Page 83 - Joe Biden

Biden nominates top adviser on Asia to be State Department's No. 2 diplomat

President Joe Biden is nominating a top adviser on Asia to serve as the State Department's second-ranking diplomat, the White House said Wednesday, elevating one of the architects of the administration's efforts to develop a more Asia-focused foreign policy. Kurt Campbell currently is deputy assistant to the president and coordinator for Indo-Pacific Affairs on the National Security Council. He has played an important role in helping Biden reinvigorate the diplomatic grouping of the United States, Japan, Australia and India, and has helped to ease historic tensions between South Korea and Japan and shape America's approach to China. If confirmed, he would replace Wendy Sherman, who retired in July, as deputy secretary of state. Kurt is a tremendous asset, White House national security adviser Jake Sullivan said in a statement. His passion and commitment to our alliances and partnerships is unquestionably strengthening America's strategic position in the world and improving our abili

Critical to ensure Palestinians not forcibly displaced: US to Jordan

As Israel defends its citizens and fights terrorists, Biden emphasised the significance of upholding international humanitarian law and preserving civilian life

Biden admin elevated hate crimes to national threat priority: FBI Director

The Biden Administration has elevated hate crimes to a national threat priority, a top US Government official has told lawmakers, stressing that the Jewish community faces nearly 60 per cent of all such religious-based assaults by every terrorist organisations across the spectrum. Speaking during a US Congressional hearing, FBI Director Christipher Wray told lawmakers that FBI is tackling the rise in hate crimes through a series of law enforcement efforts, including joint terrorism task forces, hate crime investigations, and intelligence sharing. "We are tackling both through investigations and outreach and intelligence sharing investigations, both through all 56 joint terrorism task forces. And on the hate crime side, we've elevated hate crimes to a national threat priority. We've done lots of outreach with the Jewish community, both nationally with organisations, he said. Wray said he has personally participated in any number of times and then each of the FBI field offices does as

Biden to meet Xi in San Francisco in Nov; want to move forward with China

US President Joe Biden would meet his Chinese counterpart Xi Jinping on the sidelines of the APEC Leadership Summit in San Francisco later this month, the White House has confirmed. "The president is looking forward to it. And that, I think should answer your question, White House Press Secretary Karine Jean-Pierre told reporters on Tuesday at her daily news conference when asked about reports of a Biden-Xi meeting in San Francisco. India's Prime Minister Narendra Modi has also been invited for the APEC Leadership summit by President Biden. India is most likely to be represented by a Cabinet-level minister. We've been talking about it. The President said he's looking forward to meeting -- to meeting with President Xi. And -- and so, not going to get into details about this meeting that's going to happen in November. It's going to be in San Francisco. It's going to be a constructive meeting, Jean-Pierre said. Look, what I'm saying is that we're aiming to have a constructive ...

India has lessons to learn from US' artificial intelligence order: Experts

The regulation also requires AI developers to share safety test results with the US government

Biden's Cabinet will push Congress to send aid to Israel and Ukraine

Defence Secretary Lloyd Austin and Secretary of State Antony Blinken will make the case Tuesday that the United States should immediately send aid to Israel and Ukraine, testifying at a Senate hearing as the administration's massive $105 billion emergency aid request for conflicts in those countries and others has already hit roadblocks in the divided Congress. President Joe Biden's Cabinet secretaries will be advocating for the foreign aid to a mostly friendly audience in the Senate, where majority Democrats and many Republicans support tying aid for the two countries together. But it faces much deeper problems in the Republican-led House, where new Speaker Mike Johnson has proposed cutting out the Ukraine aid and focusing on Israel alone, and cutting money for the Internal Revenue Service to pay for it. The drastically narrowed House proposal, which would cost more than $14 billion, faced immediate resistance among Senate Democrats -- and put pressure on Senate Republicans who ...

Biden administration is moving toward a narrower student loan relief

The Biden administration is moving toward a narrower student loan relief plan that would target specific groups of borrowers those with soaring interest, for example rather than a sweeping plan like the one the Supreme Court rejected in June. The Education Department on Monday released a draft of new federal rules paving the way for a second attempt at student loan relief. The proposal targets groups that are seen as especially vulnerable, focusing on those who owe so much, or make so little income, that they otherwise may never repay their loans. Though full details are likely months away, the department says it wants to cancel some or all student debt for: borrowers whose balances exceed what they originally owed; those who have loans that entered repayment 25 or more years ago; those who used loans to attend career-training programs that led to unreasonable debt loads or insufficient earnings; those who are eligible for other loan forgiveness programs but did not apply. A fifth

Biden speaks to Al-Sisi, appreciates Egypt's role in aid delivery to Gaza

They also discussed the importance of protecting civilian lives, respect for international humanitarian law, and ensuring that Palestinians in Gaza are not displaced to Egypt or any other nation

Mideast leaders must consider two-state solution after the war ends: Biden

As the 3-week-old Israel-Hamas war enters what Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu says could be a long and difficult new stage, President Joe Biden is calling on Israeli and Arab leaders to think hard about their eventual postwar reality. It's one, he argues, where finally finding agreement on a long-sought two-state solution to the Israel-Palestinian conflict should be a priority. There's no going back to the status quo as it stood on October 6, Biden told reporters, referring to the day before Hamas militants attacked Israel and set off the latest war. The White House says Biden conveyed the same message directly to Netanyahu during a telephone call this past week. It also means that when this crisis is over, there has to be a vision of what comes next, and in our view it has to be a two-state solution, Biden said. The push for a two-state solution one in which Israel would co-exist with an independent Palestinian state has eluded US presidents and Middle East diplomats

US willing to fight China on behalf of Philippines, after collision: Prez

"The United States defence agreement with the Philippines is ironclad. Any attack on the Filipino aircraft, vessels or armed forces will invoke our mutual defence treaty with the Philippines."

Biden calls for GOP help on gun violence, praises police for Maine case

President Joe Biden called on Republicans in Congress to help keep Americans safe from gun violence and praised police for their efforts to track down the Maine gunman who killed 18 people. The Army reservist who opened fire in a bowling alley and then at a bar in Lewiston, Maine Wednesday night was found dead Friday from a self-inflicted gunshot. That ended an intensive two-day search for the gunman. Biden said the shooting and anxious search for the gunman has been tragic "not just for Lewiston, Maine, but for our entire country. The shooting spree has been devastating for the families of those killed and injured, leaving scores of family and friends praying and experiencing trauma no one ever wants to imagine," he said in a statement late Friday. He praised the police for their intense search over two days. Numerous brave law enforcement officers have worked around the clock to find this suspect and prevent the loss of more innocent life all while risking their own. They are th

Biden to travel to San Francisco to host APEC Summit participants

US President Joe Biden will be travelling to San Francisco to host the representatives of the 21 Asia-Pacific Economic Cooperation member economies for the APEC Economic Leaders' Week. Biden, who will be leaving the White House on November 14, has also invited Prime Minister Narendra Modi for the APEC Leadership Summit, but his visit has not been confirmed yet. The president will highlight the strength and resilience of the US economy, "our longstanding economic ties with the Asia-Pacific, the surge of job-creating investments from APEC economies into the US in recent years, and the role of the US economy in driving growth and innovation in the Asia-Pacific and globally", White House Press Secretary Karine Jean-Pierre said. "He will also reaffirm our commitment to partnering with APEC economies to chart the next chapter of sustainable, inclusive regional growth, further strengthen the ties between our economies and our populations, and support American families and workers," she sai

New GOP Speaker calls on Biden to split $100 bn funding for Ukraine, Israel

While Ukraine funding has become a contentious issue among House Republicans, Johnson affirmed his support for Ukraine's defence against Russia

Agreement reached for Biden-Xi talks, but details still being worked out

President Joe Biden and Chinese President Xi Jinping have agreed to meet on the sidelines of next month's Asia-Pacific Economic Cooperation summit in San Francisco, according to a U.S. official familiar with the planning. The two sides worked out an agreement in principle to hold a meeting during the summit as Chinese Foreign Minister Wang Yi met Friday with Secretary of State Antony Blinken and White House national security adviser Jake Sullivan, according to the official, who was not authorized to comment and spoke on the condition of anonymity. The official added that two sides have still not worked out details on the exact day of the meeting, venue and other logistics. The White House said in a statement following Friday's meetings that the two sides were working toward a Biden-Xi face-to-face on the sidelines of APEC, a forum of 21 Pacific countries. THIS IS A BREAKING NEWS UPDATE. AP's earlier story follows below.

White House, Google launch new virtual tour with Spanish translation

Can't come to Washington? Couldn't get a ticket to tour the White House? Don't worry. The White House, Google Maps and Google Arts & Culture launched a new virtual tour of the famous mansion on Friday, which is also National Civics Day. With a computer or smartphone, users will be able to see all of the rooms that they would have seen had they been able to go on a public tour of the building. The updated virtual tour is part of a mission by first lady Jill Biden to make the White House accessible to as many people as possible. Biden, a longtime community college professor, hopes teachers will use it to educate students about the White House and its history, said Elizabeth Alexander, her spokesperson. Not everyone can make the trip to Washington, D.C., to tour the White House, so she's bringing the White House to them, Alexander said. The tour is the first Google virtual tour of the White House to include audio captions for people with disabilities. The captions are narrated by ...

US-China seek to ease strained ties, prepare for possible Biden-Xi summit

In the midst of two active and potentially world-changing conflicts in the Middle East and Europe, the U.S. is hoping to find at least a small measure of common ground with China as China's top diplomat visits Washington this week. Over three days of meetings that begin Thursday evening, top Biden administration officials, including possibly the president himself, will press Chinese Foreign Minister Wang Yi on the importance of China stepping up its role on the world stage if it wants to be considered a responsible major international player. Secretary of State Antony Blinken and Biden's national security adviser, Jake Sullivan, are expected to urge China to play a constructive role in both the Israel-Hamas and Russia-Ukraine wars. Those meetings could set the stage for a summit between President Joe Biden and Chinese President Xi Jinping next month on the sidelines of an Asia-Pacific Economic Cooperation leaders gathering in San Francisco. The U.S. has been disappointed with China

Biden meets with new US Speaker Johnson, discusses aid for Israel, Ukraine

President Joe Biden met with the new House Speaker Mike Johnson and Democratic leader Hakeem Jeffries at the White House on Thursday to discuss his request for nearly $106 billion for Israel, Ukraine and other national security needs. Johnson, a staunch conservative allied with Donald Trump, has shown little interest in providing additional money from Congress to support Ukraine in its war with Russia. Biden met with Johnson and Jeffries before a classified briefing for them and other congressional leaders on the assistance package, according to a White House official. Johnson, who inherited many of the same political problems that tormented past GOP leaders and challenged their tenure as speaker, had a busy first full day in office. He planned to met later with Senate Republican leader Mitch McConnell. Earlier, Johnson said prayer is appropriate as a response to the mass shootings in Maine. This is a dark time in America, Johnson said at the Capitol. He added: "Prayer is appropriat

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India-Middle East-Europe Economic Corridor reason for Hamas attack on Israel...?

In a striking statement, US President Joe Biden suggested that Hamas' recent attack on Israel might be a backlash against the newly announced India-Middle East-Europe Economic Corridor at the G-20

India-Middle East corridor may be reason for Hamas attack on Israel: Biden

US President Joe Biden has said that he is convinced that one of the reasons why Hamas launched a terrorist attack on Israel was because of the recent announcement during the G-20 Summit in New Delhi on the ambitious India-Middle East-Europe Economic Corridor that integrates the entire region with a network of railroad. Israel has launched a massive counter-offensive against Hamas after unprecedented attacks by the militant group on October 7 killed more than 1,400 people. Biden told reporters at a joint news conference with the visiting Australian Prime Minister Anthony Albanese that his analysis is based on his instinct and does not have any proof for this. I'm convinced one of the reasons Hamas attacked when they did, and I have no proof of this, just my instinct tells me, is because of the progress we were making towards regional integration for Israel, and regional integration overall. We can't leave that work behind, Biden said. This is the second time in less than a week tha