Page 23 - United States

South Korea, US, Japan hold air drill to show strength against North Korea

Top South Korean, US and Japanese military officers urged North Korea to cease all unlawful activities that threaten regional security, as the three nations flew advanced warplanes for a joint exercise in a show of force against the North. The development came Friday as Russian Foreign Minister Sergei Lavrov was to travel to North Korea amid booming military and other cooperation between the two countries that have raised concerns among their neighbours. During their regular meeting in Seoul on Friday, the chairmen of the joint chiefs of staff from South Korea, the US and Japan discussed North Korea's deployment of troops to Russia to support its war against Ukraine and Russia's potential transfer of military technology to North Korea in return. They urged the DPRK to immediately cease all unlawful activities to destabilise the Korean Peninsula, the Indo-Pacific, and beyond, and pledged to continue working together to respond to the DPRK's threats, the three top military officers sa

Marco Rubio to meet Russia's Lavrov in Malaysia amid Ukraine tensions

US Secretary of State Marco Rubio and his Russian counterpart will meet Thursday in Malaysia for what could be a testy conversation as tensions between the countries rise over Moscow's increasing attacks on Ukraine and questions about whether Russia's leader is serious about a peace deal. Rubio and Foreign Minister Sergey Lavrov are to see each other in Kuala Lumpur, where both men are attending the annual Association of Southeast Asian Nations Regional Forum, which brings together all 10 ASEAN members and their most important diplomatic partners, including Russia, China, Japan, South Korea, the Europeans and the US. The meeting is set to take place shortly after the US resumed some shipments of defensive weapons to Ukraine following a pause ostensibly for the Pentagon to review domestic munitions stocks that was cheered in Moscow. The resumption comes as Russia fires escalating air attacks on Ukraine and as President Donald Trump has become increasingly frustrated with Russian ..

Tunnel collapse in Los Angeles: All 31 workers rescued, confirms fire dept

Rescue teams shuttle trapped workers through a 9-km tunnel stretch; paramedics assess 27 individuals

Hundreds gather at high school stadium to honour many lost to Texas floods

Several hundred people gathered for a worship ceremony at a high school stadium in Texas on Wednesday evening to remember the at least 120 people who died in the catastrophic flash floods over the July Fourth holiday, as well the many still missing. Our communities were struck with tragedy literally in the darkness, Wyatt Wentrcek, a local youth minister, told the crowd in the bleachers of Tivy Antler Stadium in Kerrville. Middle of the night. During a series of prayers for the victims and the more than 160 people still believed to be missing in hard-hit Kerr County, which includes Kerrville, people in the crowd clutched one another and brushed away tears. Many attendees wore blue shirts with the school's slogan, Tivy Fight Never Die, or green ribbons for Camp Mystic, the century-old all-girls Christian summer camp in Kerr County where at least 27 campers and counsellors died. Officials said five campers and one counsellor have still not been found. Ricky Pruitt, with the Kerrville

Trump backs 500% tariff on India's Russian oil trade to pressure Putin

The proposed US bill seeks harsh penalties on Russian oil buyers like India and China, aiming to choke Kremlin's war funding and compel an end to the Ukraine war

Samsung may shift US supplies to India, eyes Trump's tariff decisions

South Korean electronics giant Samsung is closely monitoring the Trump administration's ongoing trade negotiations and is prepared to supply products to the US market from multiple manufacturing locations, including India, depending on the outcomes, a senior company official said on Wednesday. Admitting that "very high" uncertainty in America necessitated its state of preparedness for various scenarios, Samsung asserted that it has a well-strategised diversification plan in place and would respond with flexibility. "The uncertainty in the US is currently very high, and because of that, we have been preparing against a number of different scenarios. We are ready to produce for the US from multiple factories, including India," Samsung COO MX division - Won-Joon Choi told reporters. The company, he said, has braced for different scenarios, and is prepared when it comes to diversification of factories for the product it will ship to the US. "One of the things that we have prepared was

US slaps sanctions on firms linked to North Korea's fake-tech-worker scheme

Thousands of North Korean workers have been posing as nationals from other countries to infiltrate companies in the US and around the world, said the US government

Donald Trump's tariff 'blank check' must be curbed: Businesses to US court

A group of small businesses that won an order finding President Donald Trump's sweeping global tariffs illegal urged a federal appeals court to uphold that decision and block the trade levies

US federal judge dismisses lawsuit seeking to stop DOJ grant cancellations

A federal judge has allowed the Trump administration to rescind nearly USD 800 million dollars in grants for programmes supporting violence reduction and crime victims. US District Judge Amit Mehta in Washington on Monday denied a preliminary injunction sought by five organisations on behalf of all recipients of the more than 360 grant awards, and granted a motion by the federal government to dismiss the case. Mehta called the Department of Justice's actions shameful, but said the court lacked jurisdiction and the organisations had failed to state a constitutional violation or protection. Defendants' rescinding of these awards is shameful. It is likely to harm communities and individuals vulnerable to crime and violence, Mehta wrote in his ruling. But displeasure and sympathy are not enough in a court of law. The Justice Department's Office of Justice Programmes cancelled the grants worth more than USD 800 million in April, saying it had changed its priorities to, among other thing

'No change': Trump reaffirms Aug 1 tariff deadline, rules out extensions

US President Donald Trump confirms 25% tariffs on Japan, South Korea from August 1, rejecting delays. Reciprocal duties target 50+ countries as trade talks stall; retaliation warnings issued

India may soon finalise US trade deal, but must tread carefully: GTRI

India could be among the countries expected to finalise a trade deal with the US soon, as President Donald Trump steps up pressure by issuing formal tariff letters to several nations, but New Delhi must tread carefully, economic think tank GTRI said on Tuesday. "Trump's model isn't a free trade agreement, it's a YATRA - Yielding to American Tariff Retaliation Agreement," the Global Trade Research Initiative (GTRI) said. The US has extended the deadline for countries to finalise bilateral trade deals with the US from July 9 to August 1, giving a final three-week window before sweeping country-specific tariffs come into force, it added. The extension is part of a broader trade offensive launched on April 2, when Trump identified about 60 countries for special tariffs unless they signed new deals aligning with American trade interests. So far, only the United Kingdom and Vietnam have complied. A temporary ceasefire deal with China is also in place. "Now, Trump is escalating the press

US revokes foreign terrorist designation of Syria's HTS

HTS was labelled a terrorist group by the US in 2018 because of its previous connections to al-Qaeda. However, in late January, it was disbanded and the fighters were integrated into Syrian military

Jeffrey Epstein 'client list' does not exist, says Justice Department

Jeffrey Epstein did not maintain a client list, the Justice Department acknowledged Monday as it said no more files related to the wealthy financier's sex trafficking investigation would be made public despite promises from Attorney General Pam Bondi that had raised the expectations of conservative influencers and conspiracy theorists. The acknowledgment that the well-connected Epstein did not have a list of clients to whom underage girls were trafficked represents a public walk-back of a theory that the Trump administration had helped promote, with Bondi suggesting in a Fox News interview earlier this year that such a document was sitting on my desk for review. Even as it released video from inside a New York jail meant to definitively prove that Epstein killed himself, the department also said in a memo that it was refusing to disclose other evidence investigators had collected. Bondi for weeks had suggested more material was going to be revealed "It's a new administration and ...

Death toll from flooding in Texas over July Fourth weekend crosses 100

The death toll from catastrophic flooding in Texas over the July Fourth weekend has surpassed 100 as the massive search continues for missing people. The number of deaths reached 104 on Monday. In hard-hit Kerr County, home to Camp Mystic and several other summer camps, searchers have found the bodies of 84 people, including 28 children, Kerr County officials said. Authorities overseeing the search for flood victims in Texas said they will wait to address questions about weather warnings and why some summer camps did not evacuate ahead of the catastrophic flooding. The officials spoke only hours after the operators of Camp Mystic, a century-old all-girls Christian summer camp in the Texas Hill Country, announced that they lost 27 campers and counselors to the floodwaters. Meanwhile, search-and-rescue teams carried on with the search for the dead, using heavy equipment to untangle trees and wading into swollen rivers. Volunteers covered in mud sorted through chunks of debris, piece b

Trump believes Brics seeking to 'undermine' US interests: White House

While addressing a press briefing on Monday, Press Secretary Karoline Leavitt stated that Trump will take any necessary action to prevent nations from taking 'advantage of the US' and its people

US will try to deport Garcia before trial, says Justice Dept attorney

The US government would initiate deportation proceedings against Kilmar Abrego Garcia if he's released from jail before he stands trial on human smuggling charges in Tennessee, a Justice Department attorney told a federal judge in Maryland on Monday. The disclosure by US lawyer Jonathan Guynn contradicts statements by spokespeople for the Justice Department and the White House, who said last month that Abrego Garcia would stand trial and possibly spend time in an American prison before the government moves to deport him. Guynn made the revelation during a federal court hearing in Maryland, where Abrego Garcia's American wife is suing the Trump administration over his mistaken deportation in March and trying to prevent him from being expelled again. Guynn said US Immigrations and Customs Enforcement would detain Abrego Garcia once he's released from jail and send him to a third country that isn't his native El Salvador. However, Guynn said he didn't know which country that would be.

Iran's Prez Pezeshkian says he's open to talks with US despite strikes

Pezeshkian claimed the Trump administration authorised Israeli attacks on Iran that began on June 13

Trump to impose 25% tariff on South Korean, Japanese goods from Aug 1

US President Donald Trump to impose 25% tariff on imports from South Korea and Japan starting August 1, 2025, citing persistent trade deficits and unfair tariff and non-tariff barriers

Tariff deadline extension: US nears trade deals, says Donald Trump

In April Trump unveiled a base tariff rate of 10 per cent on most countries and additional duties ranging up to 50 per cent, although he later delayed the effective date for all but 10 per cent until

Tesla stock slides as Musk's 'America Party' heightens investor concerns

Musk unveiled the 'America Party' on Saturday after openly sparring with Donald Trump over the US president's tax-cut and spending bill