The dinner Jill Biden and her husband US President Joe Biden hosted for Indian prime minister Narendra Modi, June 22, at the White House brought together, Indians and Americans from so many firmaments.
Ajay Banga was on Wednesday appointed the next president of the World Bank, becoming the first-ever Indian-American to head the global financial institution which said it looks forward to working with him at a time when it's tackling the toughest development challenges facing developing countries. "The executive directors of the World Bank today selected Ajay Banga as president of the World Bank for a five-year term beginning June 2, 2023," the bank said in a press statement. In February, President Joe Biden announced that the US would be nominating Banga, 63, to lead the World Bank because he is "well equipped" to lead the global institution at "this critical moment in history."
'Here in Delhi, the Modi government is supposedly looking at 'options' to hit back at Pakistan in any whichever way it can, while in Washington, the Obama administration is looking for ways to strengthen US military cooperation with Pakistan,' says Ambassador M K Bhadrakumar.
Trump said because of the "great work" he did, he was "rewarded" with a victory.
The United States senate on Tuesday confirmed the nomination of James Coney, a former Bush Administration official, as the next director of the Federal Bureau of Investigation. Coney, who was confirmed by 93-1 votes by the senate replaces, Robert Muller as the FBI director who served in this position for a decade.
The United States on Friday ordered evacuation of non-emergency staff from Lebanon and Turkey amid an imminent military strike against Syria, as authorities did not rule out a similar drawdown from other diplomatic posts in the region.
The order eases restrictions that the Affordable Care Act (placed on the individual health insurance market).
'It is very significant that the president and the prime minister discussed Pakistan's efforts to take action against Lashkar-e-Tayiba and its affiliates.' 'This is something new and it demonstrates a recognition of Pakistan of the threats these terrorist groups pose to Pakistan and pose to other countries.'
White House said Trump strongly believed that protecting environment and 'promoting our economy are not mutually exclusive goals'.
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In the first official visit by a United States vice-president to India in three decades, Joe Biden arrived in India on Monday on a four-day tour aimed at boosting ties in key areas of trade, energy, defence and security. The US vice-president will hold meetings with top Indian leadership, including President Pranab Mukherjee and Prime Minister Manmohan Singh, on Tuesday before flying out to Mumbai in the night.
Sensing victory six days ahead of the elections, Republican presidential nominee Donald Trump has urged his supporters to go out and vote and "not blow up" the new momentum his campaign has gained after the FBI's decision to re-open investigation in the alleged email scandal of his Democratic rival Hillary Clinton.
Leaders of the two countries, however, did discuss on Pakistan's nuclear safety and security which is an ongoing discussion.
The US Senate has confirmed Indian-American woman administrator Nisha Desai Biswal as the Assistant Secretary of State for South and Central Asia, making her the first person from the community to hold the top diplomatic position.
'... For the India-US relationship to continue its positive trajectory, it will require India to adapt to a different approach.' Nisha Desai Biswal -- who as the Obama administration's point person for South Asia was in the inner circle of all the Obama-Modi Summits -- tells Rediff.com's Monali Sarkar why she is hopeful that India and the US are on an irreversible forward course.
Other countries need not be worried by Trump putting America first, says B S Raghavan. 'That is what the imperative duty is of everyone heading his country's government: To put his own country first, and make it great.' 'That is what Narendra Modi, Xi Jinping, Theresa May, Angela Merkel, Shinzo Abe and all the democratically elected heads of governments, with the interest of their people at heart, are doing.'
Modi and Obama surely put India-US ties in fast-forward mode. But 5 things deserve careful attention.
The Middle East's power house is about to get a new ruler who is only 31 and he may lead Saudi Arabia for decades, says Ambassador M K Bhadrakumar.
'The China Pakistan Economic Corridor is Pakistan's number one preoccupation today -- and tensions with India and the $46 billion projects simply do not go together,' points out Ambassador M K Bhadrakumar.
'Eight years of what Obama had achieved can be wiped out during the Trump administration,' fears Aseem Chhabra, who worries about his country under'an arrogant bully, who whipped up the worst out of his followers.'
It is a testament to some of the policies that were put in place to raise fuel-efficiency standards
The report added that Anbang, which has close ties to the Chinese state, has seen its aggressive efforts to buy hotels in the US slowed amid concerns raised by Obama administration officials who review foreign investments for national security risk.
Trump said he was deeply honoured to be joined by so many administration officials and leaders of the Indian-American community in celebrating Diwali -- the festival of lights.
In a debacle for Barack Obama and the Democratic Party, Republicans today gained control of the United States Senate and increased its majority in the House of Representatives in a sweeping midterm election win that could complicate the President's final two years in office.
Narendra Modi would have done well to take a few more months before he agreed to receive or call on heads of countries like Japan, China, and the US. The prime minister is to settle down in his job and it was too soon for him to have full awareness of the nuances of intricate international issues, says B S Raghavan.
Setting aside the recent tumult in relations caused by the Khobragade episode, US Deputy Secretary of State Heather Higginbottom attended the first major event India's new Ambassador Dr S Jaishankar hosted in Washington. Rediff.com's Aziz Haniffa reports from the Republic Day celebration in the US capital.
Four top lawyers secretly worked on resolving sensitive legal issues including sending forces on Pakistani soil without its consent.
Murthy, 43, who originally hails from Karnataka, was appointed America's 19th Surgeon General by then president Barack Obama in 2014.
The animated image, which the president retweeted on Sunday, also shows Clinton tripping and falling after being hit in the back as she boards a plane in 2011 as the secretary of state, CNN reported.
Axed from the post of foreign secretary two days ago, a "deeply pained" Sujatha Singh on Friday hit back saying that stories were being "planted" in the media to tarnish her reputation after having served for 39 years.
Bharara, 48, has made a national and international mark for himself with many high-profile cases and investigations including foreign countries, insider trading and those involving US politicians.
"I believe that the moral authority to govern vests with the PM. The overall state of the nation is reflective of the functioning of the PM and his administration. While Dr Singh was preoccupied with saving the coalition, which took a toll on governance, (Narendra) Modi seemed to have employed a rather autocratic style of governance during his first term, as seen by the bitter relationship among the government, the legislature and the judiciary.
The President was apparently unaware of the Narendra Modi visa ban controversy till April. Aziz Haniffa/Rediff.com has the scoop.
The meeting between United States Ambassador to India Nancy Powell and Gujarat Chief Minister Narendra Modi was a "pragmatic" and "necessary step", according to a media report, that said it seems "likely" the visa status of BJP's prime ministerial candidate "could change" if he is elected to the top post.
Senior Communist Party of India-Marxist leader Sitaram Yechury on Wednesday denied having signed any letter seeking denial of US visa for Gujarat Chief Minister Narendra Modi, saying it suggested a "cut and paste" job.
'I am hopeful that you will see more focused attention on this relationship,' former US assistant secretary of state Nisha Desai Biswal tells Alokananda Chakraborty.
Bush, however, also said that outgoing President Donald Trump has the right to request recounts and pursue legal challenges, with any unresolved issues to be "properly adjudicated".
Nine days after the death of George Floyd, protesters are still out on the streets of major cities across America, even with curfews now in place. The 46-year-old was killed when a white police officer kneeled on his neck for nearly nine minutes while he lay handcuffed and pinned to the ground gasping for breath on May 25. As per latest reports, Floyd, the African-American had tested positive for the coronavirus in April, according to the medical examiner's report. Meanwhile, a Minnesota court has upgraded the charges against former Minneapolis police offcer Derek Chauvin who pressed his knee into George Floyd's neck to second-degree murder and three other officers present during the incident have been charged with aiding and abetting murder. Soon after, Floyd's family issued a statement, saying, "This is a bittersweet moment. We are deeply gratified that @AGEllison took decisive action, arresting & charging ALL the officers involved in George Floyd's death & upgrading the charge against Derek Chauvin to felony second-degree murder." Former United States President Barack Obama too held a livestream event in which he urged young people to "stay hopeful" and take action. "Just remember, this country was founded on protest," he said. Raising his voice against the US president, former secretary of defense James Mattis slammed Trump as "the first president in my lifetime who does not try to unite the American people," in a forceful rebuke of his former boss. "We are witnessing the consequences of three years without mature leadership," he said.
Bruce Riedel, a former CIA analyst who was one of the key architects of US President Barack Obama's Af-Pak policy during his first term, has called for an offensive strategy against terrorist networks and this includes hitting out at terrorist groups inside Pakistan.
Slated to be in India on December 8, Carter would travel to Japan, Bahrain, Israel, Italy and Great Britain before returning to the US on December 16. This is for the first time that an outgoing American Defence Secretary has included India in his itinerary for the final overseas trip.
It is for the companies and the industry to ascertain where they want to run with the US-India civilian nuclear agreements reached by Washington and New Delhi, says United States Assistant Secretary of State Nisha Biswal. Aziz Haniffa reports for Rediff.com from Washington, DC
