Both statesmen possess a cultivated pugnacious style which they keep in reserve and can at will bring into play, and despite the mutual distrust in Russian-American relations, they are proponents of detente, quintessentially, who take their mission deadly seriously, points out Ambassador M K Bhadrakumar.
"After 20 years of war in Afghanistan, I refused to send another generation of America's sons and daughters to fight a war that should have ended long ago," US President Joe Biden.
'Chinese experts estimate that the new US administration is 'at the crossroads of how to re-manage and control' Sino-American differences and strategic divergences and Biden's bottom line is that the US would have 'extreme competition with China, but won't allow competition to develop into conflict',' notes Ambassador M K Bhadrakumar.
President Donald Trump signed an executive order withdrawing the US from the UN Human Rights Council and prohibiting any future funding for the UN agency for Palestinian refugees. Trump also directed the US to review its participation in UNESCO, citing concerns about anti-Semitism and anti-Israel sentiment within the organizations. The executive order argues that the UNHRC, UNESCO, and UNRWA have drifted from their missions and act contrary to US interests. Trump previously halted funds for UNRWA during his first term, and President Joe Biden put a block on US funds for UNRWA in January 2024 over allegations that staff for the agency participated in Hamas's October 7, 2023, attack against Israel.
In a sign of the growing political prominence of Hindus in America, the Trump and Biden campaigns are wooing this religious minority community like never before. Hinduism is the fourth largest faith in the US, representing approximately one per cent of the US population in 2016.
The executive order also provides authority to impose sanctions on any person determined to operate in those areas of Ukraine.
In a significant move, the United States on Wednesday removed restrictions on three Indian nuclear entities, over a week after National Security Advisor Jake Sullivan announced that Washington was finalising steps to 'remove' hurdles for civil nuclear partnership between Indian and American firms.
"Throughout our history we've learned this lesson -- when dictators do not pay a price for their aggression, they cause more chaos. They keep moving. And, the costs and threats to America and the world keep rising," Biden said addressing the joint session of the Congress in his first State of the Union.
The Summit for Democracy seems to have done more harm than good, notes Ambassador T P Sreenivasan.
Biden met with Ukraine's first lady Olena Zelenska at a converted school that now serves as temporary housing for displaced citizens.
Biden praised India's Covid vaccination efforts.
'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.
"In 47 years, Joe did none of the things of which he now speaks. He will never change, just words!" Trump tweeted his first reaction to Biden's acceptance speech on Thursday.
The 78-year-old veteran Democratic leader's Twitter account @PresElectBiden transformed into @POTUS after he took the oath of office at the West Front of the US Capitol as the 46th President of the United States in a historic but scaled down ceremony under the unprecedented security umbrella of thousands of security personnel.
Biden and Harris along with their families attended Mass at The Cathedral of St Matthew the Apostle. They were joined by bipartisan congressional leaders including House Speaker Nancy Pelosi, Senate Majority Leader Chuck Schumer, Senate Minority Leader Mitch McConnell, House Minority Leader Kevin McCarthy and Senator and JCCIC Chair Amy Klobuchar.
US President Donald Trump on Thursday addressed the World Economic Forum where he offered business leaders low taxes if they manufacture their products in the US, while threatening them with tariffs if they don't. Addressing the forum's Annual Meeting in Davos through video conferencing, Trump also said he is going to ask Saudi Arabia and OPEC to bring down oil prices and asserted that if prices come down Russia-Ukraine war will end immediately.
The former president claimed that subjects like immigration and inflation were covered "in great detail" both in Tuesday night's discussion with Harris and in his June debate with President Biden.
The Modi government has been put on notice.'Will it buckle under such pressure? These are times when the moral fibre of the leadership makes all the difference, observes Ambassador M K Bhadrakumar.
Calling the military's seizure of power in Myanmar a 'direct assault' on its transition to democracy, United States President Joe Biden on Monday threatened to slap new sanctions on the country after the junta detained State Counsellor Aung San Suu Kyi, President U Win Myint and other political leaders.
Major American media outlets started calling Biden the winner after it became clear that he has taken a major lead against Republican incumbent Donald Trump in the battleground State of Pennsylvania, which has 20 electoral college votes, making him cross the benchmark of the 270 electoral college votes.
Prime Minister Narendra Modi and US President Joe Biden will have a substantive engagement on the sidelines of the Quad summit on Saturday, and the two sides will sign at least two agreements following the talks.
United States President-elect Donald Trump on Tuesday said that he understands the Russian feeling with NATO (North Atlantic Treaty Organisation) being on their doorstep.
President-elect Donald Trump promised his supporters and countrymen that he will act at historic speed to fix every single crisis facing the United States, on the eve of his inauguration. Trump told his supporters at the Capitol One Arena, which was full to its capacity of 20,000 for a 'Make America Great' victory celebration, that he will act with "historic speed and strength" and fix "every single crisis facing our country." He also outlined some of his plans for his first day in office, including halting the "invasion" of the US border and restoring border security measures, which he said will be the most "aggressive, sweeping efforts to restore our borders the world has ever seen."
Richard Verma, the highest-ranking Indian-American official in the State Department, has expressed optimism about the future of US-India ties and emphasized the need to base the relationship on shared values rather than mere transactional dealings. Verma, who previously served as America's Ambassador to India, stressed the importance of the Quad in defending the international order, highlighting its shared commitment to a free and open Indo-Pacific.
United States President Donald Trump on Thursday, while speaking at FII Priority Summit in Miami, warned that 'World War III is not far away' but claimed that his leadership would prevent it from happening.
'I was expressing the moral outrage I felt toward the way Putin is dealing ..., which is just brutality, half the children of Ukraine.'
The US president-elect twisted his ankle on Saturday when he slipped while playing with Major, one of his two German shepherd.
Donald Trump is catering to the basest fears and prejudice of unenlightened Americans -- yes, there are those too, in sizeable enough numbers to elect one of their own as president. That would most certainly not Make America Great Again, asserts Shreekant Sambrani.
Biden, while not ruling out the meeting Putin at G20 meet, said that there are conditions attached.
'It will be normal, regular, everyday politics whether you like it or not.' That's what this country needs,' a New Yorker tells Payal Singh Mohanka.
On Sunday, the media reports emerged with footage allegedly taken in the town of Bucha near Kyiv with a number of bodies of dead people lying on the road.
China on Wednesday announced military drills around Taiwan, days after United States President Joe Biden said Washington would intervene militarily if Beijing tried to reunify with the island by force.
The 2020 race marks Biden's third attempt at running for US president. He first tried in 1988 but dropped out after allegations of plagiarism. He ended his second attempt in 2008 after garnering less than one per cent in the crucial Iowa caucuses.
'There's a lot of sense in what Prime Minister Modi did, but the Indian government has to be really prepared for a really sharp escalation spiral.'
Biden welcomed Prime Minister Modi at the Summit and said "it is wonderful to see you again in person".
The bilateral and Quad summits, in which Prime Minister Modi played a significant role, has sent the right message to China, observes Ambassador T P Sreenivasan.
Biden's reference to the hate crime against Asian Americans was welcomed by Indian-American Congressman Ro Khanna.
The US president took part in an Inspection of the Guard of Honor and then joined the queen and first lady to watch a military march. Afterwards, the three went into the queen's apartment for tea, The Hill noted.
A leading expert predicts that the incoming Trump administration will likely continue its pro-India policies, including the Indo-Pacific strategy and Quad, but highlights potential challenges such as trade disagreements, immigration issues, and a possible quid pro quo for technology sharing. The expert also notes that the Trump 2.0 administration may prioritize great power politics over strategic altruism, potentially impacting human rights and religious freedom concerns.
