Page 60 - United States

Omicron: US drops in-person interviews for H-1B, other visas for a year

Appointments were being granted months after application due to the pandemic

Kremlin expects US answer on security guarantees next month

Russian President Vladimir Putin urged the West on Thursday to immediately meet Russia's demand, accusing the US and its allies of maintaining a military presence on the threshold of our home.

United States donates 664,560 doses of Pfizer vaccines to Nepal

The United States has donated 664,560 new doses of Pfizer vaccine to Nepal to help it intensify its fight against the coronavirus, the US Embassy said here on Friday. The new doses of Pfizer vaccine given to Nepal free of cost is in addition to the doses the US had provided early this year when the cases of coronavirus were constantly on a rise. "The US government has donated an additional 664,560 doses of Pfizer vaccine to Nepal government to fight COVID-19. These highly effective life-saving vaccines for ages 12 and older add to the 100,620 doses of Pfizer vaccines and 1.535 million single-dose Johnson & Johnson vaccines the United States gifted to Nepal earlier this year," the US Embassy in Kathmandu said in a statement. This support augments the more than USD 122 million in assistance provided (excluding including vaccine costs) to Nepal to-date in the form of life-saving medical supplies, training, and technical support, the statement added. The US said it is donating ...

Yes, there is a Santa Claus. And no, Covid-19 won't stop him

That's the word from the joint U.S.-Canadian military operation that for 66 years has been tracking Jolly Old St. Nicholas on his global mission

Pfizer's Covid pill will take about 6-8 months to come to US markets

While the US FDA has approved Pfizer antiviral pill to treat Covid-19, the White House has warned that the drug will not be available in the markets before six-eight months.

US Federal Reserve's inflation measure hits 39-yr high in November

A key inflation measure closely watched by the US Federal Reserve increased at the fastest pace in 39 years in November, raising pressure on the central bank to tighten monetary policy.

Amid Covid-19 concerns, US expands interview waivers for H-1B, L-1 visas

Amid growing concerns of Covid surge, the US is temporarily dropping an in-person interview requirement for some work-visa categories - H-1B, L-1 and O-1

Texas board withdraws pardon recommendation for George Floyd over drug case

A Texas board that had unanimously supported a posthumous pardon for George Floyd over a 2004 drug arrest in Houston backpedaled in an announcement Thursday

American author Joan Didion, who rose to prominence in 1960s, dies at 87

American writer Joan Didion, an essayist and novelist who rose to prominence in the 1960s, has died at age 87, CNN reported on Thursday (local time).

Tesla pulls games on moving car screens after US safety probe

The move follows an announcement by the NHTSA on Wednesday that it had opened a formal safety investigation on 580,000 Tesla vehicles sold since 2017

40 federal judges confirmed in 2021; Joe Biden nominates 2 more

President Joe Biden on Thursday made two final nominations to the federal bench this year as he caps his first year in office with 40 judges confirmed, the most since Ronald Reagan was president. Nancy Gbana Abudu, his nominee for the US Court of Appeals for the 11th Circuit in the deep South, would be the first Black woman to sit on that court. The circuit covers Alabama, Georgia and Florida, where 8.5 million people are Black yet there is only one Black judge on the 12-person panel, Charles Wilson, and he was nominated by former President Bill Clinton. The second nominee, also a woman of color, is J Michelle Childs, currently a US District Court judge for South Carolina. She is nominated to the US Court of Appeals for the District of Columbia Circuit. Former GOP president Donald Trump and then-Senate Leader Mitch McConnell of Kentucky oushed through a flurry of federal judges and three Supreme Court justices who will shape the courts for a generation. Biden and the Democrats are

US calls on China to end genocide, crimes in Xinjiang province: Blinken

The US called on China to immediately end genocide and crimes against Muslim Uyghurs and other minority groups in Xinjiang province.This comes after US President Joe Biden on Thursday signed the "Uyghur Forced Labor Prevention Act" that bans importing of goods into the US made with forced labor in Xinjiang."President Biden today signed the Uyghur Forced Labor Prevention Act, underscoring the United States' commitment to combatting forced labor, including in the context of the ongoing genocide in Xinjiang," US Secretary of State Antony Blinken, said in a statement.The statement said that the State Department is committed to working with Congress and our interagency partners to continue addressing forced labor in Xinjiang and to strengthen international action against this egregious violation of human rights.This new law gives the U.S. government new tools to prevent goods made with forced labor in Xinjiang from entering U.S. markets and to further promote accountability for persons and

US sets shorter coronavirus isolation rules for health workers

Federal officials on Thursday loosened rules that call on health care workers to stay out of work for 10 days if they test positive

Iraq's foreign minister calls for direct Iran-US talks on nuclear deal

While Iraq remains a pillar of Washington's security policy in the region, Iranian-backed militias wield extensive power in the country

Amazon Cloud unit draws antitrust scrutiny from Khan's FTC

FTC investigators have contacted companies in the past few months to gather information about competition issues related to Amazon Web Services

US adds Merck pill as second easy-to-use drug against Covid-19

The Food and Drug Administration authorization comes one day after the agency cleared a competing drug from Pfizer

Jindal SAW to set up precision machine shop in JV with Hunting Energy

Jindal SAW would hold 51 per cent stake in the JV, while Hunting Energy will own the remaining 49 per cent

US consumer prices up 5.7% over past year, fastest in 39 years

With every trip to the grocery store and gas pump eating away a little more of their paychecks, people have less left over for discretionary purchases

Apple shuts several retails stores in US due to Covid surge

Apple has also reinstated its mask policy, delaying plans to resume office working for all of its workers

US delays intelligence center targeting to stop foreign influence

As Russia was working to subvert US elections and sow discord among Americans, Congress directed the creation of an intelligence center to lead efforts to stop interference by foreign adversaries