US & Canada

A US State Department official has said the administration of President Joe Biden has planned to move forward with the sale of 50 F-35 stealth fighter jets to the United Arab Emirates (UAE) in a deal that could be worth $10 billion. “We continue consulting with Emirati officials to ensure …

U.S. President Joe Biden pressed his Chinese counterpart on human rights in a video call lasting more than three hours, while Xi Jinping warned that China would respond to provocations on Taiwan, according to official accounts of the exchange. The closely scrutinized conversation between the leaders of the world’s biggest …

An “atmospheric river” caused major flooding, trapping people on highways and prompting evacuations in Canada’s British Columbia. The rainstorms that started on Sunday triggered landslides, shutting roads, prompting the evacuation of an entire town, forcing an oil pipeline to close, and delayed flights. Canadian helicopters carried out several rescue operations …

A defiant Steve Bannon, former president Donald Trump’s long-time adviser, turned himself in to the FBI Monday to face charges of contempt of Congress after refusing to testify on the January 6 Capitol assault. “This is all noise,” he said of his indictment, as he arrived at the FBI’s Washington …

The United States on Friday imposed sanctions on the Eritrean military and other individuals and entities as Washington steps up pressure on parties to the conflict to bring an end to fighting in northern Ethiopia. In a statement, the US Treasury Department said it blacklisted Eritrea’s ruling political party the …

U.S. President Joe Biden on Friday pledged to deepen U.S. ties with Asia-Pacific Economic Cooperation (APEC) countries, including advancing fair and open trade as well as investment in the region and urged action to shore up the environment and global health. “Biden reaffirmed our interest in serving as a strong, …

The number of people around the world forced to abandon their homes likely increased to more than 84 million in the first half of this year, an increase fueled in particular by conflicts in Africa, the UN refugee agency said Thursday. The UN High Commissioner for Refugees said the number …

US President Joe Biden and Chinese leader Xi Jinping were expected to hold a virtual summit on Monday, sources told Reuters on Thursday, amid tensions over trade, human rights, and military activities. Washington and Beijing have been sparring on issues from the origins of the COVID-19 pandemic to China’s expanding …

The “stiff competition” between the United States and China in the Indo-Pacific does not have to turn into a new Cold War, U.S. national security advisor Jake Sullivan said on Thursday, describing the United States as “doubling down” on its presence in the region. Earlier on Thursday China’s President Xi …

U.S. President Joe Biden on Wednesday signed into law a bill calling for more sanctions and other punitive measures against the government of Nicaraguan President Daniel Ortega, who extended his grip on power in an election that Washington denounced as a sham. Biden, who has accused Ortega of orchestrating Sunday’s …

The US annual inflation has hit a 30-year high amid the coronavirus pandemic as well as the glitch in the country’s supply chain. According to the latest statistics, the consumer price index (CPI) rose 6.2 percent in the US federal government’s fiscal year, which runs from Oct. 1 to Sept. …

U.S. President Joe Biden, Mexican President Andres Manuel Lopez Obrador, and Canadian Prime Minister Justin Trudeau will hold their first in-person meeting in Washington on Nov. 18, Mexico’s foreign minister said on Wednesday. The meeting, which will be the first summit held by the three countries in five years, will …

Twitter Inc added a warning label on Tuesday to an anime video shared by US Republican lawmaker Paul Gosar, depicting him swinging swords at President Joe Biden and killing Democratic congresswoman Alexandria Ocasio-Cortez. Twitter said the video violated its “hateful conduct” policy and restricted engagement with the tweet, blocking the …

The Houston police and fire departments were deeply involved in safety measures for the music festival where a surging crowd killed eight people, playing key roles in crowd control measures, on-site security staffing and the emergency response. The police chief even says he met with the headlining performer before the …

A US federal appeals court issued a stay on Saturday freezing the Biden administration’s efforts to require workers at US companies with at least 100 employees to be vaccinated against COVID-19 or be tested weekly, citing “grave statutory and constitutional” issues with the rule. The ruling from the United States …

A crush of rap music fans pushing toward the stage during Travis Scott’s Astroworld festival in Houston killed at least eight people and injured many more as panic rippled through the packed crowd, officials said on Saturday. The disaster unfolded at NRG Park at around 9 p.m. on Friday during …

After a daylong standoff, Democrats set aside divisions between progressives and centrists to pass a $1 trillion package of highway, broadband, and other infrastructure improvements, sending it on to President Joe Biden to sign into law. The 228-to-206 vote late on Friday is a substantial triumph for Biden’s Democrats, who …

A Pentagon investigation claims that the US drone strike that killed 10 civilians, including seven children, in Afghanistan’s capital city of Kabul in late August did not violate any laws, including the laws of war, and was not caused by misconduct or negligence. Lieutenant General Sami Said, the Inspector General …

US Democratic New Jersey Governor Phil Murphy has narrowly won re-election after voting ended in an unexpected nail-biter for the incumbent. Murphy became the first Democratic governor in four decades to win re-election in the densely populated northeastern coastal US state, even though registered Democratic voters outnumber Republicans by more …

The United States has put an Israeli spyware company on its blacklist following confirmation that the firm’s phone-hacking tools, like Pegasus, had been used by foreign governments to “maliciously target” journalists and officials. The US Commerce Department said in a statement on Wednesday that the Joe Biden administration had added …