Washington DC

Washington, Jul 29 (PTI) China under President Xi Jinping has become more aggressive and bullish, former US Ambassador to the United Nations Nikki Haley said on Tuesday, asserting that such a behavior is unlikely to last long.

Indian-American Haley, in an interview to Fox News, said the Chinese were quiet and strategic during her tenure at the UN. They moved and made sure that they were trying to get positions in certain areas, and trying to get things done behind closed doors, she said.

Washington, Jul 29 (PTI) US biotechnology company Moderna's experimental vaccine to prevent COVID-19 induced robust immune response and rapidly controlled the novel coronavirus in the upper and lower airways of monkeys exposed to SARS-CoV-2, according to a study published on Tuesday.

The candidate vaccine, mRNA-1273, was co-developed by scientists at Moderna and the National Institute of Allergy and Infectious Diseases (NIAID) in the US.

27 July 2020; MEMO: Members on both sides of the US Congress are deeply “concerned” that President Donald Trump will bypass the legislature and sell weapons to Saudi Arabia and the UAE, the New York Times has reported. Both countries are deeply involved in the war in Yemen.

According to the NYT, US legislators are saying that several countries in the Middle East are seeking to purchase drones, including Saudi Arabia and the UAE.

Chengdu, Jul 27 (APPTI) The US says it has closed its consulate in Chengdu, China. China ordered the consulate closed in retaliation for a US order to shut down the Chinese Consulate in Houston last week.

A statement from the State Department said that the consulate suspended operations at 10 a.m. on Monday. It expressed disappointment at China's decision and said the U.S. would try to continue its outreach to the region through its other missions in China.

25 July 2020; MEMO: Washington has called for the immediate release of civilian prisoners from Assad’s jails and has requested for the UN to “double its efforts” to secure their release, Political Coordinator of the US Mission to the United Nations (UN) Rodney Hunter announced on Thursday.

Washington, Jul 24 (PTI) The United States has proposed to help India in addressing its most serious developmental challenges through innovative finance tools, a top Trump Administration official has said.

We are actually right now proposing at US-India Development Foundation where we would help India mobilize their own resources to address the country's most serious developmental challenges looking to use innovative finance tools," USAID Acting Administrator John Barsa told members of the House Foreign Affairs Committee on Thursday.

Washington, Jul 23 (PTI) Five top trade bodies, including the US Chamber of Commerce and National Association of Manufacturers, have filed a lawsuit challenging the presidential proclamation suspending for the rest of the year new non-immigrant visas that include the H-1B, the most sought-after among Indian IT professionals.

22 July 2020; MEMO: The World Bank has announced that Tunisia will this year be given a finance package of up to $700 million from several international institutions. The package will be within the framework of a reform programme to help the government respond to the effects of the coronavirus crisis.

22 July 2020; MEMO: American Defence Department announced on Monday that it would buy the eight F-35A fighter jets which had been intended for Turkey as the US ousted Ankara from the joint strike fighter program last year, Defence News reported.

Washington, Jul 22 (PTI) US President Donald Trump raised a whopping USD 20 million during his first ever virtual fundraiser, his campaign said.

Over 300,000 donations contributed to this virtual fundraiser hosted on Tuesday by President Donald J Trump and Trump Victory Finance Committee National Chair Kimberly Guilfoyle, a statement said.