Page 97 - Joe Biden

Biden to host leaders of Japan, Korea for August summit at Camp David

President Joe Biden will host the leaders of Japan and South Korea next month for a summit at Camp David, the White House announced Friday. The Aug. 18 meeting with Japanese Prime Minister Fumio Kishida and South Korean President Yoon Suk Yeol is the latest sign of warming relations between Japan and South Korea as they move to set aside generations of tensions and mistrust while the United States deepens its commitment to Asia. White House press secretary Karine Jean-Pierre said in a statement that the leaders will discuss expanding trilateral cooperation across the Indo-Pacific and beyond." Expected topics include the threat posed by North Korea and ties with the Association of Southeast Asian Nations and with the Pacific Islands. The invitation spun out of a brief photo-op that the three leaders had at the Group of Seven summit in Hiroshima, Japan, in May. The Biden administration has been urging stronger economic and defense ties between South Korea and Japan as it looks to ...

PM Modi's visit to US was very successful: Biden's top economic advisor

Prime Minister Narendra Modi's state visit to Washington was very successful, particularly on the economic front, Jared Bernstein, a top economic advisor to President Joe Biden has said and underlined that India is a longtime friend of the US. During Modi's stay in Washington from June 21 to 23, several historic steps were taken to further strengthen India's bilateral ties with the US. During the meetings between Prime Minister Modi and President Biden, the two leaders highlighted the long-standing friendship and growing cooperation between the two countries, which spans areas like trade and investment, defence and security, energy, climate change, and people-to-people ties. Bernstein, a top American economist who is the chair of the United States Council of Economic Advisers at the White House, said the recent Official State Visit of Prime Minister Modi to the US was a very successful visit, particularly on the economic front. We recognise India as a longtime friend of our country

Biden thanks far-right Italian Premier Meloni for her support of Ukraine

President Joe Biden on Thursday thanked far-right Premier Giorgia Meloni for Italy's steady backing of Ukraine, offering a warm welcome to the White House to a leader that his administration saw with some trepidation when she rose to power last year as the head of Italy's first far-right-led government since the end of World War II. Biden administration concerns about her ideology have been eased by her support for Ukraine and her seeming openness to pull back from Italy's participation in China's infrastructure-building Belt and Road Initiative. Her visit came as Italy prepares to take up the presidency next year of the Group of Seven industrialized nations. Italy and the United States are also standing strong with Ukraine, and I compliment you on your very strong support in defending against Russian atrocities, and that's what they are," Biden told Meloni at the start of their Oval Office meeting. And I thank the Italian people. I want to thank them for supporting you and supportin

Biden to take steps to provide relief from heat amid high temperatures

With heat waves spreading across the United States, President Joe Biden on Thursday announced new steps to protect workers including a hazard alert notifying employers and employees about ways to stay protected from extreme heat as well as measures to improve weather forecasts and make drinking water more accessible. The actions come as nearly 40 per cent of the US population faces heat advisories, according to the National Weather Service. High temperatures have already scorched the Southwest this month, and more heat is expected in the Midwest and the Northeast in the coming days. Washington won't be spared, and the heat index in the capital could reach 110 degrees Fahrenheit or 43 degrees Celsius on Friday. It's a worldwide problem, and scientists calculate that July will be the hottest month on record. Noting that ocean temperatures near Miami topped 100 F (38 C), Biden said "that's more like jumping in a hot tub than jumping into the ocean to ride a wave.'' Citing federal d

Joe Biden to welcome far-right Italian PM Meloni for White House talks

President Joe Biden is set for talks with Italian Prime Minister Giorgia Meloni on Thursday, welcoming the far-right leader who has won praise from the U.S. administration for her strong backing of the U.S.-led effort to assist Ukraine as it tries to fend off the Russian invasion. The warm reception comes after initial trepidation in the Biden administration about Meloni, who rose to power last year as the head of Italy's most far-right government since the end of World War II. Biden administration concerns about her ideology have been eased by her support for Ukraine and her seeming openness to pull back from Italy's participation in China's infrastructure-building Belt and Road Initiative. Her visit comes as Italy prepares to take up the presidency next year of the Group of Seven industrialised nations. White House officials said that in addition to discussing Ukraine and China, the two leaders were expected to discuss migration from North Africa to Europe's southern shores. More

Biden's son pleads not guilty to 2 tax crimes after agreement falls through

President Joe Biden's son Hunter pleaded not guilty Wednesday to two tax crimes after a deal with federal prosecutors unravelled during a court hearing following the judge's concerns over the agreement. Hunter Biden was charged last month with two misdemeanour tax crimes of failure to pay more than USD 100,000 in taxes from over USD 1.5 million in income in both 2017 and 2018, and he was expected to plead guilty after he made an agreement with prosecutors, who were planning to recommend two years of probation. That deal is now on hold. But during the hearing Wednesday, there was a dispute in court over whether the initial agreement gave him protection against any future charges. US District Court Judge Maryellen Noreika, who was appointed by President Donald Trump, raised concerns about the language of the deal. Biden had also been charged with possession of a firearm by a person who is a known drug user, a felony. He had a Colt Cobra .38 Special for 11 days in October 2018. He had

Hunter Biden's guilty plea is on the horizon, so are fresh challenges

President Joe Biden's son, Hunter Biden, faced new challenges on the eve of a scheduled court appearance Wednesday in which he's set to plead guilty in a deal with prosecutors on tax and gun charges. On Capitol Hill, where Republicans are ramping up their investigations of the president and his son, the GOP chairman of the House Ways and Means Committee took the unusual step of filing court documents urging the judge in Hunter Biden's case to consider testimony from IRS whistleblowers. The whistleblowers alleged the Justice Department interfered with investigations into Biden, a charge that has been denied by the lead prosecutor in the case, who was appointed by former President Donald Trump. U.S. District Judge Maryellen Noreika, who was also appointed by Trump, will consider whether to accept the plea agreement. Judges rarely throw out plea bargains, but the effort to intervene by Ways and Means Chairman Jason Smith of Missouri amounted to a high-profile push to raise questions ...

Indo-US bond stronger after PM Modi's state visit: Biden admin official

Post the first state visit of Prime Minister Narendra Modi to the US, the two countries are forging much closer bilateral ties with high-level visits on all fronts, a senior Biden administration official has said, observing that India and the US have never had a stronger relationship than now. Modi visited the US at the invitation of President Joe Biden and met him on all three days of his stay here between June 21 and June 23. On June 22, the two leaders spent time together for more than eight hours, the official said. Biden also held a private dinner for Modi on June 21. India and the United States have never had a stronger relationship than right now, the official said post-Modi visit, it has never been deeper in the memory of the president. The official said China was a major issue of discussion between the two leaders. In reality it (China) is not the glue of our relationship at all, but it's one of the factors and I think we're gonna have that glue for a long time to come, t

Amazon, Meta among firms to unveil AI safeguards after Biden's warning

Amazon, Google, Meta, Microsoft and other companies that are leading the development of artificial intelligence technology have agreed to meet a set of AI safeguards brokered by President Joe Biden's administration. The White House said Friday that it has secured voluntary commitments from seven U.S. companies meant to ensure their AI products are safe before they release them. Some of the commitments call for third-party oversight of the workings of commercial AI systems, though they don't detail who will audit the technology or hold the companies accountable. A surge of commercial investment in generative AI tools that can write convincingly human-like text and churn out new images and other media has brought public fascination as well as concern about their ability to trick people and spread disinformation, among other dangers. The four tech giants, along with ChatGPT-maker OpenAI and startups Anthropic and Inflection, have committed to security testing carried out in part by ...

Biden is building his reelection bid around an organisation Obama shunned

President Joe Biden is staking his reelection bid on the political and financial muscle of the Democratic National Committee. As it prepares for a bruising 2024 contest, his campaign plans to raise and spend around $2 billion. But it will do so in coordination with the national and state Democratic parties, in an effort to establish a coordinated campaign around the country. The idea is to bolster field, volunteer and data organizations, and ensure they work jointly to promote Biden and down-ballot Democratic candidates. The president is really rewriting the playbook when it comes to what a reelection campaign looks like and how we are in deep partnership with the DNC, said Julie Chavez Rodriguez, Biden's campaign manager, and will continue to show, by all metrics, that we're running a successful campaign. The strategy is different from the way the last Democratic president treated the DNC. Barack Obama largely shunned the party's traditional fundraising apparatus and instead raised

US semiconductor industry presses Biden to refrain from more China curbs

This also comes after China moved to restrict exports of raw materials such as gallium and germanium that are used in making chips

US' plan to narrow limits on China tech investments likely by 2024

Officials are aiming to wrap up a proposal by the end of August for the long-delayed program to screen and possibly prohibit investment in China's semiconductor

Biden still concerned about judicial overhaul as he invites Netanyahu

President Joe Biden on Monday invited Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu to meet with him in the US this fall, the White House said, even as he expressed ongoing concern about Netanyahu's controversial plans to overhaul his country's judicial system. Monday's phone conversation between the US and Israeli leaders came one day before Israel's figurehead president Isaac Herzog is set to visit to the White House and as Netanyahu's government pushes forward with the judicial changes that have sparked widespread protest in Israel. The Biden administration declined to say whether Biden would host Netanyahu at the White House as the Israeli leader has hoped or in New York on the margins of the UN General Assembly. White House visits are typically standard protocol for Israeli prime ministers, and the delay in Netanyahu receiving one has become an issue in Israel, with opponents citing it as a reflection of deteriorating relations with the US. National Security Council spokesman Jo

Moving ahead with small modular reactors

Linking this new technology with private sector involvement signifies a shift in India's nuclear energy strategy

Prez Biden appoints Indian-American biz leader to serve on Export Council

US President Joe Biden has announced his intent to appoint Shamina Singh, a prominent Indian-American business leader, to the President's Export Council, which serves as the principal national advisory committee on international trade. Singh, who is the Founder and President of the Mastercard Center for Inclusive Growth, has said that she is "honoured to join the group of esteemed leaders that make up the President's Export Council. According to a statement from the White House, on July 14, President Biden announced his intent to appoint Singh to serve in the key role. I am deeply honoured to join the group of esteemed leaders that make up the President's Export Council, Singh said. The President's Export Council serves as the principal national advisory committee on international trade. The Council advises the president of government policies and programmes that affect US trade performance, promotes export expansion and provides a forum for discussing and resolving trade-related .

Biden govt puts $20 bn in 'green bank' for renewable energy projects

The Biden administration said it is making available USD 20 billion from a federal green bank for clean energy projects such as residential heat pumps, electric vehicle charging stations and community cooling centres. Two programmes, worth USD 14 billion and USD 6 billion, respectively, will offer competitive grants to non-profits, community development banks, and other groups to invest in clean energy projects, with a focus on disadvantaged communities, the White House said. The investments follow a USD 7 billion Solar for All' programme launched last month for residential and community solar projects in low-income communities. All three programmes will be overseen by the green bank, formally known as the Greenhouse Gas Reduction Fund, which Congress created in last year's climate law. Vice President Kamala Harris called the grant programmes announced on Friday the largest investment in financing for community-based climate projects in our nation's history,' adding: It's a good ..

Biden administration announces $39 billion student debt forgiveness plan

The new plan counts more payments toward a forgiveness program that kicks in when borrowers have made the equivalent of either 20 or 25 years worth of payments

Biden closes out his Europe trip by showcasing new NATO member Finland

Finland joined as NATO's newest member earlier this year, an entry that effectively doubled the alliance's border with Russia

Biden is closing out his Europe trip by showcasing new Nato member Finland

President Joe Biden will close out his five-day trip to Europe on Thursday standing alongside Nordic leaders in an effort to show NATO's expanding power and influence against a burgeoning Russia. The brief stop in the shoreline Finnish capital is the coda to a Biden tour that was carefully sketched to highlight the growth of the military alliance that the president says has fortified itself since the Russian invasion of Ukraine. Finland joined as NATO's newest member earlier this year, an entry that effectively doubled the alliance's border with Russia. Biden arrived in Helsinki after what he deemed a successful annual NATO summit in Vilnius, Lithuania, where allies agreed to language that would further pave the way for Ukraine to join the military alliance. Ukrainian President Volodymyr Zelenskyy called the summit's outcome a significant security victory" for his country but nonetheless expressed disappointment Kyiv did not get an outright invitation to join NATO. Biden and other .

Ukraine wins G7 security pledges but Nato membership remains elusive

Ukrainian President Volodymyr Zelenskyy welcomed fresh pledges of weapons and ammunition to fight Russia's invasion along with longer-term security commitments from the West on Wednesday even as he expressed disappointment over the lack of a clear path for his country to join NATO as the alliance wrapped up its annual summit. "The Ukrainian delegation is bringing home a significant security victory for the Ukraine, for our country, for our people, for our children," he said while flanked by U.S. President Joe Biden and other leaders from the Group of Seven most powerful democratic nations. A joint declaration issued by the G7 lays the groundwork for each nation to negotiate agreements to help Ukraine bolster its military over the long term. Zelenskyy described the initiative as a bridge toward eventual NATO membership and a deterrent against Russia. "We will not waver," Biden vowed after the summit in Lithuania ended. "I mean that. Our commitment to Ukraine will not weaken. We will