Biden 2020 vice president

Indian-Americans are 'taking over the country', United States President Joe Biden said on Thursday, referring to the large number of 'incredible' professionals from the community holding key positions in his administration. IMAGE: US President Joe Biden. Photograph: Doug Mills-Pool/Getty Images In less than 50 days of his presidency, Biden has appointed at least 55 Indian-Americans to key leadership positions in his administration ranging from his speech writer to the National Aeronautic Space Administration, to almost every wing of the government. "Indian-of-descent Americans (sic) are taking over the country. You (Swati Mohan), my Vice President (Kamala Harris), my speech writer (Vinay Reddy)," Biden said in a virtual interaction with NASA scientists who were involved in the historic landing of Perseverance landing at Mars. Indian-American scientist Swati Mohan leads the guidance, navigation, and control operations of NASA's Mars 2020 mission. Biden, who was sworn in ... » Learn More about Indian-Americans taking over US, says Biden

Video Player Close by Matthew Rusling WASHINGTON, March 4 (Xinhua) -- Apart from working hard to get the COVID-19 pandemic under control, U.S. President Joe Biden is under pressure to take action on the country's "epidemic of gun violence." Biden called on Congress to enact "commonsense gun law reforms" last month on the third anniversary of the mass shooting at Marjory Stoneman Douglas High School in Parkland, southeastern state of Florida, which claimed 17 lives, including 14 students. "Today, I am calling on Congress to enact commonsense gun law reforms, including requiring background checks on all gun sales, banning assault weapons and high-capacity magazines, and eliminating immunity for gun manufacturers who knowingly put weapons of war on our streets," Biden said in a statement. Stressing there was no time to wait, Biden said his administration "will take action to end our epidemic of gun violence and make our schools and communities safer." Democratic-led ... » Learn More about World Insights: Biden under pressure to act on America’s gun violence

SINGAPORE/MELBOURNE: Oil prices jumped more than $1 a barrel on Friday, hitting their highest levels in nearly 14 months, after OPEC and its allies agreed not to increase supply in April as they await a more substantial recovery in demand amid the coronavirus pandemic. Brent crude futures for May rose to as high as $68 a barrel on Friday, a level not seen since Jan. 8, 2020. The contract was up $1.09, or 1.6%, to $67.83 a barrel at 0730 GMT, and was on track for a near 3% gain in the week. U.S. West Texas Intermediate (WTI) crude futures climbed 93 cents, or 1.5%, to $64.76 per barrel after hitting a high of $64.94 earlier in the session. Both contracts surged more than 4% on Thursday after the Organization of the Petroleum Exporting Countries and allies, together called OPEC+, extended oil output curbs into April, granting small exemptions to Russia and Kazakhstan. "OPEC+ has kept output steady indicating that it wants to take a cautious approach in normalising ... » Learn More about Oil soars to near 14-month high as OPEC+ extends output cuts into April

March 05, 2021 13:21 President Moon Jae-in will get his coronavirus vaccination in April, Cheong Wa Dae said Thursday. Moon will be given an AstraZeneca jab in a bid to allay public fears about the brand. A Cheong Wa Dae spokesman said. "Like ordinary people, he won't choose his vaccine." Pfizer's vaccine, which thought to be more reliable and less prone to producing side effects, is only given to medical professionals, the spokesman added. The Korea Disease Control and Prevention Agency does not let people choose a vaccine, except for officials who need to visit foreign countries on urgent duties. Currently, the AstraZeneca vaccine is only available for people under 65 here, but the tide is turning in some European countries which have now approved it for the elderly, and Moon is 68. His inoculation will be fixed depending on his schedule to attend the G7 summit in the U.K. in June, the spokesman added. Moon is expected to get the first dose in early April and the second ... » Learn More about Moon in Line for Coronavirus Vaccination Next Month

Audio creators are a new kind of influencer , born of the meteoric rise of the audio-only chat app Clubhouse . Together, they are pulling in millions of weekly listeners and building online followings. Now, with Clubhouse booming and other social apps , like Twitter , taking cues from its success, they are banding together and working with big brands. Audio Collective is one outgrowth of the audio boom. The company, which announced its formation Thursday, will offer event planning, brand consulting, and support and community for creators working in the field. Its founders also plan to lobby Clubhouse for stronger moderation policies, better insights and performance metrics, and monetization tools. The company’s 40 founding members are creators themselves; they host talk shows, meet-ups, discussion groups and other high-profile events and command many millions of followers. Unlike podcasters, who produce edited shows, they perform for a live, interactive audience, much ... » Learn More about Meet the new influencers. The era of audio creators has arrived, thanks to Clubhouse

Flipkart expanded its grocery services to more than 50 cities across the country to ensure quick deliveries and seamless shopping experiences, it said on Tuesday. “The expansion has brought the convenience of Flipkart’s grocery service to users of metro cities such as Kolkata, Pune and Ahmedabad. We have also expanded services to Mysore, Kanpur, Warangal, Allahabad, Aligarh, Jaipur, Chandigarh, Rajkot, Vadodara, Vellore, Tirupati and Daman, among others, through a satellite-expansion marketplace model,'' said the company. According to Flipkart, the pandemic has led to millions of people turning to e-commerce for convenience and this further led to a sharp growth in consumer demand for e-grocery, not only in metros but also in tier 2 cities and beyond. Manish Kumar, Senior Vice President - Grocery, General Merchandise and Furniture, Flipkart, said, “Grocery continues to be one of the fastest-growing categories, with the increase in demand for quality food and household supplies ... » Learn More about Flipkart expands grocery services to over 50 cities

Video Player Close BEIJING, March 5 (Xinhua) -- China's national legislature opened its annual session Friday morning in Beijing. Xi Jinping and other Chinese leaders -- Li Keqiang, Wang Yang, Wang Huning, Zhao Leji, Han Zheng and Wang Qishan -- attended the opening meeting of the fourth session of the 13th National People's Congress (NPC), held at the Great Hall of the People. Li Zhanshu, executive chairperson of the presidium for the session, presided over the meeting. Premier Li Keqiang delivered a government work report on behalf of the State Council to the legislature for deliberation. In his report, the premier reviewed the work of 2020 and the achievements made during the 13th Five-Year Plan (2016-2020) period. He also introduced primary goals for the 14th Five-Year Plan (2021-2025) period and major tasks for 2021. The past year was an extraordinary one for China. Under the strong leadership of the Communist Party of China Central Committee with Comrade Xi ... » Learn More about China Focus: China’s national legislature opens annual session

Video Player Close -- China aims to expand its economy by over 6 percent in 2021, with goals to put the economy firmly back to pre-pandemic vibrancy. -- The specific growth target reveals the country's confidence in achieving high-quality development. -- China also has the confidence and ability to fulfill the goals and tasks in the 14th Five-Year Plan. BEIJING, March 5 (Xinhua) -- China aims to expand its economy by over 6 percent in 2021, building on strong tailwind from success in containing COVID-19, as lawmakers gather in Beijing to map out priorities for high-quality development. The gross domestic product (GDP) target is one of the many key goals laid out in a government work report delivered by Premier Li Keqiang to the national legislature, which began its annual session Friday. "In setting this target, we have taken into account the recovery of economic activity," Li said. "A target of over 6 percent will enable all of us to devote full energy to ... » Learn More about China targets GDP growth of over 6 pct in 2021, revs up modernization drive

K haleda Zia, former prime minister of Bangladesh and the chairperson of the Bangladesh Nationalist Party, the main opposition party leading the 18-party alliance in Bangladesh, has drastically changed her party's anti-India stance. The right-wing political party's leader returned to Dhaka on November 3 from a week-long India visit that she termed as "highly successful". On Saturday, Zia met President Pranab Mukherjee. A statement from the President's Office said that Mukherjee praised the role of Khaleda as the opposition leader and as the former prime minister of Bangladesh. Mukherjee told Khaleda that New Delhi accorded highest importance to its relations with Bangladesh as a close neighbour and hoped that the diplomats of both countries will work sincerely to further strengthen the ties. Khaleda Zia responded by saying that her party is interested in establishing friendly relations with India. Before boarding her plane at for Dhaka on Saturday, Zia told ... » Learn More about Is Khaleda Zia having a change of heart about India?

Bhutan's recognition of Bangladesh without waiting for Indian advice was a clever move. It was a calculated gamble to assert its independence, says Ambassador T P Sreenivasan. T himphu, the capital of Bhutan had very few comforts in 1971. For us, who went to Bhutan from Tokyo, with a nine-month old baby 42 years ago, the feeling was that we had walked backwards in time by about half a century. The first motorable road was opened only in 1968 and there were no commercial flights into Bhutan. The drive from the border town of Phuntsholing in India to Thimphu took the whole day, with a lunch break at Chukha, a small rivulet at that time, but a gigantic hydro-electric project now. Electricity was a rarity and we had to huddle around a bukhari , which burns wood to provide a level of comfort in the bitter cold. Life did not, however, stand still in Thimphu. 1971 was an exciting year in Bhutan and as the only diplomatic mission in the country, India was very much a partner in ... » Learn More about Who recognised Bangladesh first?