US Archives - Defence Monitor

10 Aug

US announces new bans on investments in China, Beijing disappointed

Washington, Aug 10, US President Joe Biden has slapped new bans on investments in advanced technology industries in China in order to protect national security. President Biden signed an executive order late on Wednesday, banning US investments in certain key tech sectors of China. The new rules would place restrictions on investments by US private equity and venture capital firms, as well as joint ventures, in Chinese artificial intelligence, quantum computing and semiconductors, reports CNN. China’s Ministry of Commerce said in a statement on Thursday that “the ban greatly disrupts the normal pace of business decision-making, the international trade order,…

29 Jul

Biden to host trilateral summit with S.Korean, Japanese leaders in Aug: WH

Washington/Seoul, July 29, US President Joe Biden will host a trilateral summit with his South Korean counterpart Yoon Suk Yeol and Japanese Prime Minister Fumio Kishida in Washington on August 18, the White House said. "At the summit (in Camp David), the leaders will celebrate a new chapter in their trilateral relationship as they reaffirm their strong bonds of friendship and the ironclad alliances between the US and Japan, and the US and the Republic of Korea," Yonhap News Agency quoted White House press secretary Karine Jean-Pierre as saying in a statement on Friday, referring to South Korea by its…

25 Jun

2 US-based major airlines disclose data breaches affecting pilots

San Francisco, June 25, Two US-based major players in the aviation industry -- American Airlines and Southwest Airlines have disclosed data breaches that have affected their pilot applicants. According to BleepingComputer, the breaches occurred as a result of a hack targeting Pilot Credentials, a third-party vendor that manages pilot applications and recruitment portals for numerous airlines. On May 3, both airlines were notified of the Pilot Credentials incident, which was limited to the third-party vendor's systems and had no impact or compromise on the airlines' own networks or systems. Pilot Credentials' systems were accessed by an unauthorised person on April 30…

03 Feb

US should show sincerity and help Sri Lanka: China

Colombo, Feb 3 (IANS) In a counter-attack to a recent comment made by a US government official on Sri Lankas debt restructuring process to obtain the $2.9 billion International Monetary Fund (IMF) bailout, China said that Washington should show sincerity by helping the crisis-hit island nation "Rather than jabbing fingers at China's close cooperation with Sri Lanka, the US might as well show some sincerity and actually do something to help Sri Lanka weather through the current difficulties," spokesperson of the Chinese Foreign Ministry Mao Ning said at a recent press conference. Ning was responding to US Under Secretary of State…

30 Jan

With an eye on China, senior US official arrives in Nepal

Kathmandu, Jan 30 (IANS) With an eye on China as it has expanded its clout across South Asia, the US Under Secretary of State for Political Affairs Victoria Nuland arrived in Kathmandu where she will meet members of Nepal's new government led by Prime Minister Pushpa Kamal Dahal. Nuland is the senior-most foreign dignitary to visit Nepal following the appointment of Dahal, popularly known as Prachanda, as Prime Minister on December 25 last year. During her seven-day travel itinerary, Nuland will be touring Nepal, India, Sri Lanka, and Qatar between January 28 and February 3, according to the US State Department.…

28 Jan

US, India to hold diplomatic consultations: State Dept

New York, Jan 28 (IANS) The US diplomat in charge of political affairs is visiting India for consultations with the External Affairs Ministry in New Delhi, according to the State Department. During her visit, Under Secretary of State for Political Affairs Victoria Nuland will lead the US delegation to the annual foreign office consultations "which cover the full range of bilateral, regional, and global issues", the Department said on Friday. She is also scheduled to meet young tech leaders, it added. Her visit to India will be a part of a week-long swing through Asia that starts on Saturday and take…

25 May

18 children killed in Texas school shooting, Biden rages (Lead)

Washington: A gunman killed 18 students and one adult at an elementary school in Texas in a second mass shooting in the US in the last 10 days. The gunman, identified as Salvador Ramos, first shot his grandmother, who is alive but in critical condition, before hitting Robb Elementary School in Uvalde, about 83 miles west of San Antonio in Texas, with two assault rifles that he had bought shortly after he turned 18 recently. He was killed by law enforcement officers. His motive had not been ascertained yet.A white gunman, also 18, had opened fire at a grocery store in…

12 Apr

2+2 focuses on meeting food shortage fallout from Ukraine invasion

New York: While differences on the degree of reaction to Russia's invasion remained, India and the US focused at their dialogue of diplomatic and defence leaders on meeting what could turn out to be its catastrophic fallout: Food shortages affecting the poorest countries. "An equally big worry which is emerging is of food security," External Affairs Minister S. Jaishankar said on Monday at a news conference after the 2+2 meeting."There are concerns across geographies of societies who are importing wheat or sugar or other foodstuff out of the conflict region", he said. "Our countries are working together to try to bring…

12 Apr

US monitoring rise in human rights abuses in India: Blinken

New Delhi: US Secretary of State Antony Blinken has said the US is monitoring what he described as a rise in human rights abuses in India by some officials, in a rare direct rebuke by Washington of the South Asian nation's rights record, TRT World reported. "We regularly engage with our Indian partners on these shared values (of human rights) and to that end, we are monitoring some recent concerning developments in India, including a rise in human rights abuses by some government, police and prison officials," Blinken said on Monday in a joint press briefing with US Defence Secretary Lloyd…

13 Aug

NASA mission picks 4 sites for asteroid Bennu sample return

Washington: After grappling with the rugged reality of asteroid Bennu's surface, NASA, the US space agency, has finally selected four potential sites for its spacecraft to "tag" its cosmic dance partner.Since its arrival in December 2018, the OSIRIS-REx spacecraft has mapped the entire asteroid in order to identify the safest and most accessible spots for the spacecraft to collect a sample. These four sites now will be studied in further detail in order to select the final two sites -- a primary and backup -- in December, NASA said in a statement on Tuesday."We knew that Bennu would surprise us, so…