Key Democratic Senator Joe Manchin is asking for more time to get “clarification” on the economic impact of President Joe Biden’s social spending package and other Democrats.

Democrat Manchin calls Biden's $1.75 trillion spending proposal a "shell game"

Days before it became clear that Republican Glenn Youngkin would win Virginia’s gubernatorial race, pollsters, pundits and political strategists were trying to explain why a race that was the Democrat Terry McAuliffe’s to lose was on its way to being lost.

Some explanations were more convincing than others.

Least convincing was the suggestion that Youngkin, a former private equity executive, won by dogwhistling Dixie. The pro-McAuliffe Lincoln Project even tried to troll a Youngkin event in Charlottesville with tiki-torch bearers, but they were exposed. That theory fails to explain why Youngkin ever would have thought he could win by moving to the hard right in a state where no Republican has won statewide office in a dozen years, and which Joe Biden won last year by 10 points.

Another explanation is that early political reversals for an incumbent party are normal. Republican Chris Christie of New Jersey won a similar bellwether gubernatorial election in 2009, almost a year into Barack Obama’s first term. That win anticipated the GOP’s historic 63-seat gain in the 2010 House elections, but it did not keep Obama from getting his signature legislation enacted, much less from being reelected.

Then there is the fact that McAuliffe ran a lousy campaign. State races are about state issues. McAuliffe’s focus was to paint Youngkin as a Trumpkin, going so far as to invent a fictional Youngkin-Trump joint campaign event. Youngkin focused on issues like cutting taxes on groceries and giving parents more of a say in their kids’ education. Voters typically want governors to solve problems, not serve as moral avatars.

Finally, there’s Joe Biden. He is manifestly inept. He cannot get his party to pass a popular infrastructure bill. On inflation, Afghanistan and the southern border, he has offered benign assurances that have been summarily contradicted by events. No president elected after World War II lost more public support in his first few months of office than he has, according to Gallup. Biden’s losses are particularly steep among independents. If Biden doesn’t recover, this is bound to have down-ballot effects.

The last three explanations are true as far as they go. But they don’t sufficiently capture the Democrats’ deeper problem, which is the persistent and justified perception of a party too often composed of fake moderates and dissembling radicals. Middle-of-the-road voters — the kind who still decide elections in purplish places like Virginia — sense they’ve been bamboozled.

Who’s a fake moderate? Biden campaigned as the most centrist Democrat in last year’s primary field. He is trying to govern as the most socially transformational president since Lyndon B. Johnson. Attorney General Merrick Garland looks like a fake moderate, too willing to cite the power of the federal government after angry parents at school board meetings were labeled domestic terrorists. Whatever happened to Democrats as civil libertarians?

As for dissembling radicals, note the way in which the controversy over critical race theory is treated by much of the left as either much ado about an obscure scholarly discipline or, alternatively, a beneficent and necessary set of teachings about the past and present of systemic racism in America.

But CRT is neither obscure nor anodyne. It is, according to many of its leading theoreticians, a “politically committed movement” that often explicitly rejects notions of merit, objectivity, colorblindness and neutrality of law among other classically liberal concepts.

That’s no reason to ban teaching it or any other way of looking at the world. But it is dishonest to argue that it is anything less than ideologically radical, intensely racialized and deliberately polarizing. It is even more dishonest to suggest that it exists only in academic cloisters. We live in an era of ubiquitous race-based “affinity groups,” incessant allegations of white supremacy, and pervasive censorship and self-censorship in everything from words that can be said and documentaries that can be watched, to jokes that can be laughed at.

No wonder the debate over CRT-influenced pedagogies in public schools — which liberals insist don’t even exist in the state’s public schools, although they clearly do — had such a galvanic effect on the Virginia race. It exposed the myth that the illiberal currents at play in the United States today are solely a Republican phenomenon. They are not.

It’s fair to debate which kind of illiberalism is worse. But the Democrats’ political problem is either dishonesty about the kind of country they want, a lack of self-awareness, or some combination of both. An America in which group identity takes precedence over individual merit, racial categories become moral categories, success based on achievement is denigrated as “privilege” based on ancestry, blind justice is attacked as systemically biased, and independent thinking risks being treated as heresy, will eventually cease to be a free, fair and just country.

Many liberals who have tasted the progressive moonshine get the point. But too many still feel obligated to take sides against Trumpism when the real enemy is illiberalism writ large, whatever the source. The tragedy of the Republican Party is that too few conservatives had the nerve to fight the enemy within. Voters penalized the party in 2018 by losing the House, and in 2020 by losing the presidency.

The tragedy of the Democratic Party may yet be its own loss of nerve against its in-house extremists. Whether it’s this week or next year, the political penalties are likely to be steep.

Days before it became clear that Republican Glenn Youngkin would win Virginia’s gubernatorial race, pollsters, pundits and political strategists were trying to explain why a race that was the Democrat Terry McAuliffe’s to lose was on its way to being lost.

Days before it became clear that Republican Glenn Youngkin would win Virginia’s gubernatorial race, pollsters, pundits and political strategists were trying to explain why a race that was the Democrat Terry McAuliffe’s to lose was on its way to being lost. Some explanations were more convincing than others. Least convincing was the suggestion that Youngkin, a former private equity executive, won by dogwhistling Dixie. The pro-McAuliffe Lincoln Project even tried to troll a Youngkin event in Charlottesville with tiki-torch bearers, but they were exposed. That theory fails to explain why Youngkin ever would have thought he could win by moving to the hard right in a state where no Republican has won statewide office in a dozen years, and which Joe Biden won last year by 10 points. Another explanation is that early political reversals for an incumbent party are normal. Republican Chris Christie of New Jersey won a similar bellwether gubernatorial election in 2009, almost a year into Barack Obama’s first term. That win anticipated the GOP’s historic 63-seat gain in the 2010 House elections, but it did not keep Obama from getting his signature legislation enacted, much less from being reelected. Then there is the fact that McAuliffe ran a lousy campaign. State races are about state issues. McAuliffe’s focus was to paint Youngkin as a Trumpkin, going so far as to invent a fictional Youngkin-Trump joint campaign event. Youngkin focused on issues like cutting taxes on groceries and giving parents more of a say in their kids’ education. Voters typically want governors to solve problems, not serve as moral avatars. Finally, there’s Joe Biden. He is manifestly inept. He cannot get his party to pass a popular infrastructure bill. On inflation, Afghanistan and the southern border, he has offered benign assurances that have been summarily contradicted by events. No president elected after World War II lost more public support in his first few months of office than he has, according to Gallup. Biden’s losses are particularly steep among independents. If Biden doesn’t recover, this is bound to have down-ballot effects. The last three explanations are true as far as they go. But they don’t sufficiently capture the Democrats’ deeper problem, which is the persistent and justified perception of a party too often composed of fake moderates and dissembling radicals. Middle-of-the-road voters — the kind who still decide elections in purplish places like Virginia — sense they’ve been bamboozled. Who’s a fake moderate? Biden campaigned as the most centrist Democrat in last year’s primary field. He is trying to govern as the most socially transformational president since Lyndon B. Johnson. Attorney General Merrick Garland looks like a fake moderate, too willing to cite the power of the federal government after angry parents at school board meetings were labeled domestic terrorists. Whatever happened to Democrats as civil libertarians? As for dissembling radicals, note the way in which the controversy over critical race theory is treated by much of the left as either much ado about an obscure scholarly discipline or, alternatively, a beneficent and necessary set of teachings about the past and present of systemic racism in America. But CRT is neither obscure nor anodyne. It is, according to many of its leading theoreticians, a “politically committed movement” that often explicitly rejects notions of merit, objectivity, colorblindness and neutrality of law among other classically liberal concepts. That’s no reason to ban teaching it or any other way of looking at the world. But it is dishonest to argue that it is anything less than ideologically radical, intensely racialized and deliberately polarizing. It is even more dishonest to suggest that it exists only in academic cloisters. We live in an era of ubiquitous race-based “affinity groups,” incessant allegations of white supremacy, and pervasive censorship and self-censorship in everything from words that can be said and documentaries that can be watched, to jokes that can be laughed at. No wonder the debate over CRT-influenced pedagogies in public schools — which liberals insist don’t even exist in the state’s public schools, although they clearly do — had such a galvanic effect on the Virginia race. It exposed the myth that the illiberal currents at play in the United States today are solely a Republican phenomenon. They are not. It’s fair to debate which kind of illiberalism is worse. But the Democrats’ political problem is either dishonesty about the kind of country they want, a lack of self-awareness, or some combination of both. An America in which group identity takes precedence over individual merit, racial categories become moral categories, success based on achievement is denigrated as “privilege” based on ancestry, blind justice is attacked as systemically biased, and independent thinking risks being treated as heresy, will eventually cease to be a free, fair and just country. Many liberals who have tasted the progressive moonshine get the point. But too many still feel obligated to take sides against Trumpism when the real enemy is illiberalism writ large, whatever the source. The tragedy of the Republican Party is that too few conservatives had the nerve to fight the enemy within. Voters penalized the party in 2018 by losing the House, and in 2020 by losing the presidency. The tragedy of the Democratic Party may yet be its own loss of nerve against its in-house extremists. Whether it’s this week or next year, the political penalties are likely to be steep.

Opinion: Why Democrats are in trouble

China has made unprecedented progress in its nuclear military capabilities. In the latest, there has been rapid construction of silo fields at different sites. Why is this alarmin? Watch our report to know more!

China makes progress in Silo field construction, US-based think tank tracks developments

&nbsp;Negotiations to revive Iran's 2015 nuclear agreement with world powers will fail unless US&nbsp;President Joe Biden can guarantee that Washington will not again abandon the pact, the head of Iran's Supreme National Security Council said on Wednesday.

"The US&nbsp;President, lacking authority, is not ready to give guarantees. If the current status quo continues, the result of negotiations is clear," Ali Shamkhani said in a tweet.

Iran is expected to give an exact date this week for the resumption of talks with the powers, scheduled for end of November according to Iranian top nuclear negotiator Ali Bagheri-Kani.

Also Read |&nbsp;<a href="https://www.wionews.com/world/ethiopia-declares-nationwide-emergency-as-insurgents-threaten-the-capital-426337">Ethiopia declares nationwide emergency as insurgents threaten the capital</a>

In April, Iran and six powers started talks in Vienna to reinstate the deal, which then-US&nbsp;President Donald Trump ditched three years ago before reimposing sanctions that have crippled Iran's economy.

However, the talks were put on hold after Iran`s presidential election in June that brought anti-Western hardliner Ebrahim Raisi to power.

<a href="https://www.wionews.com/world/iran-doubts-alleged-us-determination-to-revive-nuke-deal-fm-425894">Also read |&nbsp;Iran doubts alleged US determination to revive nuke deal: FM</a>

A main disagreement in Vienna has been over Iran's requirement for the United States to give guarantees that it would not renege on the nuclear agreement in the future.

The United States and European powers have urged Iran to return to negotiations, warning that time is running out as the Islamic Republic's uranium enrichment programme is advancing well beyond the limits set by the nuclear pact.

In reaction to Trump's reimposition of sanctions, Tehran breached the deal by rebuilding stockpiles of enriched uranium, refining it to higher fissile purity and installing advanced centrifuges to speed up output.

&nbsp;

Negotiations to revive Iran's 2015 nuclear agreement with world powers will fail unless US President Joe Biden can guarantee that Washington will not again abandon the pact, the head of Iran's Supreme National Security Council said on Wednesday.

Negotiations to revive Iran's 2015 nuclear agreement with world powers will fail unless US President Joe Biden can guarantee that Washington will not again abandon the pact, the head of Iran's Supreme National Security Council said on Wednesday. "The US President, lacking authority, is not ready to give guarantees. If the current status quo continues, the result of negotiations is clear," Ali Shamkhani said in a tweet. Iran is expected to give an exact date this week for the resumption of talks with the powers, scheduled for end of November according to Iranian top nuclear negotiator Ali Bagheri-Kani. Also Read | Ethiopia declares nationwide emergency as insurgents threaten the capital In April, Iran and six powers started talks in Vienna to reinstate the deal, which then-US President Donald Trump ditched three years ago before reimposing sanctions that have crippled Iran's economy. However, the talks were put on hold after Iran`s presidential election in June that brought anti-Western hardliner Ebrahim Raisi to power. Also read | Iran doubts alleged US determination to revive nuke deal: FM A main disagreement in Vienna has been over Iran's requirement for the United States to give guarantees that it would not renege on the nuclear agreement in the future. The United States and European powers have urged Iran to return to negotiations, warning that time is running out as the Islamic Republic's uranium enrichment programme is advancing well beyond the limits set by the nuclear pact. In reaction to Trump's reimposition of sanctions, Tehran breached the deal by rebuilding stockpiles of enriched uranium, refining it to higher fissile purity and installing advanced centrifuges to speed up output.

Iran warns nuclear talks would fail unless Biden provides guarantees

A new report has revealed the rapid progress of China's three silos fields. Will it overtake the US and Russia?

Veil of secrecy around China's expansion of nuclear warhead stockpile

The US Centers for Disease Control and Prevention (CDC) has officially approved Pfizer-BioNTech’s COVID-19 vaccine for children from the ages of 5 to 11. This means that up to 28 million children in the age group will be eligible for the shots.

US CDC approves Pfizer's COVID-19 vaccine for children ages 5 to 11

US President Joe Biden has criticised Russia and China for missing the crucial United Nations climate change conference, COP26.

US President Biden criticises China and Russia for missing COP26 Climate Summit

An armed anti-Taliban group has registered in the United States in an attempt to build a global resistance against the Taliban. The group registered with the Justice Department to carry out political lobbying in the US.

Anti-Taliban group registers with US to build Afghan resistance

A recent report has revealed that members of the previous Afghan government have&nbsp;joined the Islamic State of Iraq and Syria-Khorasan branch (ISIS-K) to fight against the Taliban.

According to a report by the Wall Street Journal,&nbsp;the members of&nbsp;intelligence body of the previous government are now working with ISIS-K to survive.&nbsp;

These people mostly include US-trained Afghan spies.&nbsp;

The report also highlights how the former Afghan spies are joining ISIS-K to have a stable source of income. These people were left broke after the government collapsed.&nbsp;

The report comes at a time when Afghanistan has already been witnessing a surge in assassinations and bomb blasts.&nbsp;

Also, as many as 65 terrorists affiliated to Islamic State (IS) have surrendered to Taliban-led authorities.

<a href="https://www.wionews.com/world/isis-k-could-have-the-capability-to-attack-the-us-within-6-12-months-pentagon-424310">Also read |&nbsp;ISIS-K could have the capability to attack the US within '6-12 months': Pentagon</a>

In October, a US Department of Defence official had revealed that ISIS-K might strike American targets in as little as six months, while Al Qaeda can also improve its capabilities.

Colin Kahl, the undersecretary of Defense for policy, said before the Senate Armed Services Committee that neither terror organisation poses an immediate danger, but that they must be treated seriously since that might change in a short period.&nbsp;

"I think the intelligence community currently assesses that both ISIS-K and al Qaeda have the intent to conduct external operations, including against the United States. But neither currently can do so," Kahl said.&nbsp;

"We could see ISIS-K generate that capability in somewhere between six or 12 months. I think the current assessment by the intelligence community is that al Qaeda would take a year or two to reconstitute that capability."

(With inputs from Agencies)

A recent report has revealed that members of the previous Afghan government have joined the Islamic State of Iraq and Syria-Khorasan branch (ISIS-K) to fight against the Taliban.

A recent report has revealed that members of the previous Afghan government have joined the Islamic State of Iraq and Syria-Khorasan branch (ISIS-K) to fight against the Taliban. According to a report by the Wall Street Journal, the members of intelligence body of the previous government are now working with ISIS-K to survive. These people mostly include US-trained Afghan spies. The report also highlights how the former Afghan spies are joining ISIS-K to have a stable source of income. These people were left broke after the government collapsed. The report comes at a time when Afghanistan has already been witnessing a surge in assassinations and bomb blasts. Also, as many as 65 terrorists affiliated to Islamic State (IS) have surrendered to Taliban-led authorities. Also read | ISIS-K could have the capability to attack the US within '6-12 months': Pentagon In October, a US Department of Defence official had revealed that ISIS-K might strike American targets in as little as six months, while Al Qaeda can also improve its capabilities. Colin Kahl, the undersecretary of Defense for policy, said before the Senate Armed Services Committee that neither terror organisation poses an immediate danger, but that they must be treated seriously since that might change in a short period. "I think the intelligence community currently assesses that both ISIS-K and al Qaeda have the intent to conduct external operations, including against the United States. But neither currently can do so," Kahl said. "We could see ISIS-K generate that capability in somewhere between six or 12 months. I think the current assessment by the intelligence community is that al Qaeda would take a year or two to reconstitute that capability." (With inputs from Agencies)

US-trained Afghan government members join ISIS-K to 'resist' Taliban, reveals report

While addressing COP26 Climate Summit in Glasgow President Joe Biden said that the US is ready to be a leader again in the fight against climate change. Biden also apologised for former US President Donald Trump's climate actions.

US ready to lead world in climate fight, says Biden at COP26 summit

New Yorkers head to the polls Tuesday in a mayoral election that is virtually guaranteed to elect Black former policeman Eric Adams as the next leader of America's biggest city.

The centrist Democrat is expected to trounce Republican candidate and volunteer crime fighter Curtis Sliwa in the liberal-voting bastion to become just the second African American to lead the Big Apple.

New York mayor is often described as the most difficult job in the United States after president.

Also Read |&nbsp;<a href="https://www.wionews.com/world/virginia-goes-to-polls-in-too-close-to-call-bellwether-election-426138">Virginia goes to polls in too-close-to call bellwether election</a>

If the 61-year-old Adams wins, he will succeed unpopular progressive Bill de Blasio, whose two-term limit ends December 31.

Adams will be tasked with leading the city's recovery after the pandemic, which has killed more than 34,000 residents and closed hundreds of thousands of businesses.

As mayor for more than eight million people, he will oversee America's largest municipal budget, crippled by the <a href="https://www.wionews.com/topics/coronavirus">COVID-19 crisis</a>, and its biggest police force and public school system.&nbsp;

The moderate candidate defeated progressive rivals in June's Democratic primary by mainly pledging to crack down on violent crime that soared during the pandemic.

He promised to tackle wealth inequalities and reform the education system, as well.

Also Read |&nbsp;<a href="https://www.wionews.com/world/new-york-mayors-race-in-chaos-after-elections-board-counts-135000-test-ballots-394914">New York mayor’s race in chaos after elections board counts 135,000 test ballots</a>

Adams will also have to grapple with a severe lack of affordable housing, violent chaos at the notorious Rikers Island prison and the effects of more extreme weather events on New York City's creaking infrastructure.

One of his trickiest balancing acts will be trying to reform police practices while keeping onside a heavily unionized force that feels it has been underappreciated during the de Blasio era.

Adams opposes defunding the police, a policy that is a rallying cry for many on the American left. He is also seen as being friendly towards the business community and has not called for higher taxes for wealthy residents.

Reforming the police&nbsp;

He was born into poverty in Brooklyn in 1960, and was raised in a large family living in a working-class neighborhood of Queens. His mother was a cleaner, and his father was a butcher.

Also Read |&nbsp;<a href="https://www.wionews.com/world/as-trump-thunders-about-last-election-republicans-worry-about-the-next-one-421889">As Trump thunders about last election, Republicans worry about the next one</a>

&nbsp;

Adams briefly ran errands for a gang as a teenager. When he was 15, he was beaten by two NYPD officers after they arrested him for criminal trespassing.

That sparked his determination to join the NYPD so he could reform it from the inside. Adams entered the force in the mid-1980s, serving 22 years and rising to become a captain.

In 1995, he co-founded "100 Blacks in Law Enforcement Who Care," an advocacy group designed to fight against racism in the police and that still exists today.

Adams retired in 2006, winning election to the New York State Senate that year. He served until 2013, when he was elected Brooklyn borough president, providing a springboard for his mayoral ambitions.

Also Read |&nbsp;<a href="https://www.wionews.com/world/japanese-prime-minister-fumio-kishida-declares-victory-after-very-tough-election-425730">Japanese Prime Minister Fumio Kishida declares victory after 'very tough' election</a>&nbsp;

Adams credits veganism with reversing his 2016 diabetes diagnosis and released a book last year that aims to turn African Americans to a plant-based diet.

Polls open at 6:00 am and close at 9:00 pm. Almost 170,000 people out of some five million registered voters have already cast ballots in early voting.

New Yorkers head to the polls Tuesday in a mayoral election that is virtually guaranteed to elect Black former policeman Eric Adams as the next leader of America's biggest city.

New Yorkers head to the polls Tuesday in a mayoral election that is virtually guaranteed to elect Black former policeman Eric Adams as the next leader of America's biggest city. The centrist Democrat is expected to trounce Republican candidate and volunteer crime fighter Curtis Sliwa in the liberal-voting bastion to become just the second African American to lead the Big Apple. New York mayor is often described as the most difficult job in the United States after president. Also Read | Virginia goes to polls in too-close-to call bellwether election If the 61-year-old Adams wins, he will succeed unpopular progressive Bill de Blasio, whose two-term limit ends December 31. Adams will be tasked with leading the city's recovery after the pandemic, which has killed more than 34,000 residents and closed hundreds of thousands of businesses. As mayor for more than eight million people, he will oversee America's largest municipal budget, crippled by the COVID-19 crisis, and its biggest police force and public school system. The moderate candidate defeated progressive rivals in June's Democratic primary by mainly pledging to crack down on violent crime that soared during the pandemic. He promised to tackle wealth inequalities and reform the education system, as well. Also Read | New York mayor’s race in chaos after elections board counts 135,000 test ballots Adams will also have to grapple with a severe lack of affordable housing, violent chaos at the notorious Rikers Island prison and the effects of more extreme weather events on New York City's creaking infrastructure. One of his trickiest balancing acts will be trying to reform police practices while keeping onside a heavily unionized force that feels it has been underappreciated during the de Blasio era. Adams opposes defunding the police, a policy that is a rallying cry for many on the American left. He is also seen as being friendly towards the business community and has not called for higher taxes for wealthy residents. Reforming the police He was born into poverty in Brooklyn in 1960, and was raised in a large family living in a working-class neighborhood of Queens. His mother was a cleaner, and his father was a butcher. Also Read | As Trump thunders about last election, Republicans worry about the next one Adams briefly ran errands for a gang as a teenager. When he was 15, he was beaten by two NYPD officers after they arrested him for criminal trespassing. That sparked his determination to join the NYPD so he could reform it from the inside. Adams entered the force in the mid-1980s, serving 22 years and rising to become a captain. In 1995, he co-founded "100 Blacks in Law Enforcement Who Care," an advocacy group designed to fight against racism in the police and that still exists today. Adams retired in 2006, winning election to the New York State Senate that year. He served until 2013, when he was elected Brooklyn borough president, providing a springboard for his mayoral ambitions. Also Read | Japanese Prime Minister Fumio Kishida declares victory after 'very tough' election Adams credits veganism with reversing his 2016 diabetes diagnosis and released a book last year that aims to turn African Americans to a plant-based diet. Polls open at 6:00 am and close at 9:00 pm. Almost 170,000 people out of some five million registered voters have already cast ballots in early voting.

New York poised to elect Black ex-cop Adams as mayor

The US state of Virginia prepared to vote Tuesday for its next governor in a margin-of-error skirmish seen as the first major test of President Joe Biden's political brand.

A harbinger of the parties' prospects in next year's midterm elections, the race between Democratic former governor Terry McAuliffe and Republican tycoon Glenn Youngkin has narrowed in recent weeks and is squarely in toss-up territory.&nbsp;

"At this point, the outcome of this race will all depend on voter turnout," McAuliffe said in an 11th hour mailout to voters late Monday.&nbsp;&nbsp;

Also Read |&nbsp;<a href="https://www.wionews.com/world/obama-warns-of-republican-threat-to-democracy-in-us-battleground-virginia-423393">Obama warns of Republican threat to democracy in US battleground Virginia</a>

"Republicans are fired up to elect their guy, and now, with <a href="https://www.wionews.com/topics/donald-trump">Donald Trump</a> rallying up his base of right-wing extremists on the eve of election day, Glenn Youngkin is sure to have a strong showing tomorrow."

A McAuliffe win would reignite Washington Democrats' faltering push for twin infrastructure and social welfare mega-bills that are the cornerstone of Biden's $3 trillion vision for remaking the economy.

With both packages bogged down by infighting in Congress, moderates would likely see defeat in Virginia as a warning from the electorate to ease up on the president's historic spending plans.&nbsp;

On the Republican side, defeat for Youngkin could finally touch off a reckoning of a different sort on the party's previously unshakeable fealty to twice-impeached Trump, who lost Virginia by 10 points.

'Left, liberal, progressive'&nbsp;

As he tries to mount a return to an office he held four years ago, McAuliffe must negotiate significant headwinds, with the majority party in Washington usually incurring losses during a president's first term. &nbsp; &nbsp;

Youngkin has been performing his own high-wire act, as the vast majority of Republicans believe Trump's false claims that the presidency was stolen in a fraudulent election, making acknowledging the truth politically risky.

Also Read |&nbsp;<a href="https://www.wionews.com/world/as-trump-thunders-about-last-election-republicans-worry-about-the-next-one-421889">As Trump thunders about last election, Republicans worry about the next one</a>

&nbsp;

While he was seeking the nomination, Youngkin conjured the spirit of the former president, refusing to say whether he would have voted to certify Biden's election victory after the failed insurrection by Trump supporters on January 6.

But the wealthy former investment banker, 54, has managed to distance himself from Trump at the business end of the campaign, focusing on local "culture war" issues like abortion, mask mandates and the teaching of America's racial history.&nbsp;

"This is a moment for Virginians to push back on this left, liberal, progressive agenda and take our commonwealth back," Youngkin told a rally in state capital Richmond on Monday.

Trump has not shown up to campaign in person, although he has angrily denied a rift with Youngkin and released an incendiary statement on Monday smearing McAuliffe as a "low-life politician who lies, cheats, and steals."

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In contrast, a number of other big-name Democrats have wooed Virginians in recent days, including former president Barack Obama, First Lady Jill Biden and the party's rising star Stacey Abrams.

'Soccer dad'&nbsp;

McAuliffe took an early lead in the race but his seven-point cushion has been tightening since summer, and the latest polling average by political analysis website FiveThirtyEight shows Youngkin ahead by one point.

If the polls are an accurate reflection of voter intention, experts believe it could take days to determine the winner.&nbsp;

Leaning into his image as the establishment candidate, McAuliffe has sold himself as a former incumbent who brought back jobs after the worldwide financial crisis of 2008, and has pledged to repeat the trick for the pandemic.

The 64-year-old has sought to nationalize the race -- voicing irritation over deadlock in Washington and making the vote a referendum on Trump and Trumpism.&nbsp;

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Biden joined McAuliffe in Arlington last week, blasting Youngkin as "an acolyte of Donald Trump" and warning that extremism "can come in a smile and a fleece vest."

Mark Bayer, a congressional aide for two decades and a former chief of staff to Senator Ed Markey, warned that convincing Virginians that Youngkin is nothing more than a Trump mini-me could prove a tall order.

"Despite being endorsed by Trump and making strongly positive statements about him, Youngkin -- at least stylistically, if not politically -- doesn't appear to be a Trump clone," Bayer told AFP.

"Youngkin's 'soccer dad' persona is appealing to swing voters, even as his conservative politics are firmly Republican."

The US state of Virginia prepared to vote Tuesday for its next governor in a margin-of-error skirmish seen as the first major test of President Joe Biden's political brand.

The US state of Virginia prepared to vote Tuesday for its next governor in a margin-of-error skirmish seen as the first major test of President Joe Biden's political brand. A harbinger of the parties' prospects in next year's midterm elections, the race between Democratic former governor Terry McAuliffe and Republican tycoon Glenn Youngkin has narrowed in recent weeks and is squarely in toss-up territory. "At this point, the outcome of this race will all depend on voter turnout," McAuliffe said in an 11th hour mailout to voters late Monday. Also Read | Obama warns of Republican threat to democracy in US battleground Virginia "Republicans are fired up to elect their guy, and now, with Donald Trump rallying up his base of right-wing extremists on the eve of election day, Glenn Youngkin is sure to have a strong showing tomorrow." A McAuliffe win would reignite Washington Democrats' faltering push for twin infrastructure and social welfare mega-bills that are the cornerstone of Biden's $3 trillion vision for remaking the economy. With both packages bogged down by infighting in Congress, moderates would likely see defeat in Virginia as a warning from the electorate to ease up on the president's historic spending plans. On the Republican side, defeat for Youngkin could finally touch off a reckoning of a different sort on the party's previously unshakeable fealty to twice-impeached Trump, who lost Virginia by 10 points. 'Left, liberal, progressive' As he tries to mount a return to an office he held four years ago, McAuliffe must negotiate significant headwinds, with the majority party in Washington usually incurring losses during a president's first term. Youngkin has been performing his own high-wire act, as the vast majority of Republicans believe Trump's false claims that the presidency was stolen in a fraudulent election, making acknowledging the truth politically risky. Also Read | As Trump thunders about last election, Republicans worry about the next one While he was seeking the nomination, Youngkin conjured the spirit of the former president, refusing to say whether he would have voted to certify Biden's election victory after the failed insurrection by Trump supporters on January 6. But the wealthy former investment banker, 54, has managed to distance himself from Trump at the business end of the campaign, focusing on local "culture war" issues like abortion, mask mandates and the teaching of America's racial history. "This is a moment for Virginians to push back on this left, liberal, progressive agenda and take our commonwealth back," Youngkin told a rally in state capital Richmond on Monday. Trump has not shown up to campaign in person, although he has angrily denied a rift with Youngkin and released an incendiary statement on Monday smearing McAuliffe as a "low-life politician who lies, cheats, and steals." Also Read | US unveils crackdown on methane, starting with oil and gas rules In contrast, a number of other big-name Democrats have wooed Virginians in recent days, including former president Barack Obama, First Lady Jill Biden and the party's rising star Stacey Abrams. 'Soccer dad' McAuliffe took an early lead in the race but his seven-point cushion has been tightening since summer, and the latest polling average by political analysis website FiveThirtyEight shows Youngkin ahead by one point. If the polls are an accurate reflection of voter intention, experts believe it could take days to determine the winner. Leaning into his image as the establishment candidate, McAuliffe has sold himself as a former incumbent who brought back jobs after the worldwide financial crisis of 2008, and has pledged to repeat the trick for the pandemic. The 64-year-old has sought to nationalize the race -- voicing irritation over deadlock in Washington and making the vote a referendum on Trump and Trumpism. Also Read | US 'nuke sniffer' plane flies over South China Sea: Report Biden joined McAuliffe in Arlington last week, blasting Youngkin as "an acolyte of Donald Trump" and warning that extremism "can come in a smile and a fleece vest." Mark Bayer, a congressional aide for two decades and a former chief of staff to Senator Ed Markey, warned that convincing Virginians that Youngkin is nothing more than a Trump mini-me could prove a tall order. "Despite being endorsed by Trump and making strongly positive statements about him, Youngkin -- at least stylistically, if not politically -- doesn't appear to be a Trump clone," Bayer told AFP. "Youngkin's 'soccer dad' persona is appealing to swing voters, even as his conservative politics are firmly Republican."

Virginia goes to polls in too-close-to call bellwether election

United States sent a convoy of military planes including a 'nuke sniffer' plane over South China Sea, said a report in South China Morning Post (SCMP). The reported sortie has taken place just a month after a US nuclear submarine hit an underwater object in the South China Sea in October.

The SCMP report quoted experts from an unnamed think tank who, based on satellite images, said that the convoy of US military planes included Constant Phoenix, the 'nuke sniffer', an E-8C Joint Surveillance Target Attack Radar System aircraft, two P-8A maritime patrol planes, and one EP-3E electronic warfare and reconnaissance aircraft.

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On October 2, USS Connecticut, a US nuclear submarine hit an unidentified object underwater in South China Sea. The incident, that had taken place in contentious South China Sea had hit headlines everywhere.

China had slammed the incident as 'irresponsible' and had demanded that it be declared whether there was a nuclear leak as a result of the collision.

Also Read | <a href="https://www.wionews.com/india-news/south-china-sea-indo-pacific-find-mention-during-indian-pm-modis-meet-with-asean-leaders-424701">South China Sea, Indo-Pacific find mention during Indian PM Modi’s meet with ASEAN leaders</a>

China claims the entirety of South China Sea as being part of it territorial waters based on the so-called 'nine-dash line'. Chinese assertiveness and even aggressive moves has raised tension in the region. China currently has disputes with Japan and Southeast Asian countries like Vietnam and others over the issue of South China Sea.

The US and other western countries have taken a stand against China in South China Sea and have batted for freedom of navigation. US and other navies often carry freedom of navigation exercises in South China Sea eliciting angry reactions from Beijing.

United States sent a convoy of military planes including a 'nuke sniffer' plane over South China Sea, said a report in South China Morning Post (SCMP). The reported sortie has taken place just a month after a US nuclear submarine hit an underwater object in the South China Sea in October.

United States sent a convoy of military planes including a 'nuke sniffer' plane over South China Sea, said a report in South China Morning Post (SCMP). The reported sortie has taken place just a month after a US nuclear submarine hit an underwater object in the South China Sea in October. The SCMP report quoted experts from an unnamed think tank who, based on satellite images, said that the convoy of US military planes included Constant Phoenix, the 'nuke sniffer', an E-8C Joint Surveillance Target Attack Radar System aircraft, two P-8A maritime patrol planes, and one EP-3E electronic warfare and reconnaissance aircraft. × On October 2, USS Connecticut, a US nuclear submarine hit an unidentified object underwater in South China Sea. The incident, that had taken place in contentious South China Sea had hit headlines everywhere. China had slammed the incident as 'irresponsible' and had demanded that it be declared whether there was a nuclear leak as a result of the collision. Also Read | South China Sea, Indo-Pacific find mention during Indian PM Modi’s meet with ASEAN leaders China claims the entirety of South China Sea as being part of it territorial waters based on the so-called 'nine-dash line'. Chinese assertiveness and even aggressive moves has raised tension in the region. China currently has disputes with Japan and Southeast Asian countries like Vietnam and others over the issue of South China Sea. The US and other western countries have taken a stand against China in South China Sea and have batted for freedom of navigation. US and other navies often carry freedom of navigation exercises in South China Sea eliciting angry reactions from Beijing.

US 'nuke sniffer' plane flies over South China Sea: Report

U.S. President Joe Biden and Turkish President Recep Tayyip Erdogan will meet to discuss the waning relationship on the sidelines of the G20 summit. At a time when tensions are escalating between NATO allies, U.S. and Turkey the meeting is expected to discuss a wide range of issues. VOA White House correspondent Patsy Widakuswara brings in all the latest developments.

U.S. President Biden, Turkish President Erdogan to discuss waning relationship on sidelines of G20

The Pentagon said that it was monitoring the Ukraine region closely amid reports of a new build-up of Russian troops on the country’s border.

US enhances monitoring Russian military build-up near Ukraine

The Biden administration on Tuesday will unveil a plan to slash emissions of the greenhouse gas methane across the country, starting with oil and gas wells, pipelines and other infrastructure as part of its broader strategy to crack down on climate change.

The announcement of the US&nbsp;Methane Emissions Reduction Plan will coincide with the United Nations climate conference in Glasgow, Scotland, where the United States, the world's second-largest greenhouse gas emitter, is seeking to reclaim leadership on the world stage by demonstrating tangible steps to curb emissions at home.

President Joe Biden has set a target to slash greenhouse gas emissions by more than 50 per cent&nbsp;by 2030, but is struggling to pass major pieces of climate legislation through a deeply divided Congress, making policies by federal agencies more crucial.

Watch |&nbsp;US ready to lead world in climate fight, says Biden at COP26 summit

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At the center of the plan his administration will launch on Tuesday is a EPA proposal that will for the first time regulate methane that spews from existing oil and gas operations. Oil and gas account for a third of methane emissions.

"The timing of this is critical. As we speak, world leaders are gathering right now in Glasgow and they are looking to the United States for true leadership," US&nbsp;Environmental Protection Agency Administrator Michael Regan told Reuters in an interview about the plan. "This proposal is absolutely bold, aggressive and comprehensive."

Methane is the second-biggest cause of climate change after carbon dioxide and has become a focal point at the Glasgow summit. Its high heat-trapping potential and relatively short lifespan in the atmosphere means cutting its emissions can have an outsized impact on the trajectory of the climate.

The EPA proposal will require oil and gas companies to routinely monitor 300,000 of their biggest well sites and other infrastructure for methane leaks and repair them quickly when found, according to a summary seen by Reuters.

Regan said the rule would not only have a swift impact on climate but also improve air quality for low-income "environmental justice" communities that live near oil and gas operations.

Also Read |<a href="https://www.wionews.com/world/cop26-india-uk-to-launch-solar-green-grids-initiative-425642">&nbsp;COP26: India, UK to launch solar Green Grids Initiative</a>

The EPA proposal would also require oil drillers that produce natural gas as a byproduct to sell it or flare it instead of venting it into the atmosphere, and require upgrades to equipment such as storage tanks, compressors, and pneumatic pumps to reduce leaks.

The agency also said it will release a supplemental proposal next year that would flesh out the regulatory text and possibly expand the rule to include additional methane sources, including abandoned oil and gas wells, gas flares, pipeline "pigging" operations for cleaning or maintenance, and tank truck loading.

The rules would most likely take effect in 2023 and would slash methane from oil and gas operations by 74 per cent&nbsp;from 2005 levels by 2035, an amount equivalent to the emissions created by all US&nbsp;passenger cars and planes in 2019, according to the summary.

The EPAs proposals require companies with well sites emitting an estimated 3 tons of methane per year or more to monitor for leaks quarterly, a threshold the agency said would capture sites responsible for 86 per cent&nbsp;of leaks.

Oil and gas industry groups had pressed EPA to exclude smaller wells from the regulations, citing the sheer number of such wells and the costs of the monitoring and repairs.

The administration's methane strategy includes a new proposal by pipeline regulator PHMSA requiring companies to monitor and repair methane leaks on about 400,000 miles of previously unregulated gathering lines. Other US agencies will launch voluntary programs to cut emissions from industries such as agriculture and waste management, according to a senior administration official.

The plan also proposes new voluntary measures from the Agriculture and Interior departments to tackle methane emissions from other major sources, including landfills, agriculture and abandoned wells and coal mines.

The Biden administration on Tuesday will unveil a plan to slash emissions of the greenhouse gas methane across the country, starting with oil and gas wells, pipelines and other infrastructure as part of its broader strategy to crack down on climate change.

The Biden administration on Tuesday will unveil a plan to slash emissions of the greenhouse gas methane across the country, starting with oil and gas wells, pipelines and other infrastructure as part of its broader strategy to crack down on climate change. The announcement of the US Methane Emissions Reduction Plan will coincide with the United Nations climate conference in Glasgow, Scotland, where the United States, the world's second-largest greenhouse gas emitter, is seeking to reclaim leadership on the world stage by demonstrating tangible steps to curb emissions at home. President Joe Biden has set a target to slash greenhouse gas emissions by more than 50 per cent by 2030, but is struggling to pass major pieces of climate legislation through a deeply divided Congress, making policies by federal agencies more crucial. Watch | US ready to lead world in climate fight, says Biden at COP26 summit At the center of the plan his administration will launch on Tuesday is a EPA proposal that will for the first time regulate methane that spews from existing oil and gas operations. Oil and gas account for a third of methane emissions. "The timing of this is critical. As we speak, world leaders are gathering right now in Glasgow and they are looking to the United States for true leadership," US Environmental Protection Agency Administrator Michael Regan told Reuters in an interview about the plan. "This proposal is absolutely bold, aggressive and comprehensive." Methane is the second-biggest cause of climate change after carbon dioxide and has become a focal point at the Glasgow summit. Its high heat-trapping potential and relatively short lifespan in the atmosphere means cutting its emissions can have an outsized impact on the trajectory of the climate. The EPA proposal will require oil and gas companies to routinely monitor 300,000 of their biggest well sites and other infrastructure for methane leaks and repair them quickly when found, according to a summary seen by Reuters. Regan said the rule would not only have a swift impact on climate but also improve air quality for low-income "environmental justice" communities that live near oil and gas operations. Also Read | COP26: India, UK to launch solar Green Grids Initiative The EPA proposal would also require oil drillers that produce natural gas as a byproduct to sell it or flare it instead of venting it into the atmosphere, and require upgrades to equipment such as storage tanks, compressors, and pneumatic pumps to reduce leaks. The agency also said it will release a supplemental proposal next year that would flesh out the regulatory text and possibly expand the rule to include additional methane sources, including abandoned oil and gas wells, gas flares, pipeline "pigging" operations for cleaning or maintenance, and tank truck loading. The rules would most likely take effect in 2023 and would slash methane from oil and gas operations by 74 per cent from 2005 levels by 2035, an amount equivalent to the emissions created by all US passenger cars and planes in 2019, according to the summary. The EPAs proposals require companies with well sites emitting an estimated 3 tons of methane per year or more to monitor for leaks quarterly, a threshold the agency said would capture sites responsible for 86 per cent of leaks. Oil and gas industry groups had pressed EPA to exclude smaller wells from the regulations, citing the sheer number of such wells and the costs of the monitoring and repairs. The administration's methane strategy includes a new proposal by pipeline regulator PHMSA requiring companies to monitor and repair methane leaks on about 400,000 miles of previously unregulated gathering lines. Other US agencies will launch voluntary programs to cut emissions from industries such as agriculture and waste management, according to a senior administration official. The plan also proposes new voluntary measures from the Agriculture and Interior departments to tackle methane emissions from other major sources, including landfills, agriculture and abandoned wells and coal mines.

US unveils crackdown on methane, starting with oil and gas rules

Former United States diplomat and hostage negotiator Bill Richardson has arrived in Myanmar on a "private humanitarian mission", his organisation said, as the country enters nine months under a junta that has detained a US journalist.

Myanmar has been in turmoil since the February coup ousted civilian leader Aung San Suu Kyi. Unable to quell dissent, security forces have launched a bloody crackdown that has killed more than 1,200 people, according to a local monitoring group.

Also Read |&nbsp;<a href="https://www.wionews.com/south-asia/myanmar-junta-refuses-to-negotiate-with-coup-dissidents-423381">Myanmar junta refuses to negotiate with coup dissidents</a>

Former UN ambassador Richardson will "discuss&nbsp;humanitarian delivery of COVID-19 vaccines, medical supplies, and other public health needs," his organisation, the Richardson Center, said in a statement announcing his departure on Sunday.

The statement did not mention whether Richardson would raise the case of American journalist Danny Fenster, who was detained in May and has since been charged with encouraging dissent against the military and unlawful association.

The managing editor of local news outlet Frontier Myanmar, Fenster was detained at Yangon International Airport as he attempted to leave the country.

He is currently on trial and faces six years in jail if convicted on both charges.

Local media Myanmar Now reported that Richardson was due to meet the junta leader and other senior officials.

AFP has contacted the military's spokesman for comment.

Richardson, a former governor of New Mexico, has negotiated "the release of hostages and American servicemen in North Korea, Cuba, Iraq and the Sudan," according to his centre's website.&nbsp;

Also Read |&nbsp;<a href="https://www.wionews.com/south-asia/myanmar-junta-leader-blames-opponents-for-prolonging-unrest-421896">Myanmar junta leader blames opponents for prolonging unrest</a>

His last visit to Myanmar was in 2018, as part of a panel created to advise on violence in Rakhine State -- the site of a 2017 army crackdown that triggered an exodus of more than 700,000 stateless Muslim Rohingya.

But he abruptly resigned after the trip, accusing Suu Kyi of lacking "moral leadership" over the crisis.&nbsp;

Richardson also said he stepped down due to fears the committee would "whitewash" the causes of the Rohingya crisis, over which Myanmar is now being investigated on genocide charges.&nbsp;

Senior General Min Aung Hlaing, now the junta chief, was head of the armed forces during the 2017 crackdown.

Former United States diplomat and hostage negotiator Bill Richardson has arrived in Myanmar on a "private humanitarian mission", his organisation said, as the country enters nine months under a junta that has detained a US journalist.

Former United States diplomat and hostage negotiator Bill Richardson has arrived in Myanmar on a "private humanitarian mission", his organisation said, as the country enters nine months under a junta that has detained a US journalist. Myanmar has been in turmoil since the February coup ousted civilian leader Aung San Suu Kyi. Unable to quell dissent, security forces have launched a bloody crackdown that has killed more than 1,200 people, according to a local monitoring group. Also Read | Myanmar junta refuses to negotiate with coup dissidents Former UN ambassador Richardson will "discuss humanitarian delivery of COVID-19 vaccines, medical supplies, and other public health needs," his organisation, the Richardson Center, said in a statement announcing his departure on Sunday. The statement did not mention whether Richardson would raise the case of American journalist Danny Fenster, who was detained in May and has since been charged with encouraging dissent against the military and unlawful association. The managing editor of local news outlet Frontier Myanmar, Fenster was detained at Yangon International Airport as he attempted to leave the country. He is currently on trial and faces six years in jail if convicted on both charges. Local media Myanmar Now reported that Richardson was due to meet the junta leader and other senior officials. AFP has contacted the military's spokesman for comment. Richardson, a former governor of New Mexico, has negotiated "the release of hostages and American servicemen in North Korea, Cuba, Iraq and the Sudan," according to his centre's website. Also Read | Myanmar junta leader blames opponents for prolonging unrest His last visit to Myanmar was in 2018, as part of a panel created to advise on violence in Rakhine State -- the site of a 2017 army crackdown that triggered an exodus of more than 700,000 stateless Muslim Rohingya. But he abruptly resigned after the trip, accusing Suu Kyi of lacking "moral leadership" over the crisis. Richardson also said he stepped down due to fears the committee would "whitewash" the causes of the Rohingya crisis, over which Myanmar is now being investigated on genocide charges. Senior General Min Aung Hlaing, now the junta chief, was head of the armed forces during the 2017 crackdown.

Former US diplomat and hostage negotiator on visit to Myanmar

US President Joe Biden announced additional initiatives to relieve global backlogs, despite rising domestic complaints about supply chain problems after meeting with his G20 counterparts in Rome on Sunday.

Biden pledges funds to Mexico, Southeast Asian Nations to ease supply chain woes

Nearly 12,000 United States Air Force personnel have rejected to get fully vaccinated against the coronavirus despite a Pentagon mandate.

12,000 USAF personnel reject Penatgon's vaccine mandate

US President Joe Biden met his Turkish counterpart Recep Tayyip Erdogan on the sidelines of the G20 summit. Biden told Erdogan his request for F-16 fighter jets had to go through a process in the United States and expressed a desire to handle disagreements between the two countries effectively.

Biden discuss F-16 fighter jets, raises human rights issue with Turkey's Erdogan

The United States and European Union have agreed to end a festering dispute over US steel and aluminum tariffs imposed by former President Donald Trump in 2018.

US and EU end long standing dispute over steel and aluminum tariff

The United States has expressed concern about increased military operations in parts of Myanmar, including Chin state, where it said more than 100 homes and churches had been destroyed in the offensive.

Myanmar has been in turmoil since a Februrary&nbsp;1 coup and the United Nations and local media have recently reported a buildup of heavy weapons and troops, suggesting an imminent attack by the ruling military.

Also Read |&nbsp;<a href="https://www.wionews.com/world/the-world-has-found-a-way-to-do-this-the-us-lags-on-paid-leave-423985">The world ‘has found a way to do this’: The US lags on paid leave</a>

"We are also deeply concerned over the Burmese security forces’ intensification of military operations in various parts of the country," the US&nbsp;State Department said on Sunday.

It accused security forces of gross human rights violations which it said laid bare the regime's disregard for peoples'&nbsp;lives and welfare.

Witnesses, aid groups and local media have reported burning down of houses and an exodus of people from Thantlang town in Chin state.

Salai, a member of a local anti-junta militia, said the army fired artillery into the town on October&nbsp;29, starting off a fire in some houses.

Soldiers then set fire to houses, Salai said, adding he could see from a hill overlooking the town.

"We saw the smoke and we knew that some of our homes were on fire. There was nothing that we could do about it, just to watch the burning," he told Reuters.

Drone footage the next day showed 164 houses and two churches were destroyed, he said. Reuters has not viewed the footage.

Also Read |&nbsp;<a href="https://www.wionews.com/world/aukus-deal-joe-biden-tells-emmanuel-macron-that-us-was-clumsy-425127">AUKUS deal: Joe Biden tells Emmanuel Macron that US was 'clumsy'</a>

A spokesperson for the junta did not respond to a phone call for comment. The army has called the militias "terrorists" intent on destroying the country.

Since the coup, thousands of people have fled Chin state into neighbouring India.

A local elder in Thantlang, who manages camps of displaced people, said only one family was left in the town.

"The home is where our heart is. People here worry that the rest of the homes will be burned down by them. This is our biggest worry."

News portal DVB quoted Thantlang politician Salai Dokhar as saying blazes were ongoing and 270 homes had been torched.

The United States has expressed concern about increased military operations in parts of Myanmar, including Chin state, where it said more than 100 homes and churches had been destroyed in the offensive.

The United States has expressed concern about increased military operations in parts of Myanmar, including Chin state, where it said more than 100 homes and churches had been destroyed in the offensive. Myanmar has been in turmoil since a Februrary 1 coup and the United Nations and local media have recently reported a buildup of heavy weapons and troops, suggesting an imminent attack by the ruling military. Also Read | The world ‘has found a way to do this’: The US lags on paid leave "We are also deeply concerned over the Burmese security forces’ intensification of military operations in various parts of the country," the US State Department said on Sunday. It accused security forces of gross human rights violations which it said laid bare the regime's disregard for peoples' lives and welfare. Witnesses, aid groups and local media have reported burning down of houses and an exodus of people from Thantlang town in Chin state. Salai, a member of a local anti-junta militia, said the army fired artillery into the town on October 29, starting off a fire in some houses. Soldiers then set fire to houses, Salai said, adding he could see from a hill overlooking the town. "We saw the smoke and we knew that some of our homes were on fire. There was nothing that we could do about it, just to watch the burning," he told Reuters. Drone footage the next day showed 164 houses and two churches were destroyed, he said. Reuters has not viewed the footage. Also Read | AUKUS deal: Joe Biden tells Emmanuel Macron that US was 'clumsy' A spokesperson for the junta did not respond to a phone call for comment. The army has called the militias "terrorists" intent on destroying the country. Since the coup, thousands of people have fled Chin state into neighbouring India. A local elder in Thantlang, who manages camps of displaced people, said only one family was left in the town. "The home is where our heart is. People here worry that the rest of the homes will be burned down by them. This is our biggest worry." News portal DVB quoted Thantlang politician Salai Dokhar as saying blazes were ongoing and 270 homes had been torched.

US concerned over Myanmar army operations in Chin state, town ablaze

Iranian Foreign Minister Hossein Amir Abdollahian has cast doubts on US President Joe Biden's alleged determination to revive the 2015 Iranian nuclear deal.

"Mr. Biden postures as anti-Trump, but when he wants to talk about Iran, he is still carrying the same sanctions record with him, and so far he has not taken any practical steps to lift the sanctions," Xinhua news agency quoted Amir Abdollahian as saying in an interview.

Also Read |<a href="https://www.wionews.com/world/nuclear-powered-submarines-for-australia-maybe-not-so-fast-424997">&nbsp;Nuclear-powered submarines for Australia? Maybe not so fast.</a>

On Saturday evening, Biden, along with the leaders of Germany, France and the UK, issued a joint statement after a meeting at the sidelines of the G20 Summit in Rome, pointing to the American President's "clearly demonstrated commitment to return the US. to full compliance" with the nuclear agreement, formally known as Joint Comprehensive Plan of Action (JCPOA).

The statement also affirmed Biden's commitment "to stay in full compliance, so long as Iran does the same", and called upon Iranian President Ebrahim Raisi to "seize this opportunity and return to a good faith effort to conclude our negotiations as a matter of urgency".

"The problem is that we hear this will and intention from the Americans in their messages, but we do not see it in their behaviour," said Amir Abdollahian.

Biden, the Iranian Minister said, could immediately issue an executive order to take the US back to the point where his predecessor Donald Trump withdrew from the JCPOA in May 2018.

Amir Abdollahian also criticised Europeans for exerting pressure on Iran and demanding its return to the negotiating table while staying "inactive" and not pressuring the US to comply with its commitments under the deal.

Also Read |&nbsp;<a href="https://www.wionews.com/world/g20-summit-biden-macron-merkel-johnson-discuss-iran-deal-on-sidelines-425373">G20 Summit: Biden, Macron, Merkel, Johnson discuss Iran deal on sidelines</a>

In the interview, the Iranian top diplomatic chief reiterated ties with Iran's neighbours and Asian countries including China and Russia, as the priorities of the current Iranian government's foreign policy.

"We have explicitly stated that we will not tie the destiny of the people and the country to JCPOA or to any country in an absolute manner," the Minister noted.

Since the US abandoned the JCPOA, Iran`s Supreme Leader Ayatollah Ali Khamenei has consistently urged government officials not to tie the solution of Iran`s economic difficulties to Washington`s will to lift the sanctions as stipulated by the deal.

Since May 2019, Iran has gradually stopped performing restrictions on its nuclear program, arguing that its reactions are allowed in the JCPOA in case of the counterparts'&nbsp;non-compliance and it would return to full compliance when sanctions are lifted.

After Biden took office in late January, Iran and the JCPOA Joint Commission held six rounds of talks in Austria's capital Vienna to revive the agreement between April and June, but the process was interrupted by the Iranian presidential election in June and subsequent transition of government.

Iranian Foreign Minister Hossein Amir Abdollahian has cast doubts on US President Joe Biden's alleged determination to revive the 2015 Iranian nuclear deal. "Mr.

Iranian Foreign Minister Hossein Amir Abdollahian has cast doubts on US President Joe Biden's alleged determination to revive the 2015 Iranian nuclear deal. "Mr. Biden postures as anti-Trump, but when he wants to talk about Iran, he is still carrying the same sanctions record with him, and so far he has not taken any practical steps to lift the sanctions," Xinhua news agency quoted Amir Abdollahian as saying in an interview. Also Read | Nuclear-powered submarines for Australia? Maybe not so fast. On Saturday evening, Biden, along with the leaders of Germany, France and the UK, issued a joint statement after a meeting at the sidelines of the G20 Summit in Rome, pointing to the American President's "clearly demonstrated commitment to return the US. to full compliance" with the nuclear agreement, formally known as Joint Comprehensive Plan of Action (JCPOA). The statement also affirmed Biden's commitment "to stay in full compliance, so long as Iran does the same", and called upon Iranian President Ebrahim Raisi to "seize this opportunity and return to a good faith effort to conclude our negotiations as a matter of urgency". "The problem is that we hear this will and intention from the Americans in their messages, but we do not see it in their behaviour," said Amir Abdollahian. Biden, the Iranian Minister said, could immediately issue an executive order to take the US back to the point where his predecessor Donald Trump withdrew from the JCPOA in May 2018. Amir Abdollahian also criticised Europeans for exerting pressure on Iran and demanding its return to the negotiating table while staying "inactive" and not pressuring the US to comply with its commitments under the deal. Also Read | G20 Summit: Biden, Macron, Merkel, Johnson discuss Iran deal on sidelines In the interview, the Iranian top diplomatic chief reiterated ties with Iran's neighbours and Asian countries including China and Russia, as the priorities of the current Iranian government's foreign policy. "We have explicitly stated that we will not tie the destiny of the people and the country to JCPOA or to any country in an absolute manner," the Minister noted. Since the US abandoned the JCPOA, Iran`s Supreme Leader Ayatollah Ali Khamenei has consistently urged government officials not to tie the solution of Iran`s economic difficulties to Washington`s will to lift the sanctions as stipulated by the deal. Since May 2019, Iran has gradually stopped performing restrictions on its nuclear program, arguing that its reactions are allowed in the JCPOA in case of the counterparts' non-compliance and it would return to full compliance when sanctions are lifted. After Biden took office in late January, Iran and the JCPOA Joint Commission held six rounds of talks in Austria's capital Vienna to revive the agreement between April and June, but the process was interrupted by the Iranian presidential election in June and subsequent transition of government.

Iran doubts alleged US determination to revive nuke deal: FM

During a press conference following the G20 summit in Rome, Russian Foreign Minister Sergei Lavrov stated that NATO does not want any interaction with Russia. He also added that NATO is reluctant to establish a dialogue with Russia.

NATO does not want any cooperation with US says Russian FM Sergei Lavrov

In a recent essay on great-power competition and climate change, Rob Litwak, an arms control expert at the Wilson Center, recalled a question that President Ronald Reagan posed to Mikhail Gorbachev, the Soviet leader, after they took a walk during their 1985 Lake Geneva summit.

As Gorbachev put it later: “President Reagan suddenly said to me, ‘What would you do if the United States were suddenly attacked by someone from outer space? Would you help us?’ ”

“I said, ‘No doubt about it.’ ”

“He said, ‘We too.’ ”

“So that’s interesting,” Gorbachev concluded.

It sure is, because it’s not at all clear, given the recent upsurge in raw great-power competition, that Russia, China or America would help one another in the face of an invasion of space aliens threatening us all. Litwak’s point in retelling that story, of course, is that today we are facing a similar, world-stressing threat — not from space aliens but from a much more familiar and once seemingly benign force: our climate.

Global warming is challenging every nation with more extreme weather, wildfires and sea level rise and once-in-a-century storms coming much more frequently. Unlike with a space alien, though, there’s zero possibility of negotiating with Mother Nature. She does only whatever chemistry, biology and physics dictate, and she has no clue or interest in where the borders of Russia, America or China stop and start. She’s got the whole wide world&nbsp;in her hands — as she demonstrated with the COVID-19 pandemic.

Yet neither China’s president, Xi Jinping, nor Russia’s president, Vladimir Putin, is attending the Glasgow climate summit in person with President Joe Biden and many other world leaders that opened Sunday. And even more important, The Washington Post reported last week that some in the Chinese leadership want to resist any substantial cooperation with America on climate issues until the United States dials down its pressure on China “over human rights, Hong Kong, Taiwan, trade and a range of other issues.”

We’ve never seen this tactic before from Beijing: We’ll clean our air, but only if you let us buzz Taiwan’s airspace and choke off the air of freedom in Hong Kong.

A senior U.S. official told me that there is actually a lot of division in Beijing right now on the wisdom of this sort of wolf-warrior diplomatic strategy on climate, which is being pushed by Foreign Minister Wang Yi. There are definitely other Chinese leaders who want to collaborate with Washington and understand that on climate, we sink or swim together. Still, even a hint of this sort of planet-Earth-hostage-taking strategy by some senior Chinese officials is very troubling and needs to be called out.

“The window for humanity to avoid unmanageable climate change is narrowing,” Litwak noted in his Wilson Center essay. “China, the United States and Russia are, respectively, the first, second and fourth largest carbon emitters. Yet at the precise historical juncture when unprecedented global cooperation is necessary to forestall catastrophe, the world is on the brink of unconstrained geostrategic competition. Indeed, U.S. relations with Russia and China are the worst they have been since the end of the Cold War.”

There is never a good time for a great-power conflict. And we’ve already seen how deadly the lack of global cooperation in the face of Mother Nature’s COVID-19 stressor has been. But this is even more dangerous. A shootout between the United States and China over Taiwan or between NATO and Russia over Ukraine — just as human-made climate change is putting a gun to all of our heads — would be insane. But it’s a real possibility.

What we need instead of an arms race or a space race is an Earth race — a great-power competition over which country is rising fastest and farthest to enable a world of net-zero carbon emissions so men and women can thrive here on Earth. I’d love to see Biden do a real throw down to Xi and Putin in his speech in Glasgow for that race.

Biden could say: “I know that climate change is a global problem and that if we clean our air and you don’t clean yours, there is no way to solve it. But we’re not going to use that as an excuse, or let our oil and coal industries use that as an excuse, to do nothing until you do. Because there are 7.9 billion people on the planet today and by 2030, there will be 600 million more — 600 million more!&nbsp;That means that, climate change or no climate change, just having that many more people to feed, house and transport will guarantee that clean power, clean water and energy-efficient buildings and cars will be the next great global industry. Otherwise, we’ll all choke on pollution. So if you all want to keep burning coal and give our clean industries a five-year head start in the next great global industry, make my day. Myself, I am going to declare America’s intention to win the Earth race, to make America the first country to invent and deploy the most clean-power technologies and drive them down the cost curve so that everyone on the planet can afford them.’’

Challenging China and Russia over who can produce the most tools for global resilience, not just resistance, is a way for America to reclaim some moral leadership on the world stage and focus our economy, and our competitors, on the most important industries of the future. Unless we humans want to be a bad biological experiment, a zero-carbon grid, zero-emissions transportation, zero-carbon/zero-net-energy buildings and zero-waste manufacturing indeed will — and must — be the next great global industry.

And by the way, while Russia is currently not a player in that competition, I would not bet against China.

Hal Harvey, who runs the climate analytics firm Energy Innovation and helps to advise governments on clean energy transitions, notes that the United States has set out a very clear goal of when it wants to get to a net-zero carbon-emitting economy — 2050 — and Biden is now trying to fill in the details with specific plans. Alas, without a single vote of support from Republicans.

China, by contrast, Harvey added, is building incredibly detailed plans on how to decarbonize, which Beijing could scale up very quickly — but it has been less detailed in setting hard dates for fulfillment.

Since Xi right now is focused on keeping the Chinese economy growing while he tries to lock in his third term as president, he is not going to do anything to curb growth in China in ways that could sap his popularity. So China will keep burning a lot of coal for a while. But don’t be fooled: Beijing is also building huge amounts of solar, wind, hydro and nuclear power. It’s game on.

As long as both countries keep focused on the Earth race, it almost doesn’t matter which one wins, because together they will drive down the costs of clean power for everyone. If they slow down or get diverted, though, we may wish for some space aliens to take us to their planet.

In a recent essay on great-power competition and climate change, Rob Litwak, an arms control expert at the Wilson Center, recalled a question that President Ronald Reagan posed to Mikhail Gorbachev, the Soviet leader, after they took a walk during their 1985 Lake Geneva summit.

In a recent essay on great-power competition and climate change, Rob Litwak, an arms control expert at the Wilson Center, recalled a question that President Ronald Reagan posed to Mikhail Gorbachev, the Soviet leader, after they took a walk during their 1985 Lake Geneva summit. As Gorbachev put it later: “President Reagan suddenly said to me, ‘What would you do if the United States were suddenly attacked by someone from outer space? Would you help us?’ ” “I said, ‘No doubt about it.’ ” “He said, ‘We too.’ ” “So that’s interesting,” Gorbachev concluded. It sure is, because it’s not at all clear, given the recent upsurge in raw great-power competition, that Russia, China or America would help one another in the face of an invasion of space aliens threatening us all. Litwak’s point in retelling that story, of course, is that today we are facing a similar, world-stressing threat — not from space aliens but from a much more familiar and once seemingly benign force: our climate. Global warming is challenging every nation with more extreme weather, wildfires and sea level rise and once-in-a-century storms coming much more frequently. Unlike with a space alien, though, there’s zero possibility of negotiating with Mother Nature. She does only whatever chemistry, biology and physics dictate, and she has no clue or interest in where the borders of Russia, America or China stop and start. She’s got the whole wide world in her hands — as she demonstrated with the COVID-19 pandemic. Yet neither China’s president, Xi Jinping, nor Russia’s president, Vladimir Putin, is attending the Glasgow climate summit in person with President Joe Biden and many other world leaders that opened Sunday. And even more important, The Washington Post reported last week that some in the Chinese leadership want to resist any substantial cooperation with America on climate issues until the United States dials down its pressure on China “over human rights, Hong Kong, Taiwan, trade and a range of other issues.” We’ve never seen this tactic before from Beijing: We’ll clean our air, but only if you let us buzz Taiwan’s airspace and choke off the air of freedom in Hong Kong. A senior U.S. official told me that there is actually a lot of division in Beijing right now on the wisdom of this sort of wolf-warrior diplomatic strategy on climate, which is being pushed by Foreign Minister Wang Yi. There are definitely other Chinese leaders who want to collaborate with Washington and understand that on climate, we sink or swim together. Still, even a hint of this sort of planet-Earth-hostage-taking strategy by some senior Chinese officials is very troubling and needs to be called out. “The window for humanity to avoid unmanageable climate change is narrowing,” Litwak noted in his Wilson Center essay. “China, the United States and Russia are, respectively, the first, second and fourth largest carbon emitters. Yet at the precise historical juncture when unprecedented global cooperation is necessary to forestall catastrophe, the world is on the brink of unconstrained geostrategic competition. Indeed, U.S. relations with Russia and China are the worst they have been since the end of the Cold War.” There is never a good time for a great-power conflict. And we’ve already seen how deadly the lack of global cooperation in the face of Mother Nature’s COVID-19 stressor has been. But this is even more dangerous. A shootout between the United States and China over Taiwan or between NATO and Russia over Ukraine — just as human-made climate change is putting a gun to all of our heads — would be insane. But it’s a real possibility. What we need instead of an arms race or a space race is an Earth race — a great-power competition over which country is rising fastest and farthest to enable a world of net-zero carbon emissions so men and women can thrive here on Earth. I’d love to see Biden do a real throw down to Xi and Putin in his speech in Glasgow for that race. Biden could say: “I know that climate change is a global problem and that if we clean our air and you don’t clean yours, there is no way to solve it. But we’re not going to use that as an excuse, or let our oil and coal industries use that as an excuse, to do nothing until you do. Because there are 7.9 billion people on the planet today and by 2030, there will be 600 million more — 600 million more! That means that, climate change or no climate change, just having that many more people to feed, house and transport will guarantee that clean power, clean water and energy-efficient buildings and cars will be the next great global industry. Otherwise, we’ll all choke on pollution. So if you all want to keep burning coal and give our clean industries a five-year head start in the next great global industry, make my day. Myself, I am going to declare America’s intention to win the Earth race, to make America the first country to invent and deploy the most clean-power technologies and drive them down the cost curve so that everyone on the planet can afford them.’’ Challenging China and Russia over who can produce the most tools for global resilience, not just resistance, is a way for America to reclaim some moral leadership on the world stage and focus our economy, and our competitors, on the most important industries of the future. Unless we humans want to be a bad biological experiment, a zero-carbon grid, zero-emissions transportation, zero-carbon/zero-net-energy buildings and zero-waste manufacturing indeed will — and must — be the next great global industry. And by the way, while Russia is currently not a player in that competition, I would not bet against China. Hal Harvey, who runs the climate analytics firm Energy Innovation and helps to advise governments on clean energy transitions, notes that the United States has set out a very clear goal of when it wants to get to a net-zero carbon-emitting economy — 2050 — and Biden is now trying to fill in the details with specific plans. Alas, without a single vote of support from Republicans. China, by contrast, Harvey added, is building incredibly detailed plans on how to decarbonize, which Beijing could scale up very quickly — but it has been less detailed in setting hard dates for fulfillment. Since Xi right now is focused on keeping the Chinese economy growing while he tries to lock in his third term as president, he is not going to do anything to curb growth in China in ways that could sap his popularity. So China will keep burning a lot of coal for a while. But don’t be fooled: Beijing is also building huge amounts of solar, wind, hydro and nuclear power. It’s game on. As long as both countries keep focused on the Earth race, it almost doesn’t matter which one wins, because together they will drive down the costs of clean power for everyone. If they slow down or get diverted, though, we may wish for some space aliens to take us to their planet.

Opinion: Would Russia or China help us if we were invaded by space aliens?

According to reports, the FBI and other key law enforcement agencies failed to act on a host of tips and other information ahead of January 6 that signaled a potentially violent event might unfold that day at the US Capitol.

Reports: FBI did not pay heed to mounting warnings of Jan 6 Capitol Riots

US&nbsp;President Joe Biden will warn Turkish President Tayyip Erdogan during a meeting on Sunday that any precipitous actions would not benefit US-Turkish relations and that crises should be avoided, a US&nbsp;official said on Saturday.

Erdogan earlier this month ordered 10 envoys, including the US&nbsp;ambassador, to be declared "persona non grata" for seeking the release of jailed philanthropist Osman Kavala, though he later withdrew the threat to expel them.

"Certainly the president will indicate that we need to find a way to avoid crises like that one going forward and precipitous action is not going to benefit the US-Turkey partnership and alliance," the US&nbsp;official told reporters.

Also Read |&nbsp;<a href="https://www.wionews.com/world/fatf-puts-turkey-on-grey-list-pakistan-to-remain-on-grey-list-422766">FATF puts Turkey on 'grey list'; Pakistan to remain on 'grey list'</a>

The official said a meeting between the two leaders may not have happened if Erdogan had expelled the US&nbsp;ambassador. But the issue had been resolved, for the moment at least, he said.

Biden, who is in Rome for the G20 summit, will also discuss Turkey's request to purchase F-16 fighter jets, its defence relationship with the United States and a range of regional issues such as Syria and Libya.

US&nbsp;lawmakers have urged the Biden administration not to sell F-16s to Turkey and threatened to block any such exports on the grounds that Turkey had purchased Russian missile defence systems and "behaved like an adversary".

Reuters reported earlier this month that Turkey had made a request to the United States to buy 40 Lockheed Martin-made F-16s and nearly 80 modernization kits for its existing warplanes.

The alliance between the United States and Turkey, both members of NATO, has come under strain in recent years over policy differences on Syria, Turkey's Russian S-400 missile defence purchase, and human rights.

US President Joe Biden will warn Turkish President Tayyip Erdogan during a meeting on Sunday that any precipitous actions would not benefit US-Turkish relations and that crises should be avoided, a US official said on Saturday.

US President Joe Biden will warn Turkish President Tayyip Erdogan during a meeting on Sunday that any precipitous actions would not benefit US-Turkish relations and that crises should be avoided, a US official said on Saturday. Erdogan earlier this month ordered 10 envoys, including the US ambassador, to be declared "persona non grata" for seeking the release of jailed philanthropist Osman Kavala, though he later withdrew the threat to expel them. "Certainly the president will indicate that we need to find a way to avoid crises like that one going forward and precipitous action is not going to benefit the US-Turkey partnership and alliance," the US official told reporters. Also Read | FATF puts Turkey on 'grey list'; Pakistan to remain on 'grey list' The official said a meeting between the two leaders may not have happened if Erdogan had expelled the US ambassador. But the issue had been resolved, for the moment at least, he said. Biden, who is in Rome for the G20 summit, will also discuss Turkey's request to purchase F-16 fighter jets, its defence relationship with the United States and a range of regional issues such as Syria and Libya. US lawmakers have urged the Biden administration not to sell F-16s to Turkey and threatened to block any such exports on the grounds that Turkey had purchased Russian missile defence systems and "behaved like an adversary". Reuters reported earlier this month that Turkey had made a request to the United States to buy 40 Lockheed Martin-made F-16s and nearly 80 modernization kits for its existing warplanes. The alliance between the United States and Turkey, both members of NATO, has come under strain in recent years over policy differences on Syria, Turkey's Russian S-400 missile defence purchase, and human rights.

Biden to talk to Turkey's Erdogan over threat to expel western nations' envoys

Lightning doesn’t strike twice! Is a famous proverb that is often attributed to a person’s luck.

However, this could not be more wrong for a Maryland resident, who won $2 million from a lottery, after winning the first one several years ago.

The 65-year-old unidentified man&nbsp;from Salisbury, US, bought two ‘$2,000,000 Richer’ scratch-off tickets from a local gas station while running errands, according to the Maryland Lottery and Gaming Control Agency.

On the first ticket, he won $100. But the second ticket hit big, revealing the $2 million jackpot.

The retired utility worker won the prize during the COVID-19 pandemic, but hid his ticket in a safe at home and waited until days before the last date to claim his prize,&nbsp;Maryland Lottery&nbsp;officials said in a statement Wednesday.

Also read |&nbsp;<a href="https://www.wionews.com/world/american-man-collects-250000-lottery-jackpot-his-sixth-big-win-360653">American man collects $250,000 lottery jackpot, his sixth big win&nbsp;</a>

“I was just a bit nervous,” he told Maryland Lottery officials.

“I worried that I could have a fire (at home) that would burn it up, that the ticket's expiration date might come up and even had just a bit of doubt that it was really real,” he said.

Also read |&nbsp;<a href="https://www.wionews.com/world/luck-goes-down-the-drain-literally-winning-lottery-ticket-worth-130000-washed-in-laundry-385031">Luck goes down the drain, literally: Winning lottery ticket worth $130,000 'washed in laundry'</a>

But, the 65-year-old man acknowledges how lucky he was, and asked others to only “play for enjoyment.”

“Be realistic and make sure that when you play that you aren't just playing for the big jackpot. Play for enjoyment and as long as you enjoy what you are doing, win or lose, you've already won," he said.

The game ‘$2,000,000 Richer’ was launched February 25, 2019 and ends November 1, 2021. It offers players a chance to win prizes from $30 to $50,000 and six top prizes of $2 million.

(With inputs from agencies)

Lightning doesn’t strike twice! Is a famous proverb that is often attributed to a person’s luck. However, this could not be more wrong for a Maryland resident, who won $2 million from a lottery, after winning the first one several years ago.

Lightning doesn’t strike twice! Is a famous proverb that is often attributed to a person’s luck. However, this could not be more wrong for a Maryland resident, who won $2 million from a lottery, after winning the first one several years ago. The 65-year-old unidentified man from Salisbury, US, bought two ‘$2,000,000 Richer’ scratch-off tickets from a local gas station while running errands, according to the Maryland Lottery and Gaming Control Agency. On the first ticket, he won $100. But the second ticket hit big, revealing the $2 million jackpot. The retired utility worker won the prize during the COVID-19 pandemic, but hid his ticket in a safe at home and waited until days before the last date to claim his prize, Maryland Lottery officials said in a statement Wednesday. Also read | American man collects $250,000 lottery jackpot, his sixth big win “I was just a bit nervous,” he told Maryland Lottery officials. “I worried that I could have a fire (at home) that would burn it up, that the ticket's expiration date might come up and even had just a bit of doubt that it was really real,” he said. Also read | Luck goes down the drain, literally: Winning lottery ticket worth $130,000 'washed in laundry' But, the 65-year-old man acknowledges how lucky he was, and asked others to only “play for enjoyment.” “Be realistic and make sure that when you play that you aren't just playing for the big jackpot. Play for enjoyment and as long as you enjoy what you are doing, win or lose, you've already won," he said. The game ‘$2,000,000 Richer’ was launched February 25, 2019 and ends November 1, 2021. It offers players a chance to win prizes from $30 to $50,000 and six top prizes of $2 million. (With inputs from agencies)

Lucky strike: US man wins $2 million from a lottery ticket—for second time

The Taliban has warned the United States that a failure to recognise their government in Afghanistan and continued freezing of Afghan funds abroad would create problems not only in the restive region, but also for the world.

Ever since the Taliban militants took over Afghanistan in August, no country has formally recognised the Taliban government. China and Pakistan are the only two countries who have been engaging with the militants, while Islamabad has called on the world governments to establish formal relations with the insurgents.

Also Read |<a href="https://www.wionews.com/south-asia/just-give-us-our-money-taliban-push-to-unlock-afghan-billions-abroad-425118">&nbsp;'Just give us our money': Taliban push to unlock Afghan billions abroad</a>

Also, as billions of dollars in Afghan assets and funds abroad have also been frozen, the country has been facing severe economic and humanitarian crises.

“Our message to America is, if unrecognition continues, Afghan problems continue, it is the problem of the region and could turn into a problem for the world,” Taliban spokesman Zabihullah Mujahid told journalists at a news conference on Saturday.&nbsp;

He said the reason the Taliban and the United States went to war last time was also because the two did not have formal diplomatic ties.&nbsp;

Responding to WION's&nbsp;question on recent reports about US planning to use Pakistan's airspace to carry out strikes against Islamic State militants in Afghanistan,&nbsp; Zabihullah said, "It is not true that the United States is bombing Afghanistan through Pakistan. We will not allow US to use Afghan airspace to carry out any strikes."&nbsp;

He also said that the Taliban government has conveyed to the United States to reopen its embassy in Afghanistan, adding, "We want diplomatic relations with all countries to be revived, including in the United States, so that we can maintain legitimate and good relations."

The United States invaded Afghanistan in 2001 following the September 11, 2001, attack after the then-Taliban government refused to hand over chief of terrorist group al-Qaeda Osama bin Laden.

Also Read |&nbsp;<a href="https://www.wionews.com/south-asia/talibans-leader-sheikh-haibatullah-akhundzada-makes-first-ever-public-appearance-in-kandahar-425362">Taliban's leader Sheikh Haibatullah Akhundzada makes first-ever public appearance in Kandahar</a>

“Those issues which caused the war, they could have been solved through negotiation, they could have been solved through political compromise too,” Mujahid said.&nbsp;

He added that recognition was the right of the Afghan people.&nbsp;

While no country has recognised the Taliban government, senior officials from a number of countries have met with the movement's leadership both in Kabul and abroad.&nbsp;

The latest visit was by Turkmen Foreign Minister Rasit Meredow, who was in Kabul on Saturday.

China's foreign minister, Wang Yi, met Taliban officials in Qatar earlier this week, while Pakistan’s Foreign Minister Shah Mahmood Qureshi landed in Kabul to meet Taliban leaders on October 20.

(With inputs from agencies)

The Taliban has warned the United States that a failure to recognise their government in Afghanistan and continued freezing of Afghan funds abroad would create problems not only in the restive region, but also for the world.

The Taliban has warned the United States that a failure to recognise their government in Afghanistan and continued freezing of Afghan funds abroad would create problems not only in the restive region, but also for the world. Ever since the Taliban militants took over Afghanistan in August, no country has formally recognised the Taliban government. China and Pakistan are the only two countries who have been engaging with the militants, while Islamabad has called on the world governments to establish formal relations with the insurgents. Also Read | 'Just give us our money': Taliban push to unlock Afghan billions abroad Also, as billions of dollars in Afghan assets and funds abroad have also been frozen, the country has been facing severe economic and humanitarian crises. “Our message to America is, if unrecognition continues, Afghan problems continue, it is the problem of the region and could turn into a problem for the world,” Taliban spokesman Zabihullah Mujahid told journalists at a news conference on Saturday. He said the reason the Taliban and the United States went to war last time was also because the two did not have formal diplomatic ties. Responding to WION's question on recent reports about US planning to use Pakistan's airspace to carry out strikes against Islamic State militants in Afghanistan, Zabihullah said, "It is not true that the United States is bombing Afghanistan through Pakistan. We will not allow US to use Afghan airspace to carry out any strikes." He also said that the Taliban government has conveyed to the United States to reopen its embassy in Afghanistan, adding, "We want diplomatic relations with all countries to be revived, including in the United States, so that we can maintain legitimate and good relations." The United States invaded Afghanistan in 2001 following the September 11, 2001, attack after the then-Taliban government refused to hand over chief of terrorist group al-Qaeda Osama bin Laden. Also Read | Taliban's leader Sheikh Haibatullah Akhundzada makes first-ever public appearance in Kandahar “Those issues which caused the war, they could have been solved through negotiation, they could have been solved through political compromise too,” Mujahid said. He added that recognition was the right of the Afghan people. While no country has recognised the Taliban government, senior officials from a number of countries have met with the movement's leadership both in Kabul and abroad. The latest visit was by Turkmen Foreign Minister Rasit Meredow, who was in Kabul on Saturday. China's foreign minister, Wang Yi, met Taliban officials in Qatar earlier this week, while Pakistan’s Foreign Minister Shah Mahmood Qureshi landed in Kabul to meet Taliban leaders on October 20. (With inputs from agencies)

Failure to recognise government can create problems for the world, Taliban warn US

The United States and European Union have agreed to end a festering dispute over US&nbsp;steel and aluminum tariffs imposed by former President Donald Trump in 2018, removing an irritant in transatlantic relations and averting a spike in EU retaliatory tariffs, US&nbsp;officials said on Saturday.

Commerce Secretary Gina Raimondo told reporters that the deal will maintain US&nbsp;"Section 232" tariffs of 25 per cent&nbsp;on steel and 10 per cent&nbsp;aluminum, while allowing "limited volumes" of EU-produced metals into the United States duty free.

Also Read |&nbsp;<a href="https://www.wionews.com/world/aukus-deal-joe-biden-tells-emmanuel-macron-that-us-was-clumsy-425127">AUKUS deal: Joe Biden tells Emmanuel Macron that US was 'clumsy'</a>

It eliminates a source of friction between the allies and lets them focus on negotiating a new global trade agreement to address worldwide excess steel and aluminum capacity mainly centered in China and reduce carbon emissions from the industries.

EU trade chief Valdis Dombrovskis confirmed the deal, writing on Twitter&nbsp; that "we have agreed with US&nbsp;to pause" the trade dispute and launch cooperation on a future global arrangement on sustainable steel and aluminum. Dombrovskis said the deal will be formally announced by Biden and European Commission President Ursula von der Leyen on Sunday.

US&nbsp;officials did not specify the volume of duty-free steel to be allowed into the United States under a tariff-rate quota system agreed upon with the EU. Sources familiar with the deal, speaking on condition of anonymity, have said annual volumes above 3.3 million tons would be subject to tariffs.

The deal grants an additional two years of duty-free access above the quota for EU steel products that won Commerce Department exclusions in the past year, US&nbsp;officials said.

The agreement requires EU steel and aluminum to be entirely produced in the bloc - a standard known as "melted and poured" - to qualify for duty-free status. The provision is aimed at preventing metals from

China and non-EU countries from being minimally processed in Europe before export to the United States. 
Europe exported&nbsp;around 5 million tons of steel annually to the United States prior to Trump's imposition of the tariffs on national security grounds.

"The agreement ultimately to negotiate a carbon-based arrangement on steel and aluminum trade addresses both Chinese overproduction and carbon intensity in the steel and aluminum sector," White House National Security Adviser Jake Sullivan told reporters, adding that the climate and workers can be protected at the same time.

US&nbsp;steel production, which relies heavily on electric-arc furnaces, is regarded as having far lower carbon emissions than the coal-fueled blast furnaces prevalent in China.

Biden has sought to mend fences with European allies following Trump's presidency to more broadly confront China's state-driven economic practices that led to Beijing building massive excess steelmaking capacity that has flooded global markets.

Also Read |&nbsp;<a href="https://www.wionews.com/world/pressure-of-blackmail-eu-court-imposes-massive-fine-of-over-1-million-per-day-on-poland-424592">'Pressure of blackmail': EU court imposes massive fine of over $1 million per day on Poland</a>

The deal will eliminate Europe's retaliatory tariffs against US&nbsp;products including bourbon whiskey, Harley-Davidson motorcycles and motor boats that were set to double on December&nbsp;1, US&nbsp;officials said.

"The end of this long tariff nightmare is in sight for US&nbsp;distillers, who have struggled with the weight of the tariffs and the pandemic," Distilled Spirits Council President Chris Swonger said, also urging Britain to lift its tariff on American whiskeys.

Record Steel Prices

Raimondo said the deal will reduce costs for steel-consuming US&nbsp;manufacturers. Steel prices have more than tripled in the past year to records topping $1,900 a ton as the industry has struggled to keep up with a demand surge after COVID-19 pandemic-related shutdowns, contributing to inflation.

US&nbsp;primary aluminum producers, which had dwindled to two companies by the time Trump imposed the tariffs, will be able to maintain their investments in reviving domestic capacity because the quotas are set at very low levels, well below pre-tariff volumes, said Mark Duffy, CEO of the American Primary Aluminum Association industry group.

American Iron and Steel Institute President Kevin Dempsey said the quota arrangement will help "prevent another steel import surge that would undermine our industry and destroy good-paying American jobs."

"We urge the US&nbsp;and EU to take active steps to hold China and other countries that employ trade-distorting policies to account," Dempsey added. "We also believe US-EU cooperation should focus on new trade approaches to address climate change, including through development of effective carbon border adjustment measures."

Due to its exit from the EU, Britain's steel exports remain subject to the tariffs, as are those of other US&nbsp;allies including Japan. The US&nbsp;Chamber of Commerce, which opposed the metals tariffs from the start, said the duties and quotas should be dropped from "close allies."

The United States and European Union have agreed to end a festering dispute over US steel and aluminum tariffs imposed by former President Donald Trump in 2018, removing an irritant in transatlantic relations and averting a spike in EU retaliatory tariffs, US officials said on Saturday.

The United States and European Union have agreed to end a festering dispute over US steel and aluminum tariffs imposed by former President Donald Trump in 2018, removing an irritant in transatlantic relations and averting a spike in EU retaliatory tariffs, US officials said on Saturday. Commerce Secretary Gina Raimondo told reporters that the deal will maintain US "Section 232" tariffs of 25 per cent on steel and 10 per cent aluminum, while allowing "limited volumes" of EU-produced metals into the United States duty free. Also Read | AUKUS deal: Joe Biden tells Emmanuel Macron that US was 'clumsy' It eliminates a source of friction between the allies and lets them focus on negotiating a new global trade agreement to address worldwide excess steel and aluminum capacity mainly centered in China and reduce carbon emissions from the industries. EU trade chief Valdis Dombrovskis confirmed the deal, writing on Twitter that "we have agreed with US to pause" the trade dispute and launch cooperation on a future global arrangement on sustainable steel and aluminum. Dombrovskis said the deal will be formally announced by Biden and European Commission President Ursula von der Leyen on Sunday. US officials did not specify the volume of duty-free steel to be allowed into the United States under a tariff-rate quota system agreed upon with the EU. Sources familiar with the deal, speaking on condition of anonymity, have said annual volumes above 3.3 million tons would be subject to tariffs. The deal grants an additional two years of duty-free access above the quota for EU steel products that won Commerce Department exclusions in the past year, US officials said. The agreement requires EU steel and aluminum to be entirely produced in the bloc - a standard known as "melted and poured" - to qualify for duty-free status. The provision is aimed at preventing metals from China and non-EU countries from being minimally processed in Europe before export to the United States. Europe exported around 5 million tons of steel annually to the United States prior to Trump's imposition of the tariffs on national security grounds. "The agreement ultimately to negotiate a carbon-based arrangement on steel and aluminum trade addresses both Chinese overproduction and carbon intensity in the steel and aluminum sector," White House National Security Adviser Jake Sullivan told reporters, adding that the climate and workers can be protected at the same time. US steel production, which relies heavily on electric-arc furnaces, is regarded as having far lower carbon emissions than the coal-fueled blast furnaces prevalent in China. Biden has sought to mend fences with European allies following Trump's presidency to more broadly confront China's state-driven economic practices that led to Beijing building massive excess steelmaking capacity that has flooded global markets. Also Read | 'Pressure of blackmail': EU court imposes massive fine of over $1 million per day on Poland The deal will eliminate Europe's retaliatory tariffs against US products including bourbon whiskey, Harley-Davidson motorcycles and motor boats that were set to double on December 1, US officials said. "The end of this long tariff nightmare is in sight for US distillers, who have struggled with the weight of the tariffs and the pandemic," Distilled Spirits Council President Chris Swonger said, also urging Britain to lift its tariff on American whiskeys. Record Steel Prices Raimondo said the deal will reduce costs for steel-consuming US manufacturers. Steel prices have more than tripled in the past year to records topping $1,900 a ton as the industry has struggled to keep up with a demand surge after COVID-19 pandemic-related shutdowns, contributing to inflation. US primary aluminum producers, which had dwindled to two companies by the time Trump imposed the tariffs, will be able to maintain their investments in reviving domestic capacity because the quotas are set at very low levels, well below pre-tariff volumes, said Mark Duffy, CEO of the American Primary Aluminum Association industry group. American Iron and Steel Institute President Kevin Dempsey said the quota arrangement will help "prevent another steel import surge that would undermine our industry and destroy good-paying American jobs." "We urge the US and EU to take active steps to hold China and other countries that employ trade-distorting policies to account," Dempsey added. "We also believe US-EU cooperation should focus on new trade approaches to address climate change, including through development of effective carbon border adjustment measures." Due to its exit from the EU, Britain's steel exports remain subject to the tariffs, as are those of other US allies including Japan. The US Chamber of Commerce, which opposed the metals tariffs from the start, said the duties and quotas should be dropped from "close allies."

US, EU end Trump-era tariff war over steel and aluminum

US President Joe Biden spoke at the G20 summit in Rome on the concluding day. He talked of supply chain woes at the summit. He said that to build better resilience for the future, nations should work together.

US President Joe Biden speaks at the G20 summit in Rome

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