Page 49 - Us Government

US electoral financing based on pvt fundraising, transparency: Top official

America's electoral financing system is based on private fundraising and emphasis on transparency, with a candidate allowed to accept up to USD 3,300 from any individual while the limit for party committees is USD 41,300, according to a top US Federal Election Commission official. Ellen L Weintraub, Vice Chair of the US's Federal Election Commission, spoke to PTI in an interview taken following the recent landmark ruling by India's Supreme Court to scrap the central government's electoral bonds scheme of anonymous political funding, calling it "unconstitutional" and ordering disclosure of the bond's donors, amount and recipients by March 13. We have a system that is based on private fundraising, but public transparency. Most of the money is raised privately, but it does have to be disclosed on a regular basis, Weintraub said. The Federal Election Commission (FEC) is the independent regulatory agency charged with administering and enforcing the federal campaign finance law. The FEC,

Highlights of the day: Investments are inclined towards India, says FM

From Bihar govt launching a probe into Tejashwi Yadav's dept to Intel discussing financial support with US govt, catch all the latest updates from around the world

Highlights of the day: Investments are inclined towards India, says FM

From Bihar govt launching a probe into Tejashwi Yadav's dept to Intel discussing financial support with US govt, catch all the latest updates from around the world

US Deputy Secretary of State Richard Verma to visit India next week

United States' Indian-American Deputy Secretary of State Richard Verma will be on a six-day long official visit to India, Sri Lanka and Maldives next week to strengthen bilateral ties with the nations, along with reaffirming America's enduring commitment to a free, open, secure, and prosperous region. Verma, who is currently the Deputy Secretary of State for Management and Resources, and the second senior post in the State Department, will travel to India, Maldives, and Sri Lanka from February 18-23 to strengthen America's cooperation with each of these key Indo-Pacific partners. Shortly following the two-year anniversary of the US Indo-Pacific Strategy, his trip will reaffirm the United States' enduring commitment to a free, open, secure, and prosperous region, a media release said. In New Delhi, Verma will meet with senior government officials, business leaders, and entrepreneurs to advance the US-Indian global strategic partnership on a full range of issues, including economic ..

US House passes Quad bill to facilitate closer cooperation between members

The US House of Representatives has passed the Quad bill which instructs the Biden administration to establish a Quad Intra-Parliamentary Working Group to facilitate closer cooperation between the US, Australia, India and Japan. Passed by a roll call vote of 379 to 39 votes, the Strengthen US-Australia-India-Japan Cooperation' or the Quadrilateral Security Dialogue (Quad) bill says that the joint cooperation between the US, Australia, India and Japan should be strengthened. It directs the State Department to submit to Congress, within 180 days of the bill's enactment, a strategy to increase engagement and cooperation with the Quad, and within 60 days of its enactment, to enter into negotiations with Japan, Australia and India to establish a Quad Intra-Parliamentary Working Group to facilitate closer cooperation. It also would establish a US group, which would have a maximum of 24 members of Congress, to represent the US in the working group. It also would establish guidelines for ..

Trump wants to fire thousands of govt workers, liberals prepare for his win

Former President Donald Trump has plans to radically reshape the federal government if he returns to the White House, from promising to deport millions of immigrants in the U.S. illegally to abolishing government agencies and firing tens of thousands of workers and replacing them with loyalists. Liberal organizations in Washington are backing President Joe Biden and say they expect Trump to lose. But they're quietly trying to install roadblocks just in case. A collection of activists, advocates and legal experts is promoting new federal rules to limit presidential power while urging Biden's White House to do more to protect his accomplishments and limit Trump in a possible second term. All of that is happening with far less fanfare than plans by Trump supporters to create a conservative government-in-waiting via an effort known as Project 2025. The Office of Personnel Management, the federal government's chief human resources agency, will finalize a rule by April against reclassifyi

Pakistan polls: Imran Khan calls on US to raise voice over transparency

Former Pakistan Prime Minister Imran Khan has accused the US of not fulfilling responsibility against the anti-Pakistan Tehreek-e-Insaf (PTI) measures in Pakistan

White House writes to WHCA over inaccurate reporting by major media outlets

In a rare move, the White House Counsel's Office has written to the White House Correspondents Association expressing concern over the striking inaccuracies in the reporting of several US media outlets on the recent release of a Special Counsel report on the handling of classified documents by President Joe Biden as a private citizen. In the letter addressed to WHCA president Kelly O'Donnell from NBC News, White House Counsel's Office spokesman Ian Sams listed out the alleged factual inaccuracies in the reporting of several American media outlets, including CNN, CBS News, the Associated Press, Wall Street Journal, and The New York Times. Sams also asked that the letter be distributed through WHCA's email chain that goes out to its members and journalists. The WHCA, however, refused to share the letter through its platform. It is inappropriate for the White House to utilise internal pool distribution channels, primarily for logistics and the rapid sharing of need-to-know information,

US company's lunar lander rockets to attempt landing on moon next week

Another private US company took a shot at the moon on Thursday, launching a month after a rival's lunar lander missed its mark and came crashing back. NASA, the main sponsor with experiments on board, is hoping for a successful moon landing next week as it seeks to jumpstart the lunar economy ahead of astronaut missions. SpaceX's Falcon rocket blasted off in the middle of the night from NASA's Kennedy Space Centre, dispatching Intuitive Machines' lunar lander on its way to the moon, 230,000 miles (370,000 kilometres) away. If all goes well, a touchdown attempt would occur on February 22, after a day in lunar orbit. Only five countries the US, Russia, China, India and Japan have scored a lunar landing and no private business has yet done so. The US has not returned to the moon's surface since the Apollo program ended more than five decades ago. There have been a lot of sleepless nights getting ready for this, Intuitive Machines' co-founder and chief executive Steve Altemus said ..

3 officers shot in Washington, results in standoff before suspect's arrest

Three police officers were shot trying to make an animal cruelty arrest that touched off an hours-long standoff in the nation's capitol on Wednesday, which ended late at night with a man's arrest. The officers were hospitalised and expected to recover from gunshot wounds, authorities said. A fourth officer was hurt at the scene, but not shot. The standoff started Wednesday morning as officers attempted to make an arrest on an animal cruelty warrant, but the suspect refused to leave the home, Metropolitan Police Department Chief Pamela Smith said. As officers tried to get inside, a person opened fire. The shooter barricaded himself inside his home in the southeast part of Washington and continued sporadically firing shots hours after opening fire, police said. Hours after the standoff began, 46-year-old Julius James was arrested on suspicion of cruelty to animals. He is expected to face additional charges related to the shooting. No attorney or phone number was listed for him in pub

Australian lawmakers pass motion calling for release of WikiLeaks founder

Australia's House of Representatives has ramped up pressure on the United States and Britain to end the prosecution of WikiLeaks founder Julian Assange by passing a motion calling for the Australian citizen to be allowed to return to his home country. Independent lawmaker Andrew Wilkie moved the motion on Wednesday one week ahead of Britain's High Court of Justice hearing Assange's appeal against extradition to the United States on espionage charges. Australian Prime Minister Anthony Albanese was among the 86 lawmakers who voted for the motion that called on the United States and Britain to bring the "matter to a close so that Mr. Assange can return home to his family in Australia. The motion was opposed by 42 lawmakers including most of the main opposition party that unsuccessfully proposed amendments. Leaders of both the government and the opposition have publicly stated that the United States' pursuit of the 52-year-old had dragged on for too long. Assange has been in London's

Army chief holds high-level professional discussions with US counterpart

Indian Army chief Gen Manoj Pande has held high-level professional discussions with his American counterpart Gen Randy George and other senior military officials on matters of bilateral importance and ways to enhance mutual commitment towards global peace and security. Pande, who is on a four-day official visit to the US beginning February 13, is the first Indian Army chief to visit the country in several years. The discussions were aimed at aspects of bilateral importance and further enhancing mutual commitment towards global peace and security, according to an official post on X by the Additional Directorate General of Public Information of the Indian Army. During his ongoing official visit, Gen Pande reviewed the US Army Honour Guard on arrival at Fort Myers and thereafter, in a solemn ceremony, paid respect by laying a wreath at the Tomb of the Unknown Soldier at the Arlington National Cemetery. Thereafter he engaged in high-level professional discussions with the Chief of Staf

Russian efforts to create anti-satellite weapons are cause for US concern

The US has gathered highly sensitive intelligence about Russian anti-satellite weapons that has been shared in recent weeks with the upper echelons of government, according to four people who have been briefed on the intelligence. The people, who were not authorised to comment publicly, said the capability was not yet operational. The intelligence sparked an urgent but vague warning Wednesday from the Republican head of the House Intelligence Committee, who urged the Biden administration to declassify information about what he called a serious national security threat. Rep. Mike Turner gave no details about the nature of the threat, and the Biden administration also declined to address it. But several leading lawmakers, including House Speaker Mike Johnson, cautioned against being overly alarmed. A congressional aide said he understood that the threat relates to a space-deployed Russian anti-satellite weapon. Such a weapon could pose a major danger to U.S. satellites that transmit .

In a historic rebuke, House Republicans impeach Alejandro Mayorkas

The US House voted on Tuesday to impeach Homeland Security Secretary Alejandro Mayorkas, with the Republican majority determined to punish the Biden administration over its handling of the US-Mexico border after failing last week in a politically embarrassing setback. The evening roll call proved tight, with Speaker Mike Johnson's threadbare GOP majority unable to handle many defectors or absences in the face of staunch Democratic opposition to impeaching Mayorkas, the first Cabinet secretary facing charges in nearly 150 years. In a historic rebuke, the House impeached Mayorkas 214-213. With the return of Majority Leader Steve Scalise to bolster the GOP's numbers after being away from Washington for cancer care and a Northeastern storm impacting some others, Republicans recouped -- despite dissent from their own ranks. President Joe Biden said in a statement released after the vote, "History will not look kindly on House Republicans for their blatant act of unconstitutional ...

Lloyd Austin urges Senate to pass National Security Bill 'immediately'

US Defence Secretary Lloyd Austin urged the Senate to pass the national security bill immediately to invest in America's national security, which will further bolster its deterrence in Indo-Pacific

US Revenue Service body seeks more than $1 bn from collapsed SVB for taxes

The complaint comes on the heels of a similar one from New York City, which is trying to collect more than $2.1 million in back taxes it claims Silicon Valley Bank owes

Indian-American Sonali Korde sworn in as assistant to USAID administrator

From 2005 to 2013, Korde served as a senior technical advisor for the President's Malaria Initiative in USAID's Bureau for Global Health

Indian-American Sonali Korde sworn in as assistant to USAID administrator

From 2005 to 2013, Korde served as a senior technical advisor for the President's Malaria Initiative in USAID's Bureau for Global Health

Ready to work with any government that takes power in Pakistan: US

The US is ready to work with any government that comes to power in Pakistan, a State Department official said on Monday, amid rumours of horse-trading in the absence of a clear majority after general elections in the country and also the delay in declaring results on all National Assembly seats. Contrary to its earlier claim, the Election Commission of Pakistan on Monday blamed the suspension of Internet and mobile services on February 8 -- when countrywide polling took place -- and said it did "create hindrance" in declaring results promptly. It also claimed that the delay did not harm "any specific political party". In the US, State Department Spokesperson Matthew Miller told reporters at his daily news conference, "I don't think there is a new Pakistani government yet. I believe there are still discussions going on about the formation of a government." "But one of the things that we have said leading up to the elections, and we'll continue to make clear, is that whoever the ...

NYC imposes curfew at more migrant shelters due to recent violent attacks

New York is expanding a curfew to additional migrant shelters after violent incidents attributed to migrant shelter residents gained national attention in recent weeks. Mayor Eric Adams' administration will impose an 11 pm to 6 am curfew at 20 migrant shelters starting Monday, after initially placing the restrictions at four other locations, The Daily News reports. The curfew impacts about 3,600 migrants, with the largest of the emergency centres housing roughly 1,000 migrants in Long Island City, Queens. City officials initially placed a curfew on four shelters last month in response to neighbourhood complaints. The additional curfews come after a spate of migrant-related violence and crime has prompted increasingly dire rhetoric from city and police officials. A 15-year-old teen from Venezuela was arrested on Friday for opening fire in Times Square while fleeing from police after being stopped by security for suspected shoplifting. The shooting injured a tourist from Brazil. A v