North America

By Lalit K Jha

Washington, Oct 4 (PTI) US President Donald Trump has nominated prominent Indian-American nuclear expert Rita Baranwal to head the nuclear energy division at the department of energy.

If approved by the Senate, Baranwal will be an assistant secretary of energy, responsible for nuclear technology research and the development and management of the department's nuclear technology infrastructure, the White House said in a statement.

3 Oct 2018; AFP: The New York state tax department said Tuesday it is investigating reports that President Donald Trump helped his parents dodge millions of dollars in taxes and received far more money from his father's real estate empire than he has claimed in the past.

Earlier, The New York Times said its own exhaustive probe of a vast trove of tax returns and confidential records showed Trump had engaged in suspect tax tactics, including "outright fraud" that greatly inflated the funds he received from his parents.

NEW YORK, October 2. /TASS/. Russian Presidential Spokesman Dmitry Peskov said Russia has paid little attention to remarks of other states' permanent representatives at various international organizations, CNN reported on Tuesday.

The statement came in response to remarks by US Permanent Representative to NATO, Amb. Kay Bailey Hutchison, who said her country was ready to "take out" Russian missiles, perceived to be in violation of the Intermediate-Range Nuclear Forces Treaty (INF).

WASHINGTON, October 3. /TASS/. The United States would view the deployment of Russia’s S-300 surface-to-air missile systems as an escalation, but it is yet to receive the official confirmation of the delivery, US Department of State Spokesperson Heather Nauert told reporters on Tuesday.

"That would be a - I think sort of a serious escalation in concerns and issues going on in Syria, but I just can’t confirm it, so I don’t have anything more for you on that right now," she said.

WASHINGTON, Oct. 3 (Xinhua) -- Federal Reserve Chairman Jerome Powell reiterated on Tuesday that the Fed will keep raising interest rates steadily in order to manage the underlying inflation risks in U.S. economy.

Speaking at the 60th Annual Meeting of the National Association for Business Economics, Powell said the "historically rare pairing" of low inflation and low unemployment shows that U.S. economy remains in "extraordinary times."

Washington, Oct 3 (AFP) A veteran Saudi journalist who has been critical of the government has gone missing after visiting the kingdom's consulate in Istanbul, the Washington Post reported.

Jamal Khashoggi, who writes opinion pieces for the Post, has not been seen since entering the consulate in the afternoon, according to his fiance who accompanied him but waited outside until it closed, the newspaper said.

Washington, Oct 2 (PTI) High doses of Viagra -- a popular erectile-dysfunction medication -- can cause irreverible damage to a person's colour vision, a first-of-its-kind study suggests.

Researchers from Mount Sinai Health System in the US based their study on a 31-year-old patient who arrived at an urgent care clinic complaining of red-tinted vision in both eyes that had not gone away in two days.

He reported that his symptoms began shortly after taking a dose of liquid sildenafil citrate, sold under the brand name Viagra.

WASHINGTON (AP) — The White House has given the FBI clearance to interview anyone it wants to by Friday in its investigation of sexual misconduct allegations against Supreme Court nominee Brett Kavanaugh.

The new guidance, described to The Associated Press by a person familiar with it, was issued to the FBI over the weekend in response to Democratic and news media pushback that the scope of the probe was too narrow.

WASHINGTON, October 2. /TASS/. People around the world have more confidence in Russian President Vladimir Putin than in his US counterpart Donald Trump, a survey carried out by the Washington-based Pew Research Center showed on Monday.

UNITED NATIONS, Oct. 1 (Xinhua) -- UN General Assembly (UNGA) President Maria Fernanda Espinosa Garces on Monday concluded the General Debate of the 73rd session of the assembly, saying it was wrapped up on "a high note."

In her closing speech to the world leaders attending the debate, Espinosa said "each one of us could say with honesty that we are wrapping up this General Debate on a high note with the satisfaction of job well done."