Ghazala Hashmi, an India-born American politician, has been elected as Virginia's Lieutenant Governor, marking a historic moment as the first Muslim and South Asian American to hold the position.
Several Indian-American and South Asian candidates are running for key positions in the US elections, including mayoral and gubernatorial races.
President-elect Donald Trump announced a slate of key Cabinet nominations, including tapping former Democratic presidential candidate Robert F. Kennedy Jr. as his Secretary of Health and Human Services and former Congressman Doug Collins of Georgia as Secretary for Veterans Affairs. Trump also named Jay Clayton as US Attorney for the Southern District of New York, Todd Blanche as Deputy Attorney General, and Dean John Sauer as Solicitor General of the United States.
Dr Murthy, 43, would occupy the position of America's Surgeon General for the second time. In 2011, president Barack Obama tapped him to serve on the advisory group on prevention, health promotion, and integrative and public health.
A powerful senatorial committee on Wednesday is set to consider a bipartisan resolution to recognise Arunachal Pradesh as an integral part of India, pushing back against China's military aggression to change the status quo along the Line of Actual Control.
A breakthrough has been achieved in the Gaza conflict, with Israel and Hamas agreeing to a ceasefire deal, marking a potential turning point in the ongoing war, CNN reported citing sources.
The announcement for the QUAD Caucus came from Congressman Ami Bera, Ranking Member of the House Foreign Affairs Indo-Pacific Subcommittee, Congressman Rob Wittman, and Senators Tammy Duckworth and Pete Ricketts, both members of the Senate Foreign Relations Committee.
All efforts of Trump's party to repeal the healthcare of his predecessor has failed so far, mainly due to the opposition of some of his own Senators.
Passed by the House by 352 to 65 votes, the bill now heads to the US Senate for it to be sent to the White House for the President to sign it into law.
Seema Verma, who was confirmed by the Senate on a vote of 55-43, will play a key role in the government's bid to repeal and replace" Obamacare and head the Centers of Medicare and Medicaid Services that provides health services to 130 million people.
'Whatever Kamala is today, it is because of my sister.' 'My sister inculcated South Indian culture and values in her,' Dr Sarala Gopalan, US Senator-electKamala Harris' maternal aunt, tells Rediff.com's Shobha Warrier in Chennai.
In April, the US stopped funding to WHO as the Trump administration reviewed the ties.
'My grandfather was a poor farmer who fought for democracy and freedom in India and who could have never dreamed that his grandson would have the opportunity to sit before you today and be considered for the position of Surgeon General,' Dr Murthy told a US Senate Committee
Director of the US National Institute of Allergy and Infectious Diseases, Dr Fauci said that India made the "incorrect assumption" that they were finished with COVID-19.
In his first tweet after election results started coming in US President Trump claimed success. "Tremendous success tonight. Thank you to all!".
The United States Senate took the historic decision by 53-47 votes after three Republican Senators Susan Collins, Lisa Murkowski and Mitt Romney voted in her favour along with 50 members of the ruling Democratic Party.
More than a year after he was nominated by President Barack Obama, the US Senate, defying the powerful pro-gun lobby National Rifle Association, voted to confirm Dr Vivek Hellegere Murthy as the first Indian American US Surgeon General and the youngest ever at age 37, in a cliff-hanger of a 51-43 vote.
In a stellar performance, Indian American US Surgeon General Dr Vivek Murthy took on one critic after another at the Senate confirmation hearing. Aziz Haniffa reports.
United States President-elect Joseph Biden has always been a strong supporter of India and India-US partnership since his days in Senate and later as a Vice-President.
The National Rifle Association aims to shoot down Vivek Murthy's Senate confirmation as United States Surgeon General, Aziz Haniffa reports
Trump also announced that the US will end special treatment of Hong Kong in response to Chinese imposition of new controls.
In addition to supporting the president-elect, Klain will work to build a diverse, experienced and talented team to help President-elect Biden and Vice President-elect Kamala Harris meet the urgent challenges facing the country, a media release said.
India has to put in place legislation and rules which seek more clarity and transparency from technology companies. Domestic and global companies that use consumer behaviour data to enhance addictive behaviour must be scrutinised and controlled. Currently the intermediary guidelines focus mostly on content management and grievance redressal. However, the underlying software engines that influence online consumer behaviour need oversight, too.
The president said he had discussed with Prime Minister Modi on when the US would be able to send actual vaccines to India.
United States Vice President-elect Kamala Harris has named her Chief of Staff, Domestic Policy Advisor and National Security Advisor -- an all-women team -- which she said has the experience to hit the ground from day one.
Launching a scathing attack on Harris, the Trump campaign said the Americans will resoundingly reject the absymal failures of Biden and Harris. 'Joe Biden is no moderate, and with Harris as his 'political living will,' he is surrendering control of our nation to the radical mob with promises to raise taxes, cut police funding, kill energy jobs, open our borders, and appease socialist dictators,' Katrina Pierson, Trump 2020 campaign's senior advisor, said in a statement.
"We pay for a majority or the biggest portion of their money. They actually criticised and disagreed with my travel ban at the time I did it. They were wrong. They've been wrong about a lot of things. They had a lot of information early and they didn't want to -- they're very -- they seem to be very China centric," the US president charged during his news conference.
China has been an aggressor against India along the Himalayan border, a top American diplomat nominated by President Joe Biden as his next envoy to Beijing has told lawmakers, stating that the US must hold the Chinese government accountable for failing to play by the rules.
Amid mass layoffs in the tech sector, the federal agency for immigration services has said it is wrong to assume that sacked workers holding the much-sought-after H-1B visas have to leave the country within 60 days, asserting they have multiple options to stay in the US. The H-1B visa is a non-immigrant visa that allows US companies to employ foreign workers in speciality occupations that require theoretical or technical expertise. Technology companies depend on it to hire tens of thousands of employees each year from countries like India and China.
The US is the worst-hit nation with 211,793 deaths and 7,549,429 infections.
Thirty-seven-year-old Indian-American physician Vivek Hallegere Murthy has been confirmed as the 19th surgeon general of America by the United States senate. He is youngest person and first person of Indian-origin to hold the post.
Biden, 'plotting an ambitious presidency that would begin amid twin health and economic crises, is leaning on veteran advisers with high-level governmental experience rather than outsiders and ideological rivals to help guide him on subjects including the coronavirus pandemic and the country's diminished standing in the world', a report in The New York Times said.
A top United States senator has unveiled an 18-point plan, including enhancing military ties with India, to hold the Chinese government accountable for its "lies, deception, and cover-ups" that ultimately led to the global COVID-19 pandemic.
'At the heart of the strategic relationship between our countries are economic ties.'
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.
The 'terrible' surge of the coronavirus cases in India has severely impacted COVAX's vaccine supply in the second quarter of this year to the extent that there will be a shortfall of 190 million doses by the end of June, according to a joint statement by the WHO, UNICEF, GAVI and CEPI.
Biden, 77, who served as vice president of the US for eight years from January 2009 to January 2017, would deliver his acceptance speech on Thursday.
Pakistan's Shahbaz air force base in southern Sindh province, which is home to the country's newest F-16 jets, is 'controlled by the United States', a senior official has said. Health Secretary Khushnood Lashari made the stunning claim about the Shahbaz airbase in Jacobabad area during an appearance before the Standing Committee on Health of the Senate or upper house of Parliament on Wednesday.
'The Chinese government lied to the world about the danger and contagious nature of COVID-19, silenced whistleblowers, and did little to stop the spread of the disease'
Early this month, Trump had unceremoniously fired Secretary of State Rex Tillerson and nominated Mike Pompeo
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