USA

Washington, Apr 17 (PTI) The US and Japan together will strengthen their efforts to promote peace, prosperity and security in the Indo-Pacific, US Vice President Kamala Harris has said.

Her remarks came after she met with visiting Japanese Prime Minister Yoshihide Suga on Friday.

UNITED NATIONS, Apr 17 (APP): Prominent speakers at a special ministerial meeting of the UN Economic and Social Council (ECOSOC), held on Friday under Pakistan’s presidency, called for fair, transparent and equitable access to and distribution of coronavirus vaccines to help developing countries, especially small island states, to combat the pandemic.

“Vaccines offer our best hope in addressing this pandemic and overcoming it,” the ECOSOC President, Pakistani Ambassador Munir Akram, told the virtual meeting which took place in virtual format with the theme “A Vaccine for Al”.

WASHINGTON, April 17. /TASS/: The United States is not interested in escalation, but reserves the right to respond to Russia’s countermeasures, a US Department of State spokesperson told TASS on Friday.

"Our recent actions were proportionate and appropriate to Russia's harmful activities. Today's announcement by the Russian government was escalatory and regrettable," the spokesperson said. "It is not in our interest to get into an escalatory cycle, but we reserve the right to respond to any Russian retaliation against the United States."

(Reuters) --- U.S. President Joe Biden on Friday called Iran's enrichment of uranium to 60% purity unhelpful but said he is pleased Tehran is still in indirect talks with Washington about both countries resuming compliance with the 2015 Iranian nuclear deal.

Iran on Friday said it had begun enriching uranium to 60%, its highest level ever and a step closer to the 90% that is weapons grade, at its Natanz plant, where an explosion occurred earlier this week that Tehran blamed on Israel.

(Reuters) --- Scientists at Johnson & Johnson (JNJ.N) on Friday refuted an assertion in a major medical journal that the design of their COVID-19 vaccine, which is similar AstraZeneca’s (AZN.L), may explain why both have been linked to very rare brain blood clots in some vaccine recipients.

UNITED NATIONS, April 16 (Xinhua) -- The Security Council on Friday called on parties to the Yemeni conflict to negotiate a nationwide cease-fire and a political settlement.

In a press statement, the members of the Security Council welcomed the announcement of Saudi Arabia on March 22, supported by the Yemeni government, to end the conflict in Yemen and reach a comprehensive political solution. They welcomed Oman's mediation efforts between the key stakeholders and encouraged continued engagement in the region.

WASHINGTON, April 16 (Xinhua) -- The U.S. Treasury Department on Friday said that no major trading partner of the United States meets the criteria as a currency manipulator, but Vietnam, Switzerland and China's Taiwan will be under enhanced monitoring for their currency practices.

WASHINGTON (AP) — The U.S. is setting up a $1.7 billion national network to identify and track worrisome coronavirus mutations whose spread could trigger another pandemic wave, the Biden administration announced Friday.

WASHINGTON (AP) — President Joe Biden and Japan Prime Minister Yoshihide Suga showcased the alliance between their two countries as well as their shared resolve in dealing with China as they met at the White House on Friday in Biden’s first face-to-face talks with a foreign leader as president.

WASHINGTON (AP) — Facing swift blowback from allies and aid groups, the White House said President Joe Biden plans to lift his predecessor’s historically low cap on refugees by next month, after initially moving only to expand the eligibility criteria for resettlements.