Page 154 - United States

Soft power through WCT20 can help our businesses

Soft power is the ability to connect with others through culture and moral authority that can help influence their attitudes, and over a period of time their behavior to get the desired outcomes

US expects Israel to accept agreement to end Gaza war if Hamas agrees

"This was an Israeli proposal. We have every expectation that if Hamas agrees to the proposal" as was transmitted to them, an Israeli proposal" then Israel would say yes," US official said

After the verdict

Mr Trump's conviction deepens US political friction

2 dead, 7 injured after shooting at a bar in Pittsburgh, say police

A shooting at a bar in suburban Pittsburgh has left two people dead and seven others injured, police said Sunday. Allegheny County Police Department's homicide unit said it has responded to a request for help by Penn Hills Police Department after the early morning shooting at the Ballers Hookah Lounge and Cigar Bar in Penn Hills. First responders discovered the bodies of an adult male and adult female inside the bar around 3 am Sunday. Seven additional victims were found. Some were transported from the scene and additional victims walked in to area hospitals, Allegheny County police said in a statement on social media. One of the victims is in critical condition. The remaining victims all had injuries that were not life-threatening, the statement said. Preliminary information shows an altercation took place inside the bar and multiple individuals opened fire, county police said. The statement did not say whether any suspects were in custody. Anyone with information concerning thi

Trump's attacks on US justice system may be useful to autocrats like Putin

After his historic guilty verdict in his hush money case, Donald Trump attacked the US criminal justice system, making unfounded claims of a rigged trial that echoed remarks from the Kremlin. If they can do this to me, they can do this to anyone, Trump said Friday, speaking from his namesake tower in New York on Friday. Thousands of miles away, Russian President Vladimir Putin was probably rubbing his hands with glee, said Fiona Hill, a former senior White House national security adviser to three US presidents, including Trump. Hill and other analysts say Trump's attacks could be useful to Putin and other autocrats as they look to boost their standing among their own citizens, potentially sway the upcoming US presidential election in which Trump is the presumptive Republican nominee, and undermine the United States' global influence. Some autocratic countries reacted swiftly in support of Trump. Moscow agreed with Trump's assessment of Thursday's verdict, calling it the eliminatio

US trying to build Asia-Pacific version of Nato, says Chinese official

The US is trying to build an Asia-Pacific version of NATO through its Indo-Pacific strategy to maintain its hegemony in the region, a Chinese defence official has said, stressing that Washington's attempt to serve its selfish" geopolitical interest is doomed to fail. The remarks by Lieutenant General Jing Jianfeng, deputy chief of staff of the Joint Staff Department of the Central Military Commission, came in response to US Secretary of Defence Lloyd Austin's speech during the Shangri La Dialogue on Saturday in which he spoke about strengthening alliances and partnerships across the region. Held annually in Singapore, the Shangri La Dialogue is Asia's premier defence summit. Lieutenant-General Jing warned that if regional countries were to sign up for the US' Indo-Pacific strategy, they would be bound to the US war chariot and be lured into taking bullets for the US. He termed Austin's remarks as rhetoric" that "sounds good but does no good, one that serves selfish US geopolitical

China accuses US of causing friction by supporting Taiwan, Philippines

China's defence minister on Sunday acknowledged the importance of newly renewed military-to-military communications with the United States as tensions escalate in the Asia-Pacific, while at the same time accusing Washington of causing the friction with its support for Taiwan and the Philippines. We will not allow anyone to bring geopolitical conflicts or any war, whether hot or cold, into our region," Chinese Defence Minister Dong Jun told the Shangri-La defence forum in Singapore through a translator. We will not allow any country or any force to create conflict and chaos in our region, he added. China has been increasingly assertive in pressing its claim to virtually the entire South China Sea, a key global shipping route, which has led to a growing number of conflicts, most notably with the Philippines, whose ships have been rammed by Chinese vessels and hit with water cannons. Dong insisted that China's strategic culture is anchored in universal love and non-aggression", before

Stellantis India appoints Shailesh Hazela as CEO & MD, effective mid-July

'I look forward to accelerating technological innovation and strengthening our position in existing and emerging mobility segments,' Hazela said after the appointment

Sunita Williams to launch on 3rd space mission aboard Starliner today

The astronauts are scheduled to launch aboard Boeing's Starliner spacecraft, positioned atop a United Launch Alliance Atlas V rocket, from Space Launch Complex-41 at Florida around 10 pm IST

T20 World Cup 2024: How US vs Canada cricket rivalry is older than Ashes?

A cricket club called the St George's Club of Manhattan, New York played against Toronto Club in a four-inning match dubbed as Canada vs USA in 1844, 33 years before the first Ashes game

US-India ties based on common vision and values: Defence Secy Lloyd Austin

Defence Secretary Lloyd J Austin on Saturday said the US-India ties are based on a common vision and common values and the momentum in the relationship is not only going to continue but will pick up speed. Austin's remarks came as he responded to a delegate's question at the Shangri La Dialogue about bilateral ties. Held annually in Singapore, the Shangri La Dialogue Dialogue is Asia's premier defence summit. The relationship we enjoy right now with India is as good as or better than our relationship that it has ever been, he told delegates. "We are co-producing armoured vehicles with India, he said, adding that good progress has been made on the project. The US-India relations are based on a common vision and common values. So, I believe the momentum that we see is not only going to continue but, at a point, it will pick up speed. In his address on the Indo-Pacific region, Austin said: Together with our friends in the region, we are breaking down national barriers and better ...

15 yrs on, Tamil survivors of Lanka civil war live in fear, disempowerment

At the site of a bloody battlefield that marked the end of Sri Lanka's civil war, Singaram Soosaimuthu fishes every day with his son, casting nets and reeling them in. It is a skill he has known for much of his life and one that he had to relearn after a devastating injury. The former Tamil fighter lost both legs in 2009 as the nation's generation-long civil war drew to a close and the Tamils retreated in defeat. Making something of himself despite his injuries brought Soosaimuthu success an achievement in which he finds profound meaning. He sees his fellow ethnic Tamils in the same light: To regain their voice, they must thrive. But defeat bloody, protracted and decisive has brought Sri Lanka's minority Tamil community to a point of despair. Some parents have given up hope of ever learning the fate of the thousands of missing children. Parts of the Tamil lands are decimated, with poor infrastructure and fewer economic opportunities. Survivors have lived under surveillance for

Trump's lawyer says was 'shocked' ex-Prez took verdict with 'solemness'

Donald Trump's lawyer told The Associated Press he was surprised at Trump's stoic demeanour as he listened to the verdict that made him the first former US president convicted of a crime. Todd Blanche was sitting to Trump's left in the Manhattan courtroom as the verdict was read the jury foreman repeating the word guilty 34 times. "I was shocked at how he took the verdict," Blanche said. "He just stood there and just kind of took it. And I think had a lot of appropriate solemnness for the moment that made me very proud to be sitting next to him when it, when it was happening," said Blanche, adding that he thought Trump was still handling himself well on Friday, the day after the verdict, even as the presumptive Republican presidential nominee railed that the trial was unfair. He's not happy about it, but there's no defendant in the history of our justice system who's happy about a conviction the day after. But I think he knows there's a lot of fight left and there's a lot of ...

US, allies clash with China and Russia over North Korea's launches

The United States and allies South Korea and Japan clashed with China and Russia on Friday over North Korea's latest satellite and ballistic missile launches and threats to use nuclear weapons that have escalated tensions in northeast Asia. The scene was an emergency open meeting of the UN Security Council called after North Korea's failed launch of a military reconnaissance satellite on May 27 and other launches using ballistic missile technology in violation of UN sanctions. Since the beginning of 2022, the Democratic People's Republic of Korea the North's official name has launched over 100 missiles using this banned technology as it has advanced its nuclear weapons programme. In response, the US and its allies have carried out an increasing number of military exercises. UN Assistant Secretary-General Khaled Khiari briefed the council meeting saying sovereign states have the right to benefit from peaceful space activities but the DPRK is expressly prohibited from conducting ..

War on coal rhetoric heats up as Biden aims to curb pollution as polls loom

Actions by President Joe Biden's administration that could hasten closures of heavily polluting coal power plants and the mines that supply them are reviving Republican rhetoric about a so-called war on coal ahead of the November election. The front line in the political battle over the fuel is in the Powder River Basin of Wyoming and Montana, a sparsely populated section of the Great Plains with the nation's largest coal mines. It's also home to a massive power plant in Colstrip, Montana, that emits more toxic air pollutants such as lead and arsenic than any other US facility of its kind, according to the Environmental Protection Agency. The EPA last month finalized a suite of rules that could force the Colstrip Generating Station to shut down or spend an estimated USD 400 million to clean up its emissions within the next several years. Another proposal, from the US Interior Department, would end new leasing of taxpayer-owned coal reserves in the Powder River Basin, clouding the ...

Trump supporters call for riots, violent retribution after guilty verdict

Some called for attacks on jurors, the execution of the judge, Justice Juan Merchan, or outright civil war and armed insurrection

All that you need to know about Trump's conviction in hush money trial

Trump angrily denounced the trial as a "disgrace", telling reporters he's an "innocent man"

Republican lawmakers react with fury to Trump verdict, rally in defence

Republican lawmakers reacted with immediate fury on Thursday as a New York jury convicted former President Donald Trump on 34 counts of falsifying business records to influence the 2016 election, speaking out with near unanimity in questioning the legitimacy of the trial and how it was conducted. House Speaker Mike Johnson said it was a shameful day in American history and the charges were purely political. Ohio Sen. J.D. Vance said the verdict was a disgrace to the judicial system. Louisiana Rep. Steve Scalise, the No. 2 House Republican, said that the decision was a defeat for Americans who believe in the critical legal tenet that justice is blind. Within minutes of the verdict being read, Republicans who have in the past been divided over support for their presumptive GOP presidential nominee found common ground in attacking with few specifics the judge, the jury and President Joe Biden, even though the conviction came on state charges in a Manhattan court. As the nation's top

Trump Media stock rising a day after post conviction sell-off overnight

Shares of Trump Media & Technology Group, the owner of social networking site Truth Social, are climbing shortly after the opening bell Friday after former President Donald Trump was convicted in his hush money trial. A New York jury found Trump guilty of falsifying business records in a scheme to illegally influence the 2016 election through hush money payments to a porn actor who said the two had sex. Shares fell 9 per cent immediately Thursday in after-hours trading as news of the verdict emerged, but they are up nearly 3 per cent in early morning trading on Friday. The stock, which trades under the ticker symbol DJT, has been extraordinarily volatile since its debut in late March, joining the group of meme stocks that are prone to ricochet from highs to lows as small-pocketed investors attempt to catch an upward momentum swing at the right time. The stock has tripled this year, in the process frequently making double-digit percentage moves either higher or lower on a single ...

Houthis claim missile attack on US Navy aircraft carrier in the Red Sea

The claimed attack by the Houthis comes after the group said that US and British strikes in Yemen's Hodeidah province had killed 16