Boosting pressure on Tehran ahead of the reopening of negotiations on the country's nuclear program the US Treasury has hit Iran's drone program with sanctions.

US Treasury hits Iran's drone program with sanctions

The US&nbsp;Treasury's top climate adviser said that renewed US&nbsp;engagement on climate change under President Joe Biden has helped put the issue at the top of the Group of 20 agenda and is galvanizing fresh commitments to reduce emissions to net zero.

Climate change will feature prominently in this weekend's G20 summit in Rome, said John Morton, a former private equity adviser and Treasury's first climate counselor. He also forecast a spate of new commitments from countries and the private sector ahead of the COP26 UN&nbsp;climate conference that starts on Monday in Glasgow.

Also Read |&nbsp;<a href="https://www.wionews.com/world/g20-summit-kicks-off-in-rome-with-focus-on-climate-covid-and-economy-425330">G20 Summit kicks off in Rome with focus on climate, COVID and economy</a>

"That's an indication of the seriousness with which the global community is now taking climate change," he told Reuters in an interview on Friday. "And obviously, this administration has come back in guns blazing on the issue in really important ways."

At their weekend meeting, leaders of the Group of 20 richest nations will commit to step up their efforts to limit global warming at 1.5 degrees Celsius, according to a draft statement seen by Reuters.

Morton, who coordinates climate-focused work across Treasury divisions, said he hoped Biden's $1.75 trillion spending plan, with $555 billion in clean energy tax credits and other climate-related measures, would be finalized in coming days.

"It would be an absolutely historic investment into climate change, by far the biggest in American history, and it would supercharge the efforts around the transition," he said.

That spending comes on top of separate measures included in a separate $1 trillion infrastructure bill, but several of the administration's original proposals were killed in congressional negotiations.

Biden's framework includes a slew of clean energy tax credit, investments aimed at helping the United States adapt to the worst impacts of climate change, and funding for incentives intended to spur new domestic supply chains and technology.

Morton said cutting emissions and transitioning to a net-zero economy was an "economic imperative" required to ensure continued US&nbsp;competitiveness, especially given massive investments being made by other countries like China.

Also Read |&nbsp;<a href="https://www.wionews.com/world/humanitarian-crisis-in-focus-as-italy-hosts-g20-afghan-summit-420064">Humanitarian crisis in focus as Italy hosts G20 Afghan summit</a>

"The benefit of this legislation is that it puts in place the incentives and the building blocks to actually begin addressing that issue," he said, referring to tax credits and incentives in the spending bill that are aimed at advancing technologies such as solar, wind and batteries.

"Shame on us if we don't take advantage of those economic opportunities at home and create the jobs that we know will be the jobs of the next decades," he said.

Washington is also working with international partners to invest in accelerating efforts to transition away from coal, Morton said.

The US Treasury's top climate adviser said that renewed US engagement on climate change under President Joe Biden has helped put the issue at the top of the Group of 20 agenda and is galvanizing fresh commitments to reduce emissions to net zero.

The US Treasury's top climate adviser said that renewed US engagement on climate change under President Joe Biden has helped put the issue at the top of the Group of 20 agenda and is galvanizing fresh commitments to reduce emissions to net zero. Climate change will feature prominently in this weekend's G20 summit in Rome, said John Morton, a former private equity adviser and Treasury's first climate counselor. He also forecast a spate of new commitments from countries and the private sector ahead of the COP26 UN climate conference that starts on Monday in Glasgow. Also Read | G20 Summit kicks off in Rome with focus on climate, COVID and economy "That's an indication of the seriousness with which the global community is now taking climate change," he told Reuters in an interview on Friday. "And obviously, this administration has come back in guns blazing on the issue in really important ways." At their weekend meeting, leaders of the Group of 20 richest nations will commit to step up their efforts to limit global warming at 1.5 degrees Celsius, according to a draft statement seen by Reuters. Morton, who coordinates climate-focused work across Treasury divisions, said he hoped Biden's $1.75 trillion spending plan, with $555 billion in clean energy tax credits and other climate-related measures, would be finalized in coming days. "It would be an absolutely historic investment into climate change, by far the biggest in American history, and it would supercharge the efforts around the transition," he said. That spending comes on top of separate measures included in a separate $1 trillion infrastructure bill, but several of the administration's original proposals were killed in congressional negotiations. Biden's framework includes a slew of clean energy tax credit, investments aimed at helping the United States adapt to the worst impacts of climate change, and funding for incentives intended to spur new domestic supply chains and technology. Morton said cutting emissions and transitioning to a net-zero economy was an "economic imperative" required to ensure continued US competitiveness, especially given massive investments being made by other countries like China. Also Read | Humanitarian crisis in focus as Italy hosts G20 Afghan summit "The benefit of this legislation is that it puts in place the incentives and the building blocks to actually begin addressing that issue," he said, referring to tax credits and incentives in the spending bill that are aimed at advancing technologies such as solar, wind and batteries. "Shame on us if we don't take advantage of those economic opportunities at home and create the jobs that we know will be the jobs of the next decades," he said. Washington is also working with international partners to invest in accelerating efforts to transition away from coal, Morton said.

US back with 'guns blazing' on climate issue: US Treasury adviser

The Oklahoma state in the US is being sharply criticised after a few witnesses revealed that a convicted murderer vomited and experienced convulsions as he was executed by lethal injection.&nbsp;

John Grant, 60, who is Black, was sentenced to death after he murdered a white prison cafeteria worker, Gay Carter in 1998. He was the first inmate to be put to death in Oklahoma after a series of mishandled executions led to a temporary prohibition on capital punishment.&nbsp;

Various journalists who witnessed the execution said that Grant had vomited and experienced full-body convulsions about two dozen times before he was declared dead. It took a period of 15 minutes for Grant to be declared unconscious by medical staff. After this, the vecuronium bromide, which paralyses the body, and potassium chloride, which stops the heart, were given.

This comes after a federal appeals court had put a hold on Grant's execution over concerns about the drug cocktail which was used.&nbsp;

However, the Supreme Court lifted the last-minute stay and allowed the execution to go ahead.

Grant's attorneys had argued that the use of sedative midazolam would lead to cruel and unusual punishment and also violate his constitutional rights.

<a href="https://www.wionews.com/world/to-halt-illegal-action-us-states-sue-biden-administration-over-vaccine-mandate-425272">Also read |&nbsp;'To halt illegal action': US states sue Biden administration over vaccine mandate</a>

The Oklahoma attorney general's office asked the Supreme Court to vacate the stay and it was done hours ahead of Grant's scheduled execution, with just the three liberal justices objecting.&nbsp;

The Oklahoma Department of Corrections said that Grant's execution went as planned. "Inmate Grant's execution was carried out in accordance with Oklahoma Department of Corrections' protocols and without complication," communications director Justin Wolf said in a statement.

Earlier, Midazolam was identified as a potential factor in a series of mishandled executions in Oklahoma. A lawsuit challenging Oklahoma's lethal injection protocols will go to trial in February 2022. Also, the 10th Circuit Court of Appeals had put executions on hold in the state pending a ruling in the case.

"There should be no more executions in Oklahoma until we go to trial in February to address the state's problematic lethal injection protocol," said Dale Baich, an attorney for Grant and other death row inmates.

The Oklahoma state in the US is being sharply criticised after a few witnesses revealed that a convicted murderer vomited and experienced convulsions as he was executed by lethal injection.

The Oklahoma state in the US is being sharply criticised after a few witnesses revealed that a convicted murderer vomited and experienced convulsions as he was executed by lethal injection. John Grant, 60, who is Black, was sentenced to death after he murdered a white prison cafeteria worker, Gay Carter in 1998. He was the first inmate to be put to death in Oklahoma after a series of mishandled executions led to a temporary prohibition on capital punishment. Various journalists who witnessed the execution said that Grant had vomited and experienced full-body convulsions about two dozen times before he was declared dead. It took a period of 15 minutes for Grant to be declared unconscious by medical staff. After this, the vecuronium bromide, which paralyses the body, and potassium chloride, which stops the heart, were given. This comes after a federal appeals court had put a hold on Grant's execution over concerns about the drug cocktail which was used. However, the Supreme Court lifted the last-minute stay and allowed the execution to go ahead. Grant's attorneys had argued that the use of sedative midazolam would lead to cruel and unusual punishment and also violate his constitutional rights. Also read | 'To halt illegal action': US states sue Biden administration over vaccine mandate The Oklahoma attorney general's office asked the Supreme Court to vacate the stay and it was done hours ahead of Grant's scheduled execution, with just the three liberal justices objecting. The Oklahoma Department of Corrections said that Grant's execution went as planned. "Inmate Grant's execution was carried out in accordance with Oklahoma Department of Corrections' protocols and without complication," communications director Justin Wolf said in a statement. Earlier, Midazolam was identified as a potential factor in a series of mishandled executions in Oklahoma. A lawsuit challenging Oklahoma's lethal injection protocols will go to trial in February 2022. Also, the 10th Circuit Court of Appeals had put executions on hold in the state pending a ruling in the case. "There should be no more executions in Oklahoma until we go to trial in February to address the state's problematic lethal injection protocol," said Dale Baich, an attorney for Grant and other death row inmates.

During his execution, man in US vomited and convulsed, causing widespread outcry

In what is the first COVID-19 shot for young children in the United States, the health regulator of the country authorised the Pfizer Inc and BioNTech SE coronavirus vaccine for children aged 5 to 11 years on Friday. &nbsp;

The move looks to make the vaccine available to 28 million children in the US. Several of them are back in school for in-person learning. &nbsp;

Also Read:&nbsp;<a href="https://www.wionews.com/world/as-vaccine-mandate-deadline-looms-new-york-city-braces-for-workers-shortage-425259" hreflang="en">As vaccine mandate deadline looms, New York City braces for workers’ shortage</a>

The decision comes as a panel of advisers to the Food and Drug Administration (FDA) voted overwhelmingly to recommend the authorisation on Tuesday. &nbsp;

To consider recommendations on how the vaccine should be used in the age group, an advisory panel to the US Centers for Disease Control and Prevention (CDC) is scheduled to meet next week. The CDC director will have the final say. &nbsp;

Also Read:&nbsp;<a href="https://www.wionews.com/world/closed-under-covid-lockdown-auckland-tops-lonely-planets-list-of-cities-to-visit-in-2022-425235" hreflang="en">Closed under Covid lockdown, Auckland tops Lonely Planet’s list of cities to visit in 2022</a>

Till now, only a handful other countries, including China, Cuba and the United Arab Emirates, have cleared Covid vaccines for children in this age group. &nbsp;

A 10-microgram dose of Pfizer's vaccine in young children, which is lower than the 30 micrograms in the usual vaccine for children above the age of 12 and older, has been authorised by the FDA. &nbsp;

The vaccine showed 90.7% efficacy against coronavirus in a clinical trial of children aged 5 to 11, said Pfizer and BioNTech. &nbsp;&nbsp;

(With inputs from agencies)&nbsp;

In what is the first COVID-19 shot for young children in the United States, the health regulator of the country authorised the Pfizer Inc and BioNTech SE coronavirus vaccine for children aged 5 to 11 years on Friday.

In what is the first COVID-19 shot for young children in the United States, the health regulator of the country authorised the Pfizer Inc and BioNTech SE coronavirus vaccine for children aged 5 to 11 years on Friday. The move looks to make the vaccine available to 28 million children in the US. Several of them are back in school for in-person learning. Also Read: As vaccine mandate deadline looms, New York City braces for workers’ shortage The decision comes as a panel of advisers to the Food and Drug Administration (FDA) voted overwhelmingly to recommend the authorisation on Tuesday. To consider recommendations on how the vaccine should be used in the age group, an advisory panel to the US Centers for Disease Control and Prevention (CDC) is scheduled to meet next week. The CDC director will have the final say. Also Read: Closed under Covid lockdown, Auckland tops Lonely Planet’s list of cities to visit in 2022 Till now, only a handful other countries, including China, Cuba and the United Arab Emirates, have cleared Covid vaccines for children in this age group. A 10-microgram dose of Pfizer's vaccine in young children, which is lower than the 30 micrograms in the usual vaccine for children above the age of 12 and older, has been authorised by the FDA. The vaccine showed 90.7% efficacy against coronavirus in a clinical trial of children aged 5 to 11, said Pfizer and BioNTech. (With inputs from agencies)

First Covid shot authorised by FDA in US for kids aged 5 to 11 years

Leaders of the Group of 20 leading industrial nations are set to sign off on the most sweeping overhaul of the international tax system in a century when they gather in Rome this weekend, ushering in a 15% global minimum tax and changes to how governments can impose levies on large, profitable multinational companies.

The agreement is the result of years of sputtering international negotiations that gathered pace this year when the Biden administration took office. When the pact is fully enacted, most likely by 2023, it could have significant implications for the global economy, corporate investment and government coffers.

Some details will continue to be refined in the coming months. But tax experts and officials around the world have hailed the agreement as an achievement that will reverse decades of a “race to the bottom” in corporate taxation that has deprived nations of revenue as companies sought low-tax jurisdictions for their headquarters.

Here’s a look at how the deal will work.

<h2>A 15% Global Minimum Tax</h2>

The most prominent feature of the deal is the 15% global minimum tax, which is expected to be enacted by each country that has agreed to the deal. That rate will apply to multinational corporations with annual revenues of more than $867 million. The idea is to discourage companies from being able to avoid paying taxes by finding havens with low rates. Companies that park money in a country that is not part of the deal will be required to pay the difference between that nation’s rate and the 15% minimum rate to their home country.

Governments will apply the tax on a country-by-country basis, so that companies cannot lower their tax bill simply by seeking out tax havens and “blending” their tax rates. That will ensure that companies actually pay the 15% minimum rate regardless of where they locate within the 136 countries that are part of the deal.

The Biden administration has said it would impose a penalty rate on any foreign corporations based in countries that did not abide by the agreement.

The United States already has its own form of global minimum tax, which it applies to the foreign profits of American companies. To comply with the agreement, Congress will have to raise that tax rate from 10.5% to at least 15% and switch to the country-by-country system. It is expected to include this in the spending bill that is being negotiated among Democrats and count revenue from the tax to help pay for that legislation.

<h2>Pay Where You Play</h2>

Another crucial part of the agreement involves a shift in how governments can tax companies in the digital era. Taxes have traditionally depended on where a company operates, but the deal will update rules for the 21st century and allow countries to levy taxes on some large and profitable companies based on where their goods and services are sold.

The agreement was a response to an attempt by European countries to impose digital services taxes on U.S. technology giants such as Google and Facebook, which operate all over the world, even if they do not have a physical presence in every country. Those taxes prompted the United States to threaten retaliatory tariffs.

The global pact reached a compromise that allows countries to impose an additional tax on some of the profits of about 100 of the world’s richest companies based on where their sales are. The right to tax a total of $125 billion of profits will be reallocated among countries around the world. The taxes will be applied to companies with global sales of more than $23 billion and profit margins of at least 10%. A quarter of a company’s profit above that threshold will be taxed, with the revenue divvied up around the world.

U.S. companies are expected to bear the brunt of this new policy. Treasury Department officials contend that, on balance, the United States will gain about as much tax revenue as it loses once the plan is enacted. However, some analysts predict that the United States would be a net loser.

<h2>The Money at Stake</h2>

The Organization for Economic Cooperation and Development estimates that the agreement will raise $150 billion a year globally from companies that have parked their operations in low-tax nations, avoiding a higher tax bill.

The Biden administration hopes that the agreement will make U.S. companies more competitive globally while reducing incentives for them to move jobs abroad.

The White House estimates that the changes it is making to the international side of the tax code will raise $350 billion in revenue over a decade as U.S. companies are forced to pay higher taxes on profits they earn abroad and are more likely to invest in operations in the United States.

<h2>What’s Next</h2>

In some respects, reaching the agreement was the easy part. Now 136 countries must enact it. That will be easier in some countries than others.

It could be most challenging in the United States, which took a leading role in brokering the deal this year. Democrats are likely to be able to make the required changes to comply with the new minimum rate in the tax and social welfare package that they hope to pass next month.

However, the other part of the deal, which gets rid of the digital services taxes and applies largely to technology giants, could require changes to tax treaties. That would probably mean that some Republicans, who have resisted nearly all of the Biden administration’s tax proposals, would have to offer their support in separate legislation that lawmakers will tackle next year.

Other countries will have to deal with their own legislative challenges to comply with the agreement.

Leaders of the Group of 20 leading industrial nations are set to sign off on the most sweeping overhaul of the international tax system in a century when they gather in Rome this weekend, ushering in a 15% global minimum tax and changes to how governments can impose levies on large, profitable multinational companies.

Leaders of the Group of 20 leading industrial nations are set to sign off on the most sweeping overhaul of the international tax system in a century when they gather in Rome this weekend, ushering in a 15% global minimum tax and changes to how governments can impose levies on large, profitable multinational companies. The agreement is the result of years of sputtering international negotiations that gathered pace this year when the Biden administration took office. When the pact is fully enacted, most likely by 2023, it could have significant implications for the global economy, corporate investment and government coffers. Some details will continue to be refined in the coming months. But tax experts and officials around the world have hailed the agreement as an achievement that will reverse decades of a “race to the bottom” in corporate taxation that has deprived nations of revenue as companies sought low-tax jurisdictions for their headquarters. Here’s a look at how the deal will work. A 15% Global Minimum Tax The most prominent feature of the deal is the 15% global minimum tax, which is expected to be enacted by each country that has agreed to the deal. That rate will apply to multinational corporations with annual revenues of more than $867 million. The idea is to discourage companies from being able to avoid paying taxes by finding havens with low rates. Companies that park money in a country that is not part of the deal will be required to pay the difference between that nation’s rate and the 15% minimum rate to their home country. Governments will apply the tax on a country-by-country basis, so that companies cannot lower their tax bill simply by seeking out tax havens and “blending” their tax rates. That will ensure that companies actually pay the 15% minimum rate regardless of where they locate within the 136 countries that are part of the deal. The Biden administration has said it would impose a penalty rate on any foreign corporations based in countries that did not abide by the agreement. The United States already has its own form of global minimum tax, which it applies to the foreign profits of American companies. To comply with the agreement, Congress will have to raise that tax rate from 10.5% to at least 15% and switch to the country-by-country system. It is expected to include this in the spending bill that is being negotiated among Democrats and count revenue from the tax to help pay for that legislation. Pay Where You Play Another crucial part of the agreement involves a shift in how governments can tax companies in the digital era. Taxes have traditionally depended on where a company operates, but the deal will update rules for the 21st century and allow countries to levy taxes on some large and profitable companies based on where their goods and services are sold. The agreement was a response to an attempt by European countries to impose digital services taxes on U.S. technology giants such as Google and Facebook, which operate all over the world, even if they do not have a physical presence in every country. Those taxes prompted the United States to threaten retaliatory tariffs. The global pact reached a compromise that allows countries to impose an additional tax on some of the profits of about 100 of the world’s richest companies based on where their sales are. The right to tax a total of $125 billion of profits will be reallocated among countries around the world. The taxes will be applied to companies with global sales of more than $23 billion and profit margins of at least 10%. A quarter of a company’s profit above that threshold will be taxed, with the revenue divvied up around the world. U.S. companies are expected to bear the brunt of this new policy. Treasury Department officials contend that, on balance, the United States will gain about as much tax revenue as it loses once the plan is enacted. However, some analysts predict that the United States would be a net loser. The Money at Stake The Organization for Economic Cooperation and Development estimates that the agreement will raise $150 billion a year globally from companies that have parked their operations in low-tax nations, avoiding a higher tax bill. The Biden administration hopes that the agreement will make U.S. companies more competitive globally while reducing incentives for them to move jobs abroad. The White House estimates that the changes it is making to the international side of the tax code will raise $350 billion in revenue over a decade as U.S. companies are forced to pay higher taxes on profits they earn abroad and are more likely to invest in operations in the United States. What’s Next In some respects, reaching the agreement was the easy part. Now 136 countries must enact it. That will be easier in some countries than others. It could be most challenging in the United States, which took a leading role in brokering the deal this year. Democrats are likely to be able to make the required changes to comply with the new minimum rate in the tax and social welfare package that they hope to pass next month. However, the other part of the deal, which gets rid of the digital services taxes and applies largely to technology giants, could require changes to tax treaties. That would probably mean that some Republicans, who have resisted nearly all of the Biden administration’s tax proposals, would have to offer their support in separate legislation that lawmakers will tackle next year. Other countries will have to deal with their own legislative challenges to comply with the agreement.

A global tax deal is at hand. Here’s how it would work

US President Joe Biden’s aggressive vaccine mandate has sparked a backlash from the Republicans.&nbsp;Various states in the US have filed a lawsuit against Biden's vaccine mandate as they have argued that the requirement violates federal law. These states include Alaska, Arkansas, Iowa, Missouri, Montana, Nebraska, New Hampshire, North Dakota, South Dakota, Wyoming, Georgia, Alabama, Idaho, Kansas, South Carolina, Utah and West Virginia.

The states have asked a federal judge to block Biden's mandate that requires all employees of federal contractors to be vaccinated against the deadly COVID-19. They argue that the mandate violates federal procurement law.&nbsp;

Missouri Attorney General Eric Schmitt, in a statement, said, "If the federal government attempts to unconstitutionally exert its will and force federal contractors to mandate vaccinations, the workforce and businesses could be decimated, further exacerbating the supply chain and workforce crises."

"The federal government should not be mandating vaccinations, and that's why we filed suit today – to halt this illegal, unconstitutional action.”&nbsp;

<a href="https://www.wionews.com/world/turn-the-tide-biden-announces-new-vaccine-mandates-in-covid-19-battle-411974">Also read |&nbsp;'Turn the tide': Biden announces new vaccine mandates in COVID-19 battle</a>

As a response, Biden has said that the vaccine mandate will help in curbing the spread of the virus. However, the Republicans nationwide have opposed the vaccination requirements. Also, they have threatened to bring similar legal challenges.

Biden’s plan mandates vaccinations for all federal employees and contractors and businesses with more than 100 employees.

Companies could face fines if they do not adhere to the directive. Earlier, Biden had said that ''we can and we will turn the tide of COVID-19.''&nbsp;

''It’ll take a lot of hard work and it’s going to take some time. Many of us are frustrated with the nearly 80 million Americans who are still not vaccinated even though the vaccine is safe, effective and free,'' he added.

US President Joe Biden’s aggressive vaccine mandate has sparked a backlash from the Republicans. Various states in the US have filed a lawsuit against Biden's vaccine mandate as they have argued that the requirement violates federal law.

US President Joe Biden’s aggressive vaccine mandate has sparked a backlash from the Republicans. Various states in the US have filed a lawsuit against Biden's vaccine mandate as they have argued that the requirement violates federal law. These states include Alaska, Arkansas, Iowa, Missouri, Montana, Nebraska, New Hampshire, North Dakota, South Dakota, Wyoming, Georgia, Alabama, Idaho, Kansas, South Carolina, Utah and West Virginia. The states have asked a federal judge to block Biden's mandate that requires all employees of federal contractors to be vaccinated against the deadly COVID-19. They argue that the mandate violates federal procurement law. Missouri Attorney General Eric Schmitt, in a statement, said, "If the federal government attempts to unconstitutionally exert its will and force federal contractors to mandate vaccinations, the workforce and businesses could be decimated, further exacerbating the supply chain and workforce crises." "The federal government should not be mandating vaccinations, and that's why we filed suit today – to halt this illegal, unconstitutional action.” Also read | 'Turn the tide': Biden announces new vaccine mandates in COVID-19 battle As a response, Biden has said that the vaccine mandate will help in curbing the spread of the virus. However, the Republicans nationwide have opposed the vaccination requirements. Also, they have threatened to bring similar legal challenges. Biden’s plan mandates vaccinations for all federal employees and contractors and businesses with more than 100 employees. Companies could face fines if they do not adhere to the directive. Earlier, Biden had said that ''we can and we will turn the tide of COVID-19.'' ''It’ll take a lot of hard work and it’s going to take some time. Many of us are frustrated with the nearly 80 million Americans who are still not vaccinated even though the vaccine is safe, effective and free,'' he added.

'To halt illegal action': US states sue Biden administration over vaccine mandate

US&nbsp;President Joe Biden on Saturday will urge major G20 energy producers with spare capacity to boost production to ensure a stronger global economic recovery, a senior administration official said ahead of a summit bringing together leaders of the world's largest economies.

Biden and other Group of 20 leaders are slated to discuss efforts to end the COVID-19 pandemic and agree on a new task force to improve coordination and planning to prevent the next one. They also expect to endorse an agreement backed by more than 130 countries to establish a new global minimum tax.

Also Read |&nbsp;<a href="https://www.wionews.com/world/g20-youth-show-their-support-for-bold-climate-action-un-poll-423953">G20 youth show their support for bold climate action: UN poll</a>

But members are divided on other issues. With oil and gas prices surging, some energy-producing countries such as Russia and Saudi Arabia have not boosted output enough to satisfy countries that are largely consumers of energy and worry about energy shortages and inflation.

Biden's top advisers have voiced concerns about energy suppliers not boosting production enough to meet surging demand.

Rocketing natural gas prices, with the European benchmark up almost 600 per cent&nbsp;this year, have been fuelled by low inventories and surging demand as economies recover from the COVID-19 crisis.

Biden's national security adviser Jake Sullivan raised similar issues&nbsp;during a visit to Brussels this month, singling out Russia for its "history of using energy as a tool of coercion, as a political weapon."

Russia, a major natural gas supplier to Europe, and its energy giant Gazprom are being urged to do more to ease prices in the spot market.

Watch |&nbsp;US prez Joe Biden meets French counterpart Emmanuel Macron ahead of G20 summit

<div class="videoWrapper trancodeVideo"><iframe allowfullscreen="" autoplay="1" class="includeVideo" frameborder="0" height="350" src="https://www.wionews.com/videos/us-prez-joe-biden-meets-french-counterpart-emmanuel-macron-ahead-of-g20-summit-425152/embed" style="width:100%;max-width:560px;" width="560"></iframe></div>

"It's a delicate time in the global economy, and what's important is that global energy supplies keep up with global energy demand," the senior administration official said.

"There are major energy producers that have spare capacity, and we're encouraging them to use to ensure a stronger, more sustainable recovery across the world," the official said, without naming any specific countries.

The official said G20 leaders would not specifically target the Organization of the Petroleum Exporting Countries (OPEC), which includes Saudi Arabia, or set any targets for energy production. 
Russian President Vladimir Putin will not attend the summit in person, but is expected to participate virtually.

Comments from Russian Deputy Prime Minister Alexander Novak earlier this month sparked fresh tensions over the Nord Stream 2 undersea gas pipeline, which Washington has long opposed and which is now awaiting clearance from a German regulator.

Also Read |&nbsp;<a href="https://www.wionews.com/world/g20-split-over-coal-15-degree-climate-limit-ahead-of-rome-summit-report-422972">G20 split over coal, 1.5 degree climate limit ahead of Rome summit: Report</a>

Novak said clearing the pipeline could help ease shortfalls, sparking concerns that Russia has failed to boost its production of gas - now delivered via land-based pipelines - precisely to put pressure on Europe to approve Nord Stream 2.

During their talks on the economy, G20 leaders will also back an agreement reached by more than 130 countries on a global minimum corporate tax of 15 per cent&nbsp;that will reshape the world economy and could result in some $60 billion in additional tax revenues per year for the United States alone, the official said.

"The deal is a testament to American diplomacy and leadership," the official said, noting that Biden and Treasury Secretary Janet Yellen had worked hard to secure the agreement.

US President Joe Biden on Saturday will urge major G20 energy producers with spare capacity to boost production to ensure a stronger global economic recovery, a senior administration official said ahead of a summit bringing together leaders of the world's largest economies.

US President Joe Biden on Saturday will urge major G20 energy producers with spare capacity to boost production to ensure a stronger global economic recovery, a senior administration official said ahead of a summit bringing together leaders of the world's largest economies. Biden and other Group of 20 leaders are slated to discuss efforts to end the COVID-19 pandemic and agree on a new task force to improve coordination and planning to prevent the next one. They also expect to endorse an agreement backed by more than 130 countries to establish a new global minimum tax. Also Read | G20 youth show their support for bold climate action: UN poll But members are divided on other issues. With oil and gas prices surging, some energy-producing countries such as Russia and Saudi Arabia have not boosted output enough to satisfy countries that are largely consumers of energy and worry about energy shortages and inflation. Biden's top advisers have voiced concerns about energy suppliers not boosting production enough to meet surging demand. Rocketing natural gas prices, with the European benchmark up almost 600 per cent this year, have been fuelled by low inventories and surging demand as economies recover from the COVID-19 crisis. Biden's national security adviser Jake Sullivan raised similar issues during a visit to Brussels this month, singling out Russia for its "history of using energy as a tool of coercion, as a political weapon." Russia, a major natural gas supplier to Europe, and its energy giant Gazprom are being urged to do more to ease prices in the spot market. Watch | US prez Joe Biden meets French counterpart Emmanuel Macron ahead of G20 summit "It's a delicate time in the global economy, and what's important is that global energy supplies keep up with global energy demand," the senior administration official said. "There are major energy producers that have spare capacity, and we're encouraging them to use to ensure a stronger, more sustainable recovery across the world," the official said, without naming any specific countries. The official said G20 leaders would not specifically target the Organization of the Petroleum Exporting Countries (OPEC), which includes Saudi Arabia, or set any targets for energy production. Russian President Vladimir Putin will not attend the summit in person, but is expected to participate virtually. Comments from Russian Deputy Prime Minister Alexander Novak earlier this month sparked fresh tensions over the Nord Stream 2 undersea gas pipeline, which Washington has long opposed and which is now awaiting clearance from a German regulator. Also Read | G20 split over coal, 1.5 degree climate limit ahead of Rome summit: Report Novak said clearing the pipeline could help ease shortfalls, sparking concerns that Russia has failed to boost its production of gas - now delivered via land-based pipelines - precisely to put pressure on Europe to approve Nord Stream 2. During their talks on the economy, G20 leaders will also back an agreement reached by more than 130 countries on a global minimum corporate tax of 15 per cent that will reshape the world economy and could result in some $60 billion in additional tax revenues per year for the United States alone, the official said. "The deal is a testament to American diplomacy and leadership," the official said, noting that Biden and Treasury Secretary Janet Yellen had worked hard to secure the agreement.

Biden to push G20 energy producers to boost capacity, ease price pressures

The United States on Friday urged Sudan's military coup leaders to refrain from violence against peaceful protesters ahead of planned demonstrations on Saturday opposing the takeover, saying how the army reacts will be a test of its intentions.

"Tomorrow is going to be a real indication of what the military intentions are," said a senior State Department official, briefing reporters on condition of anonymity.

Also Read |&nbsp;<a href="https://www.wionews.com/world/military-coup-in-sudan-pm-ministers-and-officials-detained-internet-access-cut-off-423768">Military coup in Sudan:&nbsp;PM, ministers, and officials detained, internet access cut off</a>

"We call on the security forces to refrain from any and all violence against protesters and to fully respect the citizens&nbsp;right to demonstrate peacefully" the official said.

Washington was relieved to see that ousted Sudanese Prime Minister Abdalla Hamdok had been allowed to return home, the official said, adding that it was not good enough because Hamdok was still under house arrest and unable to resume his work.

Sudanese General Abdel Fattah al-Burhan dissolved Hamdok's Cabinet, and soldiers rounded up government ministers on Monday, prompting Western countries to cut off hundreds of millions of dollars in desperately needed aid to the North African country.

Also Read |&nbsp;<a href="https://www.wionews.com/world/amid-anti-coup-protests-sudan-suspends-inbound-and-outbound-flights-424205">Amid anti-coup protests, Sudan suspends inbound and outbound flights</a>

Opponents of the coup have called for mass protests on Saturday under the slogan "Leave!". At least 11 protesters have been killed in clashes with security forces this week, and residents say they fear a full-blown crackdown.

The coup has derailed a transition meant to steer Sudan to democracy, with elections in 2023, after long-serving ruler Omar al-Bashir was toppled two years ago.

The United States on Friday urged Sudan's military coup leaders to refrain from violence against peaceful protesters ahead of planned demonstrations on Saturday opposing the takeover, saying how the army reacts will be a test of its intentions.

The United States on Friday urged Sudan's military coup leaders to refrain from violence against peaceful protesters ahead of planned demonstrations on Saturday opposing the takeover, saying how the army reacts will be a test of its intentions. "Tomorrow is going to be a real indication of what the military intentions are," said a senior State Department official, briefing reporters on condition of anonymity. Also Read | Military coup in Sudan: PM, ministers, and officials detained, internet access cut off "We call on the security forces to refrain from any and all violence against protesters and to fully respect the citizens right to demonstrate peacefully" the official said. Washington was relieved to see that ousted Sudanese Prime Minister Abdalla Hamdok had been allowed to return home, the official said, adding that it was not good enough because Hamdok was still under house arrest and unable to resume his work. Sudanese General Abdel Fattah al-Burhan dissolved Hamdok's Cabinet, and soldiers rounded up government ministers on Monday, prompting Western countries to cut off hundreds of millions of dollars in desperately needed aid to the North African country. Also Read | Amid anti-coup protests, Sudan suspends inbound and outbound flights Opponents of the coup have called for mass protests on Saturday under the slogan "Leave!". At least 11 protesters have been killed in clashes with security forces this week, and residents say they fear a full-blown crackdown. The coup has derailed a transition meant to steer Sudan to democracy, with elections in 2023, after long-serving ruler Omar al-Bashir was toppled two years ago.

US urges Sudan military to refrain from violence against planned protests: Official

Backdrop

When President Donald Trump signed the Countering America's Adversaries Through Sanctions Act (CAATSA) in August 2017, a US federal law to impose sanctions on Iran, North Korea and Russia, he believed the legislation was "seriously flawed", notwithstanding the overwhelming majority with which it was passed by the House (419–3). At that time American’s anger over Russia on Ukraine issue and allegations of meddling in US elections was such that no-one realised that it could create foreign policy dilemmas later. Recently, two key Senators have urged President Joe Biden to waive possible sanctions against India for purchase of Russian S-400 to conserve important strategic partnership in the interest of national security of US. &nbsp;

&nbsp;

What problems CAATSA poses on US foreign policy choices? &nbsp;&nbsp;

Under the Trump administration, then-Defence Secretary Jim Mattis and then-Secretary of State Rex Tillerson had argued “We believe that the application of CAATSA sanctions could have a deleterious effect on a strategic partnership with India, while at the same time, not achieve the intended purpose of deterring Russian arms sales”. Washington needs to be realistic that sticking to CAATSA in interdependent world is counterproductive and diversion from main focus of countering main threat from China. One of the aim of CAATSA was economic strangulation of targeted countries mainly Russia. The sanctions have pushed the targeted countries closer to China, to an extent that Russia has reluctantly become a junior partner to China due to financial compulsion to mitigate sanctions from the west. Russia is going ahead with China despite the fact that Chinese Belt and Road Initiative is side-lining Russian dream of Eurasia and many other friction points amongst the two. &nbsp;&nbsp;

It is worth considering for United States that in its long-term interest, weakening Sino-Russian nexus may be a necessity and CAATSA is doing just the opposite. Russia continues to be the second largest arms supplier in the world. The idea of economic isolation of Russia is also irksome to US allies like Germany and other European countries, who are highly dependent on Russian gas. EU is keen to trade with China and Russia. In the interdependent world, wherein USA itself is dependent on Chinese supply chain on numerous commodities, expecting others not to do business with targetted countries is unrealistic. CAATSA is constraining foreign policy of US into dilemmas of waivers to save strategic partnerships, as one such dilemma will soon appear when India starts receiving S-400 systems, risking a dent in its strategic partnership, Indo-Pacific strategy and the newly formed Quad. It also has potential to strain its relationship with some NATO allies like Germany and France wanting to engage with Russia and China. Post CAATSA, China which hardly had any genuine friend earlier, seems to have an anti-US Axis in terms of China-Russia-Pakistan-Iran-Turkey and Taliban in waiting. Sanctions against China and Turkey for procurement of S-400 haven’t shown any worthwhile impact, as USA’s supply chain dependency on China, despite minor decoupling is substantial and Turkey continues to be unpunished NATO member. &nbsp;&nbsp;

&nbsp;

Indian compulsions &nbsp; &nbsp;&nbsp;

The threat of CAATSA is hurting its strategic partners like India. Indian military hardware is heavily dependent on Russian technology, maintenance, procurement of hardware and spares. For many decades Russians have been collaborating with India in its indigenous manufacturing programmes and were amenable to transfer of technology, which India was finding difficult to procure from US. It includes some major systems like nuclear-powered submarines, warships and nuclear reactors. Lately due to the geo-political, strategic and economic considerations, India is trying to be self-reliant, as well as diversifying procurement from various countries to include US, France, Israel and few more. In last decade, the defence procurement from Russia has gradually reduced from over 65 per cent approximately to nearly 53 per cent and correspondingly, it has increased in favour of US, Israel and France. There is a noticeable upward trend in purchase of US military hardware, as the year 2020 alone saw a purchase $3.4 billion worth of US military equipment, indicating enough accommodation by India. In a buyers’ market, US has competitors to include Russia, Israel and France, and every country will make sovereign choice to pick the best deal including India. &nbsp;&nbsp;

USA undoubtedly is an important global strategic partner of India in the current geo-strategic equation with congruence of interests in most global issues. India continues to do its best to respond to sensitivities and concerns of USA, at times, risking some of its old relationships like Iran. To accommodate US interest, India reduced import of oil from Iran facing a cost disadvantage, as Iran oil was being imported in Rupee terms, in crude form and attuned to existing refineries in India. India also suffered by almost losing out stakes in Chahbahar Port to China, which was too willing to embrace Iran with $400 billion deal. India doesn’t seem to be repeating the same mistake with Russians, who haven’t done anything bilaterally, which demands a divorce in mutual relationship. &nbsp;&nbsp;

&nbsp;&nbsp;

The case of S-400 air defence equipment &nbsp; &nbsp; &nbsp;&nbsp;

India signed a $5.4 billion deal with Russia in 2018 to buy the S-400 Triumf surface-to-air missile system and made a down payment and plans to complete the purchase by 2025. S-400 was chosen because it was most suitable to Indian requirement at that point of time. It’s a done deal and India is unlikely to pull back, irrespective of the pressure from US. During recent Indo-US Summit, S-400 was not even on the agenda, as India has nothing to discuss, having locked the deal three years back. The US apprehension in context of use of Russian systems in close integration with US systems and the associated chances of operation information or technology leaks are unfounded, because India is already operating the equipment of West and Russia simultaneously, without such complaint. Additional checks, balances and interoperability issues can easily be worked out as both countries have already signed basic foundational agreements. At this point, it’s impossible for India to run into risk of halting Russian procurement and supply chain of spares for existing inventory. The technological leakage argument is more valid for Pakistan and Afghanistan, which have been armed with enough modern hardware by USA, some of which is readily available to China for reverse engineering. &nbsp;

&nbsp;&nbsp;

US needs to revisit CAATSA &nbsp;

US needs to come out of superpower syndrome of leaving no choice with strategic partners, but to defy, to pursue its own interest through laws like CAATSA. USA could not moderate behaviour of any country under sanctions through CAATSA proving the point of Tillerson and Mattis of not achieving the intended purpose. If CAATSA can be a cause of cracks in Quad, diversion of focus from USA’s main adversary, then its better to revisit it, because some global challenges have become so enormous that they require chorus of all democracies and response of America alone may not be adequate. &nbsp;The advise of John Cornyn, R-Texas, and Mark Warner, D-Va to President Joe Biden to call for a waiver on national security grounds makes lot of sense in strategic cost benefit analysis. &nbsp;&nbsp;

(Disclaimer: The views of the writer do not represent the views of WION or ZMCL. Nor does WION or ZMCL endorse the views of the writer.) &nbsp;&nbsp;

Backdrop When President Donald Trump signed the Countering America's Adversaries Through Sanctions Act (CAATSA) in August 2017, a US federal law to impose sanctions on Iran, North Korea and Russia, he believed the legislation was "seriously flawed", notwithstanding the overwhelming majority with which it was passed by the House (419–3).

Backdrop When President Donald Trump signed the Countering America's Adversaries Through Sanctions Act (CAATSA) in August 2017, a US federal law to impose sanctions on Iran, North Korea and Russia, he believed the legislation was "seriously flawed", notwithstanding the overwhelming majority with which it was passed by the House (419–3). At that time American’s anger over Russia on Ukraine issue and allegations of meddling in US elections was such that no-one realised that it could create foreign policy dilemmas later. Recently, two key Senators have urged President Joe Biden to waive possible sanctions against India for purchase of Russian S-400 to conserve important strategic partnership in the interest of national security of US. What problems CAATSA poses on US foreign policy choices? Under the Trump administration, then-Defence Secretary Jim Mattis and then-Secretary of State Rex Tillerson had argued “We believe that the application of CAATSA sanctions could have a deleterious effect on a strategic partnership with India, while at the same time, not achieve the intended purpose of deterring Russian arms sales”. Washington needs to be realistic that sticking to CAATSA in interdependent world is counterproductive and diversion from main focus of countering main threat from China. One of the aim of CAATSA was economic strangulation of targeted countries mainly Russia. The sanctions have pushed the targeted countries closer to China, to an extent that Russia has reluctantly become a junior partner to China due to financial compulsion to mitigate sanctions from the west. Russia is going ahead with China despite the fact that Chinese Belt and Road Initiative is side-lining Russian dream of Eurasia and many other friction points amongst the two. It is worth considering for United States that in its long-term interest, weakening Sino-Russian nexus may be a necessity and CAATSA is doing just the opposite. Russia continues to be the second largest arms supplier in the world. The idea of economic isolation of Russia is also irksome to US allies like Germany and other European countries, who are highly dependent on Russian gas. EU is keen to trade with China and Russia. In the interdependent world, wherein USA itself is dependent on Chinese supply chain on numerous commodities, expecting others not to do business with targetted countries is unrealistic. CAATSA is constraining foreign policy of US into dilemmas of waivers to save strategic partnerships, as one such dilemma will soon appear when India starts receiving S-400 systems, risking a dent in its strategic partnership, Indo-Pacific strategy and the newly formed Quad. It also has potential to strain its relationship with some NATO allies like Germany and France wanting to engage with Russia and China. Post CAATSA, China which hardly had any genuine friend earlier, seems to have an anti-US Axis in terms of China-Russia-Pakistan-Iran-Turkey and Taliban in waiting. Sanctions against China and Turkey for procurement of S-400 haven’t shown any worthwhile impact, as USA’s supply chain dependency on China, despite minor decoupling is substantial and Turkey continues to be unpunished NATO member. Indian compulsions The threat of CAATSA is hurting its strategic partners like India. Indian military hardware is heavily dependent on Russian technology, maintenance, procurement of hardware and spares. For many decades Russians have been collaborating with India in its indigenous manufacturing programmes and were amenable to transfer of technology, which India was finding difficult to procure from US. It includes some major systems like nuclear-powered submarines, warships and nuclear reactors. Lately due to the geo-political, strategic and economic considerations, India is trying to be self-reliant, as well as diversifying procurement from various countries to include US, France, Israel and few more. In last decade, the defence procurement from Russia has gradually reduced from over 65 per cent approximately to nearly 53 per cent and correspondingly, it has increased in favour of US, Israel and France. There is a noticeable upward trend in purchase of US military hardware, as the year 2020 alone saw a purchase $3.4 billion worth of US military equipment, indicating enough accommodation by India. In a buyers’ market, US has competitors to include Russia, Israel and France, and every country will make sovereign choice to pick the best deal including India. USA undoubtedly is an important global strategic partner of India in the current geo-strategic equation with congruence of interests in most global issues. India continues to do its best to respond to sensitivities and concerns of USA, at times, risking some of its old relationships like Iran. To accommodate US interest, India reduced import of oil from Iran facing a cost disadvantage, as Iran oil was being imported in Rupee terms, in crude form and attuned to existing refineries in India. India also suffered by almost losing out stakes in Chahbahar Port to China, which was too willing to embrace Iran with $400 billion deal. India doesn’t seem to be repeating the same mistake with Russians, who haven’t done anything bilaterally, which demands a divorce in mutual relationship. The case of S-400 air defence equipment India signed a $5.4 billion deal with Russia in 2018 to buy the S-400 Triumf surface-to-air missile system and made a down payment and plans to complete the purchase by 2025. S-400 was chosen because it was most suitable to Indian requirement at that point of time. It’s a done deal and India is unlikely to pull back, irrespective of the pressure from US. During recent Indo-US Summit, S-400 was not even on the agenda, as India has nothing to discuss, having locked the deal three years back. The US apprehension in context of use of Russian systems in close integration with US systems and the associated chances of operation information or technology leaks are unfounded, because India is already operating the equipment of West and Russia simultaneously, without such complaint. Additional checks, balances and interoperability issues can easily be worked out as both countries have already signed basic foundational agreements. At this point, it’s impossible for India to run into risk of halting Russian procurement and supply chain of spares for existing inventory. The technological leakage argument is more valid for Pakistan and Afghanistan, which have been armed with enough modern hardware by USA, some of which is readily available to China for reverse engineering. US needs to revisit CAATSA US needs to come out of superpower syndrome of leaving no choice with strategic partners, but to defy, to pursue its own interest through laws like CAATSA. USA could not moderate behaviour of any country under sanctions through CAATSA proving the point of Tillerson and Mattis of not achieving the intended purpose. If CAATSA can be a cause of cracks in Quad, diversion of focus from USA’s main adversary, then its better to revisit it, because some global challenges have become so enormous that they require chorus of all democracies and response of America alone may not be adequate. The advise of John Cornyn, R-Texas, and Mark Warner, D-Va to President Joe Biden to call for a waiver on national security grounds makes lot of sense in strategic cost benefit analysis. (Disclaimer: The views of the writer do not represent the views of WION or ZMCL. Nor does WION or ZMCL endorse the views of the writer.)

Opinion: Why US needs to revisit CAATSA

US intelligence agencies said they may never be able to conclude whether the COVID-19 virus was developed in a Wuhan lab or transmitted from animal to human, a declassified report has stated.

In an updated assessment of how the virus originated, the Office of the US Director of National Intelligence (ODNI) in its report said that a natural origin and a lab leak are both plausible hypotheses for how SARS-COV-2 first infected humans.

But it said the analysts disagree on which is more likely or whether any definitive assessment can be made at all.

The report issued on Friday is an update of a 90-day review that President Joe Biden's administration released in August.

Also Read |&nbsp;<a href="https://www.wionews.com/world/origin-of-wuhan-virus-needs-to-be-found-386627">Origin of Wuhan virus needs to be found</a>

The report also dismissed suggestions that the coronavirus originated as a bioweapon, saying proponents of this theory "do not have direct access to the Wuhan Institute of Virology" and have been accused of spreading disinformation.

On Friday, China responded by criticizing the report.

Also Read |&nbsp;<a href="https://www.wionews.com/world/virus-origin-probe-poisoned-by-politics-says-who-388122">Virus origin probe 'poisoned by politics', says WHO</a>

“The US moves of relying on its intelligence apparatus instead of scientists to trace the origins of COVID-19 is a complete political farce,” Liu Pengyu, a spokesperson for the Chinese embassy in Washington, said in an emailed statement.

“It will only undermine science-based origins study and hinder the global effort of finding the source of the virus,” the statement said.

<a href="https://www.wionews.com/world/fauci-calls-on-china-to-release-medical-records-of-wuhan-lab-workers-report-389348">Also read | Fauci calls on China to release medical records of Wuhan lab workers: Report</a>

Chinese authorities had linked early COVID-19 cases to a seafood market in Wuhan, leading many scientists to theorise that the virus first passed to humans from animals.

But earlier this year, there were several US media reports suggesting growing evidence that the virus could instead have emerged from a virology lab in Wuhan.

In May, President Joe Biden ordered intelligence officials to investigate the virus's origins, including the lab leak theory, which is rejected by China.

(With inputs from agencies)

US intelligence agencies said they may never be able to conclude whether the COVID-19 virus was developed in a Wuhan lab or transmitted from animal to human, a declassified report has stated.

US intelligence agencies said they may never be able to conclude whether the COVID-19 virus was developed in a Wuhan lab or transmitted from animal to human, a declassified report has stated. In an updated assessment of how the virus originated, the Office of the US Director of National Intelligence (ODNI) in its report said that a natural origin and a lab leak are both plausible hypotheses for how SARS-COV-2 first infected humans. But it said the analysts disagree on which is more likely or whether any definitive assessment can be made at all. The report issued on Friday is an update of a 90-day review that President Joe Biden's administration released in August. Also Read | Origin of Wuhan virus needs to be found The report also dismissed suggestions that the coronavirus originated as a bioweapon, saying proponents of this theory "do not have direct access to the Wuhan Institute of Virology" and have been accused of spreading disinformation. On Friday, China responded by criticizing the report. Also Read | Virus origin probe 'poisoned by politics', says WHO “The US moves of relying on its intelligence apparatus instead of scientists to trace the origins of COVID-19 is a complete political farce,” Liu Pengyu, a spokesperson for the Chinese embassy in Washington, said in an emailed statement. “It will only undermine science-based origins study and hinder the global effort of finding the source of the virus,” the statement said. Also read | Fauci calls on China to release medical records of Wuhan lab workers: Report Chinese authorities had linked early COVID-19 cases to a seafood market in Wuhan, leading many scientists to theorise that the virus first passed to humans from animals. But earlier this year, there were several US media reports suggesting growing evidence that the virus could instead have emerged from a virology lab in Wuhan. In May, President Joe Biden ordered intelligence officials to investigate the virus's origins, including the lab leak theory, which is rejected by China. (With inputs from agencies)

We may never know how COVID-19 originated, say US intelligence officials

A $1.75 trillion Democratic spending proposal could give a big boost to electric vehicles especially to Detroit's Big Three automakers and the US&nbsp;Postal Service.

The House plan boosts electric vehicle credits to up to $12,500 per vehicle, including $4,500 for union-made vehicles and $500 for US-made batteries. Vehicles would have to be made in the United States starting in 2027 to qualify for any credit.

Also Read |&nbsp;<a href="https://www.wionews.com/technology/uk-government-greenlights-self-driving-cars-on-motorways-380964">UK government greenlights 'self-driving' cars on motorways</a>

The EV tax credits would cost $15.6 billion over 10 years and disproportionately benefit Detroit's Big Three automakers - General Motors, Ford Motor and Chrysler-parent Stellantis NV - which assemble their US-made vehicles in union-represented plants.

Foreign automakers have harshly criticized the decision to give union-made vehicles a big leg up, while the United Auto Workers union strongly supports it.

Tesla and foreign automakers do not have unions representing assembly workers in the United States and many have fought UAW efforts to organize US&nbsp;plants.

Honda said in a letter Friday "this tax credit plan would pit Americans working for the three 'legacy'&nbsp;companies against the American workers of other automakers."

The bill would award $6 billion for the US&nbsp;Postal Service to purchase electric delivery vehicles and infrastructure. USPS said Friday it estimates under the bill "all delivery fleet acquisitions could feasibly be electric by 2028, and a corresponding 70 per cent&nbsp;of our entire delivery fleet by" 2030.

In February, USPS awarded a 10-year contract to Oshkosh Defense, a subsidiary of Oshkosh, to build a mix of internal combustion and EV delivery vehicles that could be worth$6 billion.

Also Read |&nbsp;<a href="https://www.wionews.com/business-economy/china-made-electric-vehicles-should-not-be-sold-in-india-modi-govt-to-elon-musk-419293">China-made electric vehicles should not be sold in India: Modi govt to Elon Musk</a>

The EV proposal eliminates phasing out tax credits after automakers hit 200,000 electric vehicles sold, which would make GM eligible, along with Tesla.

Energy Secretary Jennifer Granholm defended the decision to exclude Tesla from the higher credit, telling CNBC: "We want to make sure that we do everything possible to encourage that business and labor really focus on elevating the standards for everyday Americans."

The bill would create a new electric bike and three-wheel vehicle tax credit, a 30 per cent&nbsp;credit for commercial electric vehicles and $4,000 used EV tax credit.

It would authorize $3.5 billion for "domestic manufacturing conversion" grants for electric and other green vehicles and provide $3 billion to boost a US loan program to retool existing auto plants to build more fuel efficient models and expand it to cover zero-emission trains, airplanes, boats and Hyperloop technology.

A $1.75 trillion Democratic spending proposal could give a big boost to electric vehicles especially to Detroit's Big Three automakers and the US Postal Service.

A $1.75 trillion Democratic spending proposal could give a big boost to electric vehicles especially to Detroit's Big Three automakers and the US Postal Service. The House plan boosts electric vehicle credits to up to $12,500 per vehicle, including $4,500 for union-made vehicles and $500 for US-made batteries. Vehicles would have to be made in the United States starting in 2027 to qualify for any credit. Also Read | UK government greenlights 'self-driving' cars on motorways The EV tax credits would cost $15.6 billion over 10 years and disproportionately benefit Detroit's Big Three automakers - General Motors, Ford Motor and Chrysler-parent Stellantis NV - which assemble their US-made vehicles in union-represented plants. Foreign automakers have harshly criticized the decision to give union-made vehicles a big leg up, while the United Auto Workers union strongly supports it. Tesla and foreign automakers do not have unions representing assembly workers in the United States and many have fought UAW efforts to organize US plants. Honda said in a letter Friday "this tax credit plan would pit Americans working for the three 'legacy' companies against the American workers of other automakers." The bill would award $6 billion for the US Postal Service to purchase electric delivery vehicles and infrastructure. USPS said Friday it estimates under the bill "all delivery fleet acquisitions could feasibly be electric by 2028, and a corresponding 70 per cent of our entire delivery fleet by" 2030. In February, USPS awarded a 10-year contract to Oshkosh Defense, a subsidiary of Oshkosh, to build a mix of internal combustion and EV delivery vehicles that could be worth$6 billion. Also Read | China-made electric vehicles should not be sold in India: Modi govt to Elon Musk The EV proposal eliminates phasing out tax credits after automakers hit 200,000 electric vehicles sold, which would make GM eligible, along with Tesla. Energy Secretary Jennifer Granholm defended the decision to exclude Tesla from the higher credit, telling CNBC: "We want to make sure that we do everything possible to encourage that business and labor really focus on elevating the standards for everyday Americans." The bill would create a new electric bike and three-wheel vehicle tax credit, a 30 per cent credit for commercial electric vehicles and $4,000 used EV tax credit. It would authorize $3.5 billion for "domestic manufacturing conversion" grants for electric and other green vehicles and provide $3 billion to boost a US loan program to retool existing auto plants to build more fuel efficient models and expand it to cover zero-emission trains, airplanes, boats and Hyperloop technology.

US House plan would give electric vehicles big boost

The US on Thursday returned 248 antiquities, including a 12th-century bronze Shiva Nataraja, valued at an estimated $15 million to India, the "largest" such transfer of antiquities to the country.

"This extraordinary assemblage of artifacts, recovered from five different criminal investigations over the past decade, embodies the timeless cultural and cosmic bridge between ancient and modern-day India," Manhattan District Attorney (DA) Cy Vance, Jr said in a statement.

The US returned the 248 antiquities valued at an estimated $15 million to India during a repatriation ceremony attended by India Consul General Randhir Jaiswal and US Homeland Security Investigations (HSI) Deputy Special Agent in Charge Erik Rosenblatt.

Jaiswal expressed gratitude to the Manhattan DA's Office for its support and cooperation in the return of antiquities to India. "We look forward to our continued engagement to strengthen cultural ties between India and the United States," he said.

Vance said the event also serves as a potent reminder that individuals who "maraud sacred temples" in pursuit isof individual profit are committing crimes not only against a country's heritage but also its present and future. He said the 248 pieces is the "largest such transfer of antiquities" to India.

Among the items returned, 235 were seized pursuant to the investigation of Jailed art dealer Subhash Kapoor.

ALSO READ | <a href="https://www.wionews.com/india-news/india-kashmir-gets-its-first-floating-cinema-famous-bollywood-film-kashmir-ki-kali-played-on-big-screen-425140">India: Kashmir gets its first floating cinema, famous Bollywood film 'Kashmir Ki Kali' played on big screen</a>

The District Attorney's office said that for many years, the Manhattan DA's Antiquities Trafficking Unit, along with law enforcement partners at HSI, investigated Kapoor and his co-conspirators for the illegal looting, exportation, and sale of ancient art from Afghanistan, Cambodia, India, Indonesia, Myanmar, Nepal, Pakistan, Sri Lanka, Thailand, and other nations.

Kapoor and his co-defendants generally smuggled looted antiquities into Manhattan and sold the pieces through his Madison Avenue-based gallery, Art of the Past. From 2011 to 2020, the DA's Office and HSI recovered more than 2,500 items trafficked by Kapoor and his network.

The total value of the pieces recovered exceeds USD 143 million. 
HSI New York Acting Special Agent in Charge Ricky Patel said these artifacts are part of India's rich cultural heritage and they are going back to the people of India.

"When items like these are stolen and looted, we are determined to make things right, and ultimately return them home where they belong," Patel said.

The DA's Office first issued an arrest warrant for Kapoor in 2012. In October 2019, Kapoor and his seven co-defendants were indicted for their conspiracy to traffic stolen antiquities. In July 2020, the DA's Office filed extradition paperwork for Kapoor and his co-defendants.

Two of the co-defendants have since been convicted: Richard Salmon in October 2020 and Neil Perry Smith earlier this year. Previously, three others were also convicted: Selina Mohamed (2013), Aaron Freedman (2013), and Sushma Sareen (2014).

ALSO READ |&nbsp;<a href="https://www.wionews.com/india-news/will-act-inside-pakistan-against-terrorists-if-needed-indian-defence-minister-warns-425050">Will act inside Pakistan against terrorists if needed, Indian defence minister warns</a>

The remaining items returned included 10 pieces seized from Matreiya, the former gallery of known trafficker Nayef Homsi who was convicted by the District Attorney's Office in 2015.

Other items from the same seizure were repatriated to India in August 2020. A bronze Shiva Nataraja, circa 12th century, valued at USD 4 million, that was stolen in the 1960s from a temple and smuggled into New York before being sold by Doris Wiener, whose daughter, Nancy Wiener, was convicted by the Office in 2021.

The Asia Society, the unwitting recipient of the piece, cooperated fully with the investigation.

Another item returned was a bronze Nandikesvara and bronze Kankalamurti, which were stolen from the Sri Narasinganata Temple in India in May 1985 and resurfaced at separate auctions during this year's Asia Week.

Manhattan-based Bonhams Auction House, the unwitting recipient of the piece, cooperated fully with this investigation.

As of Thursday's ceremony, the DA's Office has returned 516 antiquities to 12 nations since August 2020, including, in recent months, 27 relics to Cambodia, 33 treasures to Afghanistan, and 104 artifacts to Pakistan.

During the past two months, the Antiquities Trafficking Unit also repatriated 16 pieces associated with the infamous Spanish conquistador Hernan Cortes to Mexico.

This collection of priceless 16th Century manuscripts "including letters, royal decrees, and other legal documents" was stolen from Mexico's National Archive and later appeared at numerous galleries and auction houses in the same year.

New York-based Swann Gallery and Bonhams Auction House, the unwitting recipients of the stolen manuscripts, cooperated fully with this investigation.

The US on Thursday returned 248 antiquities, including a 12th-century bronze Shiva Nataraja, valued at an estimated $15 million to India, the "largest" such transfer of antiquities to the country.

The US on Thursday returned 248 antiquities, including a 12th-century bronze Shiva Nataraja, valued at an estimated $15 million to India, the "largest" such transfer of antiquities to the country. "This extraordinary assemblage of artifacts, recovered from five different criminal investigations over the past decade, embodies the timeless cultural and cosmic bridge between ancient and modern-day India," Manhattan District Attorney (DA) Cy Vance, Jr said in a statement. The US returned the 248 antiquities valued at an estimated $15 million to India during a repatriation ceremony attended by India Consul General Randhir Jaiswal and US Homeland Security Investigations (HSI) Deputy Special Agent in Charge Erik Rosenblatt. Jaiswal expressed gratitude to the Manhattan DA's Office for its support and cooperation in the return of antiquities to India. "We look forward to our continued engagement to strengthen cultural ties between India and the United States," he said. Vance said the event also serves as a potent reminder that individuals who "maraud sacred temples" in pursuit isof individual profit are committing crimes not only against a country's heritage but also its present and future. He said the 248 pieces is the "largest such transfer of antiquities" to India. Among the items returned, 235 were seized pursuant to the investigation of Jailed art dealer Subhash Kapoor. ALSO READ | India: Kashmir gets its first floating cinema, famous Bollywood film 'Kashmir Ki Kali' played on big screen The District Attorney's office said that for many years, the Manhattan DA's Antiquities Trafficking Unit, along with law enforcement partners at HSI, investigated Kapoor and his co-conspirators for the illegal looting, exportation, and sale of ancient art from Afghanistan, Cambodia, India, Indonesia, Myanmar, Nepal, Pakistan, Sri Lanka, Thailand, and other nations. Kapoor and his co-defendants generally smuggled looted antiquities into Manhattan and sold the pieces through his Madison Avenue-based gallery, Art of the Past. From 2011 to 2020, the DA's Office and HSI recovered more than 2,500 items trafficked by Kapoor and his network. The total value of the pieces recovered exceeds USD 143 million. HSI New York Acting Special Agent in Charge Ricky Patel said these artifacts are part of India's rich cultural heritage and they are going back to the people of India. "When items like these are stolen and looted, we are determined to make things right, and ultimately return them home where they belong," Patel said. The DA's Office first issued an arrest warrant for Kapoor in 2012. In October 2019, Kapoor and his seven co-defendants were indicted for their conspiracy to traffic stolen antiquities. In July 2020, the DA's Office filed extradition paperwork for Kapoor and his co-defendants. Two of the co-defendants have since been convicted: Richard Salmon in October 2020 and Neil Perry Smith earlier this year. Previously, three others were also convicted: Selina Mohamed (2013), Aaron Freedman (2013), and Sushma Sareen (2014). ALSO READ | Will act inside Pakistan against terrorists if needed, Indian defence minister warns The remaining items returned included 10 pieces seized from Matreiya, the former gallery of known trafficker Nayef Homsi who was convicted by the District Attorney's Office in 2015. Other items from the same seizure were repatriated to India in August 2020. A bronze Shiva Nataraja, circa 12th century, valued at USD 4 million, that was stolen in the 1960s from a temple and smuggled into New York before being sold by Doris Wiener, whose daughter, Nancy Wiener, was convicted by the Office in 2021. The Asia Society, the unwitting recipient of the piece, cooperated fully with the investigation. Another item returned was a bronze Nandikesvara and bronze Kankalamurti, which were stolen from the Sri Narasinganata Temple in India in May 1985 and resurfaced at separate auctions during this year's Asia Week. Manhattan-based Bonhams Auction House, the unwitting recipient of the piece, cooperated fully with this investigation. As of Thursday's ceremony, the DA's Office has returned 516 antiquities to 12 nations since August 2020, including, in recent months, 27 relics to Cambodia, 33 treasures to Afghanistan, and 104 artifacts to Pakistan. During the past two months, the Antiquities Trafficking Unit also repatriated 16 pieces associated with the infamous Spanish conquistador Hernan Cortes to Mexico. This collection of priceless 16th Century manuscripts "including letters, royal decrees, and other legal documents" was stolen from Mexico's National Archive and later appeared at numerous galleries and auction houses in the same year. New York-based Swann Gallery and Bonhams Auction House, the unwitting recipients of the stolen manuscripts, cooperated fully with this investigation.

US returns 248 antiquities valued at $15 million to India, including 12th-century bronze Shiva Nataraja

Democrats are divided over a high stakes infra bill introduced by the US President. Dozens of progressive democrats in the house opposed the 1 trillion dollar infrastructure bill.

US: Democrats divided over a high stakes infra bill

US' economy is slowing down. Commerce dept data shows US' economy has registered a growth of only 2 per cent in the third quarter.

US' economy registers growth of only 2 per cent in the third quarter

US President Joe Biden is looking for a political victory. Before he departed for Rome, he unveiled a revised build back better plan. Biden is hoping that the new 1.75 trillion dollar bill will win the support of Democrats.

US President Joe Biden unveiled a revised build back better plan

United States has issued its first Gender X passport, U.S. is not the first country to allow citizens to declare themselves as non-binary, third gender on their passports. India, and 14 other countries, already have the provision. Palki Sharma brings you a report.

Gravitas: U.S. issues its first Gender X passport

A suburban Baltimore high school graduate turned al-Qaida courier, speaking to a military jury for the first time, gave a detailed account Thursday of the brutal forced feedings, crude waterboarding and other physical and sexual abuse he endured during his 2003 to 2006 detention in the CIA’s overseas prison network.

Appearing in open court, Majid Khan, 41, became the first former prisoner of the black sites to openly describe, anywhere, the violent and cruel “enhanced interrogation techniques” that agents used to extract information and confessions from terrorism suspects.

For more than two hours, he spoke about dungeonlike conditions, humiliating stretches of nudity with only a hood on his head, sometimes while his arms were chained in ways that made sleep impossible, and being intentionally nearly drowned in icy cold water in tubs at two sites, once while a CIA interrogator counted down from 10 before water was poured into his nose and mouth.

Soon after his capture in Pakistan in March 2003, Khan said, he cooperated with his captors, telling them everything he knew, with the hope of release. “Instead, the more I cooperated, the more I was tortured,” he said.

The dramatic accounting capped a day in which eight U.S. military officers were selected to serve on a jury, which will deliberate Friday on his official sentence in the range of 25 to 40 years, starting from his guilty plea in February 2012.

But the sentence is largely symbolic, a military commission requirement

Unknown to the jurors, Khan and his lawyers reached a secret deal this year with a senior Pentagon official in which his actual sentence could end as early as February and no later than February 2025 because Khan had become a government cooperator upon pleading guilty.

Jurors were told that in 2012 Khan pleaded guilty to terrorism charges, including murder in violation of the law of war, for delivering $50,000 of al-Qaida money from Pakistan to an al-Qaida affiliate in early 2003. The money was used in a deadly bombing of a Marriott hotel in August 2003, while Khan was a prisoner of the CIA. He has said he did not know how the money would be used.

He also admitted to plotting a number of other crimes with Khalid Shaikh Mohammed, the accused mastermind of the Sept. 11 attacks, notably by wearing a suicide vest in a failed effort in 2002 to assassinate the president of Pakistan at the time, Pervez Musharraf, a U.S. ally in the war on terrorism.

Sentencing was delayed for nearly a decade to give Khan time and opportunity to cooperate with federal and military prosecutors, so far behind the scenes, in federal and military terrorism cases. In the intervening years, prosecutors and defence lawyers clashed in court filings over who would be called to testify about Khan’s abuse in CIA custody, and how.

In court Thursday, Khan read from a carefully worded 39-page account that did not identify CIA agents or the countries and foreign intelligence agencies that had a role in his secret detention at black sites — information that is protected at the national security court. He expressed remorse for hurting people through his embrace of radical Islam and al-Qaida, but also found a way around a labyrinth of U.S. intelligence classifications to realize a decade-long ambition to tell the world what U.S. agents had done to him.

“To those who tortured me, I forgive you,” he said, noting that while he was in custody he had rejected al-Qaida, terrorism, “violence and hatred.”

“I hope in the day of judgment that Allah will do the same for you and for me. I ask forgiveness from those whom I have wronged and I have hurt.”

It was an emotional day for Khan. His father, Ali, and a sister, both U.S. citizens, sat behind the court in a gallery, seeing him in person for the first time since he left the United States and joined al-Qaida after the Sept. 11 attacks. They were 50 feet from him and did not seem to recognize the now balding middle-age man with a gray goatee when he first entered the court.

After many minutes he caught their eyes, then waved. His father looked startled. Khan craned his neck frequently during the proceedings to see his family — and at one point formed a heart with his hands.

He juxtaposed his remarks of contrition with previously unheard details of what happened to him at the hands of the United States, the country his parents and siblings adopted by becoming citizens even as he did not.

His father wept through long stretches of the descriptions, at times hiding his head in his hands, while his sister, also tearful, tried to comfort him. The jury of Marine, Navy and Army officers watched and listened soberly, but displayed no emotion.

He received beatings while nude and spent long stretches in chains — at times shackled to a wall and crouching “like a dog,” he said, or with his arms extended high above his head and chained to a beam inside his cell. He was kept in darkness and dragged, hooded and shackled, his head slamming into floors, walls and stairs as he was moved between cells.

Before the CIA moved him from one prison to another, he said, a medic inserted an enema and then put him in a diaper held in place by duct tape so he would not need a bathroom break during flights. Guards moving him would hood him, aside from the time he had his face duct taped.

While held in a Muslim country, he said, his captors allowed him to pray. But at times the Americans did not.

Earlier accounts released by his lawyers said he was so sleep deprived for a time that he began to hallucinate. He described the experience: images of a cow and a giant lizard advancing on him inside a cell while he was chained to a beam above his head. He tried to kick them away but lost his balance, causing his chains to jerk him.

Khan gained attention with the release of a 2014 study of the CIA program by the Senate Intelligence Committee that said, after he refused to eat, his captors “infused” a puree of his lunch through his anus. The CIA called it rectal refeeding. Khan called it rape.

The CIA pumped water up the rectum of prisoners who would not follow a command to drink. Khan said this was done to him with “green garden hoses. They connected one end to the faucet, put the other in my rectum and they turned on the water.” He said he lost control of his bowels after those episodes and, to this day, has haemorrhoids.

He spoke about failed and sadistic responses to his hunger strikes and other acts of rebellion. Medics would roughly insert a feeding tube up his nose and down the back of his throat. He would try to bite it off and, in at least one instance, he said, a CIA officer used a plunger to force food inside his stomach, a technique that caused stomach cramps and diarrhoea.

The intelligence agency declined Thursday to comment on the descriptions offered in the hearing but noted that the CIA’s detention and interrogation program ended in 2009.

Lawyers sought permission to bring Khan’s wife and daughter, who was born after his capture, to the court, but the commander of the military’s Southern Command, which oversees prison operations, opposed their attendance. Like Khan, who acquired permanent resident status as a boy in the United States but never became a U.S. citizen, his wife and daughter are citizens of Pakistan.

Khan began by telling the jury that he was born in Saudi Arabia and was raised in Pakistan, the youngest son of eight siblings, until his father acquired a gas station in Maryland and moved the family to the United States when he was 16. He went on to graduate from a high school in suburban Baltimore and was working for a telecommunications contractor that managed the Pentagon phone system at the time of the Sept. 11 attacks.

He described the attacks and the death of his mother months earlier in 2001 as a turning point in his life.

Until then, he said, he had straddled two worlds: his traditional Pakistani family life and that of an American teenager who “smoked weed occasionally and had my share of girlfriends,” both of which he hid from his mother. After she died, he said, he was drawn to practicing Islam.

He rejected the explanation that Muslims had carried out the attack, “thinking that this was just another way the universe was kicking me while I was down, making me question my faith in Islam.”

During a family trip to Pakistan in 2002 — in which both he and his sister found spouses in arranged marriages — he encountered relatives, cousins and an uncle who had in earlier years joined the jihad in Afghanistan and had ties to al-Qaida.

“I was lost and vulnerable, and they went after me,” he said, including by showing him “propaganda videos” about the detention operation at Guantánamo, the base where he would be transferred for trial in 2006.

“I went willingly to al-Qaida,” he said. “I was stupid, so incredibly stupid. But they promised to relieve my pain and purify my sins. They promised to redeem me, and I believed them.”

A suburban Baltimore high school graduate turned al-Qaida courier, speaking to a military jury for the first time, gave a detailed account Thursday of the brutal forced feedings, crude waterboarding and other physical and sexual abuse he endured during his 2003 to 2006 detention in the CIA’s overseas prison network.

A suburban Baltimore high school graduate turned al-Qaida courier, speaking to a military jury for the first time, gave a detailed account Thursday of the brutal forced feedings, crude waterboarding and other physical and sexual abuse he endured during his 2003 to 2006 detention in the CIA’s overseas prison network. Appearing in open court, Majid Khan, 41, became the first former prisoner of the black sites to openly describe, anywhere, the violent and cruel “enhanced interrogation techniques” that agents used to extract information and confessions from terrorism suspects. For more than two hours, he spoke about dungeonlike conditions, humiliating stretches of nudity with only a hood on his head, sometimes while his arms were chained in ways that made sleep impossible, and being intentionally nearly drowned in icy cold water in tubs at two sites, once while a CIA interrogator counted down from 10 before water was poured into his nose and mouth. Soon after his capture in Pakistan in March 2003, Khan said, he cooperated with his captors, telling them everything he knew, with the hope of release. “Instead, the more I cooperated, the more I was tortured,” he said. The dramatic accounting capped a day in which eight U.S. military officers were selected to serve on a jury, which will deliberate Friday on his official sentence in the range of 25 to 40 years, starting from his guilty plea in February 2012. But the sentence is largely symbolic, a military commission requirement Unknown to the jurors, Khan and his lawyers reached a secret deal this year with a senior Pentagon official in which his actual sentence could end as early as February and no later than February 2025 because Khan had become a government cooperator upon pleading guilty. Jurors were told that in 2012 Khan pleaded guilty to terrorism charges, including murder in violation of the law of war, for delivering $50,000 of al-Qaida money from Pakistan to an al-Qaida affiliate in early 2003. The money was used in a deadly bombing of a Marriott hotel in August 2003, while Khan was a prisoner of the CIA. He has said he did not know how the money would be used. He also admitted to plotting a number of other crimes with Khalid Shaikh Mohammed, the accused mastermind of the Sept. 11 attacks, notably by wearing a suicide vest in a failed effort in 2002 to assassinate the president of Pakistan at the time, Pervez Musharraf, a U.S. ally in the war on terrorism. Sentencing was delayed for nearly a decade to give Khan time and opportunity to cooperate with federal and military prosecutors, so far behind the scenes, in federal and military terrorism cases. In the intervening years, prosecutors and defence lawyers clashed in court filings over who would be called to testify about Khan’s abuse in CIA custody, and how. In court Thursday, Khan read from a carefully worded 39-page account that did not identify CIA agents or the countries and foreign intelligence agencies that had a role in his secret detention at black sites — information that is protected at the national security court. He expressed remorse for hurting people through his embrace of radical Islam and al-Qaida, but also found a way around a labyrinth of U.S. intelligence classifications to realize a decade-long ambition to tell the world what U.S. agents had done to him. “To those who tortured me, I forgive you,” he said, noting that while he was in custody he had rejected al-Qaida, terrorism, “violence and hatred.” “I hope in the day of judgment that Allah will do the same for you and for me. I ask forgiveness from those whom I have wronged and I have hurt.” It was an emotional day for Khan. His father, Ali, and a sister, both U.S. citizens, sat behind the court in a gallery, seeing him in person for the first time since he left the United States and joined al-Qaida after the Sept. 11 attacks. They were 50 feet from him and did not seem to recognize the now balding middle-age man with a gray goatee when he first entered the court. After many minutes he caught their eyes, then waved. His father looked startled. Khan craned his neck frequently during the proceedings to see his family — and at one point formed a heart with his hands. He juxtaposed his remarks of contrition with previously unheard details of what happened to him at the hands of the United States, the country his parents and siblings adopted by becoming citizens even as he did not. His father wept through long stretches of the descriptions, at times hiding his head in his hands, while his sister, also tearful, tried to comfort him. The jury of Marine, Navy and Army officers watched and listened soberly, but displayed no emotion. He received beatings while nude and spent long stretches in chains — at times shackled to a wall and crouching “like a dog,” he said, or with his arms extended high above his head and chained to a beam inside his cell. He was kept in darkness and dragged, hooded and shackled, his head slamming into floors, walls and stairs as he was moved between cells. Before the CIA moved him from one prison to another, he said, a medic inserted an enema and then put him in a diaper held in place by duct tape so he would not need a bathroom break during flights. Guards moving him would hood him, aside from the time he had his face duct taped. While held in a Muslim country, he said, his captors allowed him to pray. But at times the Americans did not. Earlier accounts released by his lawyers said he was so sleep deprived for a time that he began to hallucinate. He described the experience: images of a cow and a giant lizard advancing on him inside a cell while he was chained to a beam above his head. He tried to kick them away but lost his balance, causing his chains to jerk him. Khan gained attention with the release of a 2014 study of the CIA program by the Senate Intelligence Committee that said, after he refused to eat, his captors “infused” a puree of his lunch through his anus. The CIA called it rectal refeeding. Khan called it rape. The CIA pumped water up the rectum of prisoners who would not follow a command to drink. Khan said this was done to him with “green garden hoses. They connected one end to the faucet, put the other in my rectum and they turned on the water.” He said he lost control of his bowels after those episodes and, to this day, has haemorrhoids. He spoke about failed and sadistic responses to his hunger strikes and other acts of rebellion. Medics would roughly insert a feeding tube up his nose and down the back of his throat. He would try to bite it off and, in at least one instance, he said, a CIA officer used a plunger to force food inside his stomach, a technique that caused stomach cramps and diarrhoea. The intelligence agency declined Thursday to comment on the descriptions offered in the hearing but noted that the CIA’s detention and interrogation program ended in 2009. Lawyers sought permission to bring Khan’s wife and daughter, who was born after his capture, to the court, but the commander of the military’s Southern Command, which oversees prison operations, opposed their attendance. Like Khan, who acquired permanent resident status as a boy in the United States but never became a U.S. citizen, his wife and daughter are citizens of Pakistan. Khan began by telling the jury that he was born in Saudi Arabia and was raised in Pakistan, the youngest son of eight siblings, until his father acquired a gas station in Maryland and moved the family to the United States when he was 16. He went on to graduate from a high school in suburban Baltimore and was working for a telecommunications contractor that managed the Pentagon phone system at the time of the Sept. 11 attacks. He described the attacks and the death of his mother months earlier in 2001 as a turning point in his life. Until then, he said, he had straddled two worlds: his traditional Pakistani family life and that of an American teenager who “smoked weed occasionally and had my share of girlfriends,” both of which he hid from his mother. After she died, he said, he was drawn to practicing Islam. He rejected the explanation that Muslims had carried out the attack, “thinking that this was just another way the universe was kicking me while I was down, making me question my faith in Islam.” During a family trip to Pakistan in 2002 — in which both he and his sister found spouses in arranged marriages — he encountered relatives, cousins and an uncle who had in earlier years joined the jihad in Afghanistan and had ties to al-Qaida. “I was lost and vulnerable, and they went after me,” he said, including by showing him “propaganda videos” about the detention operation at Guantánamo, the base where he would be transferred for trial in 2006. “I went willingly to al-Qaida,” he said. “I was stupid, so incredibly stupid. But they promised to relieve my pain and purify my sins. They promised to redeem me, and I believed them.”

For first time in public, a detainee describes torture at CIA black sites

The largest U.S. manufacturers including General Motors, General Electric, 3M and Boeing face logistics headaches and higher costs due to global supply bottlenecks that are likely to persist into next year but agreed the hit to profits can be mitigated by charging higher prices for their goods.

US companies to keep prices high as supply chain headaches persist

Taiwanese President Tsai Ing-wen has confirmed that the American troops are stationed in the island nation and training the Taipei military.

Speaking with CNN on Tuesday, Tsai said the threat from Beijing is growing “every day”, while expressing confidence that US will defend the island against the Chinese attack.

Tsai is the first Taiwan President in decades to acknowledge the presence of US troops on the island for training purposes. The last official US garrison left was in 1979, the year Washington switched formal&nbsp;diplomatic recognition from Taipei to Beijing. However, there were US media reports last year hinting at small deployments.

According to CNN, the US military posted and then deleted a video in early 2020 that showed US Army Special Forces training soldiers in Taiwan.

Also read |&nbsp;<a href="https://www.wionews.com/world/taiwan-wants-its-us-office-to-be-renamed-china-retaliates-report-412894">Taiwan wants its US office to be renamed; China retaliates: Report</a>

In November 2020, Taiwan's Defence Ministry&nbsp;announced and then denied&nbsp;to local media that US troops were training local soldiers on the island.

The comments from Tsai came after US President Joe Biden last week asserted that Washington would defend Taipei if China attacked.

But a White House spokesman later told some US media outlets that the president's remarks did not signify a change in policy. The US has a law that requires it to help Taiwan defend itself.

Also read |&nbsp;<a href="https://www.wionews.com/world/stop-any-form-of-us-taiwan-official-contacts-china-warns-america-377317">Stop any form of US-Taiwan official contacts: China warns America</a>

Tsai told CNN that Taiwan was a “beacon” of democracy that needed to be defended to uphold faith worldwide in democratic values.

“Here is this island of 23 million people trying hard every day to protect ourselves and protect our democracy and making sure that our people have the kind of freedom they deserve,” she said.

"If we fail, then that means people that believe in these values would doubt whether these are values that they (should) be fighting for,” she added.

Also read |<a href="https://www.wionews.com/world/us-taiwan-sign-first-agreement-under-biden-administration-after-china-law-373392">&nbsp;US, Taiwan sign first agreement under Biden administration after China law</a>

Tsai said she is willing to meet with Chinese President Xi Jinping in order to “reduce misunderstanding” and address the differences in their political systems.

“We can sit down and talk about our differences, and try to make arrangements so that we will be able to co-exist peacefully,” she said.

However, China seems to be in no mood for the talks as it has expressed displeasure over Taiwan joining the United Nations.

The US proposing more involvement of Taiwan in the United Nations does not make sense for Beijing as the Xi Jinping government considers Taiwan as a part of China. "Taiwan has no right to join the United Nations," Ma Xiaoguang, spokesman for the Taiwan Affairs Office in Beijing, told reporters.

"The United Nations is an international governmental organisation composed of sovereign states... Taiwan is a part of China."

(With inputs from agencies)

Taiwanese President Tsai Ing-wen has confirmed that the American troops are stationed in the island nation and training the Taipei military. Speaking with CNN on Tuesday, Tsai said the threat from Beijing is growing “every day”, while expressing confidence that US will defend the island against the Chinese attack.

Taiwanese President Tsai Ing-wen has confirmed that the American troops are stationed in the island nation and training the Taipei military. Speaking with CNN on Tuesday, Tsai said the threat from Beijing is growing “every day”, while expressing confidence that US will defend the island against the Chinese attack. Tsai is the first Taiwan President in decades to acknowledge the presence of US troops on the island for training purposes. The last official US garrison left was in 1979, the year Washington switched formal diplomatic recognition from Taipei to Beijing. However, there were US media reports last year hinting at small deployments. According to CNN, the US military posted and then deleted a video in early 2020 that showed US Army Special Forces training soldiers in Taiwan. Also read | Taiwan wants its US office to be renamed; China retaliates: Report In November 2020, Taiwan's Defence Ministry announced and then denied to local media that US troops were training local soldiers on the island. The comments from Tsai came after US President Joe Biden last week asserted that Washington would defend Taipei if China attacked. But a White House spokesman later told some US media outlets that the president's remarks did not signify a change in policy. The US has a law that requires it to help Taiwan defend itself. Also read | Stop any form of US-Taiwan official contacts: China warns America Tsai told CNN that Taiwan was a “beacon” of democracy that needed to be defended to uphold faith worldwide in democratic values. “Here is this island of 23 million people trying hard every day to protect ourselves and protect our democracy and making sure that our people have the kind of freedom they deserve,” she said. "If we fail, then that means people that believe in these values would doubt whether these are values that they (should) be fighting for,” she added. Also read | US, Taiwan sign first agreement under Biden administration after China law Tsai said she is willing to meet with Chinese President Xi Jinping in order to “reduce misunderstanding” and address the differences in their political systems. “We can sit down and talk about our differences, and try to make arrangements so that we will be able to co-exist peacefully,” she said. However, China seems to be in no mood for the talks as it has expressed displeasure over Taiwan joining the United Nations. The US proposing more involvement of Taiwan in the United Nations does not make sense for Beijing as the Xi Jinping government considers Taiwan as a part of China. "Taiwan has no right to join the United Nations," Ma Xiaoguang, spokesman for the Taiwan Affairs Office in Beijing, told reporters. "The United Nations is an international governmental organisation composed of sovereign states... Taiwan is a part of China." (With inputs from agencies)

Taiwan’s President confirms American troops stationed in the island training Taiwanese military

The Justice Department announced an $88 million settlement on Thursday with victims of a white supremacist who shot dead nine Black churchgoers in South Carolina in 2015.

The settlement stems from allegations that the FBI was negligent when it failed to prohibit the sale of a gun by a licensed firearms dealer to the shooter, Dylan Roof, the Justice Department said.

Roof, 27, a self-proclaimed white supremacist, is facing the death penalty for the massacre at the Emanuel African Methodist Episcopal Church in Charleston.

"The mass shooting at Mother Emanuel AME Church was a horrific hate crime that caused immeasurable suffering for the families of the victims and the survivors," Attorney General Merrick Garland said, announcing the settlement.

<a href="https://www.wionews.com/world/france-seizes-british-trawler-in-post-brexit-row-over-fishing-rights-424718">Also read |&nbsp;France seizes British trawler in post-Brexit row over fishing rights</a>

"Since the day of the shooting, the Justice Department has sought to bring justice to the community, first by a successful hate crime prosecution and today by settling civil claims."

The Justice Department said the settlement resolves claims from the families of the nine victims of the shooting and from the five survivors who were inside the church at the time of the shooting.&nbsp;

It said the settlements range from $6 million to $7.5 million for relatives of the nine victims and $5 million each for the five survivors.

The families of the "Emanuel Nine" and the survivors sued the government for wrongful death and physical injuries.

They claimed the FBI's National Instant Criminal Background Checks System failed to discover in a timely manner that Roof was prohibited by federal law from possessing a firearm.&nbsp;

The Justice Department announced an $88 million settlement on Thursday with victims of a white supremacist who shot dead nine Black churchgoers in South Carolina in 2015.

The Justice Department announced an $88 million settlement on Thursday with victims of a white supremacist who shot dead nine Black churchgoers in South Carolina in 2015. The settlement stems from allegations that the FBI was negligent when it failed to prohibit the sale of a gun by a licensed firearms dealer to the shooter, Dylan Roof, the Justice Department said. Roof, 27, a self-proclaimed white supremacist, is facing the death penalty for the massacre at the Emanuel African Methodist Episcopal Church in Charleston. "The mass shooting at Mother Emanuel AME Church was a horrific hate crime that caused immeasurable suffering for the families of the victims and the survivors," Attorney General Merrick Garland said, announcing the settlement. Also read | France seizes British trawler in post-Brexit row over fishing rights "Since the day of the shooting, the Justice Department has sought to bring justice to the community, first by a successful hate crime prosecution and today by settling civil claims." The Justice Department said the settlement resolves claims from the families of the nine victims of the shooting and from the five survivors who were inside the church at the time of the shooting. It said the settlements range from $6 million to $7.5 million for relatives of the nine victims and $5 million each for the five survivors. The families of the "Emanuel Nine" and the survivors sued the government for wrongful death and physical injuries. They claimed the FBI's National Instant Criminal Background Checks System failed to discover in a timely manner that Roof was prohibited by federal law from possessing a firearm.

US reaches $88 million settlement with Black victims of white supremacist

Joe Biden held a meet with leaders from Southeast Asia virtually. In his opening remarks, he said that the United States is committed to the central role of ten ASEAN nations in the region and called China's actions towards Taiwan "coercive" and a threat to peace and stability.

ASEAN Summit: Biden vows to stand with Southeast Asia, hits China

The top US military officer, General Mark Milley, has officially given confirmation of a Chinese hypersonic weapons test and called it "very concerning."

US confirms China's hypersonic missile test with concern

President Tsai Ing-wen confirmed the presence of US troops are training Taiwan forces on the island.

Taiwan president Tsai Ing-wen confirms US troops training on island

Iran’s foreign minister and the country’s top nuclear negotiator, Ali Bagheri Kani, has said that Tehran will resume talks next month with world powers over its 2015 nuclear deal.

Kani confirmed the talks after meeting with European officials in Brussels on Wednesday, saying the exact date will be announced next week.

The other participants in the talks —which included indirect negotiations between the United States and Iran —still need to confirm their participation.

Also read |&nbsp;<a href="https://www.wionews.com/world/biden-wants-to-rejoin-iran-nuclear-deal-but-it-wont-be-easy-343936">Biden wants to rejoin Iran nuclear deal, but it won’t be easy</a>

“We agree to start negotiations before the end of November. Exact date would be announced in the course of the next week,” Bagheri wrote on Twitter.

The talks that were held in Vienna broke off in June at the time of the Iranian presidential elections.

Also read |<a href="https://www.wionews.com/world/iran-to-launch-arak-nuclear-research-reactor-within-a-year-418149">&nbsp;Iran to launch Arak nuclear research reactor 'within a year'</a>

The new hardline president Ebrahim Raisi has been under pressure from allies including&nbsp;Russia&nbsp;to return to the talks.

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had a very serious &amp; constructive dialogue with <a href="https://twitter.com/enriquemora_?ref_src=twsrc%5Etfw">@enriquemora_</a> on the essential elements for successful negotiations. 
We agree to start negotiations before the end of November. Exact date would be announced in the course of the next week. <a href="https://t.co/0A7BOPZh8f">https://t.co/0A7BOPZh8f</a>
— علی باقری‌کنی (@Bagheri_Kani) <a href="https://twitter.com/Bagheri_Kani/status/1453368358645207046?ref_src=twsrc%5Etfw">October 27, 2021</a></blockquote>
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The agreement between Iran and world powers to find a long-term solution to the crisis over its controversial nuclear programme has been suspended since former US president Donald Trump walked out of the deal in May 2018 and imposed a series of sanctions.

Also read |&nbsp;<a href="https://www.wionews.com/world/france-britain-and-germany-regret-us-end-to-iran-nuclear-waivers-301999">France, Britain and Germany regret US end to Iran nuclear waivers</a>

His successor Joe Biden has said he is ready to re-enter the agreement, as long as Iran meets key preconditions including full compliance with the deal whose terms it has repeatedly violated by ramping up nuclear activities since the US left the pact.

Another issue is that Iran continues to push for guarantees that the US and European powers won’t renege on their commitments in the future.

There was also some controversy over in what format Iranian officials wanted to meet with their European counterparts prior to the Vienna negotiations.

The EU acts as a coordinator for the deal that also involves Britain, France, Germany, China and Russia.

(With inputs from agencies)

Iran’s foreign minister and the country’s top nuclear negotiator, Ali Bagheri Kani, has said that Tehran will resume talks next month with world powers over its 2015 nuclear deal.

Iran’s foreign minister and the country’s top nuclear negotiator, Ali Bagheri Kani, has said that Tehran will resume talks next month with world powers over its 2015 nuclear deal. Kani confirmed the talks after meeting with European officials in Brussels on Wednesday, saying the exact date will be announced next week. The other participants in the talks —which included indirect negotiations between the United States and Iran —still need to confirm their participation. Also read | Biden wants to rejoin Iran nuclear deal, but it won’t be easy “We agree to start negotiations before the end of November. Exact date would be announced in the course of the next week,” Bagheri wrote on Twitter. The talks that were held in Vienna broke off in June at the time of the Iranian presidential elections. Also read | Iran to launch Arak nuclear research reactor 'within a year' The new hardline president Ebrahim Raisi has been under pressure from allies including Russia to return to the talks. had a very serious & constructive dialogue with @enriquemora_ on the essential elements for successful negotiations. We agree to start negotiations before the end of November. Exact date would be announced in the course of the next week. https://t.co/0A7BOPZh8f — علی باقری‌کنی (@Bagheri_Kani) October 27, 2021 × The agreement between Iran and world powers to find a long-term solution to the crisis over its controversial nuclear programme has been suspended since former US president Donald Trump walked out of the deal in May 2018 and imposed a series of sanctions. Also read | France, Britain and Germany regret US end to Iran nuclear waivers His successor Joe Biden has said he is ready to re-enter the agreement, as long as Iran meets key preconditions including full compliance with the deal whose terms it has repeatedly violated by ramping up nuclear activities since the US left the pact. Another issue is that Iran continues to push for guarantees that the US and European powers won’t renege on their commitments in the future. There was also some controversy over in what format Iranian officials wanted to meet with their European counterparts prior to the Vienna negotiations. The EU acts as a coordinator for the deal that also involves Britain, France, Germany, China and Russia. (With inputs from agencies)

Iran agrees to restart negotiations on 2015 nuclear deal by November-end

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