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US repatriates 307 antiquities valued $4 mn stolen, trafficked from India

A globe spanning, 15-year investigation has led to the repatriation of 307 antiquities by the US that were stolen and trafficked from India and valued at nearly four million dollars, the majority seized from disgraced art dealer Subhash Kapoor. Manhattan District Attorney Alvin Bragg announced on Monday the return of 307 antiquities valued at nearly USD 4 million to the people of India. Of these, 235 antiquities were seized following the investigation by the office of the Manhattan District Attorney into Kapoor, a prolific looter who helped traffic items from Afghanistan, Cambodia, India, Indonesia, Myanmar, Nepal, Pakistan, Sri Lanka, Thailand, and other countries. All the antiquities were returned during a repatriation ceremony at the Indian Consulate in New York attended by India's Consul General Randir Jaiswal, and US Homeland Security Investigations Acting Deputy Special Agent-in-Charge Christopher Lau, a statement issued by the Manhattan District Attorney's office said. These

Pulitzer-winning Kashmiri photojournalist says stopped from going to US

Pulitzer-winning Kashmiri photojournalist Sanna Irshad Mattoo on Tuesday said she was stopped from flying to the United States by immigration authorities at the Delhi airport "despite having a valid visa and ticket". The 28-year-old photojournalist, who was awarded the Pulitzer for the coverage of COVID pandemic for Reuters, was scheduled to fly to New York on Monday. "I was on my way to receive the Pulitzer award (@Pulitzerprizes) in New York but I was stopped at immigration at Delhi airport and barred from travelling internationally despite holding a valid US visa and ticket," Mattoo tweeted on Tuesday. She said this was the second time she has been stopped from travelling abroad in the past four months. "This is the second time I have been stopped without reason or cause. Despite reaching out to several officials after what happened few months ago, I never received any response. "Being able to attend the award ceremony was a once in a lifetime opportunity for me," she added.

Oil prices fall more than 3% on US supply fears, lower China demand

Oil prices fell by more than 3% in volatile trade on Tuesday on fears of higher US supply amid an economic slowdown and lower Chinese fuel demand

US to continue sanctions on Russian, Iranian arms trade: White House

The United States will continue to vigorously enforce sanctions on Russian and Iranian arms trade, the White House said, asserting that it will stand with the people of Ukraine for as long as it takes. This will make it harder for Iran to sell these weapons to Russia, White House Press Secretary Karine Jean-Pierre told reporters at her daily news conference on Monday. There is extensive proof of Russia using Iranian drones to target military and civilian targets in Ukraine, she added. "We'll continue to vigorously enforce US sanctions on both the Russian and Iranian arms trade -- that's what we'll do from here, make it harder for Iran to sell these weapons to Russia. And we'll stand with our partners throughout the region against that Iranian threat," Jean-Pierre said. Responding to questions, she said National Security Advisor Jake Sullivan had warned in July that Iran was planning to sell UAVs to Russia for use against Ukraine. "We also exposed publicly that Russia has received

BofA beats Q3 profit estimates on gains from higher interest rates

The second-largest US bank's consumer business reported a 12% jump in revenue, helped by higher balances and a rise in interest rates and a 9% jump in combined credit and debit card spend

Suspected Chinese spy infiltrated US politics through Trump: Report

Chinese businessman Tao Liu, who has a criminal background in China and is termed a fugitive, has recently met former US president Donald Trump in September

GOP hopefuls approach Mike Pence to broaden appeal before midterm elections

In Donald Trump's assessment, Mike Pence committed political suicide" on Jan 6, 2021. By refusing to go along with the then-president's unconstitutional push to overturn the results of the 2020 election, Pence became a leading target of Trump's wrath and a pariah in many Republican circles. But the final weeks of this year's intensely competitive midterm elections suggest that the former vice president's fortunes have shifted as he lays the groundwork for his own potential 2024 White House campaign. The man who was booed last year at a conservative conference is now an in-demand draw for Republican candidates, including some who spent their primaries obsessively courting Trump's endorsement, in part by parroting his election lies. Pence has travelled the country, holding events and raising millions for candidates and Republican groups, including signing fundraising solicitations for party committees. For some campaigns in tight races, Pence is seen as something of a neutralizing ag

Joe Biden turning to Trump-era rule to expel Venezuelan migrants

Two years ago, candidate Joe Biden loudly denounced President Donald Trump for immigration policies that inflicted cruelty and exclusion at every turn, including toward those fleeing the "brutal" government of socialist Nicolas Maduro in Venezuela. Now, with increasing numbers of Venezuelans arriving at the US-Mexico border as the Nov 8 election nears, Biden has turned to an unlikely source for a solution: his predecessor's playbook. Biden last week invoked a Trump-era rule known as Title 42 -- which Biden's own Justice Department is fighting in court to deny Venezuelans fleeing their crisis-torn country the chance to request asylum at the border. The rule, first invoked by Trump in 2020, uses emergency public health authority to allow the United States to keep migrants from seeking asylum at the border, based on the need to help prevent the spread of COVID-19. Under the new Biden administration policy, Venezuelans who walk or swim across America's southern border will be expelled

Suspect in North Carolina's Raleigh mass shooting arrested in Georgia

The suspect in the shooting incident in Raleigh city, in the US state of North Carolina, that resulted in the killing of five people has been arrested in Georgia by police officials

Asian govts spent $50 bn in Sept to defend currencies from strong US dollar

Dollar sales in the region over the first nine months of the year have reached approximately $89 billion including Japan, marking the most active period for foreign-exchange expenditures

Worsening inflation in US will pressure Fed to keep raising interest rates

Inflation in the United States accelerated in September, with the cost of housing and other necessities intensifying pressure on households, wiping out pay gains and ensuring that the Federal Reserve will keep raising interest rates aggressively. Consumer prices, excluding volatile food and energy costs, jumped 6.6 per cent in September from a year ago the fastest such pace in four decades. And on a month-to-month basis, such core prices soared 0.6 per cent for a second straight time, defying expectations for a slowdown and signalling that the Fed's multiple rate hikes have yet to ease inflation pressures. Core prices typically provide a clearer picture of underlying price trends. Overall prices rose 8.2 per cent in September compared with a year earlier, down slightly from August, the government said on Thursday in its monthly inflation report. But from August to September, prices increased 0.4 per cent, faster than the July-to-August increase. Though cheaper gas helped slow the

'Soft landing' is unlikely for US economy, says JP Morgan's Jamie Dimon

Jamie Dimon said the Federal Reserve probably can't cool the red-hot economy without bringing on a recession.

Biden administration extends Covid public health emergency till Jan 11

The Biden administration said on Thursday that the COVID-19 public health emergency will continue through January 11 as officials brace for a spike in cases this winter. The decision comes as the pandemic has faded from the forefront of many people's minds. Daily deaths and infections are dropping and people many of them maskless are returning to schools, work and grocery stores as normal. The public health emergency, first declared in January 2020 and renewed every 90 days since, has dramatically changed how health services are delivered. The declaration enabled the emergency authorisation of COVID vaccines, testing and treatments for free. It expanded Medicaid coverage to millions of people, many of whom who will risk losing that coverage once the emergency ends. It temporarily opened up telehealth access for Medicare recipients, enabling doctors to collect the same rates for those visits and encouraging health networks to adopt telehealth technology. Since the beginning of thi

US Supreme Court rejects Trump's plea for legal fight into Mar-a-Lago case

The Supreme Court on Thursday rejected former President Donald Trump's plea to step into the legal fight over the FBI search of his Florida estate. The justices did not otherwise comment in turning away Trump's emergency appeal. Trump had pressed the court on an issue relating to classified documents seized in the search authorized by a federal judge of Mar-a-Lago. The Trump team was asking the justices to overturn a lower court ruling and permit an independent arbiter, or special master, to review the roughly 100 documents with classified markings that were taken in the Aug. 8 search of Mar-a-Lago. A three-judge panel from the Atlanta-based U.S. Court of Appeals for the 11th Circuit last month limited the special master's review to the much larger tranche of non-classified documents. The judges, including two Trump appointees, sided with the Justice Department, which had argued there was no legal basis for the special master to conduct his own review of the classified records. Bu

New York Attorney General moves court to block Trump from moving assets

New York Attorney General Letitia James has asked a state court to block the Trump Organization from moving its assets from Manhattan to an entity in Delaware and continuing "it's decade long fraud"

Active shooting underway at residential area of Raleigh in North Carolina

An active shooter is on the loose in a residential area of Raleigh in the US state of North Carolina, police said on Thursday

India calls for collective prevention of aggravating risks: FM Sitharaman

: Union Finance Minister Nirmala Sitharaman on Thursday called for collective responsibility to prevent the risks from aggravating. Sitharaman said that India's efforts will be to encourage conversations that recognise our inter-dependencies, our shared wisdom, and our collective aspiration for a safe, peaceful and prosperous world. Today's global economy faces a confluence of challenges and it is our collective responsibility to prevent the risks from aggravating, the finance minister said in her speech during the closing session of the G-20 finance ministers and central bank governors here being held on the sidelines of the annual meetings of the International Monetary Fund and the World Bank. India will head the annual rotating presidency of G-20 next year. In her remarks, the finance minister said that India views the hosting of the G20 Presidency as an opportunity as well as a responsibility. Rebuilding trust in multilateralism is at the core of India's thinking, she told her

US dollar surges to new 24-year high versus yen; sterling rallies

The dollar climbed to a fresh 24-year peak versus the yen on Wednesday, holding above levels that prompted intervention by Japanese officials last month

Govt permits exporters to ship raw sugar to US under TRQ till Dec 31

The government on Wednesday permitted the export of specified quantity of raw sugar to the US under the Tariff-Rate Quota (TRQ) till December-end this year. Earlier, it was permitted till September 30. "The validity for export of raw sugar to the US under TRQ has been extended from September 30, 2022 to December 31, 2022," the Directorate General of Foreign Trade (DGFT) said in a public notice. TRQ is a quota for a volume of exports that enters the US at relatively low tariffs. After the quota reaches its limit, a higher tariff is applicable to additional shipments. In May, the government permitted additional export of 2,051 metric tonne of raw sugar under the TRQ to the US for its fiscal year ending September 30, 2022. With this quantity, total sugar export to the US under TRQ during its fiscal year 2022 would be 10,475 MT. India, the world's second-biggest producer and the largest consumer of sugar, has a preferential quota arrangement for sugar export with the European Union as

Chiranjeevi, Salman Khan starrer 'GodFather' breaches $1.1 mn mark in US

Megastar Chiranjeevi and Superstar Salman Khan's latest movie 'GodFather' has breached the 1.1 million dollar mark in the US and still going strong