One bill provides $60.8 billion for Ukraine, with over 80 percent of it for helping Kyiv amid its ongoing war with Russia, including replenishing supplies of US made weapons and ammunition.

The National Company Law Tribunal (NCLT) on Tuesday questioned the maintainability of the insolvency plea filed against air carrier SpiceJet by one of its operational creditors Willis Lease Finance Corporation. A two-member NCLT bench comprising Members Mahendra Khandelwal and Rahul Prasad Bhatnagar observed that Willis Lease Finance Corporation has withdrawn its insolvency plea for the same dispute in March 2023 and has approached again with a new plea. The bench wanted to know as Willis Lease Finance Corporation, an aircraft lessor, had filed again for a similar cause of action within a few months.

Former United States President Donald Trump on Tuesday pleaded not guilty to 37 charges related to the alleged mishandling of classified documents, CNN reported.

The total number of classified documents found in the residences and private offices of Biden has now increased to nearly a dozen and a half. All documents, including from his term as vice president from 2009 to 2016, have now been taken into possession of federal agents.

Five additional pages of classified material have been found at the Delaware residence of President Joe Biden, the White House has said, bringing the total number of secret documents uncovered to about two dozen.

The confrontation comes days after the FBI executed a search warrant at former president Donald Trump's Florida estate.

After gaining access to the airfield, the unarmed intruder then entered a C-40 aircraft from the 89th Airlift Wing, known as the "presidential wing," officials said.

Chief Justice John Roberts will administer the oath of office to Biden just after the clock strikes 12 (local time) at the West Front of the Capitol -- the traditional location -- under the unprecedented security umbrella of more than 25,000 National Guards, who have transformed the capital into a garrison city, mainly because of the threat of violent protest by Trump's supporters.

Biden's proposal also sets aside USD 20 billion for a national vaccination programme and USD 50 billion to scale up coronavirus testing.

Lady Gaga will perform the national anthem. There will be a musical performance by Lopez, who has used her voice during the coronavirus pandemic to speak out against its disproportionate toll on minority communities.

Biden said that he was glad Trump decided not to attend and that Pence is "welcome to come.'

"As associate attorney general, the number three job at the department, I nominate Vanita Gupta. A woman I've known for some time. One of the most respected civil rights lawyers in America," Biden told reporters in Wilmington, Delaware as he announced some of the key nominations in the Justice Department on Thursday.

'This is not who we are. What we are seeing is a small number of extremists dedicated to lawlessness'

We present our alphabet of 2020, pulling in everything you'll remember about this year we'd rather forget.

'She'll probably be leading some significant portfolio from the White House, the way that Vice President Biden did in the Obama White House.'

The reversal of Trump's policy with regard to Iran, like the withdrawal from the Paris Agreement, may not be a matter of just turning the clock back, but one of patient negotiations, with uncertain consequences in the post-COVID-19 world, observes Ambassador T P Sreenivasan.

Indian-American Neera Tanden, who has been nominated as the director of the Office of Management and Budget by US president-elect Joe Biden, on Tuesday shared the inspiring story of her mother who immigrated to the US from India.

'There is little appetite in the Democratic foreign policy establishment to pick a fight with India.'

Biden's Twitter statement came hours after incumbent President Donald Trump, a Republican, finally agreed that the presidential transition process should start, after weeks of wrangling.

Biden said he would follow the science. "I am not going to shut down the economy period. I am going to shut down the virus," he asserted.

'Biden's promise of returning to 'normalcy' after Trump appears to mean that the same old politicians, who are responsible for the 'endless wars' in Afghanistan, Iraq and Syria, are being brought out of the woodwork after four years,' notes Ambassador M K Bhadrakumar.

'President-elect Biden, in particular, has deep knowledge of, and experience with, dealing with India, serving as a custodian and champion of the relationship long before it was fashionable to do so.'

The beauty of the relationship between the two countries is that they agree to disagree and perhaps that is the strongest bond between the two governments and their relationships, notes Rup Narayan Das.

'This election might be the most significant for the community and indicates the possibility of greater engagement.'

We cannot simply bhangra off into the sunset. But we should take a moment to celebrate. A long, historic, poignant moment. This election is a Big. Freaking. Deal. For our country, our futures, our children, our spirits, notes Pia Padukone.

Washington might occasionally make some noises about alleged human rights violations and related issues but commonality of interests will only see the Indo-US ties grow stronger, observes Virendra Kapoor.

Biden and Harris are the leaders we need at this time to do the painful but necessary work of creating a more inclusive -- and united -- nation, points out Murali Kamma.

'This year felt different -- and was different.' 'For the first time, the Indian American voter seemed to matter.'

It would be a huge achievement if the new administration manages a successful transition to some sense of domestic and international normalcy in these frantic times marked by the pandemic and rise of illiberal regimes across the world, observes Shreekant Sambrani.

Responding to questions from reporters on Trump not conceding the race, Biden hoped that at the end it's all going to come to fruition on January 20th.

Events in America have strengthened the hand of those leaders there who wish India well, but think of India as being a collection of Indians.
If Indians are mistreated, they will object, asserts Aakar Patel.

The road will be difficult but I know Joe Biden and Kamala Harris will lead us all together to a better future. I am so proud to share this historical moment with my children. And I invite all Indian Americans to join me, says Rupa Kale.

But his nature, temperament, his skill to listen to others, and empathise with their pain and hardships will make him a far better president, a leader America has been longing for four years, notes Aseem Chhabra.

Musings on love, life and everything in between.

The Biden team updated its website to showcase four policy areas the incoming administration will prioritise: COVID-19, economic recovery, racial equity and climate change.

The 56-year-old Democratic Senator from California, who on Saturday became America's first female, first Black and first South Asian vice president-elect, represents a new face of political power.

"I pledge to be a president who seeks not to divide, but to unify; who doesn't see red states and blue states, only sees the United States," Biden said in his victory speech on Saturday night.

Even though we may have voted a President out of office, that does not mean those who loyally supported him will be silenced. Nor should they be. While we may not agree with our neighbour's opinions, we can never stop fighting for their right to voice them, asserts Urvashi Banerjea.

United States President-elect Joe Biden concluded his victory speech by reciting his deceased son Beau's favourite popular Catholic hymn 'On Eagles' Wings', hoping that the carol will give comfort to many Americans grieving the loss of their loved ones due to the COVID-19 pandemic.

'Any normal human being, even if he is the American president, will find it hard, at least in the initial stages, to get over the gnawing feeling that Modi is Trump's man.' 'Modi should not be surprised if India and its requirements are treated as of low priority by Joe Biden,' warns B S Raghavan, the distinguished civil servant.