TheNewsGuru

Tag: U.S.

  • Nigeria receives $8.1 billion from U.S. in 20 years

    Nigeria receives $8.1 billion from U.S. in 20 years

    The United States (US) says it has sent more than $8.1 billion in total assistance for Nigeria over the past 20 years, including more than $5.2 billion for health.

    TheNewsGuru.com (TNG) reports Morgan Ortagus, U.S. State Department Spokesperson made this known in a fact sheet released on Friday.

    According to the fact sheet, Nigeria has received “Nearly $42 million in assistance, which includes more than $3.3 million for health assistance and $34 million in IDA humanitarian funding for risk-communications, water and sanitation, infection-prevention, coordination, and emergency food assistance; and more than $4.7 million in MRA humanitarian assistance for vulnerable people.

    “On August 11, USAID handed over a donation of 200 ventilators to the Nigerian government. This assistance joins more than $8.1 billion in total assistance for Nigeria over the past 20 years, including more than $5.2 billion for health”.

  • Top Trump adviser to leave White House

    Top Trump adviser to leave White House

    Kellyanne Conway, a senior adviser to U.S. President Donald Trump, said she will be leaving the White House this month, citing the need to focus on her four children.

    “This is completely my choice and my voice.

    “In time, I will announce future plans,’’ Conway said in a statement.

    “For now and for my beloved children, it will be less drama, more mama.’’

    Conway’s statement, late Sunday night, comes as the divisive Conway family dynamics have been on public display for months, with the Trump adviser’s daughter taking to social media to voice her opposition to the president and issuing personal attacks on her mother.

    Conway’s husband, George, is a prominent conservative lawyer and vocal critic of his wife’s boss.

    In a tweet, George Conway said he will be leaving the Lincoln Project, a group of anti-Trump Republicans seeing to oust the president to “devote more time to family matters’’.

    The president has voiced his dislike of George Conway calling him “a stone cold loser and husband from hell’’ in a tweet last year.

    In 2016, Conway led the Trump campaign to victory, becoming the first female campaign manager to do so and she immediately entered the White House as one of Trump’s fiercest defenders.

    She earned scorn in the early days of the Trump administration when she uttered the now iconic phrase “alternative facts” to defend the White House, making false claims over the Trump inauguration crowd size.

    The surprise announcement comes a day before the start of the Republican National Convention.

  • Biden vows end to ‘American darkness’

    Biden vows end to ‘American darkness’

    Joe Biden accepted the nomination of the Democratic Party to become president of the U.S., in a resounding speech on Thursday that sharply denounced President Donald Trump’s handling of the coronavirus pandemic.

    “Our current president has failed in his most basic duty to the nation. He’s failed to protect us, he has failed to protect America,” Biden said, calling it “unforgivable,” on the fourth and final night of the Democratic National Convention, which was held mostly-online.

    The mostly-forward looking address from the former vice president declared that “hope is more powerful than fear,” and vowed to get a grip on the virus and the recession from the first day of a Biden presidency, including by enforcing a mask mandate.

    The forceful address, given without a crowd because of the pandemic, and therefore lacking the normal cheers and applause, seemed also designed to lay to rest attacks on Biden from the Trump camp that the 77-year-old had become mentally feeble.

    “May history be able to say that the end of this chapter of American darkness began here tonight,” Biden concluded, before stepping outside the building with his wife Jill, to wave to masked supporters who waited at their cars, at a distance, as fireworks erupted.

    The party united around Biden in the lead-up to the speech, in a barely disguised effort to remove any doubt about fault lines within the leaft-leaning bloc.

    Several of the most prominent Democrats who ran against Biden gathered for a digital sit-in just before the final acceptance speech, to share jokes, praise the nominee and present a determined front against Trump.

    They presented Biden as an empathetic down-to-earth person who will run a coherent White House, with policies that would offer something to the left while not upsetting disgruntled Republicans the party is courting.

    Over four days, the party highlighted support for Biden from figures on the social-democrat left, such as Senator Bernie Sanders, and Republicans who crossed party lines, as it became clear the coalition was against the current occupant of the White House.

    While Biden pledged to create jobs and fight climate change, his focus was primarily on presenting a vision that would be starkly different from the what was described as brash populism and chaos of the Trump administration.

    “This is a life-changing election. This is going to determine what America will look like for a long, long time,” Biden said.

    “Character is on the ballot. Compassion is on the ballot. Decency, science, democracy. They’re all on the ballot,” Biden said, warning that now was a “time of real peril but also extraordinary possibilities.”

    Just ahead of Biden’s acceptance speech, the Democratic National Convention gave the stage to a 13-year-old boy with a severe stutter to speak about his interaction with the nominee, in a move that was clearly determined to tug at heart strings.

    Biden has himself addressed his own stuttering issue, recalling being mocked as a young boy and which at times still trips him up.

    The boy, Brayden Harrington, had met Biden in New Hampshire and said he took courage from the former vice president’s story.

    “Kids like me are counting on you to elect someone we can all look up to,” Harrington told the convention over a video-link.

    The host for the evening was Julia Louis-Dreyfus – known from TV shows “Seinfield” and “Veep” – who handled the cross-overs much like the emcee of the Oscars or other awards shows, adding comedic flair to what was often an affair with grim overtones.

    Trump tried to distract from the Democrats by going on television just as the convention was getting under way, to slam his opponents and cast doubt on the election outcome, a recurring theme that has sparked worry among his critics.

    “It’s a fraudulent election, everybody knows it. You don’t even have to know politics to know it. They’re trying to steal the election,” Trump said during an interview with Fox News host Sean Hannity.

    Ealier in the day he had described them as “stone cold crazy… these people have gone insane.”

    He later told Fox the Democrats had “tremendous hate.”

    The Democratic convention focused on themes of the pandemic, joblessness, growing gaps between rich and poor, and racism.

    The Republican convention gets under way on Monday, with Trump to be nominated.

    The centre-right party has kept much of its plans under wraps, amid signs it is hastily still putting together a programme.

  • Convention: Democratic heavyweights descend on Trump

    Convention: Democratic heavyweights descend on Trump

    U.S. President Donald Trump suffered scathing attacks from top Democrats on the first day of the party’s National Convention on Monday night.

    Speakers at the virtual event also took turns to drum support for Mr Joe Biden, the presumed candidate of the party in the Nov. 3 presidential election.

    Among those who spoke through video messages are former First Lady, Michelle Obama; Biden’s former rival in the primary, Sen. Bernie Sanders, and New York governor, Mr Andrew Cuomo.

    Obama painted a gloomy picture of the state of the American nation with focus on the coronavirus pandemic and its devastating socio-economic impacts.

    She also highlighted the division in the country caused largely by racial discrimination and alleged divisive rhetorics from the White House.

    “Whenever we look to this White House for some leadership or consolation or any semblance of steadiness, what we get instead is chaos, division and a total lack of empathy.

    “Let me be as honest and clear as I possibly can: Donald Trump is the wrong president for our country.

    “He has had more than enough time to prove that he can do the job, but he is clearly in and over his head.

    “He cannot meet this moment. He simply cannot be who we need him to be for us. It is what it is,” she said.

    The former First Lady, who said she hates politics, emphasised that things could and would get worse if voters failed to make a change in the election.

    She said if Americans had any hope of ending the chaos, they had to vote for Joe Biden “like our lives depend on it”.

    “I know Joe, he is a profoundly decent man guided by faith. He was a terrific Vice President. He knows what it takes to rescue an economy, beat back a pandemic and lead our country.

    “And he listens. He will tell the truth, and trust science, he will make smart plans and manage a good team, and he will govern as someone who’s lived a life that the rest of us can recognise,” she added.

    Speaking live from Vermont, Sanders said the Nov. 3 presidential election was the most important in modern U.S. history.

    The leftwing senator, who contested against Biden for the party’s nomination, endorsed the former Vice President

    He warned that Trump was “leading us down the path to authoritarianism”, adding that all the progress the country had made would be reversed if the President was re-elected.

    “At its most basic, this election is about preserving our democracy. During this president’s term, the unthinkable has become normal.

    “He is trying to prevent people from voting, undermine the U.S. Postal Service, deploy the military and federal agents against peaceful protesters, threaten to delay the election and suggested that he would not leave office if he loses.

    “This is not normal and we must never treat it like it is. This president is not just a threat to our democracy, but by rejecting science, he has put our lives and our health in jeopardy.

    “Trump has attacked doctors and scientists trying to protect us from the pandemic, while refusing to take strong action to produce the masks, gowns and gloves our healthcare workers desperately need,” he fired.

    Turning to Biden, he said Americans must rally round the candidate to build a more equitable, compassionate and inclusive nation.

    “He will rebuild our crumbling infrastructure and fight the threat of climate change by transitioning us to 100 per cent clean electricity over the next 15 years.

    “While Joe and I disagree on the best path to get universal coverage, he has a plan that will greatly expand healthcare and cut the costs of prescription drugs.

    “Further, he will lower the eligibility age of medicare from 65 down to 60,” he said.

    For his part, Gov Cuomo in a prerecorded video address, described the Trump administration as “dysfunctional and incompetent”.

    The New York governor said COVID-19 was a symptom of the problems facing the country, not an illness.

    “Our nation is in crisis, and in many ways, COVID-19 is just a metaphor. A virus attacks when the body is weak, and when it cannot defend itself.

    “Over these past few years, America’s body politics has been weakened, the divisions have been growing deeper, the antisemitism, the anti-Latino, the anti-immigrant, the racism in Charlottesville where the KKK didn’t even bother to wear their hoods.

    “And in Minnesota where the life was squeezed from Mr George Floyd. Only a strong body can fight off the virus, and America’s divisions weakened it,” he said.

    Cuomo stated that Trump did not create the initial division, but rather the division created him, and he only made it worse.

    Attacking Trump’s “poor response” to the pandemic, which he tagged the “European virus”, the governor said the virus infected the north east of the country while the president was fixated on China.

    “The virus had been attacking us for months before they even knew it was here. We saw the failure of a government that tried to deny the virus, that tried to ignore it and then tried to politicise it,” Cuomo added.

    Trump reacted by retweeting some conservative criticisms of a number of the speakers, with focus on the New York governor.

    “Cuomo, just like his brother Fredo, has not got a very good memory!” Trump tweeted, sharing video clips of the governor praising him for his help to the state.

    The four-day virtual convention will cap on Thursday with Biden and his running mate, Sen. Kamala Harris, accepting the party’s nomination.

  • Israeli PM thanks ambassador responsible for peace treaty with UAE

    Israeli PM thanks ambassador responsible for peace treaty with UAE

    Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu has expressed gratitude to Israel’s ambassador to the United States (US), Ron Dermer for helping bring about the historic peace treaty with the United Arab Emirates (UAE).

    TheNewsGuru.com (TNG) reports Netanyahu, who in a statement released via his official Twitter handle on Friday made this known, said the State of Israel is most thankful to Ron.

    “I am very grateful to Israel’s ambassador to the United States, @AmbDermer, for helping bring about the historic peace treaty with the UAE.

    “He worked quietly behind the scenes with great determination and skill with his Emirati counterpart and the White House team to bring this about. The State of Israel is most thankful to you, Ron,” Netanyahu tweeted.

    Netanyahu had earlier expressed optimism that the peace treaty with the UAE will be followed by more Arab nations joining the region’s circle of peace.

    Turkey has diplomatic and trade ties with Israel, but relations have been strained for years.

    In 2010 Israeli commandos killed 10 Turkish activists trying to breach a blockade on the Gaza Strip, which is ruled by the Palestinian Islamist movement Hamas.

    According to Reuters, Israel and the UAE are expected soon to exchange ambassadors and embassies following the agreement.

    A signing ceremony is due to be held at the White House, the news agency added.

    The UAE, therefore, becomes the third Arab country to establish full relations with Israel, after Egypt in 1979 and Jordan in 1994.

    U.S. President Donald Trump helped broker the accord.

    Meanwhile, German Foreign Minister Heiko Maas on Friday congratulated his Israeli counterpart on the “historic step” taken by Israel and the UAE to establish full diplomatic ties.

    The Germany’s top diplomat passed on the message in a phone call with Israeli Foreign Minister Gabi Ashkenazi, a statement shared by Foreign Ministry says.

    “The normalisation of relations between Israel and the UAE is an important contribution to peace in the region,” Maas said.

    He also acknowledges the fact that the Israeli government had suspended its annexation plans.

    “We hope that this agreement serves as a gateway for further positive developments in the region and gives the Middle East peace process new impetus,” he said.

  • COVID-19: FG receives 200 ventilators from US

    COVID-19: FG receives 200 ventilators from US

    The Federal Government on Tuesday received the donation of 200 ventilators promised by the Donald Trump-led administration of the United States Government, to support the country’s fight against the COVID-19 pandemic.

    The ventilators were received by the Ministry of Health from the USAID in Abuja.

    In his remark, the Minister of Health, Dr. Osagie Ehanire, said, “We shall be taking delivery of medical ventilators to shore up our Intensive Care response capability, courtesy of the President and people of the United States of America.

    “This donation consists of 200 ventilators, which, as we all know by now, are a critical component of the response strategy to save the lives of persons who have been severely impacted by this viral infection. They will certainly be of great benefit to the people of Nigeria and I wish to convey the appreciation of His Excellency Muhammadu Buhari, President of the Federal Republic of Nigeria and of the government of Nigeria, to President Donald Trump and the United States Government for the generous consideration and friendly gesture.

    “We particularly appreciate that this gift comes against the backdrop that the United States is also fighting its own fierce battle against the COVID-19 plague. We wish them the very best in this challenge.”

    He added, “I wish to also commend the United States Agency for International Development, the USCDC and the US Ambassador to Nigeria – Her Excellency Mary Beth Leonard, for their interest and engagement in Nigeria, even beyond the advent of COVID-19. Her Excellency has demonstrated personal concern by paying a solidarity visit to the Federal Ministry of Health.

    “I conclude by requesting the United States Government to lend its full weight to global efforts to find efficacious therapeutics and vaccines to neutralize the threat of COVID-19 to the global community and to guarantee fair allocation to all countries and people.

    “The speed and ease with which COVID-19 has spread across the globe clearly shows that it is a threat to mankind. Without the full collaboration of all nations, the threat of COVID-19 to any one part of the world is a threat to all.”

  • U.S. increases cost of citizenship application by 81%, imposes fee for Asylum Seekers, others

    U.S. increases cost of citizenship application by 81%, imposes fee for Asylum Seekers, others

    The Department of Homeland Security said it would increase the fee to apply for U.S. citizenship by 81% to $1,160 and impose a fee for the first time to apply for asylum, according to a filing in the Federal Register on Friday.

    The fee increases, proposed last year, come as the government agency that handles applications faces a budget shortfall and are the latest in a string of rule changes making it tougher for low-income people to immigrate legally or become U.S. citizens.

    “DHS is adjusting USCIS fees by a weighted average increase of 20 percent to help recover its operational costs. Current fees would leave the agency underfunded by about $1 billion per year,” USCIS said in a statement.

    Fees make up nearly 97 percent of the agency’s budget.

    Reacting to the development, Orlando based Immigration Attorney, Nayef Mubarak said one of the biggest changes is the removal of many reduced fees for children under-14 and lower income people.

    “If someone is seeking a permanent resident application, typically their children under the age of 14 will have a fee less than $400 of their own,” Mubarak said. “Now, they’re all required to pay the new fee even for children under 14 for permanent resident applications is an additional fee of about $400.”

    The current fee for children under 14 is $750 for a permanent resident application and without the reduced fee it is $1,130.

    Another change is the 81 percent fee increase for naturalization application. Currently it’s $640 and $320 with a reduced fee, but with the new fee changes it’s $1,170.

    Mubarak said the changes to work visas could deter U.S. businesses foreign businesses from moving stateside.

    “One that I found interesting was the L-1 Visa and the reason I found it interesting is because it’s gone up 75 percent,” Mubarak said. “Moreover, the L-1 Visas are typically for foreign companies who seek to open new offices in the U.S. and typically that leads to employment for U.S. Citizens and residents.”

    He also said it could deter U.S. businesses from hiring foreign workers.

    “Employers have noticed the changes to fees as well so many obstacles that employers find are the fees associated to the non-immigrant petitions,” Mubarak said. “I think that’s just going to add to their concerns when they consider whether or not to hire a foreign worker.”

    The changes take effect on October 2, 2020.

    Find a full list of the fee changes below:

    List of immigration benefit request fees for USCIS forms

    According to USCIS’ final rule, these are the new immigration and naturalization forms that will be subjected to fee increases:

    ▪ I-130, Petition for Alien Relative

    Current fee: $535. Final Fee: $560 ($550 for online filing). Percentage change: 5% (3%).

    ▪ I-131, Application for Travel Document

    For an individual age 16 or older:

    Current fee: $135. Final Fee: $145. Percentage change: 7%.

    For a child under the age of 16:

    Current fee: $105. Final Fee: $115. Percentage change: 10%

    ▪ I-131A, Application for Travel Document (Carrier Documentation)

    Current fee: $575. Final Fee: $1,010. Percentage change: 76%.

    ▪ I-192, Application for Advance Permission to Enter as Nonimmigrant

    Current fee: $585. Final Fee: $1,400. Percentage change: 139%.

    ▪ I-193, Application for Waiver of Passport and/or Visa

    Current fee: $585. Final Fee: $2,790. Percentage change: 377%.

    ▪ I-212, Application for Permission to Reapply for Admission into the United States After Deportation or Removal

    Current fee: $930. Final Fee: $1,050. Percentage change: 13%.

    ▪ I-290B, Notice of Appeal or Motion

    Current fee: $675. Final Fee: $700. Percentage change: 4%.

    ▪ I-360, Petition for Amerasian, Widow(er), or Special Immigrant

    Current fee: $435. Final Fee: $450. Percentage change: 3%.

    ▪ I-526, Immigrant Petition by Alien Investor

    Current fee: $3,675. Final Fee: $4,010. Percentage change: 9%.

    ▪ I-539, Application To Extend/Change Nonimmigrant Status

    Current fee: $370. Final Fee: $400 ($390 for online filing). Percentage change: 8% (5%).

    ▪ I-589, Application for Asylum and for Withholding of Removal

    Current fee: $0. Final Fee: $50. Percentage change: N/A.

    ▪ I-600, Petition to Classify Orphan as Immediate Relative

    Current fee: $775. Final Fee: $805. Percentage change: 4%.

    ▪ I-601, Application for Waiver of Ground of Inadmissibility

    Current fee: $930. Final Fee: $1,010. Percentage change: 9%.

    ▪ I-601A, Application for Provisional Unlawful Presence Waiver

    Current fee: $630. Final Fee: $960. Percentage change: 52%.

    ▪ I-690, Application for Waiver of Grounds of Inadmissibility

    Current fee: $715. Final Fee: $765. Percentage change: 7%.

    ▪ I-751, Petition to Remove Conditions on Residence

    Current fee: $595. Final Fee: $760. Percentage change: 28%.

    ▪ I-765, Application for Employment Authorization

    Current fee: $410. Final Fee: $550. Percentage change: 34%.

    ▪ I-824, Application for Action on an Approved Application or Petition

    Current fee: $465. Final Fee: $495. Percentage change: 6%.

    ▪ I-881, Application for Suspension of Deportation or Special Rule Cancellation of Removal

    Current fee: $285. Final Fee: $1,810. Percentage change: 535%.

    ▪ I-924A, Annual Certification of Regional Center

    Current fee: $3,035. Final Fee: $4,465. Percentage change: 47%.

    ▪ I-929, Petition for Qualifying Family Member of a U-1 Nonimmigrant (Victims of Criminal Activity)

    Current fee: $230. Final Fee: $1,485. Percentage change: 546%.

    ▪ N-300, Application to File Declaration of Intention

    Current fee: $270. Final Fee: $1,305. Percentage change: 383%.

    ▪ N-336, Request for a Hearing on a Decision in Naturalization Proceedings

    Current fee: $700. Final Fee: $1,735 ($1,725 for online filing). Percentage change: 148% (146%).

    ▪ N-400, Application for Naturalization

    Current fee: $640. Final Fee: $1,170 ($1,160 if filed online). Percentage change: 83% (81%).

    ▪ N-470, Application to Preserve Residence for Naturalization Purposes

    Current fee: $355. Final Fee: $1,585. Percentage change: 346%.

    ▪ G-1041, Genealogy Index Search Request

    Current fee: $65. Final Fee: $170 ($160 for online filing). Percentage change: 162% (146%).

    ▪ G-1041A, Genealogy Records Request

    Current fee: $65. Final Fee: $265 ($255 for online filing). Percentage change: 308% (292%).

  • U.S. rift with China over TikTok assumes new high

    U.S. rift with China over TikTok assumes new high

    China says it will not accept the U.S.’ “theft” of a Chinese technology company, state media reported on Tuesday.

    The Trump administration’s pressuring of ByteDance, TikTok’s parent company in China, to sell its U.S. operations to Microsoft or risk closure amounts to a “smash and grab,” the state-run China Daily newspaper wrote in an editorial.

    Beijing has ways to retaliate against Washington’s pressure on the Chinese-owned short video app TikTok.

    While Beijing will likely be “cautious” in imposing equivalent restrictions on U.S. companies in China, it has “plenty of ways” to retaliate, the paper said.

    Microsoft said on Monday that it was in discussions with ByteDance to buy parts of TikTok after U.S. President Donald Trump gave the companies 45 days to reach a deal.

    Trump had initially threatened to ban TikTok in the U.S. on national security grounds.

    U.S. Secretary of State Mike Pompeo said over the weekend that Washington might take action “shortly” against TikTok and other Chinese companies believed to share data with the Chinese government.

    ByteDance said in a statement late Sunday it was still committed to being a global company despite “complex and unimaginable difficulties” including the “tense” international political environment.

  • FG repatriates 289 Nigerians in 4th evacuation flight

    FG repatriates 289 Nigerians in 4th evacuation flight

    The Federal Government has evacuated 289 more Nigerians stranded in the United States due to coronavirus-related border closure.

    An Ethiopian Airlines plane conveying the evacuees took off from New Jersey on Tuesday night, and is expected to land in Abuja on Wednesday afternoon.

    This is the fourth evacuation flight, which brings to 1,095 the total number of stranded Nigerians so far repatriated by the Federal Government from the U.S.

    Two families of seven were dropped from this flight, according to the Consul General of Nigeria in New York, Mr Benaoyagha Okoyen.

    Okoyen told NAN that they were denied boarding for failing to present COVID-19 test result, which is a key requirement for the flight.

    The evacuees were stranded after Nigeria shut its borders against the U.S. in March to check spread of the coronavirus.

    The U.S. is currently the epicentre of the pandemic with 4.3 million confirmed cases and 149,256 deaths as of Tuesday, according to John Hopkins University’s data.

    Meanwhile, the Federal Government has approved two more evacuation flights, scheduled to depart from Texas and New Jersey on July 31 and Aug. 7 respectively.

  • U.S. warns world telecom industry against Huawei after UK ban

    U.S. warns world telecom industry against Huawei after UK ban

    The U.S. on Wednesday warned telecom companies around the world against doing business with the embattled Chinese technology giant, Huawei.

    The Department of State in a statement, said those doing business with the firm should consider themselves fraternising with “human rights abusers”.

    “Telecommunications companies around the world should consider themselves on notice.

    “If they are doing business with Huawei, they are doing business with human rights abusers,” the statement said.

    It announced visa restrictions on some employees of Hauwei and other unidentified Chinese tech firms for allegedly facilitating human right violations.

    It alleged that certain Huawei employees “provide material support” to the Chinese government “that commits human rights abuses”.

    The administration of President Donald Trump has been pressuring allies to cut Huawei off their 5G networks over cyber security concerns.

    Trump accuses the Chinese government of using the company to conduct cyber espionage, an accusation Huawei denied.

    In 2019, the U.S. government threatened to severe intelligence sharing ties with allies that patronise Huawei 5G products.

    Wednesday’s visa restriction announcement came barely 24 hours after the United Kingdom banned the company from its 5G networks.

    Welcoming the ban, Pompeo said the UK had joined “a growing list of countries from around the world that are standing up for their national security”.

    In June, Pompeo declared that “the tide is turning against Huawei as citizens around the world are waking up to the danger of the Chinese Communist Party’s surveillance state.”