Washington DC

Trump won’t commit to peaceful transfer of power if he loses

WASHINGTON (AP) — President Donald Trump again declined to commit to a peaceful transfer of power if he loses the Nov. 3 presidential election.

“We’re going to have to see what happens,” Trump said Wednesday at a news conference, responding to a question about whether he’d commit to a peaceful transfer of power. “You know that I’ve been complaining very strongly about the ballots, and the ballots are a disaster.”

USA: Kamala Harris 'grossly incompetent' says Trump

Washington, Sep 23 (PTI) US President Donald Trump has termed Senator Kamala Harris as "grossly incompetent," saying he was surprised when his Democratic rival Joe Biden picked her as his running mate in the November 3 presidential election.

Harris, 55, is the first-ever Black, African-American and Indian-American woman to be the vice-presidential candidate of a major political party.

Trump threatens to cut off TikTok if deal doesn't go through

Washington, Sep 22 (PTI) US President Donald Trump has threatened to cut off TikTok if the popular Chinese video sharing app's tentative deal with two American companies Walmart and Oracle does not go through.

Trump has for weeks threatened to ban TikTok, which is owned by China's ByteDance, on national security grounds unless an American company takes control of its US operations. TikTok has roughly 100 million users in the US, and Trump says the app gives China access to the personal data of Americans.

Turkey's US envoy lambasts Washington Post columnist

19 Sep 2020; AA: Turkey's Ambassador to Washington Serdar Kilic on Friday disputed a Washington Post op-ed that accused the Trump administration of "enabling" Turkish President Recep Tayyip Erdogan. 

Writing in the same paper two weeks after columnist David Ignatius, Kilic said the piece contained "groundless and irrational allegations and ignored Turkey’s contributions to the fight against terrorism, to the NATO alliance and to regional security."

Congress calls on Trump to resume aid to Yemen

18 Sep 2020; MEMO: US Congress on Wednesday sent a letter to the State Department calling for $73 million in aid to Yemen halted in March by President Donald Trump to be restored, Foreign Policy magazine reported.

The letter was signed by more than 50 Democratic lawmakers led by Representative Ted Deutch of Florida, who chairs the Middle East subcommittee of the House’s foreign affairs panel.

USA: FBI director says antifa is an ideology, not an organization

WASHINGTON (AP) — FBI Director Chris Wray told lawmakers Thursday that antifa is an ideology, not an organization, delivering testimony that puts him at odds with President Donald Trump, who has said he would designate it a terror group.

Hours after the hearing, Trump took to Twitter to chastise his FBI director for his statements on antifa and on Russian election interference, two themes that dominated a congressional hearing on threats to the American homeland.

Trump making dent in Indian-American vote bank; majority still support Biden: Survey

Washington, Sep 16 (PTI) US President Donald Trump has made inroads into the Indian-American vote bank, the biggest ever by a Republican president, according to a survey which has sent worrying signals to the Democrats that the support of this influential ethnic community can no longer be taken for granted.

The survey by Indiaspora and Asian Americans & Pacific Islanders (AAPI) Data on Tuesday showed that a majority of Indian-Americans still favour former vice president Biden, the Democratic Party's nominee in the November 3 US presidential election.

Status of Jerusalem should be ‘decided’ by Israel, Palestinians: UN

16 Sep 2020; MEMO: Stéphane Dujarric, spokesman for the UN Secretary-General, said on Monday that the status of the city of Jerusalem should be “decided” by Israel and the Palestinians.

Answering a question during his daily briefing, Dujarric said:  “What is clear for us and for the Secretary‑General is that the status of Jerusalem is one that should be negotiated between the parties [Israel and Palestinians].”

US bans import of 5 Chinese goods produced using "forced labour"

Washington, Sep 15 (PTI) The US has banned the import of five goods from China, including computer-parts, cotton and hair products, alleging that they are produced in forced labour camps in the restive Muslim-majority Xinjiang province.

The US-China relations have deteriorated after the COVID-19 outbreak, with President Donald Trump squarely blaming Beijing for allowing the disease to spread across the world.

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