Page 58 - Us Government

Biden intends to nominate Nisha Biswal to US govt's top administrative post

US President Joe Biden intends to nominate Indian-American Nisha Desai Biswal to a top administrative position in the US International Development Finance Commission, the White House said Monday. Biswal, who served as Assistant Secretary of State for South and Central Asia during the Obama Administration, brings over 30 years of work experience in US foreign policy, international development programs within the Executive Branch, Congress, and the private sector. She is currently Senior Vice President for International Strategy and Global Initiatives at the US Chamber of Commerce, overseeing the US India Business Council and the US Bangladesh Business Council. Biswal served as Assistant Secretary for South and Central Asian Affairs at the US Department of State from 2013 to 2017, where she oversaw the US-India strategic partnership during a period of unprecedented cooperation, including the launch of an annual US-India Strategic and Commercial Dialogue, the White House said. She als

House Speaker Kevin McCarthy expresses commitment to deepen India-US ties

McCarthy welcomed India's envoy Taranjit Singh Sandhu at a reception hosted by eminent diaspora members at Indian Wells in California

US emerges as India's top destination for goods exports in April-Dec 2022

The US has emerged as India's top destination for merchandise exports during April-December this fiscal at USD 59.7 billion, Parliament was informed on Friday. In a written reply to the Rajya Sabha, Commerce and Industry Minister Piyush Goyal said the government has taken a series of measures to promote the country's exports. The steps include an extension of existing foreign trade policy till March 31; an extension of interest equalisation (subsidy) scheme on pre and post-shipment rupee export credit till March 31 next year; and a roll-out of Remission of Duties and Taxes on Exported Products (RoDTEP) scheme. According to the data provided by the minister in his reply, the US was followed by UAE (USD 23.31 billion); Netherlands (USD 14.1 billion); China (USD 11 billion); Singapore and Bangladesh (about USD 9 billion each). In reply to a question on startups, Minister of State for Commerce and Industry Som Parkash said that Startup India Seed Fund Scheme (SISFS) is implemented from

US should show sincerity, help Sri Lanka: China on economic crises

In a counter-attack to a recent comment made by US government on Sri Lankas debt restructuring process, China said that Washington should show sincerity by helping the crisis-hit island nation

India important partner of choice for US, says Biden administration

India is an important partner of choice for the United States, the Biden Administration has said ahead of the crucial visit of National Security Advisor Ajit Doval for talks with the top American leadership, including his counterpart Jake Sullivan. India is an important partner of choice for the United States in a number of spaces, and that includes trade cooperation, State Department's Deputy Spokesperson Vedant Patel told reporters here on Thursday. It, of course, includes security cooperation. It also includes technological cooperation as well. I don't want to get too ahead of the process or get ahead of any specific meetings that might be coming down the pike, he said in response to a question. This (India-US ties) is, of course, of great importance to us, Patel said.

Biden renominates Indo-American Arun Subramanian as NY district court judge

US President Joe Biden has renominated Indian-American attorney Arun Subramanian to be the District Court judge for the Southern District of New York

US President Biden should be embarrassed by classified docs case: Democrats

Senior Democrats, dismayed by a steady stream of startling disclosures, expressed criticism Sunday of how President Joe Biden handled classified material after leaving office as vice president and disappointment that the White House has not been more forthcoming with the public. Lawmakers who might have anticipated questions focusing on the debt limit or Ukraine aid when they were booked last week for the Sunday news shows found themselves quizzed about the latest development over the weekend in the document drama that has put Biden's presidency on the defensive: During a search Friday of Biden's home in Wilmington, Delaware, the FBI found additional documents with classified markings and took possession of some of his handwritten notes, the president's lawyer said Saturday. Biden should be embarrassed by the situation, said Illinois Sen. Dick Durbin, the second-ranking Democrat in the Senate, adding that the president had ceded the moral high ground on an issue that has already ...

Indian-American Usha Reddi takes oath as Kansas state Senator in US

Indian-American city commissioner Usha Reddi took oath as senator in the US state of Kansas, replacing current Manhattan Senator Tom Hawk, who announced his retirement last month

US, Japan agree to boost security cooperation amid China worries: Report

The United States and Japan plan to boost military and security cooperation as their top national security officials hold talks on Wednesday. The U.S. and Japanese foreign and defense ministers are set to agree to adjust the American troop presence on the island of Okinawa. And, as they prepared to meet, Japan's defense ministry announced it was ready to start construction on an uninhabited island where the two militaries will hold joint military exercises. The two nations are revising their joint defense posture as they confront rising threats from North Korea and increasing aggressiveness from China. Wednesday's discussions will be followed by a meeting on Friday between President Joe Biden and Japanese Prime Minister Fumio Kishida at which they will underscore the importance of the relationship. Fishida, on a weeklong trip to visit allies in Europe and North America, signed a defense agreement with British Prime Minister Rishi Sunak on Wednesday that strengthens military ties ..

Joe Biden was paid $1 mn a year to teach but never taught a single class

US President Joe Biden was employed by the University of Pennsylvania after leaving the vice presidency and was paid one million dollars a year as a professor but never taught a class

Brazil, Jan 6 in US: Parallel attacks but not identical, says diplomat

Enraged protesters broke into government buildings that are the very symbol of their country's democracy. Driven by conspiracy theories about their candidate's loss in the last election, they smashed windows, sifted through the desks of lawmakers and trashed the highest offices in the land in a rampage that lasted hours before order could be restored. Sunday's attack by supporters of former President Jair Bolsonaro in Brazil's capital drew immediate parallels with the Jan. 6, 2021, attack on the U.S. Capitol by former President Donald Trump's backers two years and two days earlier. The two populist former presidents shared a close political alliance with an overlapping cast of supporters some of whom helped spread Trump's lies about losing his re-election due to voter fraud and later parroted Bolsonaro's similar claims after his own re-election loss last fall. Bolsonaro was among the last world leaders to recognize Joe Biden's victory in 2020. The U.S. example of election denying a

US house speaker race: Kevin McCarthy's plea and begging for votes

It was the extraordinary moment that brought House Republicans to the brink and ultimately the moment they found their way back. Just one vote short of becoming speaker of the House, California Republican Kevin McCarthy stood from his chair and walked down the center aisle to the back of the chamber. It was nearing midnight, and he had already lost 13 votes for speaker over four long days. The room fell almost silent as it became apparent that the GOP leader was now asking begging, really the bombastic, blustering, defiant Florida Rep. Matt Gaetz to change his vote from present to McCarthy. Gaetz, who had hurled personal insults at McCarthy just hours earlier on the House floor, said no. McCarthy slowly walked back down the aisle, alone, head tilted to the ground. But he turned back around when he heard a scuffle behind him. Alabama Rep. Mike Rogers, a Republican ally of McCarthy, had angrily confronted Gaetz, telling him he would regret his decision. Lawmakers on the floor yell

US announces new measures to crack down on illegal immigration: White House

The policy has been applied about 2.5 million times since March 2020. It was to expire on December 21, 2022

US sought suspension of 250k Twitter accounts, including journalists': Musk

Twitter chief Elon Musk on Tuesday disclosed that US Government demanded the suspension of 250k Twitter accounts, including those belonging to journalists and Canadian officials, reported Fox News.He made the revelation while sharing the latest round of "Twitter Files," which were made public by the journalist Matt Taibbi.https://twitter.com/elonmusk/status/1610421293060599808?s=20 & t=e2Qs0cZEad2L7raSzXG28g"US govt agency demanded suspension of 250k accounts, including journalists & Canadian officials!" tweeted Musk.The new release of internal Twitter correspondence details the relationship between the social media company and government agencies.Taibbi revealed the US government's mounting and endless pressure on Twitter to work hand-in-hand with Congress to hunt for Russian meddling on the platform, reported Fox News.The Global Engagement Center -- described by Taibbi as "a fledgling analytic/intelligence arms of the State Department" -- went public by releasing a report .

Biden renominates several Indian Americans to key administration positions

US President Joe Biden Tuesday renominated at least half a dozen Indian Americans to key administration positions which could not be confirmed by the Senate in the last Congress. The 118th Congress kicked off on Tuesday with the swearing-in of Senators and the start of process of election of Speaker of the US House of Representatives. Among those renominated by Biden and sent to the Senate were Richard Verma, to be Deputy Secretary of State for Management and Resources, and Dr Vivek Hallegere Murthy, to be Representative of the US on the Executive Board of the World Health Organization. Biden also sent to the Senate the renomination of Anjali Chaturvedi to be General Counsel, Department of Veterans Affairs, Ravi Chaudhary to be an Assistant Secretary of the Air Force, Geeta Rao Gupta to be Ambassador at Large for Global Women's Issues, and Radha Iyengar Plumb to be a Deputy Under Secretary of Defense. All these key administration positions were nominated by Biden in the last Congre

Joe Biden signs $1.7 trillion spending bill funding US govt operations

President Joe Biden on Thursday signed a USD 1.7 trillion spending bill that will keep the federal government operating through the end of the federal budget year in September 2023, and provide tens of billions of dollars in new aid to Ukraine for its fight against the Russian military. Biden had until late Friday to sign the bill to avoid a partial government shutdown. The Democratic-controlled House passed the bill 225-201, mostly along party lines, just before Christmas. The House vote came a day after the Senate, also led by Democrats, voted 68-29 to pass the bill with significantly more Republican support. Biden had said passage was proof that Republicans and Democrats can work together. Rep. Kevin McCarthy, the House Republican leader who hopes to become speaker when a new session Congress opens on Jan. 3, argued during floor debate that the bill spends too much and does too little to curb illegal immigration and the flow of fentanyl into the U.S. from Mexico. This is a ...

Twitter suppressed Covid-19 info, suspended top experts: Twitter files

According to David Zweig, both Joe Biden and former Donald Trump administrations pressured Twitter and other tech giants like Google, Facebook and Microsoft to disseminate Covid information

Blinken raises concerns over China's Covid surge, Taliban and Ukraine war

US Secretary of State Antony Blinken raised concern over the surging Covid cases in China, the Taliban banning women from universities and the ongoing Russia-Ukraine war

US Senate passes $1.7 trillion spending bill to fund govt, aid Ukraine

The Senate passed a massive $1.7 trillion spending bill Thursday that finances federal agencies through September and provides another significant round of military and economic aid to Ukraine one day after Ukrainian President Volodymyr Zelenskyy's dramatic address to a joint meeting of Congress. The bill, which runs for 4,155 pages, includes about $772.5 billion for domestic programs and $858 billion for defense and would finance federal agencies through the fiscal year at the end of September. The bill passed by a vote of 68-29 and now goes to the House for a final vote before it can be sent to President Joe Biden to be signed into law. This is one of the most significant appropriations packages we have done in a very long time, said Senate Majority Leader Chuck Schumer, D-N.Y. The range of people it helps is large and deep." Lawmakers were racing to get the bill approved before a partial government shutdown would occur at midnight Friday, and many were anxious to complete the ta

US govt agency probing automated driving system use in 2 Tesla crashes

The US government's highway safety agency said on Thursday it will send teams to investigate two November crashes in California and Ohio involving Teslas that may have been operating on automated driving systems. The probes bring to 35 the number of crashes investigated by the National Highway Traffic Safety Administration since 2016 in which either Tesla's Full Self-Driving or Autopilot systems likely were in use. Nineteen people were killed in the crashes. The California crash occurred on Thanksgiving Day involving eight vehicles on the San Francisco-Oakland Bay Bridge. The driver told authorities that the Tesla Model S was using the company's Full Self-Driving software, according to Highway Patrol report obtained by CNN. The Ohio crash happened on November 18 near Toledo, when a Tesla Model 3 crashed into an Ohio Highway Patrol SUV stopped on a roadway with its emergency lights flashing. A message was left on Thursday seeking comment from Tesla on the latest NHTSA action. The ..