US

Pacific leaders arrive in Port Moresby ahead of Modi and Blinken PNG visit

The leaders are set to meet with India's Prime Minister Narendra Modi and a high-level US delegation in Port Moresby on Monday.

PNG Prime Minister James Marape told local media on Thursday that President Joe Biden had called to apologise for his absence due to the need to return to Washington for meetings with Congressional leaders to raise its debt ceiling issue and avoid a default.

"He conveyed his sincerest apologies that he cannot make it into our country," Marape said.

Concerns in Papua New Guinea over framing of US security pact

America is poised to sign a deal with PNG which would give US armed forces uninhibited access to PNG's territorial waters and airspace.

RNZ Pacific has seen a draft copy of an agreement that will be signed off when US President Joe Biden makes a historic visit to PNG next week on Monday.

The document outlines the terms and conditions for preferential access to various PNG sea and airports.

Three children among victims of Allen mall shooting in Texas

James Cho died alongside his parents Cho Kyu Song, 37, and Kang Shin Young, 35, according to reports. His six-year-old brother was injured but survived.

BBC reports the identifications come as officials probe whether the killer had links to any far-right organisations or beliefs.

Eight were killed in the shooting.

Several victims remain in hospital.

A verified GoFundMe page says that the Cho family were at the Allen Premium Outlets mall on Saturday to exchange clothing their six-year-old son had received as a birthday gift a few days before.

Seven dead as car hits pedestrians in Texas border town

The male driver was in custody, Lieutenant Martin Sandoval of the Brownsville Police Department said, adding he was charged with reckless driving and could face additional charges.

The incident happened in the city of Brownsville near the Mexican border at about 8.30am local time on Sunday.

Sandoval said the victims in the morning crash were waiting at a bus stop near Ozanam Center, a shelter for the homeless used by migrants. He said some migrants were among the dead.

US FDA recalls over 500,000 Covid tests over bacteria risk

The FDA said it "has significant concerns of bacterial contamination" in the test kit solution in some Pilot COVID-19 At-Home Tests.

Using the contaminated solution "may pose safety concerns" as well as cause the test to give an inaccurate result.

BBC reports the agency warned tests should be thrown out immediately.

Over 500,000 tests were distributed to the CVS drugstore and around 16,000 were distributed to Amazon.

None were made available through one of the federal government's testing programmes.

26 dead after dozens of tornadoes hit United States

Homes were destroyed and thousands left without power after storms caused devastation across several states.

According to the Washington Post, more than 60 tornado reports have been recorded.

States including Arkansas, Tennessee, Illinois, Indiana, Alabama and Mississippi have all had fatalities as a result of the weather.

One storm shredded through the Arkansas town of Wynne - a community some 170km east of the state capital, Little Rock.

Mississippi tornado and storms kill at least 23 - state officials

Reuters reports four people were missing following the twister, which left a trail of damage for more than 161km (100 miles).

The tornado struck Silver City, a town of 200 people in western Mississippi, as well as Rolling Fork, with a population of 1700, which was hardest hit. Parts of the state remain under tornado warning.

"At least twenty three Mississippians were killed by last night's violent tornados," Mississippi Governor Tate Reeves wrote on Twitter.

Stocks rebound as US and UK seek to calm investors

BBC reports investors have recently been unnerved by a string of bank failures.

But US stock markets were higher after Treasury Secretary Janet Yellen signalled the US government would protect people's deposits if another bank collapsed.

In the UK, the FTSE closed 1.79% higher after gains in top bank shares.

NatWest, Prudential and Barclays shares gained about 5%, while Standard Chartered and Lloyds also traded higher.

Ms Yellen said "the situation is stabilising, and the US banking system remains sound" in a speech on Tuesday.

Multi-billion dollar rescue deal for First Republic bank

The move came as authorities in the US are trying to quell panic over the health of the banking system, after a series of bank collapses in the US.

BBC reports worries about the sector have spread globally, raising fears of a crisis.

US regulators called the move "most welcome", while the banks said their action reflected their "confidence".

They said the banking system had plenty of cash and made big profits.

US shoots down suspected Chinese spy balloon

 

The Department of Defence confirmed its fighter jets brought down the balloon over US territorial waters.

BBC reports China's foreign ministry later expressed "strong dissatisfaction and protest against the US's use of force to attack civilian unmanned aircraft".

Footage on US TV networks showed the balloon falling to the sea after a small explosion.

An F-22 jet fighter engaged the high-altitude balloon with one missile - an AIM-9X Sidewinder - and it went down about six nautical miles off the US coast at 14:39 EST, a defence official told reporters.