Page 42 - Us Government

S Korea launches 2nd military spy satellite as tensions with N Korea rise

South Korea has launched its second military spy satellite into space, days after North Korea reaffirmed its plan to launch multiple reconnaissance satellites this year. The Koreas each launched their first spy satellites last year North Korea in November and South Korea in December amid heightened animosities. They said their satellites would boost their abilities to monitor each other and enhance their own missile attack capabilities. South Korea's second spy satellite was launched from the Kennedy Space Center in Florida on Sunday evening local time, which was Monday morning in Seoul. South Korea's Defense Ministry said in a statement that the satellite was successfully separated from a rocket. It said it will check whether the satellite functions properly via its communications with an overseas ground station. Under a contract with SpaceX, South Korea was to launch five spy satellites by 2025. South Korea's first spy satellite launch on Dec. 1 was made from California's ...

US lawmakers propose new rules to protect personal data, strengthen privacy

Two influential lawmakers from opposing parties have crafted a deal on legislation designed to strengthen privacy protections for Americans' personal data. The sweeping proposal announced Sunday evening would define privacy as a consumer right and create new rules for companies that collect and use personal information. It comes from the offices of Democratic Sen. Maria Cantwell and Republican Rep. Cathy McMorris Rodgers, both of Washington state. Cantwell chairs the Senate Commerce Committee while McMorris Rodgers leads the House Energy and Commerce Committee. While the proposal has not been formally introduced and remains in draft form, the bipartisan support suggests the bill could get serious consideration. Congress has long discussed ways to protect the personal data regularly submitted by Americans to a wide range of businesses and services. But partisan disputes over the details have doomed previous proposals. According to a one-page outline released Sunday, the bill worked

US, Japan, Oz and Philippines to stage military drills in S China Sea

The United States, Japan, Australia and the Philippines will hold their first joint naval exercises, including anti-submarine warfare training, in a show of force Sunday in the South China Sea where Beijing's aggressive actions to assert its territorial claims have caused alarm. The four treaty allies and security partners are holding the exercises to safeguard the rule of law that is the foundation for a peaceful and stable Indo-Pacific region and uphold freedom of navigation and overflight, they said in a joint statement issued by their defence chiefs Saturday. China was not mentioned by name in the statement, but the four countries reaffirmed their stance that a 2016 international arbitration ruling, which invalidated China's expansive claims on historical grounds, was final and legally binding. China has refused to participate in the arbitration, rejected the ruling and continues to defy it. The Philippines brought its disputes with China to international arbitration in 2013 aft

Iran asks US to step aside, readies response to Israeli attack on consulate

The US hasn't commented on the alleged message Iran had sent

US, China to talk on economic growth including overcapacity issue: Yellen

The US and China agreed to hold talks that will address a key American complaint about China's economic model, Treasury Secretary Janet Yellen said on the second day of an official visit to China. The two sides will hold more talks and create two new economic groups dedicated to growth in domestic and global economies as well as anti-money laundering, according to a statement about the creation of the groups. Yellen, who started her five-day visit in one of China's major industrial and export hubs, has focused thus far on what the U.S. considers to be unfair Chinese trade practices in talks with senior Chinese officials. In her statement, Yellen said she and her counterparts agreed that the U.S. and China will hold intensive exchanges on balanced growth in the domestic and global economies. These exchanges will facilitate a discussion around macroeconomic imbalances, including their connection to overcapacity, and I intend to use this opportunity to advocate for a level playing fiel

Yellen in China: Beijing worried US planning more tariffs on green tech

As US Treasury Secretary Janet Yellen appeals to Chinese leaders to change their domestic manufacturing policies on the second day of an official visit, state media are receiving her message with skepticism, and anxiety about more US tariffs on green energy products. Yellen, who started her five-day visit in one of China's major industrial and export hubs, has focused thus far on what the U.S. considers to be unfair Chinese trade practices in talks with senior Chinese officials. The official Xinhua News Agency wrote Friday night that while Yellen's trip is a good sign that the world's two largest economies are maintaining communication, talking up Chinese overcapacity' in the clean energy sector also smacks of creating a pretext for rolling out more protectionist policies to shield U.S. companies. Chinese government subsidies and other policy support have encouraged solar panel and EV makers in China to invest in factories, building far more production capacity than the domestic ...

"Going to move heaven and earth" to rebuild Baltimore bridge, says Biden

Biden delivered the remarks as he surveyed the wreckage from last week's bridge collapse in Baltimore, reaffirming his commitment to the people there

Biden urges Egypt, Qatar to press Hamas to come to agreement for hostages

US President Joe Biden on Friday wrote to the leaders of Egypt and Qatar, calling on them to press Hamas for hostage deal with Israel, according to a senior administration official, one day after Biden called on Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu to redouble efforts to reach a cease-fire in the six-month-old war in Gaza. The official, who spoke on the condition of anonymity to discuss the private letters, said Biden's national security adviser will meet Monday with family members of some of the estimated 100 hostages who are believed to still be in Gaza. The letters come as Biden has deployed CIA Director Bill Burns to Cairo for talks this weekend about the hostage crisis.

Amid healthy US jobs report, US Fed likely to delay interest rate cuts

US employers hired far more workers than expected in March and raised wages at a steady clip, the Labor Department said

US policy to change if Netanyahu fails to protect Gaza civilians: Biden

Washington is Israel's top weapons supplier and the Biden administration has mostly provided a diplomatic shield for it at the United Nations

During China visit, Yellen calls for level playing field for US workers

US Treasury Secretary Janet Yellen called Friday for a level playing field for American companies and workers as she began a five-day visit to China in one of the country's major industrial and export hubs. Yellen told Wang Weizhong, the governor of Guangdong province, that it's important for the U.S. and China to have open and direct communication on areas of disagreement. "This includes the issue of China's industrial overcapacity, which the United States and other countries are concerned can cause global spillovers, she said. Yellen, the first Cabinet-level official to visit China since President Joe Biden met Chinese leader Xi Jinping last November, has telegraphed that she will raise what the U.S. considers to be unfair Chinese trade practices, a concern shared by many European countries. Before talks with the governor, she met with American, European and Japanese business representatives to hear their concerns, ahead of what will likely be tough talks on trade and other issue

Six months into Gaza war, Israel's isolation grows with no end in sight

When Israel declared war against Hamas last October, it stood unified at home and enjoyed broad backing from around the world following an unprecedented attack by the Islamic militant group. Six months later, Israel finds itself in a far different place: bogged down in Gaza, divided domestically, isolated internationally and increasingly at odds with its closest ally. The risk of a broader regional war remains real. Despite Israel's fierce military onslaught, Hamas is still standing, if significantly weakened. The offensive has pushed Gaza into a humanitarian crisis, displacing more than 80% of the population and leaving over 1 million people on the brink of starvation. Yet Israel hasn't presented a postwar vision acceptable to its partners, and cease-fire talks remain at a standstill. Here are six takeaways from the first six months of war. BATTLEFIELD STALEMATE Israel declared war in response to Hamas' Oct. 7 cross-border attack, in which the militant group killed 1,200 people,

Sri Lanka unaware of ship carrying toxic waste from the US, say official

Sri Lanka is not yet aware of the nature of hazardous materials on the cargo vessel that collided with a key Baltimore bridge last week as it was supposed to declare the contents of containers only 72 hours before the time of arrival into the Colombo Port, officials here said. The Singapore-flagged container ship vessel Dali, which was mainly manned by an Indian crew, collided with the 2.6-km-long four-lane Francis Scott Key Bridge over the Patapsco River in Baltimore in the early hours of March 26. The 984-foot cargo ship was bound for Colombo, Sri Lanka. The ship was carrying 764 tonnes of hazardous materials as reported by the US media. According to the information available, there are 57 containers with such toxic materials that can be categorised under the International Maritime Dangerous Goods Code. The waste included mostly corrosives, flammables, miscellaneous hazardous materials, and Class-9 hazardous materials, including explosives & lithium-ion batteries in 56 ...

Thieves steal $30 mn in cash in one of the biggest heists in Los Angeles

Thieves got away with $30 million in cash from a money storage facility in Los Angeles by breaking into the building on Easter Sunday and cracking the safe. Now detectives are seeking to unravel the brazen cash heist, reportedly one of the largest on record in Los Angeles. Police Cmdr Elaine Morales told The Los Angeles Times, which broke the news of the crime, that the thieves were able to breach the building, as well as the safe where the money was stored. The operators of the business did not discover the massive theft until they opened the vault. Media reports identified the facility as a location of GardaWorld, a global cash management and security company, in Sylmar. The Canada-based company, which also operates fleets of armoured cars, did not immediately respond to a request for comment from The Associated Press. LAPD Officer David Cuellar, a department spokesperson, confirmed that officers received a call for service at 4:30 am Sunday at a business on the street where ...

US officials raise commercial, market access issues with China in meeting

Washington has raised concerns with Beijing for years over restricted access to the Chinese market for US companies

Meta pushes back on US FTC's attempt to amend 2020 privacy settlement

The agency has accused Meta of misleading parents about protections for children

Federal Judge denies Trump bid to dismiss classified documents prosecution

A federal judge refused Thursday to throw out the classified documents prosecution against Donald Trump, rejecting a defence argument that the case should be tossed because he was entitled as a former president to retain the records after he left office. Lawyers for Trump had cited a 1978 statute known as the Presidential Records Act in arguing that he was permitted to designate records from his time in office as personal and take them with him when he left the White House. Prosecutors on special counsel Jack Smith's team vigorously opposed that argument, saying the statute had no relevance in a case concerning classified documents. US District Judge Aileen Cannon sided with the government in a three-page order, writing that the indictment makes no reference to the Presidential Records Act, nor do they rely on that statute for purposes of stating an offence.

US blocks 13 ships facilitating illicit trade in support of Iran's military

Iran-backed Houthis have also launched attacks on commercial vessels and US naval assets using Iranian-made UAVs and missiles, according to the US State Department

1 dead, 2 injured after crane section falls from a South Florida high-rise

One person was killed and two others were hospitalised Thursday afternoon when a section of crane fell from a building in downtown Fort Lauderdale, officials said. Crews were in the process of stepping the crane during the construction of a high-rise building when a section being prepared to increase the crane's height came loose, Fort Lauderdale Fire Rescue Chief Stephen Gollan said during a news conference. A construction worker fell with the crane section, causing fatal injuries, officials said. The crane itself remained secured to the building. The crane section landed on a nearby bridge, damaging at least two vehicles, Gollan said. A man and a woman who had been on the ground were taken to a nearby hospital, where they were listed in stable condition. Another person was treated at the scene and refused transport to the hospital. The bridge was damaged by the falling crane section, meaning the roadway will be closed indefinitely until it's repaired. The river that runs under the

Israel has to get Gaza war over 'fast' as it is 'losing the PR war': Trump

Former President Donald Trump offered a tough message to Israel in its war against Hamas on Thursday, urging the country to: Get it over with. In an interview with conservative radio host Hugh Hewitt, Trump said that Israel is absolutely losing the PR war and called for a swift resolution to the bloodshed. Get it over with and let's get back to peace and stop killing people. And that's a very simple statement," Trump said. "They have to get it done. Get it over with and get it over with fast because we have to -- you have to get back to normalcy and peace. The presumptive GOP nominee, who has criticised President Joe Biden for being insufficiently supportive of Israel, also appeared to question the tactics of the Israeli military as the civilian death toll in Gaza continues to mount. Since Hamas militants attacked Israel on October 7, Israel's military has battered the territory, killing more than 30,000 Palestinians, according to the Gaza Health Ministry, and creating a humanitari