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US House Jan 6 panel seeks Trump's prosecution with criminal referral

The House Jan. 6 committee urged the Justice Department on Monday to bring criminal charges against Donald Trump for the violent 2021 Capitol insurrection, calling for accountability for the former president and a time of reflection and reckoning. After one of the most exhaustive and aggressive congressional probes in memory, the panel's seven Democrats and two Republicans are recommending criminal charges against Trump and associates who helped him launch a wide-ranging pressure campaign to try to overturn his 2020 election loss. The panel also released a lengthy summary of its final report, with findings that Trump engaged in a multi-part conspiracy to thwart the will of voters. At a final meeting Monday, the committee alleged violations of four criminal statutes by Trump, in both the run-up to the riot and during the insurrection itself, as it recommended the former president for prosecution to the Justice Department. Among the charges they recommend for prosecution is aiding an .

Boost genome sequencing of Covid cases to track variants: Centre to states

After the China has reported surge in the Covid-19 cases, the Centre on Tuesday asked all states to gear up the whole genome sequencing of positive cases to track the new variant

China's Covid-19 outbreak has US worried about new mutations of virus

Chinese cities are witnessing a wave of Covid-19 cases, with concerns growing that the government may be hiding the true toll of the virus

US House congressional panel to discuss release of Trump's tax returns

The Democratic-controlled House Ways and Means Committee is expected to vote Tuesday on whether to publicly release years of Donald Trump's tax returns, which the former president has long tried to shield. Committee Chairman Richard Neal, D-Mass., has kept a close hold on the panel's actions, including whether the panel will meet in a public or private session. And if lawmakers move forward with plans to release the returns, it's unclear how quickly that would happen. But after a yearslong battle that ultimately resulted in the Supreme Court clearing the way last month for the Treasury Department to send the returns to Congress, Democrats are under pressure to act aggressively. The committee received six years of tax returns for Trump and some of his businesses. And with just two weeks left until Republicans formally take control of the House, Tuesday's meeting could be the last opportunity for Democrats to disclose whatever information they have gleaned. Trump has long had a ...

Los Angeles' Covid deaths, hospitalisations surpass last winter levels

Covid-19 deaths and hospitalisations continue to increase in Los Angeles County, the largest in the US, surpassing the figures recorded at this time of year in 2021

Joe Biden slams antisemitic violence, says America will not be silent

US President Joe Biden said "America will not be silent" as he slammed antisemitism at a White House party to commemorate the second day of Hanukkah, the Jewish festival of lights

US doesn't want any conflict with China, says White House official Kirby

Despite acknowledging the security challenges posed by China, White House official John Kirby has stated that Washington doesn't want to see a conflict with Beijing

China's Huawei attempting to dominate 5G services, steal data: US lawmaker

Highlighting the dire threat posed by Chinese companies to US security, Senator Tom Cotton accused the Chinese tech giant Huawei of attempting to dominate 5G technology and stealing Americans' data

3 held for running illegal call centres to dupe US-based senior citizens

The Delhi Police has arrested three men for allegedly running illegal call centres here and defrauding senior citizens based in the US on the pretext of providing them with technology support against "malfunctioning" of their computers, officials said on Friday. The accused, identified as Jatin Lamba, Harshad Madaan and Vikas Gupta, were held in Delhi after police conducted overnight raids, whereas their counterpart Jayant Bhatia was arrested by Canadian Law Enforcement Agency from Toronto and Kulwinder Singh was arrested by the FBI, USA from New Jersey, they said. Police said Jatin Lamba with his brother Gagan Lamba was running a company from Ganesh Nagar, New Delhi camouflaging as a tech support company and used to run call centres that targeted US citizens. Deputy Commissioner of Police (IFSO, Special Cell) Prashant K Gautam said Gupta has been involved in the scam as calling agent to provide tech support to fix the technical glitch in the computer of the victim. Madaan, the DCP

Garcetti well-qualified to serve as US Ambassador to India: White House

Former Los Angeles Mayor Eric Garcetti is well-qualified to serve as the US Ambassador to India, the White House said Thursday. The statement comes days after influential senator Chuck Grassley opposed Garcetti's nomination as he faces an allegation of sexual harassment by one of his staff members. White House Press Secretary Karine Jean-Pierre, however, told reporters at her daily news conference that a diplomat in India is a priority. As you know, this is a priority and continues to be a priority for us. Mayor Garcetti is well-qualified to serve in this vital role, she said. Grassley's remarks on the Senate floor came amidst the White House intensifying its efforts to push Garcetti in the position which has remained vacant for nearly two years. India currently chairs G20, resulting in scores of diplomatic activities between the two countries, and the Biden administration wants to have its envoy in New Delhi at the earliest. Garcetti, who served as the 42nd mayor of Los Angeles f

Georgia, New Hampshire ban Chinese app TikTok over security concerns

Governors Brian Kemp of Georgia and Chris Sununu of New Hampshire on Thursday immediately banned the use of TikTok and popular messaging applications from all computer devices controlled by their state governments, saying the Chinese government may be able to access users' personal information. Both Republican governors banned the messaging app WeChat and other apps owned by Chinese firm Tencent. Sununu went further, banning apps owned by Chinese firm Alibaba and telecommunications hardware and smartphones made by Chinese firms including Huawei and ZTE. Kemp also banned Telegram, saying its Russian control poses similar risks. The state of Georgia has a responsibility to prevent any attempt to access and infiltrate its secure data and sensitive information by foreign adversaries such as the CCP, Kemp wrote in a memo, using an acronym for the Chinese Communist Party. As such, it is our duty to take action to preserve the safety and security of our state against the CCP, entities it .

US House passes referendum for vote on Puerto Rico's political status

The U.S. House passed a bill Thursday that would allow Puerto Rico to hold the first-ever binding referendum on whether to become a state or gain some sort of independence, in a last-ditch effort that stands little chance of passing the Senate. The bill, which passed 233-191 with some Republican support, would offer voters in the U.S. territory three options: statehood, independence or independence with free association. It is crucial to me that any proposal in Congress to decolonize Puerto Rico be informed and led by Puerto Ricans, said Rep. Ral Grijalva, D-Ariz., chairman of the House Natural Resources Committee, which oversees affairs in U.S. territories. The proposal would commit Congress to accept Puerto Rico into the United States as the 51st state if voters on the island approved it. Voters also could choose outright independence or independence with free association, whose terms would be defined following negotiations over foreign affairs, U.S. citizenship and use of the U.S

US imposes new penalties on entities involved in Russia's financial sector

The United States on Thursday imposed a new round of financial penalties on people and entities involved in Russia's financial sector, with the targets including one of that country's richest men, Vladimir Potanin, his family and a commercial bank he acquired this year. The Treasury Department's Office of Foreign Assets Control also imposed sanctions on more than 40 people linked to the Russian financial sector and 17 subsidiaries of VTB Bank Public Joint Stock Company also known as VTB Bank Russia's second largest bank. VTB Bank was designated for sanctions in February. The State Department issued separate diplomatic designations on the people and companies. Western nations and other allies have imposed a range of penalties meant to crush Russia's finances due to Russian President Vladimir Putin's invasion of Ukraine. Russia's Central Bank faces restrictions that target access to the more than $600 billion in reserves that the Kremlin has at its disposal. Allied countries have .

Taking Fed lead, Bank of England and ECB raise rates by 50 basis points

Britain's central bank on Thursday raised its key interest rate again but toned down the pace as inflation shows signs of easing, mirroring action by the US Federal Reserve and ahead of an anticipated identical move by European policymakers. The Bank of England raised the benchmark rate by half a percentage point, to 3.5 per cent, the highest level in 14 years. It was the ninth consecutive increase since December 2021 and follows last month's outsized three-quarter point hike, the biggest in 30 years. This time, officials opted for less aggressive action after data this week showed inflation slipped from a 41-year high, but they warned that more hikes are likely to come. The bank last month forecast a prolonged recession in the UK and consumer price inflation staying very high in the near term. Should that scenario play out, further rate increases may be required for a sustainable return of inflation" to its 2 per cent target, bank's Monetary Policy Committee said. There are ...

Russia-Ukraine war: Moscow warns 'consequences' if US sends missiles

Russia's Foreign Ministry warned Thursday that if the United States confirms reports that it plans to deliver sophisticated air defense missiles to Ukraine, it would be another provocative move by the U.S. that could prompt a response from Moscow. Ministry spokesperson Maria Zakharova said in a weekly briefing Thursday that the U.S. has effectively become a party to the war in Ukraine, following reports that it will provide Kyiv with Patriot surface-to-air missiles, the most advanced the West has yet provided to help Ukraine's military repel Russian aerial attacks. Zakharova added that growing amounts of U.S. military assistance, including the transfer of such sophisticated weapons, "would mean even broader involvement of military personnel in the hostilities and could entail possible consequences. She did not specify what the consequences might be. U.S. officials said Tuesday that Washington was poised to approve sending a Patriot missile battery to Ukraine, finally agreeing to an

US registers 50% increase in weekly Covid-19 cases among children

About 41,000 child Covid-19 cases were reported in the US in the week ending December 8, an increase of about 50 per cent over the weekly average in the previous eight weeks

US plans for more migrant releases when asylum restrictions end next week

The Department of Homeland Security said more migrants may be released into the United States to pursue immigration cases when Trump-era asylum restrictions end next week in one of its most detailed assessments ahead of the major policy shift. The department reported faster processing for migrants in custody on the border, more temporary detention tents, staffing surges and increased criminal prosecutions of smugglers, noting progress on a plan announced in April. But the seven-page document dated Tuesday included no major structural changes amid unusually large numbers of migrants entering the country. More are expected with the end of Title 42 authority, under which migrants have been denied rights to seek asylum more than 2.5 million times on grounds of preventing spread of COVID-19. A federal judge in Washington ordered Title 42 to end December 21 but Republican-led states asked an appeals court to keep it in place. The Biden administration has also challenged some aspects of

US, Africa seal $15 billion in trade investments during Washington summit

The United States committed to $15 billion worth of two-way trade deals with several countries in Africa during a summit in Washington this week, the White House said on Wednesday

Twitter must tell fired workers about severance lawsuit, says US judge

Filed by a handful of workers, the suit alleges Twitter failed to give the required 60 to 90 days notice about the mass layoffs and is shortchanging the former employees on severance pay

Biden administration proposes ban on misleading Medicare Advantage ads

The Biden administration on Wednesday proposed a ban on misleading ads for Medicare Advantage plans that have targeted older Americans and, in some cases, convinced them to sign up for plans that don't cover their doctors or prescriptions. The rule, proposed by the Centers for Medicare and Medicaid Services, would ban ads that market Medicare Advantage plans with confusing words, imagery or logos. The rule also would ban ads that don't specifically mention a health insurance plan by name. It's an aggressive step to tackle a growing problem in the Medicare Advantage marketplace, a booming business that offers privately run versions of the government's Medicare program for people who are 65 and older or have disabilities. Nearly half of all Medicare enrollees about 28 million are now turning to Medicare Advantage plans. And some have been deceived by television commercials, online ads and mailers put out by the marketing agencies and brokers that some insurers have hired to win over