US Readout Almost Confirms Modi's US Visit in September

WASHINGTON, Aug 27: In a clear indication that Narendra Modi will visit USA in September, US President Joe Biden and the prime minister discussed the United Nations General Assembly (UNGA) meetings to be held in New York next month.

This will be an important visit after Modi’s recent visits to Russia and Ukraine, and ahead of the US Presidential elections slated for this November. “President Joseph R. Biden, Jr. spoke today with Prime Minister Narendra Modi of India to discuss the Prime Minister’s recent trip to Poland and Ukraine, as well as the United Nations General Assembly meetings in September,” the readout of the meeting by the White House said.

Modi is expected to attend the UN General Assembly High-Level Week that starts with ‘Summit of the Future’ on September 22-23 this year. As per the provisional list of speakers, the prime minister is expected to address the UNGA as part of the ‘General Debate’ on September 26. This will be Biden’s last address as the US President at the UN. A big Indian community event by Modi in New York is also slated for September 22.

As per an Indian statement, the two leaders expressed their shared concern over the situation in Bangladesh. “They emphasised restoration of law and order and ensuring safety and security of the minorities, particularly Hindus, in Bangladesh,” the statement from India said.

The US readout, however, made no mention of Bangladesh.

“While discussing the situation in Ukraine, Modi briefed President Biden on his recent visit to Ukraine. He reiterated India’s consistent position in favour of dialogue and diplomacy and expressed full support for early return of peace and stability,” the Indian statement said.

The US readout said Biden “commended the PM for his historic visits to Poland and Ukraine, the first by an Indian PM in decades, and for his message of peace and ongoing humanitarian support for Ukraine, including its energy sector”.

The Indian statement said Modi conveyed his appreciation for President Biden’s deep commitment the India-US Comprehensive Global Strategic Partnership, which is based on shared values of democracy, rule of law and strong people-to-people ties.

The leaders reviewed the significant progress in bilateral relations and highlighted that India-US partnership is aimed at benefiting the people of both countries as well as the entire humanity.

The two leaders had a detailed exchange of views on a number of regional and global issues.

The two leaders reiterated their commitment to further strengthen the cooperation in multilateral fora, including the Quad, and agreed to remain in touch, the Indian statement said.

U.S. says it killed senior militant group leader in Syria

WASHINGTON, Aug 24: American forces killed a senior leader of an Al-Qaeda-affiliated militant group in a strike in Syria on Friday, the U.S. military said.

The strike targeted Abu Abdul Rahman al-Makki, who was "a Hurras al-Din Shura Council member and senior leader responsible for overseeing terrorist operations from Syria," the U.S. Central Command (CENTCOM) said in a social media post.

"Hurras al-Din is an Al-Qaeda-associated force based in Syria that shares Al-Qaeda's global aspirations to conduct attacks against U.S. and Western interests," CENTCOM said.

Rajnath, Austin support free and open Indo-Pacific amid China’s aggressive moves

WASHINGTON, Aug 24: Union defence minister Rajnath Singh and his US counterpart Lloyd Austin on Friday discussed ongoing efforts to deepen the major defence partnership between the two countries in support of a “free and open Indo-Pacific region”, the Pentagon said.

The two leaders also agreed to advance priority co-production projects, including jet engines, unmanned platforms, munitions, and ground mobility systems, under the US-India Roadmap for Defense Industrial Cooperation adopted last year.

“Secretary Austin and minister Singh celebrated progress across several bilateral defense initiatives, including efforts to increase supply chain security, enhance maritime security in the Indian Ocean Region, and leverage a new agreement to strengthen operational coordination through Indian liaison officers at US commands,” Pentagon press secretary major general Pat Ryder said in a statement.

The two sides agreed to further strengthen cooperation in the Indo-Pacific at a time when China is seeking to expand its footprint in the vast region by setting up military bases, bullying countries to advance its unlawful maritime claims, and ensnaring vulnerable states in unsustainable debts to force strategic concessions, Ryder said.

Austin lauded the Indian Navy’s “robust contributions to upholding freedom of navigation and regional security” through its participation in the Combined Maritime Forces and welcomed India assuming a leadership role in Combined Task Force 150 in 2025.

The two ministers reviewed mutual efforts through the Indo-Pacific Maritime Domain Awareness Initiative to provide Indian Ocean Region partners with unclassified, commercial satellite data to enhance their maritime security and ability to detect illicit activity, the statement said.

The statement further said that the two countries also advanced discussions to expand cooperation in the undersea and space domains.

On Friday, US secretary of state Antony Blinken approved a possible foreign military sale to India of anti-submarine warfare sonobuoys and related equipment for an estimated cost of $52.8 million. The US Defense Security Cooperation Agency (DSCA) has delivered the required certification, notifying Congress of the possible sale.

The equipment will improve the Indian Navy’s capability to meet threats by enhancing its capacity to conduct anti-submarine warfare operations from its US-origin MH-60R helicopters.

The Pentagon statement follows an Indian defence ministry release on Singh-Austin talks.

They met a day after India and the US signed two key agreements to bolster defence cooperation—the Security of Supply Arrangement (SOSA) to ensure the mutual supply of defence goods and services to resolve unanticipated supply chain disruptions and a memorandum of agreement regarding the assignment of liaison officers to enhance cooperation and interoperability.

Singh arrived in Washington on Thursday on a four-day official visit.

‘Kamala for the people’: Harris seals nomination

CHICAGO, Aug 23: “My entire career, I have only had one client — the people,” Kamala Devi Harris said on Thursday night, as she ceremonially accepted the Democratic Party’s nomination to be its presidential candidate for the 2024 election, while accusing her rival, Republican nominee Donald Trump, of serving only one client all his life — himself.

In the most important speech of her political life, Harris sought to build on this message of having served the people, while portraying Trump as being invested in power only for his sake to win over voters in what she termed the most important election of their lives.

Harris told Americans her life story, traced her career and convictions, showcased her record in office, offered dark warnings against the serious implications of the return of Trump — “an unserious man... imagine a Trump without guardrails” — on the country and the world, and framed the election as an opportunity to move beyond divisions and craft unity.

“On behalf of the people, on behalf of every American, regardless of party, race, gender or the language your grandmother speaks. On behalf of my mother, and everyone who has ever set out on their own unlikely journey. On behalf of Americans like the people I grew up with — people who work hard, chase their dreams and look out for one another. On behalf of everyone whose story could only be written in the greatest nation on Earth, I accept your nomination to be president of the United States of America,” Harris said, in the final speech of the four-day Democratic convention that has revitalised the party and given it a fair shot of regaining the White House in what remains a close election.

Harris began her speech by acknowledging the elephant in the room, for her candidacy has been a last-minute change from that of Joe Biden, but linked it to her own life story. “The path that led me here in recent weeks was, no doubt, unexpected. But I am no stranger to unlikely journeys. So, my mother, our mother, Shyamala Harris, had one of her own... my mother was 19 when she crossed the world alone, travelling from India to California with an unshakable dream to be the scientist who would cure breast cancer.”

Harris spoke about how her mother and Jamaican father met during the civil rights movement, their early years of marriage and togetherness, how her mother raised her after her parents split, and the family — not of blood, but of love — which raised her in a working-class neighbourhood in East Bay in California.

In what appeared to be an attempt to separate Trump, the political figure, from Trump’s voters, Harris reached out across the aisle. “I know there are people of various political views watching tonight. And I want you to know, I promise to be a president for all Americans. You can always trust me to put country above party and self. To hold sacred America’s fundamental principles, from the rule of law, to free and fair elections, to the peaceful transfer of power.”

Trump, after refusing to accept the legitimacy of the last election, sought to block the peaceful transfer of power and incited a mob to attack the U.S. Capitol, a point that Harris focused on later in her speech.

Harris warned America of what was in store if Trump won. “Consider his explicit intent to set free violent extremists who assaulted those law enforcement officers at the Capitol. His explicit intent to jail journalists, political opponents and anyone he sees as the enemy. His explicit intent to deploy our active duty military against our own citizens. Consider, consider the power he will have, especially after the U.S. Supreme Court just ruled that he would be immune from criminal prosecution. Just imagine Donald Trump with no guardrails, and how he would use the immense powers of the presidency of the United States.”

She also referred to Project 2025, a Heritage Foundation far-right blueprint for a future Trump administration that Trump has distanced himself from but Democrats insist remains his agenda for office.

“We are not going back to when Donald Trump tried to cut Social Security and Medicare. We are not going back to when he tried to get rid of the Affordable Care Act, when insurance companies could deny people with pre-existing conditions. We are not going to let him eliminate the Department of Education that funds our public schools. We are not going to let him end programmes like Head Start that provide preschool and child care for our children. America, we are not going back,” Harris said, as the crowd chanted with her, “We are not going back”.

But after attacking Trump, Harris pivoted to offering her own agenda, albeit in broad terms, and said building the middle class would be a defining goal of her presidency.

“We will create what I call an opportunity economy, an opportunity economy where everyone has the chance to compete and a chance to succeed. Whether you live in a rural area, small town, or big city,” Harris said.

She pledged to bring labour and workers and small-business owners and entrepreneurs and American companies to create jobs, to grow the economy, to lower the cost of everyday needs like healthcare and housing and groceries, to provide access to capital for small-business owners and entrepreneurs and founders, to end America’s housing shortage, and to protect Social Security and Medicare.

A key focus of Harris’s speech was reproductive freedom, an area which has galvanised women voters and she has led the charge against the Supreme Court verdict to roll back the national protection to abortion.

White House Says Modi's Visit To Ukraine Potentially 'Helpful'

WASHINGTON, Aug 23: The United States said Prime Minister Narendra Modi's visit to conflict-hit Ukraine is "potentially helpful", according to the White House.

Modi today arrived in Ukraine after a seven-hour-long train journey from Poland. He is the first Indian leader to visit the country since bilateral relations were established in 1992.

The Prime Minister's visit comes at a time when the conflict between Russia and Ukraine has entered a new phase with Kyiv crossing the international border and taking control of several Russian settlements in Kursk.

If Prime Minister Modi's Ukraine trip can work toward "getting us to an end to the conflict that comports with President (Volodymyr) Zelensky's vision for a just peace, well, then we think that would be helpful," National Security Council spokesman John Kirby told reporters.

The United States had termed the Prime Minister's visit to Ukraine an important trip. Richard R Verma, the US Deputy Secretary of State for Management and Resources in a briefing had said, "I am delighted about this visit. I think this is an important visit -- Poland and Ukraine."

Biden approved secret nuclear strategy focusing on Chinese threat: Report

WASHINGTON, Aug 21: US President Joe Biden approved in March a highly classified nuclear strategic plan that for the first time reorients Washington's deterrent strategy on China's expansion of its nuclear arsenal, The New York Times reported on Tuesday.

The White House never announced that Biden had approved the revised strategy, titled the "Nuclear Employment Guidance," the newspaper reported. An unclassified notification to Congress of the revision is expected to be sent before Biden leaves office, the newspaper reported.

Biden says Gaza ceasefire in sight, warns against efforts to undermine deal

WASHINGTON, Aug 17: US President Joe Biden has said that a Gaza ceasefire deal is now in sight and warned parties in the Middle East to not undermine the ongoing negotiations to reach an agreement that would see the release of captives held by Hamas in exchange for Palestinian detainees in Israeli jails.

Biden told reporters on Friday that a deal was “much, much closer” than before the talks began, but he also cautioned that “we’re not there yet”.

“There’s a couple more issues. I think we’ve got a shot,” he said.

Previous efforts by the Biden administration to bring about a ceasefire in Gaza have failed and criticism of the president has surged as Washington appears unwilling to use leverage with its key ally Israel.

In a separate statement, Biden announced that Secretary of State Antony Blinken will be travelling to the Middle East starting on Saturday to continue the diplomatic push.

Biden also said that he spoke with Qatar’s Emir Sheikh Tamim bin Hamad al-Thani and Egyptian President Abdel Fattah el-Sisi, who he said expressed strong support for the US efforts.

In the Qatari capital, Doha, where Qatari, Egyptian and US negotiation mediators are trying to hammer out a deal on Gaza, ceasefire talks were paused on Friday, but are expected to resume next week with the hope of concluding an agreement in Cairo.

“The path is now set for that outcome, saving lives, bringing relief to the people of Gaza, and de-escalating regional tensions,” Qatar, Egypt and the US said in a joint statement on Friday.

A senior US official has described the latest diplomatic efforts to end the 10-month violence as the most productive in months.

Speaking to a journalist on condition of anonymity, the official said that there is a “consensus” by all of the participants over the past 48 hours “that there’s really a new spirit here to drive it to a conclusion”.

“We made a lot of progress in the number of issues that we’ve been working on,” the official said.

Al Jazeera’s senior political analyst Marwan Bishara said that there is “a sense of optimism” about the talks, adding that negotiators have been able to “bridge the gap” on the swap of Hamas captives and Palestinian detainees in Israel. Other difficulties include questions over who controls the Gaza-Egypt border after the war and the free movement for Palestinians inside Gaza, he said.

On Thursday, an Israeli delegation and mediators began the latest round in months of talks to end the war in Gaza, which has killed at least 40,000 Palestinians. The Palestinian group Hamas was not directly involved in the talks but was kept briefed on their progress.

The Israeli delegation included Mossad spy chief David Barnea, the head of the Shin Bet domestic security service, Ronen Bar, and the military’s chief hostage negotiator, Nitzan Alon, officials said.

The White House sent CIA Director Bill Burns and US Middle East envoy Brett McGurk. Qatari Prime Minister Sheikh Mohammed bin Abdulrahman bin Jassim Al Thani and Egypt’s intelligence chief Abbas Kamel were also taking part.

Washington hopes a ceasefire agreement in Gaza can defuse the risk of a wider war amid Iran’s warning that it will retaliate against Israel after the assassination of Hamas leader Ismail Haniyeh in Tehran on July 31.

U.S. sends more forces and military hardware to the Middle East in anticipation of Iranian attack on Israel

WASHINGTON DC, Aug 12: The U.S. is sending more troops and military hardware to the Middle East as it seeks to increase the resources available to “defend Israel,” the Pentagon said in a statement.

U.S. Defense Secretary Lloyd Austin “reiterated the United States’ commitment to take every possible step to defend Israel and noted the strengthening of U.S. military force posture and capabilities throughout the Middle East in light of escalating regional tensions,” the statement, issued Sunday by Pentagon press secretary Maj. Gen. Pat Ryder, said.

This includes sending a guided-missile submarine to the region, as well as accelerating the transit of a carrier strike group equipped with F-35C fighter jets.

The statement follows a call between Austin and Israel’s defense minister, Yoav Gallant, on Sunday. It comes against the backdrop of Iran’s leadership vowing retaliation against Israel after the killing of Hamas’ former political chief Ismail Haniyeh in Tehran on July 31.

Iran, which supports Hamas, says Israel carried out the assassination. Israel has not commented on the matter.

Tehran has not yet responded militarily to the act, leaving its adversaries and the wider region on tenterhooks.

The Biden administration has come under fire for its support of Israel, with critics saying that the U.S. should be using its leverage to enforce a cease-fire and should halt its supply of arms to the Jewish state. Biden has himself criticized the Israeli offensive as “over the top” and repeatedly said that “too many” civilians have been killed.

More than 100,000 voters in the Michigan Democratic primary in February, for instance, cast “uncommitted” ballots, sending a message that this issue will remain consequential to voter support for the Democrats in the November presidential election.

At the same time, many Democratic voters strongly support Israel, leaving the party’s nominee, Kamala Harris, in a challenging position.

Kamala Harris leads Donald Trump by 4 points in 3 battleground states: Polls

NEW YORK, Aug 10: US Vice President and Democratic presidential candidate Kamala Harris leads Republican former President Donald Trump in three battleground states - Wisconsin, Pennsylvania and Michigan - by four points, according to polls by the New York Times and Siena College.

Harris is ahead of Trump by four percentage points in those three states, 50 per cent to 46 per cent among likely voters in each state, according to the surveys conducted from August 5-9.

The margin of sampling error among likely voters was plus or minus 4.8 percentage points in Michigan, plus or minus 4.2 points in Pennsylvania and plus or minus 4.3 points in Wisconsin, the report added. In total, 1,973 likely voters were interviewed for those polls.

Democratic US President Joe Biden ended his reelection bid on July 21 and endorsed Harris for the November 5 vote against Trump after a disastrous debate performance against Trump in late June.

Harris' takeover has reenergised a campaign that had faltered badly amid Democrats' doubts about Biden's chances of defeating Trump or his ability to continue to govern had he won.

US support for Israel's war in Gaza, which has killed tens of thousands and caused a humanitarian crisis after Palestinian Islamist group Hamas' October 7 attack on Israel, had led to large protests and opposition against the Biden administration in those states, especially in Michigan from some liberal, Muslim-American and Arab-American groups.

About 200,000 people from those three states were "uncommitted" to supporting Biden in the Democratic primaries, citing Gaza policy. Harris has made some forceful public comments on Palestinian human rights and expressed a tonal shift, even though she has displayed no substantive policy differences from Biden on Gaza.

Polls showed that Trump had built a lead over Biden, including in battleground states, after Biden's debate performance, but Harris' entry to the race has changed the dynamic.

An Ipsos poll published on Thursday showed Harris led Trump nationally 42 per cent to 37 per cent in the race for the November 5 election. That online nationwide poll of 2,045 US adults was conducted August 2-7 and had a margin of error of around 3 percentage points.

Minnesota Governor Tim Walz Is Kamala Harris' Running Mate

NEW YORK, Aug 6: The Minnesota Governor and former high school teacher will become vice-president if Harris beats Donald Trump in November

Walz gained national attention for his strategy of calling Trump and JD Vance "weird", a phrase Harris has adopted when talking about her rival

The Harris campaign will be hoping Walz's plainspoken and small-town Midwestern demeanour could appeal to independent and conservative voters.

JD Vance, Donald Trump's running mate, has called Walz a "far-left radical" and said he would debate his opponent when he is "officially the nominee"

It's Official, Kamala Harris Is Democratic Candidate For US Election

CHICAGO, Aug 3: US Vice President Kamala Harris effectively secured the Democratic party's presidential nomination Friday, confirming her remarkable rise to party standard bearer in November's showdown against Republican Donald Trump.

Kamala Harris was the sole candidate on the ballot for a five-day electronic vote of nearly 4,000 party convention delegates. She will be officially crowned at a Chicago convention later this month.

"I am honored to be the presumptive Democratic nominee for President of the United States," Kamala Harris, 59, said on a phone-in to a party celebration after securing enough votes by the second day of the marathon vote.

In the two weeks since President Joe Biden ended his reelection bid, Kamala Harris has gained full control of the party.

No other Democrats stepped forward to challenge her elevation to the top of the ticket, making her confirmation as the first Black and South Asian woman ever to secure a major party's nomination a formality.

The announcement came with Kamala Harris preparing to hit the campaign trail next week for a swing across seven crucial battleground states with her newly minted running mate -- who is expected to be revealed within days.

The Democratic Party decided on a virtual nomination process -- mirroring the pandemic-hit 2020 vote -- because of Ohio's August 7 deadline for major parties to submit the names of their certified candidates for the November election.

The virtual roll call marks the official beginning of the 2024 convention, although in practice the festivities really get going when thousands of party faithful descend on Chicago on August 19.

That will feature ceremonial votes for Kamala Harris and her running mate in what is expected to be a raucous celebration of her rise from state politics to the top of the ticket.

Trump's White House bid was thrown into chaos on July 21 when Biden, 81, withdrew his candidacy, backing Kamala Harris as the Democratic nominee.

The vice president has already smashed fundraising records, packed arenas and wiped out Trump's polling leads over Biden, creating momentum that she hopes she can ride through the convention to the White House.

She is set to make her first public appearance with her running mate Tuesday in Philadelphia, Pennsylvania -- a crucial swing state whose Democratic governor, Josh Shapiro, is among a handful candidates being vetted to potentially join the Kamala Harris ticket.

The swing will take Kamala Harris through all the "blue wall" states of Pennsylvania, Michigan and Wisconsin, where she will seek to rebuild the coalition that carried Biden to victory in 2020.

But she will extend the tour to the much more racially diverse Sun Belt and southern states of Georgia, North Carolina Arizona, North Carolina and Nevada as she seeks to shore up the Black and Hispanic vote that had been peeling away from the Democrats.

 

Biden administration convinced Iran will attack Israel in next few days

WASHINGTON, Aug 2: The Biden administration is convinced that Iran will attack Israel in the coming days and is preparing to help it repel it, three American sources told Axios, according to which the Iranian attack – in retaliation for the killing of Ismail Haniyeh in Tehran – could follow the same pattern as the one conducted on April 13, but potentially larger, could involve the Lebanese Hezbollah.

But the administration fears that, unlike four months ago, it may be more difficult to mobilise the same regional and international coalition that helped Israel defend itself from the swarm of drones and missiles launched in April, reports Adnkronos news agency.

The killing of Ismail Haniyeh “does not help” efforts to reach a ceasefire in Gaza with Hamas, US President Joe Biden admitted, speaking to reporters at the Andrews air base where he went to welcome prisoners exchanged with Russia.

Biden – who yesterday had a telephone conversation with Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu – said he was “very concerned” about the latest escalation of tensions in the Middle East.

“We have a ceasefire base, it has to go forward and they have to go forward,” the president urged again, in a reference to the phone call with Netanyahu, which he called “very direct.”

Ismail Haniyeh was buried in Qatar today. The body of the Hamas political leader arrived in Doha yesterday from Iran, after thousands of people attended his funeral in Tehran.

According to Hamas and Qatari state media, the funeral prayer was held after the Friday prayer at Qatar’s national mosque, followed by burial in the city of Lusail.

Biden 'Overwhelmed' As Prisoners Freed By Russia Are Reunited With Family

WASHINGTON, Aug 2: Tears of joy flowed in the Oval Office the moment families of prisoners such as Evan Gershkovich, freed by Russia in the biggest such swap since the Cold War, first spoke by phone to their loved ones, a White House video showed on Thursday.

"This is momma. Do you hear me? It's your mom," Gershkovich's mother tells her son, a Wall Street Journal reporter, in the emotional two-minute video of the virtual reunion, posted by President Joe Biden's social media account on X.

"We just want to say how overwhelmed we are," Biden tells the released detainees as the families stand around the presidential Resolute Desk. "You've been wrongfully detained for a long time, and we are glad you are home."

Russia freed Gershkovich, ex-U.S. Marine Paul Whelan and others on Thursday as part of the elaborate multi-country exchange that the White House said involved 24 prisoners, including Russian hitman Vadim Kasikov, released by Germany.

"Every parent, child, spouse and loved one who joined me in the Oval Office today has been praying for this day for a long time," Biden posted about the deal, which was negotiated in secrecy for more than a year.

In the video, Biden tells family members the detainees have been released and are heading to board the plane that will take them from Russia to the United States.

"No word is strong enough for this. I was sure I was going to die in prison," Russian opposition politician Vladimir Kara-Murza tells his family as they weep.

"I still think I am sleeping in my prison cell in Omsk instead of hearing your voice."