Joe Biden Administration

“I think we're in a genuine struggle between autocracies and democracies and whether or not democracies can be sustained,” Biden said. He further said that his Chinese counterpart Xi Jinping does not believe that democracy is an efficient form of governance and hence cannot be sustained in the 21st century. This is because, President Biden added, as per his Chinese counterpart democracies cannot arrive at a consensus on critical factors like rapidly evolving technologies.

India's oil purchases from Russia would not violate any of the sanctions imposed by the US on that country, according to President Joe Biden's Spokesperson Jen Psaki. However, NATO allies of the US continue to import Russian gas and petroleum. Accounting for under 3 per cent, Russia is not a major supplier of oil to India, which gets most of it from the Middle East, while the US is also emerging as an important source for energy products.

Thomas West has said that the US wanted to see a representative government established in Afghanistan, Khaama news agency reported, citing an interview by TOLO news. The pledges that Afghanistan made to the international community must be held, West asserted during the interview. The US envoy expressed concern about Afghan women, in particular the women activists being detained, and called for an immediate end of the detention.

The administration of US President Joe Biden will sanction Russian President Vladimir Putin and Russian Foreign Minister Sergei Lavrov over Moscow's ongoing military operation in Ukraine, the White House has confirmed. The US move followed that of the European Union (EU) and Britain, which announced sanctions targeting the top Russian leadership earlier on Friday, Xinhua news agency reported.

"President Biden will soon issue an Executive Order (EO) that will prohibit new investment, trade, and financing by US persons to, from, or in the so-called DNR and LNR regions of Ukraine," Psaki said in the statement, using the Russian abbreviation of the "Donetsk People's Republic" and the "Lugansk People's Republic," two self-declared republics founded by anti-government militia groups in Ukraine's Donetsk and Luhansk oblasts.

Emhoff, married to US Vice-President Kamala Harris, was visiting Dunbar High school to celebrate Black History Month, dedicated to honouring achievements and struggles of African-Americans throughout US history. He was attending a presentation at around 2:20 p.m. ET (1920 GMT) when Secret Service agents ushered him off stage and out of the building.

The Biden administration will crack down on illegal flow of guns, help prosecutors bring cases against those using "ghost guns" -- unserialised and untraceable firearms -- to commit crimes, and pursue unlawful gun sellers, among other things, Xinhua news agency quoted the White House as saying. Biden paid a visit to New York City on Thursday afternoon, where he called for more funding for community policing and law enforcement agencies.

The incident occurred after the event when the journalist asked President Biden on the impact of high food and consumer inflation on the mid term polls scheduled in November this year. Biden, who was possibly unaware of the microphone still switched on, replied sarcastically “It's a great asset. More inflation.” He followed this by cursing the journalist, calling him “stupid son of a bitch.”

Responding to a question on the evolving situation at the Russia-Ukraine border and President Putin's intentions, Joe Biden said:  “I’m not so sure he is certain what he’s going to do. My guess is he will move in… (Russia will) pay a stiff price, immediately, short-term, medium-term and long-term if they do it.”  The US president made these remarks while addressing a news conference to mark his one-year anniversary in office. “What you’re going to see is that Russia will be held accountable if it invades and it depends on what it does,” Biden said.

"Indeed, this past year has been historic: with the life-saving American Rescue Plan, once-in-a-century Bipartisan Infrastructure Law and, soon, the truly transformational Build Back Better Act," Pelosi wrote in a letter to Biden. "In that spirit, I am writing to invite you to address a Joint Session of Congress on Tuesday, March 1, to share your vision of the State of the Union," Pelosi wrote.