United States

US expresses concern over sentencing of 25 civilians by Pak military court

Expressing concern over the sentencing of 25 civilians by a military court in Pakistan, the United States on Monday said it lacked judicial independence, transparency and due process guarantees. The United States is deeply concerned that Pakistani civilians have been sentenced by a military tribunal for their involvement in protests on May 9, 2023. These military courts lack judicial independence, transparency, and due process guarantees, said State Department spokesperson Matthew Miller. The United States continues to call on Pakistani authorities to respect the right to a fair trial and due process, as enshrined in Pakistan's constitution, he added. However, a close aide of President-elect Donald Trump described it as too little and too weak. You are late. And this is too little and too weak. Speak normally. Free Imran Khan, said Richard Grenell, who served as acting director of national intelligence under President Trump in 2020 and was the US ambassador to Germany from 2018 to

Trump team revives 2020 plan for US exit from WHO on day one of new term

The United States is the largest single donor to the World Health Organization, contributing 16% of its funding in 2022-23

Apple approaches $4 trillion valuation as investors bet on AI momentum

The company has pulled ahead of Nvidia and Microsoft in the race to the monumental milestone, thanks to an about 16% jump in shares since early November that has added about $500 billion to its market

Walmart, Branch accused of opening drivers' costly accounts without consent

Walmart and Branch Messenger are being sued for allegedly opening expensive bank accounts for delivery drivers without their consent. Here's all that happened

Nippon Steel's US Steel bid referred to President Biden for final decision

The Committee on Foreign Investment in the United States (CFIUS), which reviews foreign investments in the US for national security risks

Biden signs defence bill despite objections to ban transgender health care

President Joe Biden on Monday signed into law a defence bill that authorises significant pay raises for junior enlisted service members, aims to counter China's growing power and boosts overall military spending to USD 895 billion despite his objections to language stripping coverage of transgender medical treatments for children in military families. Biden said his administration strongly opposes the provision because it targets a group based on gender identity and "interferes with parents' roles to determine the best care for their children. He said it also undermines the all-volunteer military's ability to recruit and retain talent. No service member should have to decide between their family's health care access and their call to serve our nation, the president said in a statement. The Senate forwarded the bill to Biden after passing it last week by a vote of 85-14. In the House, a majority of Democrats voted against the bill after House Speaker Mike Johnson insisted on adding t

Foreign Secy Misri meets top US diplomats, discusses wide range of issues

Ahead of External Affairs Minister S. Jaishankar's visit to the United States, India's Foreign Secretary Vikram Misri on Monday had meetings with top American diplomats on a wide range of bilateral, regional and global issues. Jaishankar is scheduled to visit the United States from December 24-29, the Ministry of External Affairs (MEA) announced a day earlier. During the visit, Jaishankar will meet his American counterparts to discuss key bilateral, regional and global issues, an official statement said. On the eve of Jaishankar's visit, Misri on Monday had meetings with the Deputy Secretary of State Kurt Campbell and Deputy Secretary for Management Richard Verma at Foggy Bottom headquarters of the State Department. India's ambassador to the US, Vinay Mohan Kwatra, was also present in the meetings. We look forward to continuing to grow #USIndia ties rooted in mutual trust, shared values, and prosperity for all, Verma said. Earlier in the day, Verma hosted a group of eminent India

US NSA speaks with Mohd Yunus, expresses commitment to uphold human rights

US National Security Advisor Jake Sullivan on Monday spoke with Bangladesh interim government's Chief Adviser Muhammad Yunus and both leaders expressed their commitment to respecting and protecting the human rights of all. Sullivan also thanked Yunus for his leadership of Bangladesh during a challenging period, according to a press release issued by the US government. It said that both leaders expressed their commitment to respecting and protecting the human rights of all people, regardless of religion. Sullivan also reiterated the US support for a prosperous, stable, and democratic Bangladesh, and offered his country's continued support in meeting the challenges that the South Asian nation faces. Yunus, 84, was sworn in as the chief adviser of Bangladesh on August 8, three days after former prime minister Sheikh Hasina resigned and fled to India in the face of a massive anti-government protest. There have been a spate of incidents of violence against Hindus and other minorities,

Bill Clinton hospitalised with fever but in good spirits, says spokesperson

Former President Bill Clinton was admitted Monday to Georgetown University Medical Center in Washington after developing a fever. The 78-year-old was hospitalized in the afternoon for testing and observation," Angel Urena, Clinton's deputy chief of staff, said in a statement. He remains in good spirits and deeply appreciates the excellent care he is receiving, Urena said. Clinton, a Democrat who served two terms as president from January 1993 until January 2001, addressed the Democratic National Convention in Chicago this summer, and campaigned ahead of November's election for the unsuccessful White House bid of Democratic Vice President Kamala Harris. In the years since Clinton left the White House, he's faced some health scares. In 2004, he underwent quadruple bypass surgery after experiencing prolonged chest pains and shortness of breath. Clinton returned to the hospital for surgery for a partially collapsed lung in 2005, and in 2010 he had a pair of stents implanted in a coron

Here's how families, advocates react to Biden's death row commutations

Victims' families and others affected by crimes that resulted in federal death row convictions shared a range of emotions on Monday, from relief to anger, after President Joe Biden commuted dozens of the sentences. Biden converted the sentences of 37 federal death row inmates to life imprisonment without the possibility of parole. The inmates include people who were convicted in the slayings of police, military officers and federal prisoners and guards. Others were involved in deadly robberies and drug deals. Three inmates will remain on federal death row: Dylann Roof, convicted of the 2015 racist slayings of nine Black members of Mother Emanuel AME Church in Charleston, South Carolina; the 2013 Boston Marathon Bomber, Dzhokhar Tsarnaev, and Robert Bowers, who fatally shot 11 congregants at Pittsburgh's Tree of life Synagogue in 2018, the deadliest antisemitic attack in U.S history. Opponents of the death penalty lauded Biden for a decision they'd long sought. Supporters of Donald .

Trump wants to rename North America's tallest peak Denali to Mount McKinley

President-elect Donald Trump has once again suggested he wants to revert the name of North America's tallest mountain Alaska's Denali to Mount McKinley, wading into a sensitive and decades-old conflict about what the peak should be called. Former President Barack Obama changed the official name to Denali in 2015 to reflect the traditions of Alaska Natives as well as the preference of many Alaska residents. The federal government in recent years has endeavored to change place-names considered disrespectful to Native people. Denali is an Athabascan word meaning the high one" or the great one. A prospector in 1896 dubbed the peak Mount McKinley after President William McKinley, who had never been to Alaska. That name was formally recognized by the U.S. government until Obama changed it over opposition from lawmakers in McKinley's home state of Ohio. Trump suggested in 2016 that he might undo Obama's action, but he dropped that notion after Alaska's senators objected. He raised it aga

Razorpay announces ESOPs of Rs 1 lakh each for over 3,000 employees

The payments fintech is currently in the process of reverse flipping from the United States (US) to India. The firm expects to complete the domicile shift sometime in 2025

US House Ethics report accuses Matt Gaetz of sex crimes, drug use in office

The House Ethics Committee on Monday accused Matt Gaetz of regularly paying women, including a 17-year-old girl, for sex and purchasing and using illicit drugs all while the Florida Republican was a member of Congress. The 37-page report by the bipartisan panel includes explicit details of sex-filled parties and vacations that Gaetz, now 42, took part in while representing Florida's western panhandle. The findings conclude that he violated multiple state laws related to sexual misconduct while in office. The Committee determined there is substantial evidence that Representative Gaetz violated House Rules and other standards of conduct prohibiting prostitution, statutory rape, illicit drug use, impermissible gifts, special favours or privileges, and obstruction of Congress, the report states. The report brings to a close a nearly five-year investigation into Gaetz. Its release comes after at least one Republican joined all five Democrats on the panel earlier this month in a secret vo

Luigi Mangione pleads not guilty to murder in UnitedHealthcare CEO's death

The man accused of fatally shooting the CEO of UnitedHealthcare pleaded not guilty on Monday to murder and terror charges while his attorney complained that statements coming from New York's mayor would make it tough for him to receive a fair trial. Luigi Mangione, 26, was shackled and seated in a Manhattan court when he leaned over to a microphone to enter his plea. The Manhattan district attorney formally charged him last week with multiple counts of murder, including murder as an act of terrorism, in a state case that will run parallel to his federal prosecution. His initial appearance in New York's state's trial court was preempted by federal prosecutors bringing their own charges over the shooting. The federal charges could carry the possibility of the death penalty, while the maximum sentence for the state charges is life in prison without parole. Prosecutors have said the two cases will proceed on parallel tracks, with the state charges expected to go to trial first. One of

EAM Jaishankar to visit US from Dec 24-29 for key bilateral talks

External Affairs Minister S Jaishankar will pay a six-day visit to the US beginning Tuesday. It will be the first high-level visit from India to the US after Donald Trump won the presidential election. "External Affairs Minister S Jaishankar will visit the United States of America from December 24-29," the Ministry of External Affairs (MEA) said. "He will be meeting counterparts to discuss key bilateral, regional and global issues," it said in a brief statement. The MEA said Jaishankar will also chair a conference of the Consul Generals of India in the US.

Many Americans rely on Chinese-made drones, lawmakers want to ban them

Russell Hedrick, a North Carolina farmer, flies drones to spray fertilisers on his corn, soybean and wheat fields at a fraction of what it would cost him to use a conventional ground spreader. As a volunteer rescuer, Hedrick uses thermal drones to search for people trapped by mudslides and cargo drones to send water and baby formula to those who are stranded something he did after Hurricane Helene. Now he is fretting that one day he will have to ground his drone fleet. Most commercial drones sold in the United States, including those used by Hedrick, are made in China. They have become a target of US lawmakers, who see the dominance of Chinese drones not only as an espionage threat but as a commercial threat because they make it nearly impossible for American manufacturers to compete. It's another front in the US-China economic and technological competition that's likely to intensify with the return to the White House in January of Republican Donald Trump, who has promised to get .

Luigi Mangione to face state charges in death of UnitedHealthcare CEO

The man accused of fatally shooting the CEO of UnitedHealthcare is expected to be arraigned in a Manhattan court Monday on murder and terror charges in a state case that will run parallel to his federal prosecution. Luigi Mangione, 26, was formally charged last week by the Manhattan district attorney with multiple counts of murder, including murder as an act of terrorism. His initial appearance in New York State Supreme Court was preempted by federal prosecutors bringing their own charges over the shooting. The federal charges could carry the possibility of the death penalty, while the maximum sentence for the state charges are life in prison without parole. Prosecutors have said the two cases will proceed on parallel tracks, with the state charges expected to go to trial first. Authorities say Mangione gunned down Brian Thompson as he was walking to an investor conference in midtown Manhattan on the morning of Dec 4. Mangione was arrested in a Pennsylvania McDonald's after a five-

Here are takeaways from Trump's first rally speech as president-elect

President-elect Donald Trump came to Arizona on Sunday for his first rally speech since winning the November election. He was greeted by thousands of adoring supporters who confirmed his popularity across the conservative base. Trump attempted in his 75-minutes on stage to go beyond his core supporters. But he also employed his usual aggressiveness, including ratcheting up threats against Panama and sending a message to billionaire Elon Musk. Here are some takeaways from the speech: President-elect tests unity message alongside characteristic bombast Trump spoke for about 75 minutes, much of it a typical Donald Trump speech plenty of quips about the U.S. being ripped off and more false assertions that he, not Democrat Joe Biden, won the 2020 presidential election. But Trump was nonetheless relaxed, relishing his victory over Vice President Kamala Harris in November, especially prevailing in the popular vote after not getting the most votes in 2016 or 2020. He went so far as to offe

Taiwan major issue for world peace: Trump in meeting with Shinzo Abe's wife

Trump's comments on Taiwan's importance highlighted the significance of the potential Taiwan-China conflict and its broader implications for world peace

Germany's SPD calls for Antitrust Act to limit Elon Musk's influence

A modern-day version would essentially lead to a break-up of Musk's increasingly monopolistic conglomerate of companies