Beijing's growing assertiveness as kingmaker in Kabul has suffered a setback with Washington quietly moving in, observes Ambassador M K Bhadrakumar.
The Biden administration's failure in stopping two major wars and several minor ones was seen as a major disaster by many Americans and the world at large, observes Ambassador T P Sreenivasan.
US President Donald Trump has signed an executive order extending the operations of TikTok, the Chinese-controlled video-sharing platform, by 75 days. Trump intends to pursue a resolution that protects national security while preserving the platform used by 170 million Americans. The order instructs the attorney general to refrain from enforcing a law that would have forced TikTok's parent company ByteDance to divest from the app or face a ban from US app stores. Trump cited the national security concerns posed by TikTok and the need to review sensitive intelligence related to these concerns. He also emphasized the importance of finding a resolution that protects national security without abruptly shutting down the platform.
The two major parties offer the United States choices that are basically unacceptable and the bench strength, such as it is, is not entirely capable of winning popular acclaim, notes Shreekant Sambrani.
In the weeks between his phenomenal electoral victory and swearing-in as the 47th president of the United States, the world got a preview of what a second Donald Trump presidency will entail -- both for itself and America.
On Friday, Biden announced his intent to appoint 14 people to the advisory committee, which provides overall policy advice to the United States trade representative on matters of development, implementation, and administration of the US trade policy.
Biden said when he got elected, Putin thought that he would easily be able to break up NATO.
Third time lucky is an apt phrase to describe the remarkable rise of Joe Biden, a veteran in US politics for around five decades, from being one of the youngest senators in history to the oldest American president-to-be.
China initially hesitated to congratulate Biden, a Democrat, after Republican incumbent President Donald Trump refused to concede.
The Congress on Wednesday expressed sadness over 'pictures of Indians getting handcuffed and humiliated' while being deported from the United States and recalled that America had to express regret over the treatment meted out to India diplomat Devyani Khobragade in 2013 after the then United Progressive Alliance government retaliated sharply.
India and the US will sit together in the next couple of weeks to decide on the nature of the proposed trade agreement and finalise its broad contours, a senior official said on Monday. During the recent visit of Prime Minister Narendra Modi to Washington, India and the US announced to more than double the two-way commerce to $500 billion by 2030 and negotiate the first tranche of a mutually beneficial, multi-sector bilateral trade agreement (BTA) by fall of 2025.
Biden and Xi shook hands and greeted each other with smiles, standing in front of a row of US and Chinese flags.
The US President also underlined that both countries "will advance sustainable and inclusive growth while tackling shared challenges like the climate, energy, and food crises."
At the World Bank Banga will be replacing David Malpass, a former Trump treasury official, reports axios.com. Malpass had already announced that he will resign by July, months ahead of his term expired. "Ajay is uniquely equipped to lead the World Bank at this critical moment in history," President Biden said in a statement. Banga, 63, currently serves as vice chairman at General Atlantic.
As the world continues to rage under the ongoing conflicts in Europe and the Middle East, the two presidential candidates in the United States, Vice President Kamala Harris and former President Donald Trump during the presidential debate hosted by ABC News on Tuesday (local time), presented their views on ending the conflict and Washington, DC's role in it.
'The policies announced by his administration are implemented faster.'
'Decline of the UN did not start with the Trump administration. It has been happening over the last two decades or more.'
This includes over $15 billion of proposed investment in the infrastructure sector in the Indo-Pacific and $9 billion for shoring up American defence in the region.
US President Joe Biden and his Chinese counterpart Xi Jinping on Monday held their first in-person meeting in Bali, with both leaders underscoring the need to manage their differences and prevent a conflict, amid Beijing's coercive military posturing against Taiwan and in the strategic Indo-Pacific region.
Following the election that brought Joe Biden to power, Trump alleged fraud in the voting process and challenged the outcome in courts which rejected his claims.
The Indian economy is expected to be "a little weaker" in 2025 despite steady global growth, IMF managing director Kristalina Georgieva has said. Georgieva also said she expects quite a lot of uncertainty in the world this year mainly around the trade policy of the US. In her annual media roundtable with a group of reporters on Friday, she said global growth is expected to be steady in 2025, but with regional divergence.
Verma, 54, who served as a former US ambassador to India from January 16, 2015, to January 20, 2017 is currently the chief legal officer and head of global public policy at Mastercard.
'Putin dreams about his legacy. He wants to forcibly restore the Russian empire.' 'Unfortunately, after three years of large-scale war with massive human losses, Putin will not budge from his goal because human life is the cheapest resource in the Russian State.'
United States President-elect Donald Trump opened up about the viral moment between him and former President Barack Obama, acknowledging the seemingly warm interaction that was captured during the funeral of former President Jimmy Carter, Politico reported.
'By his words, actions, and body language during their joint press appearance wanted to convey his personal respect and, more broadly, his desire to work closely with India.'
President Joe Biden asked Americans to stand up to the gun lobby and urged the members of the Congress for an immediate gun control legislation.
'If the criminal or civil charges are deemed unworthy or defective, Trump's new justice department and SEC can withdraw the criminal and civil cases.'
President Donald Trump is expected to sign a series of executive orders fulfilling campaign promises, including declaring an emergency at the southern border, addressing a national energy crisis, and defining sex-related policies. The orders aim to address immigration, national security, and energy independence, with a focus on reversing policies implemented by the previous administration.
India and the United States will finalize the contours, schedule of negotiations, and terms of reference for a proposed bilateral trade agreement (BTA) during a three-day meeting beginning Tuesday. The agreement is expected to be finalized in two tranches, with the first phase focusing on goods trade. The US team, led by Assistant US Trade Representative for South and Central Asia Brendan Lynch, will be in India from March 25-29 to discuss the agreement. Both countries are aiming to conclude the first phase of the agreement by fall 2025.
The driver of the Tesla Cybertruck that exploded outside the Trump International Hotel in Las Vegas was an active-duty United States Army Green Berret, according to sources reported by CNN.
Law enforcement officials from the US Department of Homeland Security have started visiting gurdwaras in New York and New Jersey to check for the presence of illegal immigrants, drawing a sharp reaction from some Sikh organisations which see such actions as a threat to the sanctity of their faith. The Trump administration has rescinded the Biden administration's guidelines that protected places of worship from immigration enforcement actions, leading to concerns that gurdwaras are being targeted. Sikh organisations argue that gurdwaras are not just places of worship but also vital community centres and that surveillance and raids by armed law enforcement would burden religious exercise and limit the ability of Sikhs to gather and associate with one another.
Biden's authorisation of 5,000 troops in his statement on Saturday included 1,000 who are already on the ground in Afghanistan, according to a defence official. A battalion of 1,000 troops from the 82nd Airborne Division were redirected to Kabul, instead of their original standby position in Kuwait.
Meanwhile, US President Joe Biden condemned Russia's annexation of Ukrainian territory on Friday.
The US is ready to respond "decisively" to a Russian attack on Ukraine which is still very much a possibility, President Joe Biden has said, urging Moscow to step back from the brink of war.
US President Donald Trump cut short discussions with Ukrainian President Volodymyr Zelenskyy on Friday after he and Vice President JD Vance confronted Ukraine's leader in a tense Oval Office exchange.
'He needs to see results while he is in office.'
However, Biden expressed his sympathy for the crisis in Afghanistan after the Taliban took control of the nation in mid-August.
'Trump's desire to withdraw the US from some arenas on the global stage will result in ceding space to China.'
'The hardliners in Delhi are in for a big disappointment,' predicts Ambassador M K Bhadrakumar.
The US Trade Representative noted that India's average applied tariff rate stood at 17% per cent, the highest of any major world economy.
