USA

NEW YORK, Aug 22 (APP): Deploring lack of any response to his repeated offers of dialogue to India before and after the Aug. 5 crackdown in occupied Kashmir, Prime Minister Imran Khan has said he would no longer seek dialogue with his Indian counterpart Narendra Modi, whom he accused of harbouring intentions to change the demographic character of the Muslim-majority region.

22 August 2019; AFP: US President Donald Trump proclaimed himself "the Chosen One" Wednesday as he defended his trade war against China, indicating that it was his destiny to take on Beijing.

Trump -- who had earlier approvingly retweeted a description of himself as the King of Israel -- said his predecessors had allowed the United States to be taken advantage of on trade and intellectual property and it had befallen him to undo the damage.

WASHINGTON (Reuters) - After two years touting a booming economy as his own doing, U.S. President Donald Trump is test driving a new message on the economy: Any chance of a recession is not his fault. But Democrats, who are shifting their message too, seem to be saying “not so fast.”

Trump has moved from touting positive economic indicators since his 2016 election to now trying to blame someone else for a possible economic slowdown, while his advisers and officials are scrambling to insist there is nothing to worry about.

HOUSTON (Reuters) - A crew of veteran U.S. astronauts and aviators are training in Houston for a manned mission to the International Space Station aboard Boeing’s new Starliner spacecraft, which could also be used to take tourists into space on future missions.

The Boeing Starliner mission was originally scheduled for this month, but that has been delayed to at least the end of the year or into 2020 due to technical issues and amid a shakeup in the top echelons of the space agency.

Washington, Aug 21 (PTI) US President Donald Trump has said that he would discuss with Prime Minister Narendra Modi the situation in Kashmir and help ease the Indo-Pak tensions when they meet at the G7 Summit in France this weekend.

Speaking to reporters at the White House on Tuesday while welcoming visiting Romanian President Klaus Iohannis, Trump said he was happy to try and help calm the situation in Kashmir amidst fresh Indo-Pak tensions after India revoked the special status of Jammu and Kashmir.

Washington, Aug 22 (PTI) The US is seeking a balancing act in South Asia after India revoked the special status of Jammu and Kashmir and divided it into two Union Territories, according to a congressional report which said President Donald Trump's offer to "mediate" on the issue may have contributed to the timing of New Delhi's moves.

According to the latest Congressional Research Service (CRS) report which runs into over 15 pages the longstanding US position on Kashmir is that

WASHINGTON, Aug. 21 (Xinhua) -- Two U.S. astronauts completed the fifth spacewalk of this year out of the International Space Station (ISS) on Wednesday, installing a "parking lot" for future commercial crew spacecraft.

Nick Hague and Andrew Morgan wrapped up their spacewalk at 2:59 p.m American Eastern Time, lasting about six hours and 32 minutes, according to the U.S. space agency NASA.

WASHINGTON, Aug. 21 (Xinhua) -- U.S. President Donald Trump said on Wednesday that his administration is seriously considering an executive order to end birthright citizenship.

"We're looking at that very seriously," Trump told reporters when leaving the White House for the U.S. state of Kentucky.

"Birthright citizenship, where you have a baby on our land - walk over the border, have a baby, congratulations, the baby's now a U.S. citizen," said the president. "It's, frankly, ridiculous."

OLYMPIA, Wash. (AP) — The Latest on Washington Gov. Jay Inslee and his 2020 presidential bid (all times local):

7 p.m.

Two people close to Washington Gov. Jay Inslee have told The Associated Press that he intends to seek a third term as governor.

The news comes after Inslee announced the end of his Democratic presidential campaign on MSNBC on Wednesday night.

OROVILLE, Calif. (AP) — All 10 people aboard a small jet escaped injury Wednesday after the aircraft aborted its takeoff at a small Northern California airport, went off the runway and burst into flames, officials said.

The pilot of the twin-engine Cessna Citation jet aborted its takeoff at Oroville Municipal Airport for unknown reasons shortly before noon, Federal Aviation Administration spokesman Ian Gregor said.

The plane was carrying two pilots and eight passengers, and “all were accounted for, no injuries,” said Joe Deal, Oroville’s fire and police chief.