Page 29 - Us

Hawaii governor vows to block land grabs as fire-ravaged Maui rebuilds

Hawaii Gov. Josh Green vowed to keep the land in local people's hands" after a deadly wildfire that incinerated a historic Maui community, as the island's schools began reopening and traffic resumed on a major road. Green said at a Wednesday news conference that he had instructed the state attorney general to work toward a moratorium on land transactions in Lahaina, which he acknowledged will come with legal challenges. My intention from start to finish is to make sure that no one is victimised from a land grab, Green said. People are right now traumatised. Please do not approach them with an offer to buy their land. Do not approach their families saying they'll be much better off if they make a deal. Because we're not going to allow it. Also Wednesday, the number of dead reached 111, and Maui police said nine victims had been identified, and the families of five had been notified. A mobile morgue unit with additional coroners arrived Tuesday to help process and identify ...

Biden's approval rating stagnates despite slowing inflation: Polls

President Joe Biden has devoted the past several weeks to promoting the positive impacts of his policies but his efforts have yet to meaningfully register with the public. Only 36 per cent of U.S. adults approve of Biden's handling of the economy, slightly lower than the 42 per cent who approve of his overall performance, according to the new poll from The Associated Press-NORC Center for Public Affairs Research. Both figures are close to where Biden's approval numbers have stood for about the past year and a half, including just two months ago. Signs of an improving economic outlook have done little to sway how people feel about the Democratic president as he gears up for a 2024 reelection campaign that could pit him against his predecessor and 2020 opponent, Republican Donald Trump. Job growth has stayed solid with the unemployment rate at 3.5 per cent, while the pace of inflation has slowed sharply over the past year to the annual rate of 3.2 per cent. Both Biden and Trump have

India extending insights from its progress beyond its borders: US diplomat

India has come a long way from receiving US help to meet its food security needs to now becoming an exporter and is extending insights from its remarkable development progress to countries well beyond its borders, a top American diplomat has said. In her address to the US Indo-Pacific Command Chiefs of Defense (CHOD) Conference in Fiji on Wednesday, United States Agency for International Development (USAID) Administrator Samantha Power said investments in one country can often yield benefits in other nations. She applauded India's efforts to help other countries. Investments we make in one country can often yield benefits in others. Take food security. In India, starting in the 1960s, we worked with scientists and local farmers to develop and distribute high-yield, resilient seeds. Over the next two decades, those seeds helped to increase rice production in India by 50 per cent and wheat production by 230 per cent, ending a cycle of recurring famine and helping kick off a Green ...

2 victims of the deadly Maui wildfire identified, death toll rises to 106

Follow live updates about wildfires that have devastated parts of Maui in Hawaii, killing dozens of people and destroying the historic town of Lahaina. The wildfires are the deadliest in the US in more than a century. The cause was under investigation. Even where the fires have retreated, authorities have warned that toxic byproducts may remain, including in drinking water, after the flames spewed poisonous fumes. 2 VICTIMS OF LAHAINA WILDFIRE IDENTIFIED AS THE DEATH TOLL RISES TO 106 Maui County released the names of two people killed in the wildfire that all but incinerated the historic town of Lahaina Tuesday evening, as the death toll rose to 106. A mobile morgue unit arrived on Tuesday to help Hawaii officials working painstakingly to identify remains, as teams intensified the search for more dead in neighbourhoods reduced to ash. The US Department of Health and Human Services deployed a team of coroners, pathologists and technicians along with exam tables, X-ray units and oth

M&M unveils new range of small tractors; eyes doubling tractor exports

Auto major Mahindra & Mahindra on Tuesday unveiled a new range of small-sized tractors targeting new geographies as it aims to treble its tractor exports in the next three years, according to a top company official. The Mumbai-based auto major, which is the world's largest tractor maker by volume terms, exported around 18,000 tractors last fiscal. The company said it has invested Rs 1,200 crore on developing the OJA platform which consists of four platforms that could churn out 40 different trims in the 20-70 hp power output. The company aims to cater to the needs of farmers with small land parcels, especially in India, US and ASEAN region with the new range. Mahindra & Mahindra President Farm Equipment Sector Hemant Sikka said the OJA brand would help in enhancing the company's share in the market while helping it enter new markets. "We are looking to double our export volume in three years. One of the major enablers for achieving the target would be the OJA tractors which ..

US recognises India's enormous intellectual capital: Policy expert Sowle

America recognises India's enormous intellectual capital, and integrating India with the manufacturing ecosystem in core sectors like semiconductor will be key, according to policy thinktank founder Guruprasad Sowle. He said that the US is no longer looking at India only as a destination for services. Sowle, who heads Indus International Research Foundation (IIRF), had met Prime Minister Narendra Modi during his state visit to the US in June. "Even if it means transfer of technology from US to India, gradually that will happen because there are certain technologies that America was not really forthcoming in terms of sharing but after this visit by the Prime Minister, there is a considerable shift towards manufacturing in India," Sowle said. He noted that there was a paradigm shift where the US is no longer seeing India only as a destination for services. "They are seeing India to step up in core sectors, especially aerospace and defence, automotive, healthcare, artificial intellig

Uncovered! A plot laid out for Donald Trump to overturn Biden's win

Trump may be on trial in 2024 in three or four separate criminal cases, but so far the indictments appear not to have affected his standing with Republican voters

Powerful storm kills 2 people, leaves 1.1 mn without power in eastern US

At least two people died, thousands of U.S. flights were canceled or delayed, and more than 1.1 million homes and businesses lost power Monday as severe storms, including hail and lightning, moved through the eastern U.S. The National Weather Service issued a tornado watch for the greater D.C. area, lasting until 9 p.m. A special Weather Service statement warned, There is a significant threat for damaging and locally destructive hurricane-force winds, along with the potential for large hail and tornadoes, even strong tornadoes. The storms' spread was massive, with tornado watches and warnings posted across 10 states from Tennessee to New York. The National Weather Service said more than 29.5 million people were under a tornado watch Monday afternoon. In Anderson, South Carolina, a 15-year-old boy who arrived at his grandparent's house during the storm was struck and killed when a tree fell on him as he got out of a car, according to the Anderson County Office of the Coroner. In ...

Moody's cuts 10 US banks on back of mounting funding costs, office exposure

"Collectively, these three developments have lowered the credit profile of a number of US banks, though not all banks equally," it wrote in some of the assessments

Pak shelves multi-billion-dollar gas project with Iran under US pressure

Pakistan has temporarily shelved the multi-billion dollar gas pipeline project to import cheap energy from neighbouring Iran, apparently under pressure from the US which has imposed sanctions against Tehran over its nuclear programme, according to a media report on Monday. The development comes as Pakistan struggles to put its cash-strapped economy in order with the help of the International Monetary Fund, which agreed to provide USD 3 billion in loan. The project was initially conceived as an India-Pakistan-Iran gas pipeline, but later, India left it and became a bilateral project between Pakistan and Iran. The sanctions imposed by the US on Iran over its nuclear programme have deterred Pakistan from constructing the pipeline. The Dawn newspaper reported that Pakistan had issued a notice of Force Majeure and Excusing Event' to Iran to suspend its contractual obligation on completion of the multi-billion-dollar Iran-Pakistan (IP) gas pipeline project because of external factors ...

Fitch Ratings downgrades US: A stern criticism of political standoffs

The Fed raised interest rates by 25 bps in March, May, and July 2023. Fitch expects one more hike to 5.5 per cent-5.75 per cent by September

The current rally in US technology is only recouping the losses of 2022

One should not invest in the latest fad within the US technology sector, but trying to capture longer-term trends towards digitisation can pay off for Indian investors, said Rajeev Thakkar

GlobalFoundries on the lookout for local partners to set up India chip fab

It could take a couple of years before any concrete plans are finalised for the chip fabrication unit

Joe Biden, Donald Trump neck-and-neck in possible rematch, finds poll

Biden appears to have escaped the political danger zone he resided in last year, when nearly two-thirds of his party wanted a different nominee

Crushing it: Donald Trump leads Republican presidential nominee race

Trump led DeSantis 54 percent to 17 per cent. No other candidate topped 3 per cent support in the poll

Support for Niger at risk as military takeover threatens stability: Blinken

Political instability in Niger resulting from a military takeover that deposed the president this week threatens the economic support provided by Washington to the African nation, US Secretary of State Anthony Blinken said on Saturday. Members of the Niger military announced on Wednesday they had deposed democratically elected President Mohamed Bazoum and on Friday named Gen. Abdourahmane Tchiani as the country's new leader, adding Niger to a growing list of military regimes in West Africa's Sahel region. Blinken, who is in Australia as part of a Pacific tour, said the continued security and economic arrangements that Niger has with the US hinged on the release of Bazoum and the immediate restoration of the democratic order in Niger. Our economic and security partnership with Niger which is significant, hundreds of millions of dollars depends on the continuation of the democratic governance and constitutional order that has been disrupted by the actions in the last few days, Blink

US, Australia to cooperate with India to ensure security of Indo-Pacific

During the meeting, the two countries reaffirmed their commitment to enhancing interoperability with the militaries of the Pacific through a range of exercises

FTC readies antitrust lawsuit against Amazon that could break up company

The wide-ranging lawsuit is expected as soon as August and will likely challenge a host of Amazon's business practices, the report said

'There is only one Robert'

Oppenheimer covers the peak period of Oppie's life, from his student days in the 1920s until a kangaroo-court hearing that denied him a security clearance in 1951

Judge sets trial date for next May in Trump's classified documents case

A federal judge in Florida has set a trial date for next May for former President Donald Trump in a case charging him with illegally retaining hundreds of classified documents. The May 20, 2024, trial date is a compromise between a request from prosecutors to set the trial for this December and a request from defense lawyers to schedule it after the 2024 presidential election.