Page 58 - United States

Iran-US nuclear talks move to expert level, signal progress but no deal yet

Negotiations between Iran and the United States over Tehran's rapidly advancing nuclear program will move Wednesday to what's known as the expert level a sign analysts say shows that the talks are moving forward rapidly. However, experts not involved in the talks who spoke with The Associated Press warn that this doesn't necessarily signal a deal is imminent. Instead, it means that the talks between Iranian Foreign Minister Abbas Araghchi and US Mideast envoy Steve Witkoff haven't broken down at what likely is the top-level trade Tehran limiting its atomic program in exchange for the lifting of economic sanctions. Agreeing to technical talks suggests both sides are expressing pragmatic, realistic objectives for the negotiations and want to explore the details, said Kelsey Davenport, the director for nonproliferation policy at the Arms Control Association who long has studied Iran's nuclear program. If Witkoff was making maximalist demands during his talks with Araghchi, such as ..

Looking forward to President Trump's India visit: PM Modi to VP Vance

PM Modi also conveyed his warm greetings to President Trump and said that he looked forward to his visit to India later this year. India is slated to host Quad Summit later this year

Modi, Vance welcome 'significant progress' in India-US trade deal

Both sides discuss energy, defence, and strategic tech in bilateral meet

China warns nations not to team up against it to gain US reprieve

The US was the biggest single-country market for Chinese goods before the latest tariffs, but the Chinese government had been working for years to diversify its export markets

Gadkari mulls law for sound of Indian musical instrument as vehicle horns

Union Road Transport and Highways minister Nitin Gadkari on Monday said he is planning to bring a law under which only the sound of Indian musical instruments can be used as a horn for vehicles. Addressing the 78th Foundation Year Celebration of Navbharat Times, Gadkari said, "I am planning to make a law that horns of all vehicles should be in Indian musical instruments so that it is pleasant to hear. Flute, tabla, violin, harmonium." The transport sector contributes to 40 per cent of the air pollution in the country, he said, adding that the Modi government is promoting vehicles that run on green and bio-fuel, including methanol, ethanol. Gadkari noted that India gets maximum revenue from exports of two-wheeler vehicles and cars. According to him, in 2014, the Indian automobile sector was valued at Rs 14 lakh crore, which has now grown to Rs 22 lakh crore. Gadkari said India has surpassed Japan to become the world's third-largest automobile market, following the US and ...

US had very good talks with Iran after second nuclear round, says Trump

US President Donald Trump said on Monday (April 21) the United States had very good talks with Iran

PM Narendra Modi meets US Vice President JD Vance in New Delhi

Prime Minister Narendra Modi on Monday held talks with US Vice President JD Vance against the backdrop of ongoing negotiations for a bilateral trade pact. It is expected that the two leaders will discuss ways to further expand India-US global strategic ties as well as New Delhi's concerns over Washington's trade policy. After the talks, the prime minister will host a dinner for Vance, his Indian-origin wife Usha Chilukuri and the delegation of senior US government officials accompanying the vice president. Vance and his family landed in Delhi this morning on a four-day India visit after their trip to Italy over the weekend. He is the first US vice president to visit India in 12 years after Joe Biden visited New Delhi in 2013. Vance's first visit to India comes weeks after US President Donald Trump imposed and then paused a sweeping tariff regime against around 60 countries including India. New Delhi and Washington are now holding negotiations to seal a bilateral trade agreement t

US Vice President JD Vance offers condolences on Pope Francis' passing

Vance and Pope Francis exchanged Easter greetings, although they reportedly had a dispute over the Trump administration's migrant deportation plans

We hope to sign first phase of bilateral pact with US by Oct: FM Sitharaman

Finance Minister Nirmala Sitharaman on Sunday said India is "actively engaging" with the new US administration and hopes to conclude the first tranche of the bilateral trade agreement "positively" by fall (September-October) this year. "We are one of the countries which is actively engaged with the new administration of the United States of America to see how best we can get a bilateral trade agreement done," he said during an interaction with the Indian diaspora here. Earlier this year, US President Donald Trump and Prime Minister Narendra Modi agreed to launch talks for a bilateral trade deal amid the lurking fear of reciprocal tariff being imposed by Washington. "Equally, the priority that we gave to engage with the government here is more than obviously seen with the Prime Minister himself visiting the United States in February. You had the Commerce and Trade Minister come. I have come here because I also have the IMF and World Bank meeting. "I am scheduled to meet the treasury

First stop Akshardham Temple; US V-P Vance says his kids 'loved it'

US Vice President J D Vance, his Indian-origin wife Usha and their three children began their India trip on Monday with a visit to the sprawling Swaminarayan Akshardham Temple near the banks of the Yamuna. The Vances, who are here for a four-day visit during which they are also scheduled to travel to Jaipur and Agra, were at the temple complex for about an hour. The children -- Ewan, Vivek and Mirabel, all three dressed in Indian attire -- were the cynosure of many an eye. "Thank you all so much for your hospitality and kindness in welcoming me and my family to this beautiful place. It is a great credit to India that you built a beautiful temple with precision and care. Our kids, in particular, loved it. God bless," the vice president wrote in the temple guest book. Once done, the family posed for camera crews outside the imposing facade of the temple. "They were given a traditional welcome after which they had 'darshan'. A carved wooden elephant, a model of the Delhi Akshardham .

Standstill for 30 mins: JD Vance visit triggers traffic block in Delhi-NCR

Traffic restrictions on triggers traffic chaos in Delhi-NCR for morning commuters

China to sanction US officials, NGO heads in response to Hong Kong actions

China will sanction United States officials, lawmakers and leaders of non-governmental organisations who it says have "performed poorly on Hong Kong issues, the foreign ministry announced. The US in March sanctioned six Chinese and Hong Kong officials who it alleged were involved in transnational repression and acts threatening to further erode the city's autonomy. The officials included Justice Secretary Paul Lam, security office director Dong Jingwei and former police commissioner Raymond Siu. In a retaliatory move against Washington, DC, on Monday, Chinese foreign ministry spokesperson Guo Jiakun in Beijing said China strongly condemned the acts, calling them despicable". The US has seriously interfered in the affairs of Hong Kong and violated international law principles, he said China has decided to impose sanctions on US congressmen, officials, and NGO leaders who have performed poorly on Hong Kong-related issues, Guo said, adding the response was made according to the ...

US lawmakers urge JPMorgan, BofA to withdraw from CATL IPO over CCP ties

JPMorgan Chase & Co. CEO Jamie Dimon and Bank of America CEO Brian Moynihan on Thursday received a letter from John Moolenaar, chairman of the United States House Select Committee on Chinese Communist Party (SCCCP), requesting that the banks drop their participation in Contemporary Amperex Technology Co., Limited's (CATL) impending Hong Kong IPO.The Department of Defense has classified CATL as a "Chinese military company" in accordance with Section 1260H of the National Defense Authorisation Act, according to a report by SCCCP.According to the letters, there is rising concern that JPMorgan and Bank of America's participation in the CATL IPO directly supports the Chinese Communist Party's continued violations of human rights and military buildup. SCCCP said that the Committee specifically points to CATL's involvement in the modernisation of China's submarine fleet with cutting-edge lithium-ion batteries and its connections to the Xinjiang Production and Construction Corps (XPCC),

Drones pose increasing risk to commercial airliners near major US airports

A commercial airliner was on final approach to San Francisco's international airport in November when the crew spotted a drone outside the cockpit window. By then it was too late to take evasive action, the pilots reported, and the quadcopter passed by their windshield, not 300 feet away. A month earlier, a jetliner was flying at an altitude of 4,000 feet near Miami's international airport when its pilots reported a close encounter with a drone. In August, a drone came within 50 feet of clipping the left wing of a passenger jet as it departed Newark International Airport. The incidents were all classified as near midair collisions any one of which could have had catastrophic consequences, according to aviation safety experts. They were also not isolated encounters. An Associated Press analysis of an aviation safety database reveals that drones last year accounted for nearly two-thirds of reported near midair collisions involving commercial passenger planes taking off and landing at

JD Vance in Delhi: Traffic advisory issued for today; check routes to avoid

Security has been tightened across Delhi ahead of the visit by US Vice President JD Vance, with traffic restrictions in place from 6:00 pm to 9:00 pm on April 21

250 years after independence, America remains divided over its legacy

The American Revolution began 250 years ago, in a blast of gunshot and a trail of colonial spin. Starting with Saturday's anniversary of the Battles of Lexington and Concord, the country will look back to its war of independence and ask where its legacy stands today. The semi-quincentennial comes as President Donald Trump, the scholarly community and others divide over whether to have a yearlong party leading up to July 4, 2026, as Trump has called for, or to balance any celebrations with questions about women, the enslaved and Indigenous people and what their stories reveal. The history of Lexington and Concord in Massachusetts is half-known, the myth deeply rooted. What exactly happened at Lexington and Concord? Reenactors may with confidence tell us that hundreds of British troops marched from Boston in the early morning of April 19, 1775, and gathered about 22.5 kilometers northwest on Lexington's town green. Firsthand witnesses remembered some British officers yelled, Thrown

Japan to stress 'fairness' in currency talks with US, says PM Ishiba

Ishiba said specific discussions on currency policy will be made between Finance Minister Katsunobu Kato and Treasury Secretary Scott Bessent

BTA push: Indian team to visit US next week to discuss modalities

This will be the first in-person meeting between the officials from India and the US since the finalisation and signing of the terms of reference of the proposed trade deal in March

Keir Starmer holds 'productive' talks with Trump on UK-US trade deal

British Prime Minister Keir Starmer said he and President Donald Trump held productive talks on the ongoing discussions towards a trade agreement with the US to address the hefty import tariffs imposed by the American administration on countries around the world. Downing Street said the phone call on Friday also covered the Russia-Ukraine conflict and the recent US strikes on a Yemeni port to target Houthi rebels. The call came soon after Trump told reporters at the White House that his proposed second State Visit at the invitation of King Charles III is expected in September, a timeline yet to be confirmed by Buckingham Palace. The prime minister spoke to the President of the United States, Donald Trump, this afternoon, a Downing Street spokesperson said in a readout of the call. The leaders began by discussing the ongoing and productive discussions between the UK and the US on trade. The prime minister reiterated his commitment to free and open trade and the importance of protect

Small plane crashes into eastern Nebraska river killing 3 on board

Three people died when a small airplane crashed into a river in eastern Nebraska Friday night, authorities said. The plane was travelling along the Platte River and crashed into the water south of Fremont at 8.15 pm, Sgt. Brie Frank of the Dodge County Sheriff's Office said during a news conference. The bodies of three people were recovered, Frank confirmed. Authorities did not immediately release the identities of the deceased. The sheriff's office said the Federal Aviation Administration and the National Transportation Safety Board will oversee the investigation near Fremont, located about 59.5 kilometres west of Omaha.