Page 79 - Joe Biden

Top Biden security advisor discusses iCET with senior officials in Delhi

A top national security adviser to US President Joe Biden has held talks with senior Indian officials on various bilateral matters, including the US-India Initiative on Critical and Emerging Technology (iCET) which is a major milestone in their strategic partnership. Principal Deputy National Security Advisor Jonathan Finer's visit to India comes days after American prosecutors linked an Indian official to a man charged with conspiring to assassinate Sikh separatist Gurpatwant Singh Pannun on US soil. Finer led a US delegation to New Delhi on December 4 for an intersessional review of the US-India Initiative on Critical and Emerging Technology (iCET) with Indian Deputy National Security Advisor Vikram Misri. The iCET is a major milestone in the US-India partnership, which is increasingly defined by strategic security and technology cooperation, the White House said in a readout on Monday. In May 2022, Prime Minister Narendra Modi and US President Biden launched iCET to facilitate .

US Navy ship 'illegally intruded' South China Sea waters, says PLA

The Chinese military said that an American naval ship had illegally intruded on Monday into waters near the Second Thomas Shoal, the site of a hot territorial dispute between China and the Philippines in the South China Sea. A Chinese naval force was mobilized to track the USS Gabrielle Giffords during the operation, according to a statement from the People's Liberation Army Southern Theater. The U.S. Navy did not respond immediately to a request for comment. Chinese and Philippine naval and coast guard ships have confronted each other repeatedly around the Second Thomas Shoal in recent months as China tries to prevent the Philippines from resupplying and repairing a rusting warship that it intentionally ran aground in 1999 to serve as a military outpost. Dwarfed by China's military might, the Philippines has sought America's help, agreeing to an expansion of the U.S. military presence in the country earlier this year and launching joint sea and air patrols with the United States la

Biden's allies in Senate demand that Israel limit civilian deaths in Gaza

As a cease-fire ticked down last week and Israel prepared to resume its round-the-clock airstrikes, Sen. Bernie Sanders and a robust group of Democratic senators had a message for their president: They were done asking nicely for Israel to do more to reduce civilian casualties in Gaza. Lawmakers warned President Joe Biden's national security team that planned U.S. aid to Israel must be met with assurances of concrete steps from Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu's hard-right government. The truth is that if asking nicely worked, we wouldn't be in the position we are today, Sanders of Vermont said in a floor speech. It was time for the United States to use its substantial leverage with its ally, Sanders said. And we all know what that leverage is, he said, adding, the blank-check approach must end. With Biden's request for a nearly $106 billion aid package for Ukraine, Israel and other national security needs hanging in the balance, the senators' tougher line on Israel has ..

Former President Trump slams Biden, calls him destroyer of democracy

Former President Donald Trump on Saturday attempted to turn the tables on his likely rival in November, President Joe Biden, arguing that the man whose election victory Trump tried to overturn is the destroyer of American democracy. Trump's allegations about Biden, a Democrat, echo the ones that Biden has been making for years against his predecessor. As Trump has dominated the Republican presidential primary and talked about targeting his rivals and the news media if he wins the White House again, Biden has stepped up his own warnings, contending Trump is determined to destroy American democracy. On Saturday, Trump made his most explicit argument to date on why voters should instead see his rival as the bigger democratic threat. Trump repeated his longstanding contention that the four criminal indictments against him show Biden is misusing the federal justice system against his rival. He's been weaponizing government against his political opponents like a Third World political ...

Biden rule aims to reduce methane emissions, targeting oil and gas industry

The Biden administration on Saturday issued a final rule aimed at reducing methane emissions, targeting the US oil and natural gas industry for its role in global warming as President Joe Biden seeks to advance his climate legacy. The Environmental Protection Agency said the new rule will sharply reduce methane and other harmful air pollutants generated by the oil and gas industry, promote use of cutting-edge methane detection technologies and deliver significant public health benefits in the form of reduced hospital visits, lost school days and even deaths. Air pollution from oil and gas operations can cause cancer, harm the nervous and respiratory systems and contribute to birth defects. EPA Administrator Michael Regan and White House Climate adviser Ali Zaidi announced the final rule at the United Nations climate conference in Dubai, United Arab Emirates. Oil and gas operations are the largest industrial source of methane, the main component in natural gas and far more potent th

US charges Nikhil Gupta in a plot to kill Khalistan leader Pannun

Who is Nikhil Gupta, arrested for planning the assassination of Khalistani leader, Gurpatwant Singh Pannun.Watch the video to know about the man behind the plot

High-stake face-off; Hunter Biden to testify publicly before Congress

Hunter Biden has offered to testify publicly before Congress, striking a defiant note in response to a subpoena from Republicans and setting up a potential high-stakes face-off even as a separate special counsel probe unfolds and his father, President Joe Biden, campaigns for reelection. The Democratic president's son on Tuesday slammed the subpoena's request for closed-door testimony, saying it can be manipulated. But Rep. James Comer of Kentucky, the chairman of the House Oversight Committee, stood firm, saying Republicans expect "full cooperation" with their original demand for a deposition. Hunter Biden's lawyer called the inquiry a "fishing expedition", a response in line with the more forceful legal approach he's taken in recent months as congressional Republicans pursue an impeachment inquiry seeking to tie his father to his business dealings. The early-November subpoenas to Hunter Biden and others from Comer were the inquiry's most aggressive step yet, testing the reach of .

Any campaign in south Gaza must avoid civilian displacement: US to Israel

The Biden administration has told Israel that it must work to avoid "significant further displacement" of Palestinian civilians in southern Gaza if it renews its ground campaign aimed at eradicating the Hamas militant group, senior US officials said. The Democratic administration, seeking to avoid more large-scale civilian casualties or mass displacement like that seen before the current temporary pause in the fighting, underscored to the Israelis that they must operate with far greater precision in southern Gaza than they did in the north, the officials said, briefing reporters on condition of anonymity under ground rules set by the White House. Amid mounting international and domestic pressure about the rising Palestinian death toll, the White House has begun to put greater pressure on Israel that the manner of the coming campaign must be "carefully thought through", according to one of the officials. The Israelis have been receptive when administration officials have raised these

US 'bent backwards' in response to Canada allegations against India: Expert

The Biden administration, because of the significance it attaches to its ties with New Delhi, bent backwards to be very polite in its public responses following the Canadian allegations against India over the killing of one of its citizens, a top American expert on India-US relations has said. I think the US response was actually quite remarkable because Canada is a very close ally, and if it was any other country than India, I think the US response would've been much more vocal and much more strident, Ashley J Tellis, the Tata Chair for Strategic Affairs and a senior fellow at the prestigious Carnegie Endowment for International Peace told PTI in an interview. Tellis was responding to a question on the criticism in India about the US response to the Canadian allegations that they were investigating allegations that the Indian government was involved in the killing of Khalistani separatist Hardeep Singh Nijjar in Canada. India has dismissed the allegations as "absurd" and "motivated

Helped lower inflation: Biden as he hosts meeting of supply chain council

President Joe Biden opened the first meeting of his supply chain resilience council by warning companies against price gouging and saying that his administration was working to lower costs for US families. "We know that prices are still too high for too many things, that times are still too tough for too many families," Biden said on Monday. "But we've made progress." The president has blamed inflation on issues such as supply chains and Russia's 2022 invasion of Ukraine, while Republican lawmakers say the run-up in prices was triggered by the USD 1.9 trillion in coronavirus relief that Democrat Biden signed into law in 2021. Biden used the council meeting to announce 30 actions to improve access to medicine and needed economic data as well as other programmes tied to the production and shipment of goods. He said he was tackling "junk fees", hidden charges that companies sneak into bills just because they can and customers have no alternative. The council follows an earlier task f

Sale of new US single-family homes falls more than expected in October

New home sales dropped 5.6% to a seasonally adjusted annual rate of 679,000 units last month, the Commerce Department said on Monday

US President Joe Biden to skip COP28 climate summit in Dubai: Report

The event is expected to be attended by King Charles III, Pope Francis, and leaders from nearly 200 countries, according to The New York Times

Biden to convene new supply chain council to strengthen US logistics

President Joe Biden on Monday will convene the first meeting of his supply chain resilience council, using the event to announce 30 actions to improve access to medicine and needed economic data and other programmes tied to the production and shipment of goods. We're determined to keep working to bring down prices for American consumers and ensure the resilience of our supply chains for the future, said Lael Brainard, director of the White House National Economic Council and a co-chair of the new supply chain council. The announcement comes after supply chain problems fuelled higher inflation as the United States recovered from the pandemic in 2021. While consumer prices are down from last year's peaks, polling shows that inflation remains a political challenge for Biden going into the 2024 presidential election. Among the 30 new actions, Biden will use the Defence Production Act to have the Health and Human Services Department invest in the domestic manufacturing of needed medicine

Full potential of India-US civil nuclear deal remains untapped: Expert

More than 18 years after India and the US signed a civil nuclear deal, its full potential and promise along with the larger bilateral partnership is yet to be realised, according to a top American expert. While New Delhi is yet to remove obstacles that prevent its purchase of nuclear reactors from the United States, Washington has not been able to match the policy with vision, Ashley J Tellis, the Tata Chair for Strategic Affairs and a senior fellow at the prestigious Carnegie Endowment for International Peace, said. US President Joe Biden's ambition to finally fructify the 2005 civil nuclear agreement cannot end with the sale of US nuclear reactors to India. Rather, it must extend to revising long-standing US policies that continue to make the existence of India's nuclear weapons programme an insuperable obstacle to deepened technological cooperation, he asserted in an opinion piece published by Carnegie Endowment for International Peace on Monday. "Where India is concerned, New ..

US stopped plot to kill Khalistan leader Pannun, warned India

The United States “thwarted a conspiracy to assassinate” Khalistan separatist Gurpatwant Singh Pannun on American soil and “issued a warning to India’s government over concerns

Joe Biden declares emergency over lead in water in US Virgin Islands

President Joe Biden declared an emergency over lead-in-water contamination in the U.S. Virgin Islands earlier this week after tests on St. Croix revealed levels more than 100 times the limits set by the Environmental Protection Agency among the worst results a U.S. community has seen in decades. On a personal level, it's been frightening and frustrating, said resident Frandelle Gerard, executive director of Crucian Heritage and Nature Tourism, Inc. Officials told residents to stop using their taps and began distributing bottled water. Lead can have devastating effects on childhood development, behaviour and IQ scores. But experts consulted by The Associated Press said the frightening results may be false because they came from testing that does not meet EPA standards. The data should be thrown into the garbage, said Marc Edwards, a Virginia Tech lead and water expert who helped identify the lead problems in Flint, Michigan. If the information given to St. Croix residents turns ou

India to host virtual G20 summit today, Trudeau to attend, Biden to skip

Against the backdrop of the Israel-Hamas conflict, Prime Minister Narendra Modi will chair a virtual summit of G20 leaders on Wednesday which would be attended by the likes of Russian President Vladimir Putin and Canadian Prime Minister Justin Trudeau. With Ottawa confirming Trudeau's participation in the summit, this would be the first time he would come face to face with Prime Minister Modi, albeit virtually, after ties between India and Canada came under severe strain following Trudeau's allegations in September of a "potential" involvement of Indian agents in the killing of Khalistani separatist Hardeep Nijjar on June 18 in British Columbia. India had designated Nijjar as a terrorist in 2020. India has rejected Trudeau's allegations as "absurd" and "motivated". While Putin's participation in the virtual meeting has also been confirmed by the Kremlin, China on Tuesday had announced that Premier Li Qiang will attend the virtual G20 Leaders' Summit at India's ...

White House opens accounts for Prez Biden, VP Harris on Meta's Threads

A White House spokeswoman, Robyn Patterson, said the reason for the move is because "we are committed to meeting people where they are."

Appeals court to decide whether to reinstate gag order against Trump

A federal appeals court is hearing arguments on Monday on whether to reinstate a gag order against Donald Trump in the federal case charging him with plotting to overturn the results of the 2020 presidential election. Prosecutors with special counsel Jack Smith's team will urge a three-judge panel of the Washington-based appeals court to put back in place an order barring the former president from making inflammatory statements about lawyers in the case and potential witnesses. The prosecutors say those restrictions are necessary to prevent Trump from undermining confidence in the court system and intimidating people who may be called to testify against him. Defence lawyers have called the gag order an unconstitutional muzzling of Trump's free speech rights and say prosecutors have presented no evidence to support the idea that his words have caused harm or made anyone feel threatened. The gag order is one of multiple contentious issues being argued ahead of the landmark March 2024

US election: Trump energises campaign after Colorado ballot case win

Former President Donald Trump celebrated a win in a closely watched election case during a return visit to Iowa Saturday, where he blasted his political foes and encouraged his supporters to not move past their grievances with President Joe Biden. A Colorado judge Friday rejected an effort to keep the GOP front-runner off the state's primary ballot, concluding that Trump had engaged in insurrection during the January 6, 2021, attack on the US Capitol but that it was unclear whether a Civil War-era constitutional amendment barring insurrectionists from public office applied to the presidency. It was Trump's latest win following rulings in similar cases in Minnesota and Michigan. Trump, campaigning in west-central Iowa, called the decision "a gigantic court victory" as he panned what he called "an outrageous attempt to disenfranchise millions of voters by getting us thrown off the ballot." "Our opponents are showing every day that they hate democracy," he charged before a crowd of abo