United States
China claims to expel US Navy destroyer from South China Sea
China claims that all of the 1.3 million square miles of the South China Sea belongs to Beijing. To assert the claim further, the Chinese Communist Party has been building military bases on artificial islands in the region which are also claimed by Brunei, Malaysia, the Philippines, Taiwan and Vietnam.
Trump urges Congress to amend 'wasteful' Covid relief bill
In a video message posted on Twitter, he said the package "really is a disgrace", full of "wasteful" items, the BBC reported on Wednesday. The $900 billion bill includes one-off $600 payments to most Americans but Trump said the figure should be $2,000. The Republican president, who leaves office on January 20, had been expected to sign the sprawling legislation into law following its passage through Congress on Monday night.
Gautam Raghavan on Biden team a prominent gay rights advocate
He is also the second Biden-Harris appointee with connections to Indian American House of Representatives member Pramila Jayapal, a leader of the Congressional Progressive Caucus, having served as her chief of staff. Last week, Biden appointed Vedant Patel, a former communications aide to Jayapal, as his assistant press secretary. Like Patel's nomination, Raghavan's too is a gesture to the left.
United States: Two more Indian Americans in Joe Biden team
Already, at least eight Indian Americans have snagged headline grabbing appointments in the incoming government: Vivek Murthy is US Surgeon General nominee, Atul Gawande and Celine Gounder are on the coronavirus task force, Neera Tanden is nominated for Office of Management and Budget lead, Vedant Patel will be White House assistant press secretary and Mala Adiga has been chosen as policy director for First Lady Jill Biden.
US Congress passes $900bn Covid-19 relief package
The long-awaited relief package was approved late Monday by the Republican-majority Senate with a 92-to-6 vote, along with government funding for the rest of the fiscal year, which ends on September 30, 2021, reports Xinhua news agency. The Democrat-led House of Representatives has also passed the package.
Mexico aims to address immigration with Biden govt: Prez
Lopez Obrador's remarks on Monday came after he held a 20-minute telephone conversation with Biden over the weekend, in which they agreed to strengthen bilateral immigration policy, reports Xinhua news agency. At the height of the migrant caravans headed toward the US border in 2019, Lopez Obrador's administration established a Comprehensive Development Plan for Central America and southern Mexico.
Chinese FM calls for early return of US to Iran nuclear deal
The meeting was chaired by Josep Borrell, the European Union (EU) high representative for foreign affairs and security policy. Also attending the meeting were Iranian Foreign Minister Mohammad Javad Zarif, Russian Foreign Minister Sergey Lavrov, French Foreign Minister Jean-Yves Le Drian, German Foreign Minister Heiko Maas and British Foreign Secretary Dominic Raab.
Intel, Cisco, VMware victim of big SolarWinds hack: Report
The suspected Russian hackers installed a malware in the Orion software sold by the IT management company SolarWinds, and accessed sensitive data belonging to several US government agencies, at least one hospital and a university, reports Wall Street Journal. The report said on Monday that several tech companies also suffered data breach in this massive hack operation.
Biden names Bharat Ramamurti as deputy director of Economic Council
Ramamurti will be responsible for financial reform and consumer protection on the council, which is the President's influential advisory body on economic policy. He is expected to help steer the Biden administration's programmes to implement several promises in his manifesto of reform, consumer protection and banking.
When Covid-19 patient Donald Trump was airlifted to hospital
The day when a second vaccine in the US (Moderna/NIH) is on the cusp of approval seems like a good time to turn the clock back. In a tumultuous year, outgoing US President Donald Trump, a former reality TV star who gets a kick out of tying politics to a prime time television schedule, delivered one of the year's defining visual moments on the evening of Friday, October 2.
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