Joe Biden

The 86-13 vote has made Buttigieg the first openly gay individual confirmed to head a Cabinet department in US history, Xinhua news agency reported on Tuesday. During his confirmation hearing last month, Buttigieg said the Department of Transportation "can play a central role" in rebuilding the US economy, which has been hit hard by the Covid-19 pandemic.

With a 56-43 vote in the upper chamber, Mayorkas will be the first Latino and the first immigrant to lead the US Department of Homeland Security (DHS) after he is sworn in, Xinhua news agency reported on Tuesday. Mayorkas, 61, served as deputy secretary of the DHS in the Barack Obama administration from 2013 to 2016 and director of US Citizenship and Immigration Services from 2009 to 2013.

The proposal would provide $160 billion for direct pandemic response, extend the weekly unemployment insurance payments of $300 dollars until July and provide $1,000 stimulus checks to lower-income Americans, according to the Senators.

The statue of Gandhi in Davis was cut down at its feet and the head was cut in half after it was toppled between the night of January 26 and January 27. This is the second time that the statue was vandalised. Obscene drawings were made on the base of the statue and crude insults were written in June 2020. The Hindu American Foundation (HAF) has asked the Biden administration to investigate the latest incident as a hate crime.

Speaking at a press briefing attended by IANS, the US government's top public health expert said clinical studies to determine safety of already approved vaccines in lower age groups will ramp up in the "next couple of months".

Linda's statement puts the clouds of confusion about the US stand over India's bid for permanent membership in the UNSC. This is in contrst to the stand taken by the US under regimes of George W Bush, Barack Obama, and Donald Trump who had extended full support to India for permanent membership of the UN body.

At his Senate Foreign Relations Committee confirmation hearing last week, he laid out his agenda: "We'll engage the world, not as it was, but as it is. A world of rising nationalism, receding democracy, growing rivalry with China, Russia, and other authoritarian states, mounting threats to a stable and open international system, and a technological revolution that is reshaping every aspect of our lives, especially in cyberspace."

On text messages, chat groups and online threads, the outpouring of relief played out online on Tuesday evening. "Great news! Hopefully, H4EAD delays will be ending soon which is leading to a long wait for dependent spouses," tweeted Rashi Bhatnagar.

The White House said in a statement that Biden and Putin discussed both countries' willingness to extend the New Strategic Arms Reduction Treaty (New START) for five years, agreeing to have their teams work urgently to complete the extension by February 5, the Xinhua news agency reported.

Blinken, who was National Security Adviser to Biden when he was Vice President to President Barack Obama, got 78 votes for and 22 against. He also had served in the Obama administration as the Deputy Secretary of State, Assistant to the President (in Obama's first term) and Principal Deputy National Security Adviser.