Page 47 - Joe Biden

China has no favourite in Biden-Trump electoral race, finds US Intelligence

The conclusion suggests that officials in Beijing, like their counterparts in Washington, believe that ties between the world's two largest economies will continue

News updates: UGC NET 2024 cancelled; new exam dates to be announced soon

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What is Juneteenth? Check history, significance, celebration and more

Juneteenth is a special festival celebrated to mark the ending of slavery in the United States. Here's all you need to know about this day

US approves new $360 mn arms sale to Taiwan for drones, related equipment

The Biden administration on Tuesday approved a new USD 360 million weapons sale to Taiwan, sending the island hundreds of armed drones, missile equipment and related support material, the State Department said in a statement that is sure to draw condemnation from China. The announcement was not unexpected but it comes at a time of high tension between Washington and Beijing, which regards Taiwan as part of its territory and has vowed to consolidate by force if necessary. The sale includes 291 Altius-600M systems, which are unmanned aerial vehicles, or drones, with warheads. It also includes 720 Switchblade drones known as extended-range loitering munitions, the State Department said. It said the sale serves U.S. national, economic, and security interests by supporting the recipient's continuing efforts to modernize its armed forces and to maintain a credible defensive capability. It will help improve the security of the recipient and assist in maintaining political stability, milita

Biden to do what is best for Americans: White House on Tibet policy bill

US President Joe Biden is going to take a decision that he thinks is in the best interest of the United States, the White House has said, after China warned of "resolute measures" if the Tibet policy bill is signed into law. The US Congress passed this month a legislation, the Resolve Tibet Act, calling for a peaceful resolution of the dispute over the status and governance of Tibet. It also calls on Beijing to resume dialogue with the Tibetan spiritual leader the Dalai Lama. "The President is going to do what he thinks is best on behalf of the American people, that's what I can tell you," White House Press Secretary Karine Jean-Pierre told reporters at her daily news conference on Tuesday when asked about China's warning. The Resolve Tibet Act is a bipartisan bill to enhance US support for Tibet and promote dialogue between the People's Republic of China and the Dalai Lama toward a peaceful resolution of the long-standing dispute between Tibet and China. The Act enhances US suppor

US Senate passes bill to accelerate advanced nuclear energy deployment

A version of the bill had already passed in the House of Representatives and it will now go to President Joe Biden for a signature to become law. It passed the Senate 88-2 votes

Biden's campaign raises $40 mn in 5 days including $8 mn with Clinton

President Joe Biden is again joining forces with former President Bill Clinton to rake in campaign cash, with a joint fundraiser with the two men Tuesday set to raise USD 8 million part of a roughly USD 40 million total that Biden's reelection campaign has pulled in the last five days. The vast majority of the USD 40 million sum, confirmed by a Biden campaign official, comes from Saturday's glitzy, star-studded fundraiser with Biden and former President Barack Obama in Los Angeles that raised more than USD 30 million. Meanwhile, first lady Jill Biden has been on her own personal fundraising swing that has brought in USD 1.5 million. Biden and Clinton, who appeared together with Obama at a March fundraiser at Radio City Music Hall in New York, are headlining Tuesday's event, which is being held at the home of former Virginia Gov. Terry McAuliffe, a longtime Clinton adviser. Jill Biden and former first lady Hillary Clinton will also be at the fundraiser in McLean, Va., a tony suburb o

Netanyahu blames Biden for withholding weapons, slowing Israel's offensive

Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu on Tuesday claimed the United States is withholding weapons and implied this was slowing Israel's offensive in the southern Gaza city of Rafah, where fighting has exacerbated the already dire humanitarian situation for Palestinians. President Joe Biden has delayed delivering certain heavy bombs to Israel since May over concerns about the killing of civilians in Gaza. However, the administration has gone to lengths to avoid any suggestion that Israeli forces have crossed a red line in the deepening Rafah invasion, which would trigger a more sweeping ban on arms transfers. Netanyahu, in a short video, spoke directly to the camera in English as he lobbed sharp criticisms at Biden over bottlenecks in arms transfers. It's inconceivable that in the past few months, the administration has been withholding weapons and ammunitions to Israel, Netanyahu said, adding, Give us the tools and we'll finish the job a lot faster. Netanyahu didn't elaborate

Half a million immigrants could get US citizenship under new Biden plan

President Joe Biden is taking an expansive, election-year step to offer relief to potentially hundreds of thousands of immigrants without legal status in the US aiming to balance his own aggressive crackdown on the border earlier this month that enraged advocates and many Democratic lawmakers. The White House announced on Tuesday that the Biden administration will, in the coming months, allow certain spouses of US citizens without legal status to apply for permanent residency and eventually, citizenship. The move could affect upwards of half a million immigrants, according to senior administration officials. To qualify, an immigrant must have lived in the United States for 10 years as of Monday and be married to a US citizen. If a qualifying immigrant's application is approved, he or she would have three years to apply for a green card, and receive a temporary work permit and be shielded from deportation in the meantime. About 50,000 noncitizen children with a parent who is married

News updates: Congress leader Rahul Gandhi resigns from Wayanad seat of Lok Sabha

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Politics of memes: How Biden and Trump are fighting each other on internet

Whether it's a grinning Joe Biden as Dark Brandon or Donald Trump's face superimposed onto a scene from HBO's Game of Thrones, both presidential campaigns this year have embraced digital memes, the lingua franca of social media. The campaigns of the Democratic president and Republican former president enthusiastically create and share content trying to shape the narratives around both men. Biden's campaign even recently posted a job seeking a manager of meme pages. With tens of millions of people using social media as a primary information source, the battle of memes could affect who wins in November. Many Americans say they're not excited about a Biden-Trump rematch and growing digital habits make it harder to reach people through traditional spaces for political advertising like print publications or television. Memes can be an edgier, faster way to get a political point across than a block of text or a lengthy video. But online misfires have hurt candidates and created major ...

US should sever ties with China, restart nuclear tests: Trump's ex-NSA

There's no guarantee Trump would adhere to the policy proposals on China that O'Brien has laid out

Pannun case: Democratic senators in US want strong diplomatic response

A group of powerful Democratic senators on Monday sought a strong diplomatic response from the Biden administration to the allegations of the Indian government's involvement in a foiled plot to assassinate a Sikh separatist on US soil. The two-page letter addressed to Secretary of State Antony Blinken was signed by Senators Jeff Merkley, Ron Wyden, Tim Kaine, Bernie Sanders, and Chris Van Hollen. "We urge a strong diplomatic response to ensure that all of those who were involved are held accountable, and request a briefing on the status of the administration's engagement with the Indian government on this matter, the senators wrote. It comes as an Indian national Nikhil Gupta, accused of being involved in a murder-for-hire plot against Sikh extremist Gurpatwant Singh Pannun on American soil, on Monday, pleaded not guilty in the case at a federal court here. Pannun holds dual American and Canadian citizenship. Gupta was produced before a federal court in New York on Monday, where h

Biden's new policy to give deportation protection to spouses of US citizens

President Joe Biden is planning to announce a sweeping new policy Tuesday that would lift the threat of deportation for tens of thousands of people married to US citizens, an aggressive election-year action on immigration that had been sought by many Democrats. Biden was hosting a White House event to celebrate an Obama-era directive that offered deportation protections for young undocumented immigrants and will announce the new programme then, according to three people briefed on the White House plans. The policy will allow roughly 490,000 spouses of US citizens an opportunity to apply for a parole in place programme, which would shield them from deportations and offer them work permits if they have lived in the country for at least 10 years, according to two of the people briefed. They all spoke on the condition of anonymity because they were not authorised to discuss the announcement publicly. The White House on Monday declined to comment on the announcement. Families who would

Over 20 NATO allies likely to hit defence spending target amid Ukraine war

A record more than 20 NATO member nations are expected to hit the Western military alliance's defence spending target this year, NATO Secretary-General Jens Stoltenberg said Monday, as the war in Ukraine drives worldwide concerns. The estimated figure, announced by Stoltenberg during a talk at the Wilson Centre in Washington, marks a nearly fourfold increase from 2021 in the ranks of the 32 NATO member nations meeting the alliance's defense spending guideline. Only six nations were meeting the goal that year, ahead of Russian President Vladimir Putin's full-scale invasion of Ukraine. NATO member countries agreed last year to spend at least 2 per cent of their gross domestic product on defence. The surge in spending reflects the worries of Western allies about the war in Ukraine. Some countries also are concerned about the possible reelection of former President Donald Trump, who has repeatedly characterised many NATO allies as freeloading on US military spending and said on the ...

US is 15 years behind China in nuclear power, claims report. Key details

According to a US-based research institute, China currently has 27 under-construction nuclear reactors, with an average completion time of approximately seven years - much faster than other nations

New $50 mn Joe Biden's ad campaign targets Trump's felony convictions

The move marks a notable shift in Biden's approach to Trump's conviction after the president's initial reluctance to weigh in on the issue, to avoid engaging with Trump's legal woes

NSA Ajit Doval holds wide-ranging talks with American counterpart Sullivan

National Security Advisor Ajit Doval on Monday held extensive talks with his American counterpart Jake Sullivan primarily focusing on implementation of the ambitious India-US Initiative on Critical and Emerging Technologies (iCET). The two top security officials are also learnt to have deliberated upon pressing global and regional issues of mutual interest. Sullivan, accompanied by a delegation of senior American officials and industry leaders, is on an official visit to New Delhi from June 17 to 18. Following the launch of the iCET by Prime Minister Narendra Modi and President Joseph Biden on the sidelines of the Quad summit in Tokyo in May 2022, the two NSAs have driven a concerted effort to engage in identified areas of collaboration in diverse domains of new and emerging technologies, including semiconductors, artificial intelligence, quantum computing, defence innovation, space and advanced telecommunications. NSA Sullivan also met External Affairs Minister S Jaishankar earlie

Wildfire north of Los Angeles spreads to more than 16 square miles

A wildfire that forced the evacuation of at least 1,200 people in southern California has burned over 16 square miles, officials said Sunday. The blaze, named the Post Fire, started Saturday and was burning near the Interstate 5 freeway in Gorman, about 62 miles (100 kilometres) northwest of Los Angeles, according to the California Department of Forestry and Fire Protection. California State Park Services evacuated 1,200 people from the Hungry Valley recreation area in Gorman and both Hungry Valley and the Pyramid Lake reservoir were closed as a result of the fire threat, the Los Angeles County Fire Department said. The flames broke out at around 1:45 pm, authorities said. The cause isn't known. No homes were threatened by the fire but two commercial buildings have been damaged, the Los Angeles County Fire Department said Sunday. The fire was moving southeast toward Pyramid Lake and crews were constructing perimeter fire lines while aircraft worked against limited visibility to st

Biden, Obama headline Los Angeles fundraiser with Clooney, Julia Roberts

The Biden campaign is hoping to repeat the buzz it generated with a March event in New York City where Stephen Colbert hosted Biden, Obama and Bill Clinton for an event that raised $26 million