Page 10 - Joe Biden

Outgoing Prez Biden to further limit Nvidia's AI chip exports in final push

The result would be an expansion of semiconductor trade restrictions to most of the world - an attempt to control the spread of AI technology at a time of soaring demand

US VP Harris calls foreign leaders before her last trip abroad next week

US Vice President Kamala Harris on Wednesday had telephonic conversations with several foreign leaders, including German Chancellor Olaf Scholz and French President Emmanuel Macron, on the eve of her last trip abroad next week. During her calls with Macron and Scholz, Harris, 60, thanked them for their partnership throughout the Biden-Harris Administration. On Wednesday, Harris spoke to Prime Minister Mia Mottley of Barbados, Chair of Caribbean Community (CARICOM), Prime Minister Andrew Holness of Jamaica, President Bernardo Arvalo of Guatemala and President William Ruto of Kenya. Harris, who would hand over the vice presidency to Senator J D Vance from Ohio on January 20, will travel to Singapore, Bahrain, and Germany from January 13 to January 17, her press secretary Ernesto Apreza said. On January 15, she will meet with leaders in Singapore and visit Changi Naval Base. On January 16, she will meet with leaders in Manama, Bahrain and visit Naval Support ActivityBahrain, the ...

Antony Blinken rejects a Trump Greenland grab as 'not going to happen'

In a free-form news conference in Florida on Tuesday, Trump called for the US to absorb Canada and declined to rule out using military force to seize the Panama Canal and Greenland

Biden admin rushes to finish cybersecurity order after China hacks

Among the measures, it directs the government to implement "strong identity authentication and encryption" across communications, according to an undated draft

US Congressman challenges Biden admin's decision to investigate Adani

Challenging the decision of the Biden Administration to investigate the activities of Indian billionaire Gautam Adani and his companies, an influential Republican lawmaker on Tuesday said such selective actions risk damaging critical alliance partners. In a strongly worded letter to US Attorney General Merrick B Garland, Congressman Lance Gooden, member of the House Judiciary Committee, demanded answers on the Justice Department's selective prosecution of foreign entities and the potential harm such actions pose to US's global alliances and economic growth and that if there is any Geroge Soros connection to it. The Department of Justice's selective actions risk damaging critical alliances with key partners like India, one of America's strongest allies in the Asia-Pacific region, Gooden said in his letter dated January 7. Instead of pursuing cases with tenuous jurisdiction and limited relevance to US interests, the DOJ should focus on punishing bad actors at home, rather than chasing

Los Angeles wildfire sparks emergency; 30,000 evacuated as homes burn

A massive wildfire in Los Angeles, fueled by fierce Santa Ana winds, has forced 30,000 people to evacuate, threatening over 13,000 structures and causing widespread chaos

Biden admin asks court to block plea deal for mastermind of 9/11 attacks

The Biden administration on Tuesday asked a federal appeals court to block a plea agreement for accused 9/11 mastermind Khalid Sheikh Mohammed and two co-defendants that would spare them the risk of the death penalty. The Justice Department argued in a brief filed with a federal appeals court in the District of Columbia that the government would be irreparably harmed if the guilty pleas were accepted. It said the government would be denied a chance for a public trial and the opportunity to seek capital punishment against three men charged with a heinous act of mass murder that caused the death of thousands of people and shocked the nation and the world. The military judge at Guantanamo Bay and a military appeals panel rejected Defence Secretary Lloyd Austin's effort to throw out the plea agreement, saying he had no power to do so after the senior Pentagon official for Guantanamo approved it in July. Mohammed was due to enter his guilty plea on Friday and his two co-defendants next ..

US-Canada alliance is stronger because of him: Biden praises Trudeau

His statement comes a day after Trudeau announced that he will be stepping down as Canada's PM and Liberal Party leader

US shifts over $100 mn in military aid from Israel and Egypt to Lebanon

The Biden administration in its final days is shifting more than $100 million in military aid from Israel and Egypt to Lebanon as it tries to bolster a ceasefire agreement it helped mediate between Israel and Hezbollah. In separate notices sent to Congress, the State Department said it was moving $95 million in military assistance intended for Egypt and $7.5 million for Israel toward supporting the Lebanese army and its government. The notices were dated Jan 3 and obtained by The Associated Press on Tuesday. Most of the money will go to the Lebanese Armed Forces, which have a critical role in standing up the ceasefire that was agreed to in November following an all-out war that battered much of southern and eastern Lebanon for two months. It is intended to help the LAF deploy in the south of the country and supplement the role of the UN peacekeeping mission patrolling the so-called Blue Line, which has separated Israel and Lebanon since the end of a 2006 war between Israel and the .

President-elect Trump vows to undo new Biden ban on offshore drilling

President-elect Donald Trump complained on Tuesday that President Joe Biden was undermining his transition to power a day after the incumbent moved to ban offshore energy drilling in most federal waters. Biden, whose term expires in two weeks, used his authority under the federal Outer Continental Shelf Lands Act to protect offshore areas along the East and West coasts, the eastern Gulf of Mexico and portions of Alaska's Northern Bering Sea from future oil and natural gas leasing. All told, about 625 million acres of federal waters were withdrawn from energy exploration by Biden in a move that may require an act of Congress to undo. I'm going to put it back on day one," Trump told reporters at his private club in Florida. He pledged to take it to the courts if we need to." Trump said Biden's effort part of a series of final actions in office by the Democrat's administration was undermining his plans for once he's in office. You know, they told me that, we're going to do everythin

Biden administration negotiating with Taliban to exchange detainees: Report

Biden's administration is seeking the return of three Americans seized in 2022 - Ryan Corbett, George Glezmann and Mahmood Habibi - in exchange for Muhammad Rahim al-Afghani

Nuclear deal, space, defence: Key points from US NSA Sullivan's India trip

US National Security Advisor Jake Sullivan visited India from January 5-6 for his final overseas trip before leaving office

Biden tells New Orleans mourners they are not alone; honours victims

President Joe Biden told mourners in New Orleans on Monday that they are not alone as he paid tribute to victims of the deadly New Year's attack and channelled the pain felt by their loved ones. Biden made the remarks at St. Louis Cathedral in the city's historic French Quarter. not far from the area where an Army veteran drove a truck into revellers last week, killing 14 and injuring 30 more. Biden praised so many that ran toward the chaos, trying to help save others," including first responders. He noted the city's enduring strength and resilience amid tragedy, invoking past devastation like Hurricane Katrina in 2005. The city's people get back up," Biden said. "That's the spirit of America as well. Biden met privately with grieving families, survivors and first responders before the prayer service. He also stopped at a makeshift memorial where the attack had begun to unfold. It is being investigated as an act of terrorism inspired by the Islamic State group. Biden has made doze

Biden 'doing everything possible' to make transition difficult: Trump

US President-elect Donald Trump has accused Joe Biden of making the presidential transition difficult, citing recent executive orders on climate and other official acts being taken by him in his last weeks as president. Trump, 78, is slated to be sworn in as the 47th President of the United States on January 20. He replaces Biden as the new occupant of the White House, the official residence of the US President. Biden is doing everything possible to make the TRANSITION as difficult as possible, from Lawfare such as has never been seen before, to costly and ridiculous Executive Orders on the Green New Scam and other money wasting Hoaxes, Trump said in a post on Truth Social. Fear not, these Orders will all be terminated shortly, and we will become a Nation of Common Sense and Strength. MAGA!!! said the president-elect. Trump issued the statement shortly before Congress certified his victory in the Electoral College and after Biden, 82, banned drilling for oil and natural gas off mo

PM Modi appreciates letter from President Biden handed over by NSA Sullivan

During the meeting, PM Modi recalled his meetings with Biden, including during his visit to the US for Quad Leaders' Summit in September last year

India-US ties have reached new heights in tech, defence, AI, says PM Modi

The India-US comprehensive global strategic partnership has scaled new heights, including in areas of technology and defence, Prime Minister Narendra Modi said on Monday after US National Security Advisor Jake Sullivan met him. Sullivan is on a visit to India two weeks ahead of Donald Trump's inauguration as the 47th President of the US. "It was a pleasure to meet the US National Security Advisor @JakeSullivan46," Modi said on 'X'. "The India-US Comprehensive Global Strategic Partnership has scaled new heights, including in the areas of technology, defence, space, biotechnology and Artificial Intelligence," he said. "Look forward to building upon this momentum in ties between our two democracies for the benefit of our people and global good," Modi added. Sullivan held wide-ranging talks with his Indian counterpart Ajit Doval and External Affairs Minister S Jaishankar. The implementation of the US-India Initiative on Critical and Emerging Technology or iCET figured in the two ...

US Steel, Nippon move court against Biden blocking $14.9 billion deal

Second lawsuit is against Cleveland-Cliffs, its CEO Lourenco Goncalves, and USW union President David McCall "for their illegal and coordinated actions" aimed at preventing the deal

Americans shouldn't forget Capitol attack, but it won't repeat: Biden

President Joe Biden is decrying what he calls an unrelenting effort to downplay a mob of Donald Trump supporters overrunning the US Capitol in an attempt to block certification of the 2020 election seeking to contrast that day's chaos with what he promises will be an orderly transition returning Trump to power for a second term. In an opinion piece published Sunday in The Washington Post, Biden recalled Jan. 6, 2021, writing that violent insurrectionists attacked the Capitol. We should be proud that our democracy withstood this assault," Biden wrote. "And we should be glad we will not see such a shameful attack again this year. Congress will convene amid snow in Washington on Monday to certify Trump's victory in November's election in a session presided over by the candidate he defeated, Vice President Kamala Harris. No violence, or even procedural objections, are expected this time, marking a return to a US tradition that launches the peaceful transfer of presidential power. Tha

President Biden inks Social Security bill in rare public signing ceremony

Social Security Fairness Act will boost Social Security payments to more than 2.5 million retirees - some by as much as $550 a month- by changing formulas used to reduce benefits for certain beneficia

Biden's move to block Nippon Steel takeover sparks uncertainty for workers

By blocking a Japanese company's takeover of US Steel, President Joe Biden said he was protecting good jobs in the American heartland. He may be putting them at risk instead. In making its nearly USD 15 billion bid for the storied Pittsburgh-based steelmaker, Nippon Steel had promised to invest USD 2.7 billion in U.S. Steel's aging blast furnace operations in Gary, Indiana, and Pennsylvania's Mon Valley. It also vowed not to reduce production capacity in the United States over the next decade without first getting US government approval. They were going to invest in the Valley,' said Jason Zugai, an operating technician and vice president of the United Steelworkers union local at a U.S. Steel plant in the Mon Valley. They committed to 10 years of no layoffs. We won't have those commitments from anybody.' Zugai and some other Mon Valley steelworkers supported the Nippon deal in defiance of the union's national leadership, which pressured the Biden administration to kill it. Losing t