Page 4 - Washington

Political divide emerges on Ukraine aid package as Zelenskyy heads to US

Ukrainian President Volodymyr Zelenskyy's visit to Washington this week comes at a critical juncture for his alliance with the United States as Republican leaders in Congress diverge on how to send more military and humanitarian aid to the country. President Joe Biden is seeking an additional USD 24 billion in security and humanitarian aid for Ukraine, in line with his promise to help the country for as long as it takes to oust Russia from its borders. But ratification of Biden's request is deeply uncertain thanks to a growing partisan divide in Congress about how to proceed. Republican House Speaker Kevin McCarthy has told reporters that he wants more Ukraine aid to be debated on its own merits as a standalone bill, rather than attaching it to other priorities like government funding. But the Senate has other ideas. Leaders in the chamber would like to combine the Ukraine aid with other priorities, such as a short-term spending bill that will likely be needed to avoid a shutdown a

The new India-US dynamic

Washington takes a big bet on India

'Taiwan determined to remain 'indispensable' source of most advanced chips'

"As of now we don't see anyone replacing that capacity that Taiwan has built over the years," she said

Washington to establish first-ever US-ASEAN Center: Kamala Harris

"The centre will facilitate official ASEAN engagements and support further exchange between our people, businesses, and academic institutions," Harris said

Trump's trial on March 4 in federal case for plotting to overturn election

A judge has set a March 4 trial date for Donald Trump in the federal case in Washington charging the former president with trying to overturn the results of the 2020 election. The decision from US District Judge Tanya Chutkan denied a defence request to push the trial back until April 2026, about a year and a half after the 2024 election, but also sets it later than the January date proposed by special counsel Jack Smith's team. Chutkan made it clear to both sides at the outset of Monday's status conference that she considered neither proposal acceptable. "These proposals are obviously very far apart, she said. Neither of them is acceptable. Trump, a Republican, was charged earlier this month in a four-count indictment with scheming to undo his loss to Joe Biden, a Democrat, in the 2020 election. The federal election subversion prosecution is one of four criminal cases against Trump. Smith's team has brought a separate federal case accusing him of illegally retaining classified ..

1 dead, 185 structures destroyed in eastern Washington wildfire: Officials

A wind-driven wildfire in eastern Washington state has destroyed at least 185 structures, closed a major highway and left one person dead, officials said Saturday. The blaze started on the west side of Medical Lake, about 15 miles (24 kilometers) west of Spokane, at about 12:30 p.m. Friday, Washington State Department of Natural Resources spokesperson Isabelle Hoygaard said Saturday. It grew to 14.8 square miles (38 square kilometers) by Saturday morning, with zero containment. The burned structures were a mixture of homes and outbuildings. Level 3 evacuations Go Now were ordered for the town as winds blew the flames south, Hoygaard said. The blaze burned through the south side of the town and then jumped Interstate 90 Friday night, forcing its closure. The major east-west thoroughfare remained closed in both directions Saturday morning. The fire is burning on both sides of the highway, the Washington state Department of Transportation said on its webpage. There was one confirme

Thousands under evacuation, homes burn as wildfires race through Washington

Fast-moving wildfires raced through Washington state on Friday, burning some homes and prompting evacuation orders for thousands of people in small rural communities. One of the largest blazes, the so-called Gray Fire near Spokane in eastern Washington, began around noon and a few hours later had surged through 4.7 square miles (12 square kilometers) of grass, timber and wheat, pushed by 35-mph (56-kph) winds, according to the Washington State Department of Natural Resources. Level 3, or Go Now, evacuations were issued for Medical Lake, a community of about 4,800 people and some homes and other buildings had burned, authorities said, although it wasn't clear how many. National Guard troops were called in to help evacuate patients and staff from Eastern State Hospital, a 367-bed psychiatric facility in Medical Lake. Spokane County Sheriff John Nowels said deputies were running from house to house urging people to leave their homes, NBC News reported. We've had to rescue people by b

Security boosted at Indian embassy in US amid call for Khalistani protests

Pro-Khalistan groups have planned to stage protests outside the Indian Embassy in Washington DC amid a scheduled Independence Day celebration

Pakistan Cabinet approves signing of security pact with US: Report

Pakistan's Cabinet has quietly approved the signing of a new security pact with the US, a move that indicates a fresh start in bilateral defence cooperation after years of wilderness in ties and may open avenues for Islamabad to get military hardware from Washington, a media report said on Thursday. The Cabinet, through a circulation summary, gave its seal of approval to the signing of the Communication Interoperability and Security Memorandum of Agreement, known as the CIS-MOA, between Pakistan and the US, The Express Tribune newspaper reported. However, there was no official announcement from either side about the signing of the agreement. According to the report, Federal Minister for Information Marriyum Aurangzeb was approached but did not respond. The development comes days after Pakistan and the US agreed to further enhance their bilateral relations, including in the defence field, at a meeting between US Central Command (Centcom) chief General Michael Erik Kurilla and ...

India to cut import duty on Washington apples to 50% by September end

An import duty of 70% is imposed on Washington apples, which is 20 percentage points more than the 50% import duty applicable for the apples imported from Iran and Turkey

Growing widlfire in Washington prompts evacuations, threatens homes

Authorities in central Washington told some people to leave their homes immediately as a new, growing wildfire sparked west of Quincy on Monday afternoon. The Grant County Sheriff's Office issued the evacuation notices for areas near the unincorporated community of Trinidad and the resort area of Crescent Bar. Washington's Fire Marshal's Office said in the evening said that state mobilisation had been authorised for the the Baird Springs Fire, which had burned about 1.4 square miles (3.6 square kilometres) of terrain containing sage brush and crops. It was also threatening homes, orchards and a processing warehouse. The fire started at about 2:30 p.m., and the cause was under investigation. It was moving south, and State Route 28 was closed in the area because fire had burned right up to it, according to the sheriff's office. An American Red Cross shelter was opening in Quincy. In southwest Washington, officials said, the Tunnel 5 Fire, which started July 2 in the Columbia River

Trump, DeSantis trade barbs while staging duelling New Hampshire campaign

Florida Gov. Ron DeSantis and former President Donald Trump traded barbs on Tuesday as the two leading Republican White House candidates staged duelling events in the critical early voting state of New Hampshire. Addressing a town hall in Hollis, DeSantis vowed to actually build the US-Mexico border wall that Trump tried but failed to complete in his first term while pledging to tear down Washington's traditional power centres in ways that Trump fell short. Speaking later at a Republican women's luncheon in the state capital of Concord, Trump countered that DeSantis was being forced to settle for second place in the primary and accused the governor of supporting cuts to Social Security, Medicare and other entitlement programs as a way to tame federal spending. Beyond the rhetoric, the conflicting events demonstrated each candidate's evolving strategy. DeSantis took extensive audience questions a trademark in New Hampshire politics that he eschewed during his previous visit to the .

Modi given ceremonial welcome, guard of honour on arriving in Washington DC

The national anthems of both countries were played at the airbase to mark his arrival

Together we stand stronger: PM Modi as he leaves for US on 1st state visit

PM Modi will commence his visit in New York, where he will celebrate the International Day of Yoga on June 21 at the headquarters of the United Nations

Multiple people shot at music festival in Washington, suspect in custody

A suspect has been taken into custody after the Grant County Sheriff's Office issued an 'active shooter' alert at a campground near the Gorge Amphitheatre. There were several victims

US fighter jet scramble: No survivors found after plane crashes in Virginia

A wayward and unresponsive business plane that flew over the nation's capital Sunday afternoon caused the military to scramble a fighter jet before the plane crashed in Virginia, officials said. The fighter jet caused a loud sonic boom that was heard across the capital region. Hours later, police said rescuers had reached the site of the plane crash in a rural part of the Shenandoah Valley and that no survivors were found. The Federal Aviation Administration says the Cessna Citation took off from Elizabethtown, Tennessee, on Sunday and was headed for Long Island's MacArthur Airport. Inexplicably, the plane turned around over New York's Long Island and flew a straight path down over D.C. before it crashed over mountainous terrain near Montebello, Virginia, around 3:30 p.m. It was not immediately clear why the plane was nonresponsive, why it crashed or how many people were on board. The plane flew directly over the nation's capital, though it was technically flying above some of the .

US lawmakers reach deal on drug policy, avoid automatic decriminalisation

Democratic and Republican leaders in the Washington Statehouse reached a tentative deal on a major new drug policy Monday, one that would avoid making the state the second to decriminalise the possession of controlled substances. Lawmakers will consider the compromise Tuesday when they return to Olympia for a special session. Gov. Jay Inslee called them back after they failed to pass a new drug policy before adjourning late last month. Under the deal, intentional possession or public use of small amounts of illegal drugs would be a gross misdemeanour, punishable by up to six months in jail for the first two offenses and up to a year after that. But police and prosecutors would be encouraged to divert cases for treatment or other services, and the measure provides millions of additional dollars for diversion programs and to provide short-term housing for people with substance use disorders. A temporary, 2-year-old law that makes intentional drug possession illegal is due to expire J

Washington is determined to govern artificial intelligence, but how?

But the focus on risks seems insufficient to Democratic Senator Michael Bennet, who introduced a bill calling for a government AI task force

S Korean prez opens Washington visit with spotlight on space, mega deals

South Korean President Yoon Suk Yeol opened his state visit to Washington on Tuesday by touring a NASA facility with Vice President Kamala Harris as the Biden administration looks to deepen ties with a close ally that it sees as only growing in importance in an increasingly complicated Indo-Pacific. Before Harris and Yoon's visit to the Goddard Space Flight Center in suburban Greenbelt, Md., the two countries signed a joint statement on cooperation in space communications and navigation, and received briefings from NASA scientists on cooperative efforts on space exploration and addressing the climate crisis, Our alliance is leading on some of the most important and pressing issues of our time, Harris said in remarks with Yoon by her side at the NASA facility. Yoon, for his part, recalled his exhilaration as a third-grader watching on television as Neil Armstrong and Buzz Aldrin stepped off Apollo 11 to become the first humans to set foot on the moon in 1969. Now, NASA and the Korea

Washington state bans assault weapons, introduces two other major gun laws

Washington Guv also signed into law two other major gun measures, including a 10-day waiting period for gun purchases and a bill that would hold gunmakers liable for negligent sales