempted to enforce its extreme interpretation of Islam, which included attacks on religious minority groups and harsh punishment of Muslims deemed to be ...

Out-of-state officers shot man wielding 2 knives near RNC: Police

Ohio police officers in Wisconsin for the Republican National Convention shot and killed a man who was wielding two knives near the convention, Milwaukee's police chief has said. Five members of the Columbus, Ohio, police department fired on the man, who had a knife in each hand, refused police commands and charged at an unarmed man before police fired, Milwaukee Chief Jeffrey Norman said at a news conference on Tuesday. Two knives were recovered from the scene, the chief said. Someone's life was in danger, Norman said. These officers, who were not from this area, took it upon themselves to act and save someone's life today. Thousands of officers from multiple jurisdictions are in Milwaukee providing additional security for the convention that began Monday and concludes Thursday. The shooting fuelled anger from residents who questioned why out-of-state officers were in their neighbourhood located about a mile from the convention site. The Columbus Police Department, as well as the

Self-exiled billionaire Guo Wengui convicted of fraud after fleeing to US

Guo Wengui, a self-exiled Chinese business tycoon whose criticism of the Communist Party won him legions of online followers and powerful friends in the American conservative movement, was convicted by a US jury Tuesday of engaging in a massive multiyear fraud that ripped off some of his most devoted fans. Once believed to be among the richest people in China, Guo was arrested in New York in March of 2023 and accused of operating a racketeering enterprise that stretched from 2018 through 2023. Over a seven-week trial, he was accused of deceiving thousands of people who put money into bogus investments, with the aim of preserving a luxurious lifestyle. He was convicted of nine of 12 criminal counts, including racketeering conspiracy. Guo's lawyers said prosecutors hadn't proven he'd cheated anyone. Guo, who is also known by the name Miles Kwok, left China in 2014 during an anti-corruption crackdown that ensnared people close to him, including a top intelligence official. Chinese ..

"Officer! Officer!" Rallygoers alert cops minutes before shooting at Trump

The rallygoers yelled to the police informing them about the suspicious man on the roof of a nearby manufacturing plant

20 satellites to 'fall from sky' as SpaceX Falcon 9 rocket malfunctions

SpaceX Falcon 9 rocket malfunction, a first in nearly a decade for the Elon Musk-led company, was triggered by a liquid oxygen leak

Trump assassination bid: Ex-US presidents, world leaders who were targeted

Donald Trump survived a bullet injury to his right ear after a 20-year-old shooter, Mathew Thomas Crooks, fired eight rounds at him from a rooftop, close to his Pennsylvania election rally

Sunita Williams sends her 1st message to Earth; know all about her mission

Astronaut Sunita Williams, along with her mission commander Butch Wilmore, face uncertainty as they remain stuck in space for over a month due to technical snag with the Boeing Starliner

Trump assassination bid: What is US Secret Service, why is it under scanner

Donald Trump assassination attempt: Donald Trump narrowly escaped a bid on his life at an election rally in Pennsylvania on Saturday. He miraculously escaped with an injury to his right ear

Trump assassination bid: Where is ex-US prez now; FBI on shooter's motive

Donald Trump assassination attempt: Trump suffered an injury in his right ear following a failed assassination attempt on the former US president by a 20-year-old shooter identified as Thomas Crooks

Bond futures fall, dollar firm as markets grapple with US politics

A holiday in Japan made for thin trading conditions and the early action was confined to a modest rise in the dollar

Two shootings in Birmingham kill 7 people, including young child: Police

Four people died in a shooting at a Birmingham nightclub late Saturday, while an earlier shooting outside a home in the city killed three people, including a young child, authorities in Alabama said. Officers responded shortly after 11 p.m. to a report of multiple people shot outside a nightclub, Birmingham Police Department Officer Truman Fitzgerald said in a video posted on social media. Birmingham Fire and Rescue personnel pronounced one man dead on a sidewalk near the nightclub. Two women were killed inside the club, Fitzgerald said. A second man was pronounced dead at University of Alabama at Birmingham Hospital, where at least nine additional victims were being treated for gunshot wounds, he said. Victims were brought by emergency medical personnel or traveled to the hospital on their own, Fitzgerald said. Investigators believe at least one suspect fired shots into the nightclub from the street, he said. Federal law enforcement authorities were assisting Birmingham police wi

Split-second move may have saved Trump; security gap raises questions

Law enforcement experts question possible security failures surrounding assassination attempt on Donald Trump, express shock over would-be assassin getting close enough to injure a former US President

Who was Thomas Matthew Crooks, the suspected Donald Trump rally shooter?

Former US President Donald Trump was injured Saturday evening during a campaign rally in Pennsylvania, in what the FBI says was an assassination attempt

Four US presidents were assassinated, others targeted: All you need to know

Before Saturday's apparent attempted assassination of former President Donald Trump, there have been multiple instances of political violence targeting US presidents, former presidents and major party presidential candidates. A look at some of the assassinations and attempted assassinations that have occurred since the nation's founding in 1776: ABRAHAM LINCOLN, the 16th president Lincoln was the first president to be assassinated, shot by John Wilkes Booth on April 14, 1865, as he and his wife, Mary Todd Lincoln, attended a special performance of the comedy Our American Cousin at Ford's Theatre in Washington. Lincoln was taken to a house across the street from the theater for medical treatment after he was shot in the back of the head. He died the next morning. His support for Black rights has been cited as a motive behind his killing. Two years before the assassination, during the Civil War, which was fought over slavery, Lincoln issued the Emancipation Proclamation granting fre

One killed during shooting at Trump's Pennsylvania rally, suspect shot dead

District attorney stated that Trump, who appeared to have sustained an injury to his ear in the shooting, will be fine and was promptly escorted by the US Secret Service

Court voids Kansas researcher's conviction in Chinese espionage probe

A federal appeals court has reversed the conviction of a researcher who was accused of hiding work he did in China while employed at the University of Kansas. Feng Franklin Tao was convicted in April 2022 of three counts of wire fraud and one count of making a materially false statement. US District Judge Julie Robinson threw out the wire fraud convictions a few months later but let the false statement conviction stand. She later sentenced him to time served. But the 10th US Circuit Court of Appeals in Kansas City, Missouri, on Thursday ruled that the government failed to provide sufficient evidence that Tao's failure to disclose his potential conflict of interest actually mattered, and it directed the lower court to acquit him of that sole remaining count. The case against Tao was part of the Trump administration's China Initiative, which started in 2018 to thwart what the Justice Department said was the transfer of original ideas and intellectual property from US universities to t

Decoded: What is Thirty Meter Telescope? Why is it significant for India?

The Thirty Meter Telescope, featuring a 30-meter primary mirror and advanced adaptive optics, aims to explore fundamental questions about the universe

US, South Korea sign joint nuclear guidelines amid North Korean threats

The US and South Korea signed joint nuclear deterrence guidelines, weeks after North Korea and Russia struck a defence pact that deepened concerns in the region about the North's growing nuclear threats. Meeting Thursday on the sidelines of a NATO summit in Washington, President Joe Biden and South Korean President Yoon Suk Yeol commended what they called the tremendous progress that their countries' alliance have made a year after creating a joint Nuclear Consultative Group. Last year, the US and South Korea launched the bilateral consultation body to enhance information-sharing on nuclear and strategic operations. The US will retain the control of its nuclear weapons, and the body's establishment was meant to ease South Korean worries about North Korean nuclear threats. The two leaders authorised the US-ROK Guidelines for Nuclear Deterrence and Nuclear Operations on the Korean Peninsula that was signed by their defence officials earlier Thursday, according to South Korea's ...