Page 46 - Us Government

Haiti PM to resign once transitional council created, interim leader named

Caribbean leaders said late Monday that they acknowledge the resignation of Haitian Prime Minister Ariel Henry once a transitional presidential council is created and an interim premier named. The announcement was made by Guyana President Irfaan Ali, who held an urgent meeting earlier Monday in Jamaica with officials including U.S. Secretary of State Antony Blinken and members of Caricom, a regional trade bloc. They met behind closed doors for several hours to discuss how to halt Haiti's spiraling violence. Henry did not attend the meeting and could not be immediately reached for comment. A spokesman for the prime minister's office did not return messages for comment. Before sharing details of the proposed transitional council, Ali said, I want to pause and thank Prime Minister Henry for his service to Haiti. Earlier on Monday, Jamaican Prime Minister Andrew Holness said the meeting was a work in progress. It is clear that Haiti is now at a tipping point, he said. We are deeply ..

US closely watching exports of chips that could boost China's military

The United States is constantly assessing the need to expand export controls to stop China from acquiring advanced computer chips and manufacturing equipment that could be used to boost its military, U.S. Commerce Secretary Gina Raimondo said Monday. The U.S. export controls were first launched in 2022 to counter the use of chips for military applications that include the development of hypersonic missiles and artificial intelligence. Last year, the U.S. Commerce Department broadened the export controls, sparking protests from China's Commerce Ministry that the restrictions violated international trade rules and seriously threaten the stability of industrial supply chains." China said it would take all necessary measures to safeguard its rights and interests and urged Washington to lift the export control as soon as possible. Asked if the U.S. was planning to further broaden the chip export controls to China, Raimondo said in a news conference in the Philippine capital Manila that

US pledges additional $100M to deploy multinational force for Haiti

US Secretary of State Antony Blinken on Monday announced an additional USD 100 million to finance the deployment of a multinational force mission to Haiti following a meeting with Caribbean leaders in Jamaica to halt the country's violent crisis. Blinken also announced another USD 33 million in humanitarian aid and the creation of a joint proposal agreed on by Caribbean leaders and Haitian stakeholders that would expedite the creation of a presidential college. He said the college would take concrete steps he did not identify to meet the needs of Haitian people and enable the pending deployment of the multinational force to be led by Kenya. The joint proposal has the backing of members of Caricom, a regional trade bloc that held Monday's urgent meeting. I think we can all agree: Haiti is on the brink of disaster, said Guyanese President Irfaan Ali. We must take quick and decisive action. He said that he is very confident that we have found commonality to support what he described

US, Canada, indigenous groups to address cross-border mining pollution

The US, Canada and several indigenous groups announced a proposal on Monday to address pollution from coal mining in British Columbia that officials say has been contaminating waterways and harming fisheries on both sides of the border for years. The proposal would be executed through a century-old US-Canada boundary waters treaty, establishing independent boards to study the pollution's extent and make cleanup recommendations. Details were obtained by The Associated Press in advance of the proposal's public release. It comes after indigenous groups in British Columbia, Montana and Idaho lobbied for more than a decade for the federal governments in the US and Canada to intervene and stop the flow of pollution. Scientists from the US Environmental Protection Agency several years ago confirmed high levels of selenium in fish and eggs in Montana's Kootenai River downstream of Lake Koocanusa, which straddles the US Canada border. The chemical, released when coal is mined and washed duri

US aims to be 'economic partner of choice' for Indo-Pacific, says official

Raimondo said she is often asked if the United States is asking countries in the Indo-Pacific to choose between China and the United States

US Senate approves $460 billion funding package, avoiding shutdown

The Senate voted 75 to 22 on Friday evening to approve the package, negotiated by congressional leaders from both parties. The House overwhelmingly passed it earlier this week

Continuing his embrace of autocrats, Trump to meet Hungary PM Viktor Orbn

Former President Donald Trump on Friday is scheduled to meet with Hungarian Prime Minister Viktor Orbn, as the likely Republican presidential nominee continues his embrace of autocratic leaders who are part of a global pushback against democratic traditions. Orbn has become an icon to some conservative populists for championing what he calls illiberal democracy, replete with restrictions on immigration and LGBTQ+ rights. But he's also cracked down on the press and judiciary in his country and rejiggered the country's political system to keep his party in power while maintaining the closest relationship with Russia among all European Union countries. In the US, Trump's allies have embraced Orbn's approach. On Thursday, as foreign dignitaries milled through Washington, D.C., ahead of President Joe Biden's State of the Union address, Orbn skipped the White House and instead spoke at the Heritage Foundation, a conservative think tank overseeing the 2025 Project, the effort to create a ..

Former prez of Honduras convicted in US of aiding drug traffickers

Former Honduran President Juan Orlando Hernndez was convicted on Friday in New York of charges that he conspired with drug traffickers and used his military and national police force to enable tons of cocaine to make it unhindered into the United States. The jury returned its verdict at a federal court after a two week trial, which has been closely followed in his home country. Hernndez, 55, served two terms as the leader of the Central American nation of roughly 10 million people. He was arrested at his home in Tegucigalpa, the Honduran capital, three months after leaving office in 2022 and was extradited to the US in April of that year. US prosecutors accused Hernndez of working with drug traffickers as long ago as 2004, saying he took millions of dollars in bribes as he rose from rural congressman to president of the National Congress and then to the country's highest office. Hernndez acknowledged in trial testimony that drug money was paid to virtually all political parties in

US to revitalise relations with allies like India amid China's rise: Biden

The US is standing up against China's unfair economic practice, standing up for peace and stability across the Taiwan Strait and revitalising its partnership with allies like India, US President Joe Biden has said. In his last State of the Union address before the November election, Biden said the US wants competition with China, but not conflict. Biden on Thursday told Americans that the country is in a stronger position to win the competition for the 21st Century against Beijing. "We are standing up against China's unfair economic practice, standing up for peace and stability across the Taiwan Strait but revitalising our partnership with allies and the Pacific, India. Australia, Japan, South and Korea," he said. For years, all I've heard from my Republican friends and so many others is that China's on the rise and America is falling behind. They've got it backwards. America is rising," he said. The US has the best economy in the world, Biden said in his third State of the Union

Biden slams Trump over Russia, democracy in fiery 'State of Union' address

Opinion polls show Biden, 81, and Trump, 77, closely matched in the race. Most American voters are unenthusiastic about the rematch after Biden defeated Trump four years ago

US, India agree to cooperate in Quad Counterterrorism Working Group

Both sides also exchanged information regarding procedures for designating various terrorist entities/groups and individuals, the US State Department said in an official press release

US army soldier arrested for selling sensitive military information

An Army soldier has been arrested on charges of selling sensitive information related to U.S. military capabilities, Justice Department officials said Thursday. Korbein Schultz, who is also an intelligence analyst, was accused in a six-count indictment of charges including conspiring to obtain and disclose military defense information and bribery of a public official. According to the indictment, Schultz who had a top-secret security clearance allegedly conspired with an individual identified only as Conspirator A to disclose various documents, photographs and other national defense materials since June 2022. The indictment claims that Schultz was recruited by the individual not only due to his security clearance but also because he was tasked with gathering sensitive U.S. military information. Some of the information that Schultz supposedly gave to the individual included information related to the High Mobility Artillery Rocket System, hypersonic equipment, studies on future ...

US House approves over $450 bn spending package to avert shutdown

The 1,050-page package calls for more than $450 billion in funding for the departments of Veterans Affairs, agriculture, interior, transportation, housing and urban development, etc

US devising tactics to suppress us despite improvement in relations: China

China's foreign minister accused the US on Thursday of devising tactics to suppress China's rise and criticised the Biden administration for adding more Chinese companies to its sanctions lists. Wang Yi, speaking to media during the annual meeting of China's legislature, said that relations with the US have improved since Presidents Xi Jinping and Joe Biden met in November, but that America has not fulfilled its promises. If the US always says one thing and does another, where is its credibility as a major power? If the US gets nervous and anxious when it hears the word 'China,' where is its confidence as a major power? he said. If the US is obsessed with suppressing China, it will eventually harm itself." Wang, a 70-year-old veteran diplomat who has earned Xi's trust, returned to the foreign minister's post last summer after his successor, Qin Gang, was abruptly dismissed without explanation after a half year on the job. Analysts had speculated the ruling Communist Party might use

Ex-Google engineer charged by US with AI tech theft for Chinese firms

A Google spokesperson said Ding acted alone and that the company was able to act quickly and refer the case to law enforcement after discovering the problem

Ceasefire deal is in Hamas' hands as Ramadan nears, says Prez Biden

He said any exchange of prisoners cannot take place except after a ceasefire, reflecting Hamas' view that a ceasefire must, above all, be a step towards a settlement of the conflict

Biden's allies add pressure on White House to control violence in Gaza

More of President Joe Biden's top Senate allies are demanding that the U.S. act directly to ease Palestinian civilian suffering in Gaza and are joining calls to cut military aid if Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu refuses to change course. What had been dissent from independent Sen. Bernie Sanders and a small group of progressive Democrats has swelled in response to the soaring death toll in Gaza. Now even Biden's closest confidant in Congress, Chris Coons, says it is time to get tougher with Netanyahu's government on how it conducts the war. Israel continues to enjoy bipartisan support in Congress, and the prospect of military aid being reduced is uncertain despite the clout that these more mainstream Democrats wield. But tensions could be evident Thursday as Biden speaks to Congress about the conflict in his State of the Union address. The war in Gaza isn't the only Mideast issue creating dissent within the party. Some Democrats are pursuing legislation to compel the ...

Organisations work to help dozens of families displaced by Texas wildfires

A gush of red-coloured water spilled from an air tanker on Sunday as it flew over the eastern side of the Smokehouse Creek fire, one of several wildfires that have burned over 1.2 million acres in the northern Texas Panhandle. As firefighters battle against strong winds in their efforts to contain the unprecedented wildfires in the Texas Pandhandle, humanitarian organizations are pivoting their attention to victims who have lost their homes and livelihoods in the blazes. Residents began clearing affected property on Saturday, and by Sunday the extent of the loss began mounting. Julie Winters, the executive director for Hutchinson County United Way, said the organization has heard estimates of over 150 homes being impacted in the county, noting that the fires extend to at least five other counties. "We already know that a large group of people are uninsured who lost their homes. So without monetary assistance, it's going to be very hard for them to start back over," Winters said. A

Highlights of the day: 400 farmer unions to be at 'Mahapanchayat' in Delhi

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Joe Biden signs short-term spending bill to avoid partial govt shutdown

President Joe Biden on Friday signed a short-term spending measure that keeps one set of federal agencies operating through March 8 and another set through March 22 officially staving off a partial government shutdown that would have started on Sunday. The measure gives lawmakers some more time to draft and pass spending measures to keep the federal government operating for the current fiscal year, which ends on September 30. Washington has been running on a series of short-term measures because Congress, as it routinely does, had failed to enact full-year spending bills on time. This bipartisan agreement prevents a damaging shutdown and allows more time for Congress to work toward full-year funding bills, Biden said in a statement Thursday evening after both the House and Senate cleared the temporary fix. That's good news for the American people. But I want to be clear: this is a short-term fixnot a long-term solution. The House acted first on Thursday. The vote to approve the ...