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US diplomat in charge of democracy to visit India, Bangladesh from Jul 8-14

A senior US diplomat in charge of democracy and human rights will visit India and Bangladesh from July 8 to 14 to engage with civil society organisations on freedom of expression and association, and inclusion of women and girls and vulnerable groups, the State Department has said. In India, she will also meet with senior government officials to discuss the deepening US-India partnership, the State Department said in a release on Friday. Under Secretary for Civilian Security, Democracy and Human Rights and US Special Coordinator for Tibetan Issues Uzra Zeya will travel to India and Bangladesh from July 8 to 14 to engage with civil society organisations on freedom of expression and association, and inclusion of women and girls, persons with disabilities and vulnerable groups, including marginalised religious and ethnic minorities, it said. "In India, she will meet with senior government officials to discuss the deepening and enduring US-India partnership, including advancing shared .

US destroys last of its chemical weapons, closing deadly chapter from WWI

The last of the United States' declared chemical weapons stockpile was destroyed at a sprawling military installation in eastern Kentucky, Senate Republican leader Mitch McConnell has announced, a milestone that closes a chapter of warfare dating back to World War I. Workers at the Blue Grass Army Depot in Kentucky destroyed rockets filled with GB nerve agent, completing a decades-long campaign to eliminate a stockpile that by the end of the Cold War totalled more than 30,000 tonnes. "Chemical weapons are responsible for some of the most horrific episodes of human loss," McConnell said in a statement on Friday. "Though the use of these deadly agents will always be a stain on history, today our nation has finally fulfilled our promise to rid our arsenal of this evil." The weapons' destruction is a major watershed for Richmond, Kentucky and Pueblo, Colorado, where an Army depot destroyed the last of its chemical agents last month. It's also a defining moment for arms control efforts .

US agency seeks updated responses, data from Tesla in Autopilot probe

NHTSA has said evidence had raised questions about the effectiveness of Tesla's alert strategy, which seeks to compel driver attention

US layoffs nearly halve in June as job cuts ease in technology sector

Like its peers, Amazon.com in March had said it would axe another 9,000 roles as a part of its second retrenchment drive, as investors also persuaded the firms to cut costs

US Treasury Secretary Janet Yellen visits China to sooth strained relations

Treasury Secretary Janet Yellen arrived in Beijing on Thursday for meetings with Chinese leaders as part of efforts to revive relations that are strained by disputes about security, technology and other irritants. Yellen planned to focus on stabilizing the global economy and challenging Chinese support of Russia during its invasion of Ukraine, Treasury officials in Washington told reporters ahead of the trip. The secretary was due to meet with Chinese officials, American businesspeople and members of the public, according to Treasury officials. They gave no details, but said Yellen wouldn't meet Chinese leader Xi Jinping. Yellen follows Secretary of State Antony Blinken, who met Xi last month in the highest-level US visit to Beijing in five years. The two agreed to stabilise relations but failed to agree on improving communications between their militaries. Yellen earlier warned against economic decoupling, or disconnecting US and Chinese industry and markets. Businesspeople have .

India key to expansion, focus on localisation here: US-based First Solar

PLI scheme winner says working with local players to develop supply chain of parts in India

France shooting shows US is not alone in struggles with police brutality

A police killing caught on video. Protests and rioting fueled by long-simmering tensions over law enforcement treatment of minorities. Demands for accountability. The events in France following the death of a 17-year-old shot by police in a Paris suburb are drawing parallels to the racial reckoning in the U.S. spurred by the killings of George Floyd and other people of color at the hands of law enforcement. Despite the differences between the two countries' cultures, police forces and communities, the shooting in France and the outcry that erupted there this week laid bare how the U.S. is not alone in its struggles with systemic racism and police brutality. These are things that happen when you're French but with foreign roots. We're not considered French, and they only look at the color of our skin, where we come from, even if we were born in France, said Tracy Ladji, an activist with SOS Racisme. Racism within the police kills, and way too many of them embrace far-right ideas so .

Unthinkable: Biden on court's decision to strike down student relief plan

The US Supreme Court dealt a blow to Joe Biden administration's student loan forgiveness plan on Friday

Biden offers alternative student debt plan to remove instant default threat

President Joe Biden is offering an alternative student debt plan designed to ease borrowers' threat of default if they fall behind on their payments, after the Supreme Court struck down his original initiative. Biden on Friday blamed Republican opposition for triggering the Supreme Court's ruling and slammed the decision as wrong. The president said he will work under the authority of the Higher Education Act to begin a new programme that would begin loan repayment but remove the immediate threat of default. He said the plan would take longer but provide relief to millions of borrowers. The president earlier had insisted that this fight is not over after the Supreme Court struck down his USD 400 billion student loan forgiveness plan. He blamed Republicans' opposition, aiming to direct the ire of millions of borrowers towards them rather than his own party in next year's elections.

'Affirmative action' ends: US SC bans use of race in university admissions

Affirmative action, also known as positive discrimination, aims to reverse long-standing prejudices against underrepresented groups

China growth momentum slows further amid calls for more policy support

Speculation about potential policy support has been mounting as the recovery for the world's second-largest economy loses traction

Indian rupee may struggle on more Fed rate hike bets, US yields surge

Non-deliverable forwards indicate rupee will open at around 82.08 to the US dollar compared with 82.0550 in the previous session

NATO tentatively agrees to ask Stoltenberg to remain head for another year

NATO members have reached a tentative agreement to ask Secretary-General Jens Stoltenberg to remain head of the 31-member transatlantic alliance for another year, according to a US official familiar with the decision. The official, who was not authorized to comment publicly and spoke on condition of anonymity, said the decision still needs to be finalized by alliance members. The much-anticipated decision to formally ask Stoltenberg to extend his tenure for another year is expected to happen relatively soon, the official said. NATO members are scheduled to hold their annual summit in Vilnius, Lithuania, on July 11-12. President Joe Biden conveyed to Stoltenberg during their recent meeting at the White House that it was evident there wasn't going to be consensus in the near term among NATO allies on picking a new permanent leader, the official said. Stoltenberg, a former Norwegian prime minister, has been NATO's top civilian official since 2014. His term was due to expire last year b

Harvard defends diversity in education after defeat in Supreme Court

Gay, who's currently Dean, Faculty of Arts and Sciences and will be the school's first Black president, said in a separate message that today is a hard day

Denial of opportunity: Kamala Harris as court cancels race-based admissions

The US Supreme Court on Thursday struck down race-based admissions at the University of Harvard and the University of North Carolina

Disagree with Supreme Court's decision to end race-based admissions: Biden

The US Supreme Court on Thursday struck down race-based admission programs at the University of Harvard and the University of North Carolina, The Washington Post reported

Mike Pence makes a surprise visit to Ukraine, meets President Zelenskyy

Former Vice President Mike Pence made a surprise visit to Ukraine on Thursday, meeting with Ukrainian President Volodymyr Zelenskyy and touring the war-torn country as it fights Russian aggression. Pence, who this month launched his campaign for the Republican nomination for president, has been deeply critical of Russian President Vladimir Putin's invasion of Ukraine. He has called on the US to deliver more military aid to the country and criticised GOP rivals who have questioned the ongoing US involvement, saying there is no room in the party for Putin apologists" and pushing back against those who want the US to take on a more limited role on the world stage. Pence spent roughly 12 hours in the country on Thursday, according to an adviser, with stops in Moshchun, Bucha and Irpin, according to NBC News, which travelled with him. I'm here because it's important that the American people understand the progress that we've made and how support for the Ukrainian military has been in ou

UNESCO members expected to approve US entry in UN's cultural agency

UNESCO's 193 members states are gathering Thursday for a two-day meeting in Paris aimed at voting on the United States' plans to rejoin the U.N. cultural and scientific agency after a decade-long dispute sparked by the organization's move to include Palestine as a member. The U.S. announced earlier this month, that it wanted to return, five years after it withdrew from the agency during the presidency of Donald Trump. U.S. officials say the decision was motivated by concern that China is filling the gap left by the U.S. in UNESCO policymaking, notably in setting standards for artificial intelligence and technology education around the world. Approval by member states seems a formality since not a single country has raised an objection to the return of a country that was once the agency's single biggest funder. The vote is expected Thursday or Friday. The U.S. and Israel stopped financing UNESCO after it voted to include Palestine as a member state in 2011. The Trump administration

Presumed human remains found in debris of Titan submersible: US Coast Guard

The US Coast Guard says it has likely recovered human remains from the wreckage of the Titan submersible and is bringing the evidence back to the United States. The submersible imploded last week, killing all five people on board. The vessel was on a voyage see the wreck of the Titanic. Debris from the Titan submersible was returned to land Wednesday. The return of the debris to port in St. John's, Newfoundland and Labrador, is a key piece of the investigation into why the submersible imploded. In a statement late Wednesday, the Coast Guard said it had recovered debris and evidence from the sea floor and that included what it described as presumed human remains. I am grateful for the coordinated international and interagency support to recover and preserve this vital evidence at extreme offshore distances and depths, US Coast Guard Chief Capt. Jason Neubauer said in a statement. The evidence will provide investigators from several international jurisdictions with critical insights .

What a powerful idea: US Ambassador on PM Modi's 'not an era of war' remark

The Prime Minister made a 'not an era of war' comment while talking with Russia's President Vladimir Putin in September 2022 during an SCO summit