North America

Washington, Oct 12 :  A top US envoy on Iran will be visiting India this week for crucial talks ahead of the November 4 deadline set by the Trump administration for countries to bring down their import of Iranian oil to zero.

President Donald Trump in May pulled the US out of the 2015 nuclear accord, saying it had "failed to achieve the fundamental objective of blocking all paths to an Iranian nuclear bomb" and did not deal with Tehran's "malign activities, including its ballistic missile programme and its support for terrorism".

By Lalit K Jha

Washington, Oct 12 (PTI) President Donald Trump has intensified his attack on the US Federal Reserve following this week's plunge in stock prices, saying the central bank is "out of control" in raising interest rates, but ruled out firing its head Jerome Powell.

Trump's remarks on Thursday were the latest in series of recent barrages he has unleashed at the Fed.

The Fed under his hand-picked chairman Powell has been gradually raising rates as the economy has strengthened to prevent a run-up in inflation.

NEW YORK; 11oct 2018; (AP) — Federal authorities have charged a New York man with building a 200-pound (90-kilogram) bomb they say he planned to detonate on Election Day on the National Mall in Washington.

Paul Rosenfeld, 56, of Tappan, was charged Wednesday with unlawfully manufacturing a destructive device and interstate transportation and receipt of an explosive.

PANAMA CITY, Fla.; 11oct 2018; (AP) — The most powerful hurricane on record to hit Florida’s Panhandle left wide destruction and at least two people dead and wasn’t nearly finished Thursday as it crossed Georgia, now as a tropical storm, toward the Carolinas, that are still reeling from epic flooding by Hurricane Florence.

WASHINGTON; 11oct 2018; (AP) — President Donald Trump says the U.S. is looking into the fate of a Saudi writer missing and feared murdered but expressed reservations over calls to withhold further U.S. arms sales to Saudi Arabia, warning that such a move “would be hurting us.”

Washington, Oct 10 (AFP) A severe recession would slash US public wealth by about USD 5 trillion, causing vastly more damage to Washington's finances than just an increase in debt and deficits, the IMF has warned.

Yet governments around the world, many of which face similar dangers, do not clearly publicise their overall net worths, the International Monetary Fund said in a new report Tuesday.

This creates a potential blind spot for policymakers who could use this knowledge to head off economic risks, it said.

By Lalit K Jha

Washington, Oct 11 (PTI) US President Donald Trump has mocked the #MeToo movement, saying that the campaign made it improper to use the phrase "the person who got away".

Trump's claim that #MeToo prevents him for using the phrase is his latest volley against the movement, which became a force after sexual assault allegations against Hollywood producer Harvey Weinstein surfaced last year.

9 Oct 2018; AP: Republican Sen. Rand Paul says he’ll try to force a vote in the Senate this week blocking U.S. arms sales to Saudi Arabia over the disappearance of journalist Jamal Khashoggi.

Paul told local radio in Kentucky he wants to end the arms shipments if there’s “any indication” the Saudis are “implicated in killing this journalist that was critical of them.”

Khashoggi disappeared last week after entering the Saudi consulate in Istanbul for routine paperwork ahead of his marriage.

WASHINGTON, Oct. 9 (Xinhua) -- U.S. President Donald Trump said on Tuesday he has accepted Nikki Haley's resignation as the country's ambassador to the United Nations.

Trump told reporters on Tuesday morning at the oval office that Haley will be leaving at the end of the year. He added that Haley told him six months ago about her intention to leave the post.

Haley, seen as one of Trump's most trusted advisers, had reportedly discussed her resignation with Trump last week during her visit to the White House.

By Lalit K Jha

Washington, Oct 10 (PTI) US President Donald Trump said he is certain that his daughter Ivanka would be "dynamite" as the US ambassador to the UN, but conceded that he would be "accused of nepotism" if he selected her to replace Indian-American Nikki Haley.

Haley, 46, announced Tuesday she would resign from her post as the US ambassador to the UN effective at the end of 2018.

As President Trump heaped praise on Haley's performance during her tenure as the the envoy to the world body, he said many people would like to replace her.