US President Donald Trump asserted on Twitter on Sunday that the US constitution has been badly shattered and violated during the 2020 Elections. 
 
<a href="https://www.wionews.com/world/biden-won-because-donald-trump-acknowledges-democrats-victory-for-first-time-343333">Also read | Biden 'won because...': Donald Trump retracts after acknowledging Democrat's victory for first time</a> 
 
"Why does the Fake News Media continuously assume that Joe Biden will ascend to the Presidency, not even allowing our side to show, which we are just getting ready to do, how badly shattered and violated our great Constitution has been in the 2020 Election," he said on Twitter.

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Why does the Fake News Media continuously assume that Joe Biden will ascend to the Presidency, not even allowing our side to show, which we are just getting ready to do, how badly shattered and violated our great Constitution has been in the 2020 Election. It was attacked,..
— Donald J. Trump (@realDonaldTrump) <a href="https://twitter.com/realDonaldTrump/status/1328152462331699202?ref_src=twsrc%5Etfw">November 16, 2020</a></blockquote>
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"From large numbers of Poll Watchers that were thrown out of vote counting rooms in many of our States, to millions of ballots that have been altered by Democrats, only for Democrats, to voting after the election was over, to using Radical Left owned Dominion Voting Systems, turned down by Texas and many others because it was not good or secure, those responsible for the safeguarding of our Constitution cannot allow the Fake results of the 2020 Mail-In Election to stand. The World is watching!" he said. 
 
<img alt="Trump" data-entity-type="file" data-entity-uuid="529dd4de-6bc9-4a7c-a63b-e9e64a70bdf8" src="//cdn.wionews.com/sites/default/files/inline-images/trump_5.JPG" />

Earlier he said that he would soon file “big cases” challenging the 2020 election results in which Joe Biden defeated him, even after his campaign has lost numerous court battles over the results.

Trump did not specify if his campaign would file new lawsuits but said on Twitter “our big cases showing the unconstitutionality of the 2020 Election, &amp; the outrage of things that were done to change the outcome will soon be filed!”

(With inputs from agencies)

US President Donald Trump asserted on Twitter on Sunday that the US constitution has been badly shattered and violated during the 2020 Elections. Also read | Biden 'won because.

US President Donald Trump asserted on Twitter on Sunday that the US constitution has been badly shattered and violated during the 2020 Elections. Also read | Biden 'won because...': Donald Trump retracts after acknowledging Democrat's victory for first time "Why does the Fake News Media continuously assume that Joe Biden will ascend to the Presidency, not even allowing our side to show, which we are just getting ready to do, how badly shattered and violated our great Constitution has been in the 2020 Election," he said on Twitter. Why does the Fake News Media continuously assume that Joe Biden will ascend to the Presidency, not even allowing our side to show, which we are just getting ready to do, how badly shattered and violated our great Constitution has been in the 2020 Election. It was attacked,.. — Donald J. Trump (@realDonaldTrump) November 16, 2020 × "From large numbers of Poll Watchers that were thrown out of vote counting rooms in many of our States, to millions of ballots that have been altered by Democrats, only for Democrats, to voting after the election was over, to using Radical Left owned Dominion Voting Systems, turned down by Texas and many others because it was not good or secure, those responsible for the safeguarding of our Constitution cannot allow the Fake results of the 2020 Mail-In Election to stand. The World is watching!" he said. Earlier he said that he would soon file “big cases” challenging the 2020 election results in which Joe Biden defeated him, even after his campaign has lost numerous court battles over the results. Trump did not specify if his campaign would file new lawsuits but said on Twitter “our big cases showing the unconstitutionality of the 2020 Election, & the outrage of things that were done to change the outcome will soon be filed!” (With inputs from agencies)

US constitution has been badly shattered and violated in the 2020 election:  Trump

The top Democrat in the US Congress on Friday joined in criticism against Facebook for allowing disinformation to spread over the social media platform, saying it was "part of the problem." 
 
Also read |&nbsp;<a href="https://www.wionews.com/world/trump-almost-admits-he-lost-us-election-says-time-will-tell-343056">Trump almost admits he lost US election, says 'time will tell'</a>

Nancy Pelosi, a speaker of the House of Representatives, made the comments in response to a question about efforts being made by tech giants against disinformation spreading online during the presidential election won by Democrat Joe Biden. 
 
Also read |&nbsp;<a href="https://www.wionews.com/world/us-elections-2020-why-poll-watcher-complaints-dont-amount-to-fraud-343250">US elections 2020: Why poll watcher complaints don't amount to fraud</a>

"I'm not a big fan of Facebook," Pelosi told journalists.

"I don't know what they have been doing but I know they've been part of the problem, all along."

Since US news media projected Biden the winner over Republican incumbent Donald Trump on Saturday, the outgoing president and his supporters have been spreading claims of massive electoral fraud without evidence.

Facebook and Twitter have slapped warning messages on many recent posts by Trump and others.

Facebook and Google have also decided to maintain their bans on political advertising in the United States pending certification of the results.

However, social media companies have been accused by a wide range of voices of not doing enough and allowing false information and hate speech to spread for too long.

Many from the right-wing allege censorship when it comes to the warning messages and other actions taken by tech companies.

The incoming Biden administration will likely face questions over whether the action is needed to address the issue.

One issue being debated is a section of a law that exempts social media companies from legal action for content posted by their users apart from certain exceptions.

The top Democrat in the US Congress on Friday joined in criticism against Facebook for allowing disinformation to spread over the social media platform, saying it was "part of the problem.

The top Democrat in the US Congress on Friday joined in criticism against Facebook for allowing disinformation to spread over the social media platform, saying it was "part of the problem." Also read | Trump almost admits he lost US election, says 'time will tell' Nancy Pelosi, a speaker of the House of Representatives, made the comments in response to a question about efforts being made by tech giants against disinformation spreading online during the presidential election won by Democrat Joe Biden. Also read | US elections 2020: Why poll watcher complaints don't amount to fraud "I'm not a big fan of Facebook," Pelosi told journalists. "I don't know what they have been doing but I know they've been part of the problem, all along." Since US news media projected Biden the winner over Republican incumbent Donald Trump on Saturday, the outgoing president and his supporters have been spreading claims of massive electoral fraud without evidence. Facebook and Twitter have slapped warning messages on many recent posts by Trump and others. Facebook and Google have also decided to maintain their bans on political advertising in the United States pending certification of the results. However, social media companies have been accused by a wide range of voices of not doing enough and allowing false information and hate speech to spread for too long. Many from the right-wing allege censorship when it comes to the warning messages and other actions taken by tech companies. The incoming Biden administration will likely face questions over whether the action is needed to address the issue. One issue being debated is a section of a law that exempts social media companies from legal action for content posted by their users apart from certain exceptions.

Facebook part of the problem: Nancy Pelosi over misinformation spread during US elections 

President <a href="https://www.wionews.com/topics/donald-trump">Donald Trump </a>on Sunday said for the first time that President-elect <a href="https://www.wionews.com/topics/joe-biden">Joe Biden </a>won the election before retracting it, saying he was victorious only because the election was "rigged" in tweets that were again labelled by Twitter for being unverified claims.&nbsp;

"He won because the Election was Rigged. NO VOTE WATCHERS OR OBSERVERS allowed, vote tabulated by a Radical Left privately owned company," Trump tweeted first.&nbsp;

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He won because the Election was Rigged. NO VOTE WATCHERS OR OBSERVERS allowed, vote tabulated by a Radical Left privately owned company, Dominion, with a bad reputation &amp; bum equipment that couldn’t even qualify for Texas (which I won by a lot!), the Fake &amp; Silent Media, &amp; more! <a href="https://t.co/Exb3C1mAPg">https://t.co/Exb3C1mAPg</a>
— Donald J. Trump (@realDonaldTrump) <a href="https://twitter.com/realDonaldTrump/status/1327956491056279552?ref_src=twsrc%5Etfw">November 15, 2020</a></blockquote>
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He only won in the eyes of the FAKE NEWS MEDIA. I concede NOTHING! We have a long way to go. This was a RIGGED ELECTION!
— Donald J. Trump (@realDonaldTrump) <a href="https://twitter.com/realDonaldTrump/status/1327979630477922304?ref_src=twsrc%5Etfw">November 15, 2020</a></blockquote>
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"He only won in the eyes of the FAKE NEWS MEDIA. I concede NOTHING! We have a long way to go," he later tweeted.

This is the first time Trump has said Biden won despite continuing his argument that election was rigged.

Also read | <a href="https://www.wionews.com/world/trump-almost-admits-he-lost-us-election-says-time-will-tell-343056">Trump almost admits he lost US election, says 'time will tell'</a>

Two days ago, the Republican had said "time will tell" of who will come to power while writing on a nationwide lockdown on Twitter.

Also read | <a href="https://www.wionews.com/world/us-elections-2020-why-poll-watcher-complaints-dont-amount-to-fraud-343250">US elections 2020: Why poll watcher complaints don't amount to fraud</a>

"Hopefully, the, the whatever happens in the future, who knows which administration it will be, I guess time will tell but I can tell you this administration will not go to a lockdown," he had said.

Meanwhile, on Saturday, thousands of Trump supporters protested on Saturday, claiming of fraud in the presidential polls.

The protests also caused clashes, which led to the arrest of at least 20 people, four people for firearm violations and one for assault on a policeman, reports said.&nbsp;

Trump also made an appearance at the protests as he was on his way to play golf in his Limousine, smiling at the demonstrations from inside his car at wild cheers and signs that read: "Best prez ever" "Best prez ever" and "Trump 2020: Keep America Great."

President Donald Trump on Sunday said for the first time that President-elect Joe Biden won the election before retracting it, saying he was victorious only because the election was "rigged" in tweets that were again labelled by Twitter for being unverified claims.

President Donald Trump on Sunday said for the first time that President-elect Joe Biden won the election before retracting it, saying he was victorious only because the election was "rigged" in tweets that were again labelled by Twitter for being unverified claims. "He won because the Election was Rigged. NO VOTE WATCHERS OR OBSERVERS allowed, vote tabulated by a Radical Left privately owned company," Trump tweeted first. He won because the Election was Rigged. NO VOTE WATCHERS OR OBSERVERS allowed, vote tabulated by a Radical Left privately owned company, Dominion, with a bad reputation & bum equipment that couldn’t even qualify for Texas (which I won by a lot!), the Fake & Silent Media, & more! https://t.co/Exb3C1mAPg — Donald J. Trump (@realDonaldTrump) November 15, 2020 × He only won in the eyes of the FAKE NEWS MEDIA. I concede NOTHING! We have a long way to go. This was a RIGGED ELECTION! — Donald J. Trump (@realDonaldTrump) November 15, 2020 × "He only won in the eyes of the FAKE NEWS MEDIA. I concede NOTHING! We have a long way to go," he later tweeted. This is the first time Trump has said Biden won despite continuing his argument that election was rigged. Also read | Trump almost admits he lost US election, says 'time will tell' Two days ago, the Republican had said "time will tell" of who will come to power while writing on a nationwide lockdown on Twitter. Also read | US elections 2020: Why poll watcher complaints don't amount to fraud "Hopefully, the, the whatever happens in the future, who knows which administration it will be, I guess time will tell but I can tell you this administration will not go to a lockdown," he had said. Meanwhile, on Saturday, thousands of Trump supporters protested on Saturday, claiming of fraud in the presidential polls. The protests also caused clashes, which led to the arrest of at least 20 people, four people for firearm violations and one for assault on a policeman, reports said. Trump also made an appearance at the protests as he was on his way to play golf in his Limousine, smiling at the demonstrations from inside his car at wild cheers and signs that read: "Best prez ever" "Best prez ever" and "Trump 2020: Keep America Great."

Biden 'won because...': Donald Trump retracts after acknowledging Democrat's victory for first time

US President-elect <a href="https://www.wionews.com/topics/joe-biden">Joe Biden</a> dialled US allies, Australia, South Korea and Japan on Thursday as he delivered the message of reassurance to American commitments in the region.&nbsp;

Despite Donald Trump's refusal to accept defeat, the head of states of all the three nations earlier congratulated Biden on his victory.&nbsp;

Also read |&nbsp;<a href="https://www.wionews.com/world/joe-biden-makes-first-white-house-appointment-names-klain-as-chief-of-staff-342522">Joe Biden makes first White House appointment, names Klain as Chief of Staff</a>

In his conversation with Japanese Prime Minister Yoshihide Suga, the latter told Biden about the "increasingly severe" security situation in the region, as per various Japanese officials.&nbsp;

Also read |&nbsp;<a href="https://www.wionews.com/world/united-states-of-america-is-back-in-the-game-joe-biden-tells-world-leaders-342283">United States of America is ‘back in the game’: Joe Biden tells world leaders</a>

Biden, in his response, spoke of America's "deep commitment to the defence of Japan" and to decades-old treaty obligations, as per his transition team.

In a move likely to invite Beijing's wrath, the president-elect reportedly confirmed this defence commitment extended to the Senkakus, an uninhabited island chain claimed by both Japan and China which has been a major conflicting issue for decades.

Biden, in his 14-minute-conversation with South Korean President Moon Jae-in, said to have called the US-South Korea partnership as "the linchpin of security and prosperity" in the region and vowed to work collectively on "shared challenges", including North Korea and climate change.

South Korea's presidential Blue House said both leaders had agreed to meet "as soon as possible" after Biden's swearing-in.&nbsp;

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In his call with Australian PM Scott Morrison, Biden reportedly highlighted the need of "confronting climate change", which the conservative government in Canberra has been criticised for severely in recent times.&nbsp;

However, describing the call as "very warm", Morrison said Biden did not speak on net-zero carbon targets, focussing instead on "emissions reduction technologies".

Biden was also invited to visit Australia next year for the 70th anniversary of a security treaty between both the nations.&nbsp; 
&nbsp;

US President-elect Joe Biden dialled US allies, Australia, South Korea and Japan on Thursday as he delivered the message of reassurance to American commitments in the region.

US President-elect Joe Biden dialled US allies, Australia, South Korea and Japan on Thursday as he delivered the message of reassurance to American commitments in the region. Despite Donald Trump's refusal to accept defeat, the head of states of all the three nations earlier congratulated Biden on his victory. Also read | Joe Biden makes first White House appointment, names Klain as Chief of Staff In his conversation with Japanese Prime Minister Yoshihide Suga, the latter told Biden about the "increasingly severe" security situation in the region, as per various Japanese officials. Also read | United States of America is ‘back in the game’: Joe Biden tells world leaders Biden, in his response, spoke of America's "deep commitment to the defence of Japan" and to decades-old treaty obligations, as per his transition team. In a move likely to invite Beijing's wrath, the president-elect reportedly confirmed this defence commitment extended to the Senkakus, an uninhabited island chain claimed by both Japan and China which has been a major conflicting issue for decades. Biden, in his 14-minute-conversation with South Korean President Moon Jae-in, said to have called the US-South Korea partnership as "the linchpin of security and prosperity" in the region and vowed to work collectively on "shared challenges", including North Korea and climate change. South Korea's presidential Blue House said both leaders had agreed to meet "as soon as possible" after Biden's swearing-in. × In his call with Australian PM Scott Morrison, Biden reportedly highlighted the need of "confronting climate change", which the conservative government in Canberra has been criticised for severely in recent times. However, describing the call as "very warm", Morrison said Biden did not speak on net-zero carbon targets, focussing instead on "emissions reduction technologies". Biden was also invited to visit Australia next year for the 70th anniversary of a security treaty between both the nations.

Joe Biden dials Asian Pacific allies, reassures American commitments

The United States govt will have to now delay the ban on Chinese app TikTok. The step is not compliant with the court order in favor of the Chinese social media giant.

US govt to delay ban on Chinese app TikTok, court ordered against ban

In United States, the top Democrats have accused the Republicans for 'poisoning' the democracy after refusing to accept the Joe Biden as the President-elect.

US: Democrats accuse Republicans for 'poisoning' democracy after refusing to accept Biden as President

KABUL, Afghanistan — Three U.S. presidents and 19 years later, it is President-elect Joe Biden’s turn to inherit the U.S. war in Afghanistan. The question that is leaving Afghans hanging is just how quickly he will remove troops.

It is a desperately difficult time for Afghanistan. U.S. troops, honoring President Donald Trump’s deal with the Taliban, are still on their way out of the country, despite the stalling of peace talks between the insurgency and the Afghan government, and a wave of intensified Taliban offensives near important cities.

Officials in Kabul are very aware that Americans are tired of the war — a fact made clear by a near absence of the issue in presidential debates, and by Biden’s seeming agreement with Trump’s desire to get out of Afghanistan.

“It is past time to end the forever wars, which have cost the United States untold blood and treasure,” Biden wrote in Foreign Affairs earlier this year. “As I have long argued, we should bring the vast majority of our troops home from the wars in Afghanistan and the Middle East and narrowly define our mission as defeating al-Qaida and the Islamic State (or ISIS)."

Still, in Biden, Afghan officials said they hoped to gain a less capricious and more communicative ally, though they know he is unlikely to stop the troop withdrawal.

“We understand there’s not going to be U-turn on the U.S. side on the withdrawal of troops from Afghanistan,” said Nargis Nehan, a former minister of mines and petroleum under President Ashraf Ghani. “But under the leadership of the Biden administration, we hope and believe that it’s going to be done with a much more responsible strategy in comparison to the Trump administration.”

Both in Kabul and Washington, officials with knowledge of security briefings said there was fear that Trump might try to accelerate an all-out troop withdrawal in his final days in office — though the amount of American infrastructure still in the country would be physically impossible to remove by January, according to security officials.

A Pentagon shake-up in recent days, while Trump has sought to contest his election loss, has cast more confusion on the issue. Security officials said that Thursday, the U.S. commander in Afghanistan, Gen. Austin S. Miller, was traveling to Washington for consultations.

A spokesperson for the U.S.-led mission in Afghanistan, Col. Sonny Leggett, denied that Miller was going to Washington for consultations, saying instead that he was on “preplanned travel.”

American commanders, while careful not to contravene Trump in public, have warned that it was vital to keep the withdrawal contingent on the Taliban’s keeping their pledges.

Afghan officials are also publicly urging Biden to better support the stalled peace talks in Qatar, which some Afghans felt were pushed too hard by the Trump administration without enough protections for them. On Monday, Afghanistan’s second vice president, Sarwar Danesh, called on the incoming Biden administration to conduct a review of the Afghan peace process and to put more pressure on the Taliban to negotiate fairly.

A decade ago, as vice president in the Obama administration, Biden was the in-house skeptic of the war, pushing against the huge troop surge in Afghanistan that began in 2009.

For years, U.S. policymakers and officials likened the task of building new government institutions and modern security forces in Afghanistan in the middle of a war to building an airplane midflight. In 2009, Biden sought a different approach: to focus on international terrorist threats in Afghanistan and little else.

“I don’t think he has his changed his mind much since then: to get out of Afghanistan, let Afghans govern themselves, but keep a light footprint in the form of counterterrorism, primarily to ensure U.S. national security interests,” said Tamim Asey, a former Afghan deputy defense minister under Ghani.

That approach — keeping a small number of troops in Afghanistan as a counterterrorism force to keep al-Qaida and Islamic State group loyalists in check — has been urged by the Pentagon and some U.S. lawmakers.

In the Feb. 29 agreement with the United States that started the troop withdrawal, the Taliban agreed to publicly separate itself from al-Qaida — which was under the Taliban government’s protection when it launched the Sept. 11, 2001, terrorist attacks — and to deny terrorist groups the use of Afghan territory as a haven. But the troop withdrawal has continued even though last month an al-Qaida leader was killed in a Taliban-controlled district in the country’s east, and there has been no evidence of any decisive severing of ties between the groups.

Afghan officials and analysts say they hope Biden will proceed more cautiously, and not be as likely to leave Afghanistan at the mercy of the Taliban and meddling neighbor countries.

“A commitment to defeating al-Qaida and the Islamic State is something that is part of Afghanistan’s formula for long-term stability and serves an important role here,” said Orzala Nemat, an independent researcher in Afghanistan. “A symbolic presence of international military forces balances this very weak position that Afghanistan is in the region, surrounded by nuclear powers.”

Biden “knows Afghanistan, he has been here a dozen times as a senator and he has interacted with many Afghan leaders,” said Asey, the former deputy defense minister.

Afghan officials were quick to note that Biden and Ghani have long been friendly toward each other. But Asey said that Biden also had a history of tension with other important Afghan officials — notably with former President Hamid Karzai, whom he told that Pakistan was “50 times more important” to the United States than Afghanistan, and whom he lectured about corruption.

One way that Afghan officials hope Biden can make a difference is by simply taking their concerns seriously. Some Afghan officials said they felt bullied by Trump and U.S. officials to accept terms with the Taliban they did not agree to, particularly on the mass release of Taliban prisoners.

Human rights activists said they were also concerned that the peace process included too few protections for women and ethnic and religious minorities. In that, they are hoping the U.S. Vice President-elect, Kamala Harris, can be an important voice as well.

“We hope she will be a strong advocate for Afghan women within the Biden administration,” said Nehan, the former mining minister, of Harris. “We felt abandoned by the Trump administration.”

“Whatever achievement in regards to women’s rights we are talking about does not just belong to Afghan women, it’s a universal achievement that we all have our own part in and a responsibility in protecting them,” she added.

While there are currently around 4,500 U.S. troops still in Afghanistan, Taliban officials have implied that the February deal would collapse if the incoming Biden administration prolongs the presence of U.S. forces in the country, including any counterterrorism forces.

But for now the Taliban leadership will watch and wait, as their fighters keep up their offensives.

The United States has responded by increasing airstrikes in defense of Afghan forces. While permitted under the February deal, anything drastically more under a new administration, such as attacking Taliban behind their front lines, could nullify the agreement.

October was the deadliest month in Afghanistan for civilians since September 2019, according to data compiled by The New York Times. At least 212 civilians were killed.

In a statement, the Taliban called the U.S. election and its outcome an “internal issue of the United States.”

“The Islamic Emirate would like to stress to the new American president-elect and future administration that implementation of the agreement is the most reasonable and effective tool for ending the conflict between both our countries,” the statement said.

But Qari Mohammad Farooq, a Taliban shadow district governor in Jowzjan province, laid it out plainly.

“I heard that Joe Biden won, but none of them are good for us,” Farooq said. “For me it doesn’t matter who won, but it is important that they must leave.”

KABUL, Afghanistan — Three U.S. presidents and 19 years later, it is President-elect Joe Biden’s turn to inherit the U.S. war in Afghanistan. The question that is leaving Afghans hanging is just how quickly he will remove troops.

KABUL, Afghanistan — Three U.S. presidents and 19 years later, it is President-elect Joe Biden’s turn to inherit the U.S. war in Afghanistan. The question that is leaving Afghans hanging is just how quickly he will remove troops. It is a desperately difficult time for Afghanistan. U.S. troops, honoring President Donald Trump’s deal with the Taliban, are still on their way out of the country, despite the stalling of peace talks between the insurgency and the Afghan government, and a wave of intensified Taliban offensives near important cities. Officials in Kabul are very aware that Americans are tired of the war — a fact made clear by a near absence of the issue in presidential debates, and by Biden’s seeming agreement with Trump’s desire to get out of Afghanistan. “It is past time to end the forever wars, which have cost the United States untold blood and treasure,” Biden wrote in Foreign Affairs earlier this year. “As I have long argued, we should bring the vast majority of our troops home from the wars in Afghanistan and the Middle East and narrowly define our mission as defeating al-Qaida and the Islamic State (or ISIS)." Still, in Biden, Afghan officials said they hoped to gain a less capricious and more communicative ally, though they know he is unlikely to stop the troop withdrawal. “We understand there’s not going to be U-turn on the U.S. side on the withdrawal of troops from Afghanistan,” said Nargis Nehan, a former minister of mines and petroleum under President Ashraf Ghani. “But under the leadership of the Biden administration, we hope and believe that it’s going to be done with a much more responsible strategy in comparison to the Trump administration.” Both in Kabul and Washington, officials with knowledge of security briefings said there was fear that Trump might try to accelerate an all-out troop withdrawal in his final days in office — though the amount of American infrastructure still in the country would be physically impossible to remove by January, according to security officials. A Pentagon shake-up in recent days, while Trump has sought to contest his election loss, has cast more confusion on the issue. Security officials said that Thursday, the U.S. commander in Afghanistan, Gen. Austin S. Miller, was traveling to Washington for consultations. A spokesperson for the U.S.-led mission in Afghanistan, Col. Sonny Leggett, denied that Miller was going to Washington for consultations, saying instead that he was on “preplanned travel.” American commanders, while careful not to contravene Trump in public, have warned that it was vital to keep the withdrawal contingent on the Taliban’s keeping their pledges. Afghan officials are also publicly urging Biden to better support the stalled peace talks in Qatar, which some Afghans felt were pushed too hard by the Trump administration without enough protections for them. On Monday, Afghanistan’s second vice president, Sarwar Danesh, called on the incoming Biden administration to conduct a review of the Afghan peace process and to put more pressure on the Taliban to negotiate fairly. A decade ago, as vice president in the Obama administration, Biden was the in-house skeptic of the war, pushing against the huge troop surge in Afghanistan that began in 2009. For years, U.S. policymakers and officials likened the task of building new government institutions and modern security forces in Afghanistan in the middle of a war to building an airplane midflight. In 2009, Biden sought a different approach: to focus on international terrorist threats in Afghanistan and little else. “I don’t think he has his changed his mind much since then: to get out of Afghanistan, let Afghans govern themselves, but keep a light footprint in the form of counterterrorism, primarily to ensure U.S. national security interests,” said Tamim Asey, a former Afghan deputy defense minister under Ghani. That approach — keeping a small number of troops in Afghanistan as a counterterrorism force to keep al-Qaida and Islamic State group loyalists in check — has been urged by the Pentagon and some U.S. lawmakers. In the Feb. 29 agreement with the United States that started the troop withdrawal, the Taliban agreed to publicly separate itself from al-Qaida — which was under the Taliban government’s protection when it launched the Sept. 11, 2001, terrorist attacks — and to deny terrorist groups the use of Afghan territory as a haven. But the troop withdrawal has continued even though last month an al-Qaida leader was killed in a Taliban-controlled district in the country’s east, and there has been no evidence of any decisive severing of ties between the groups. Afghan officials and analysts say they hope Biden will proceed more cautiously, and not be as likely to leave Afghanistan at the mercy of the Taliban and meddling neighbor countries. “A commitment to defeating al-Qaida and the Islamic State is something that is part of Afghanistan’s formula for long-term stability and serves an important role here,” said Orzala Nemat, an independent researcher in Afghanistan. “A symbolic presence of international military forces balances this very weak position that Afghanistan is in the region, surrounded by nuclear powers.” Biden “knows Afghanistan, he has been here a dozen times as a senator and he has interacted with many Afghan leaders,” said Asey, the former deputy defense minister. Afghan officials were quick to note that Biden and Ghani have long been friendly toward each other. But Asey said that Biden also had a history of tension with other important Afghan officials — notably with former President Hamid Karzai, whom he told that Pakistan was “50 times more important” to the United States than Afghanistan, and whom he lectured about corruption. One way that Afghan officials hope Biden can make a difference is by simply taking their concerns seriously. Some Afghan officials said they felt bullied by Trump and U.S. officials to accept terms with the Taliban they did not agree to, particularly on the mass release of Taliban prisoners. Human rights activists said they were also concerned that the peace process included too few protections for women and ethnic and religious minorities. In that, they are hoping the U.S. Vice President-elect, Kamala Harris, can be an important voice as well. “We hope she will be a strong advocate for Afghan women within the Biden administration,” said Nehan, the former mining minister, of Harris. “We felt abandoned by the Trump administration.” “Whatever achievement in regards to women’s rights we are talking about does not just belong to Afghan women, it’s a universal achievement that we all have our own part in and a responsibility in protecting them,” she added. While there are currently around 4,500 U.S. troops still in Afghanistan, Taliban officials have implied that the February deal would collapse if the incoming Biden administration prolongs the presence of U.S. forces in the country, including any counterterrorism forces. But for now the Taliban leadership will watch and wait, as their fighters keep up their offensives. The United States has responded by increasing airstrikes in defense of Afghan forces. While permitted under the February deal, anything drastically more under a new administration, such as attacking Taliban behind their front lines, could nullify the agreement. October was the deadliest month in Afghanistan for civilians since September 2019, according to data compiled by The New York Times. At least 212 civilians were killed. In a statement, the Taliban called the U.S. election and its outcome an “internal issue of the United States.” “The Islamic Emirate would like to stress to the new American president-elect and future administration that implementation of the agreement is the most reasonable and effective tool for ending the conflict between both our countries,” the statement said. But Qari Mohammad Farooq, a Taliban shadow district governor in Jowzjan province, laid it out plainly. “I heard that Joe Biden won, but none of them are good for us,” Farooq said. “For me it doesn’t matter who won, but it is important that they must leave.”

US troops are still leaving, but Afghans hope Biden will help

US President-elect Joe Biden on Wednesday announced that his longtime aide Ron Klain will be his White House Chief of Staff, thereby declaring his first White House personnel.&nbsp;

"Ron has been invaluable to me over the many years that we have worked together," the president-elect said in a statement on 59-year-old Klain who was his chief of staff when he was vice president during the Obama era.

Also read | <a href="https://www.wionews.com/world/progressives-wish-list-for-biden-starts-with-warren-and-sanders-342496">Progressives’ wish list for Biden starts with Warren and Sanders</a>

"His deep, varied experience and capacity to work with people all across the political spectrum is precisely what I need in a White House chief of staff as we confront this moment of crisis and bring our country together again," he said as quoted by the news agency AFP. &nbsp;

Also read |&nbsp;<a href="https://www.wionews.com/world/united-states-of-america-is-back-in-the-game-joe-biden-tells-world-leaders-342283">United States of America is ‘back in the game’: Joe Biden tells world leaders</a>

Meanwhile, Donald Trump's refusal to accept Biden's victory continued as he reiterated election rigging without providing any pieces of evidence despite calls from some fellow Republicans to accept the verdict.&nbsp;

Trump, on Wednesday, tweeted voting in Wisconsin on Election day led to "possibly illegal suppression" and he was now "now preparing to win the state".&nbsp;

Trump's refusal to concede defeat also led to both him and Biden honouring military personnel on Veterans Day separately on a day that is marked as one of national unity.&nbsp;

US President-elect Joe Biden on Wednesday announced that his longtime aide Ron Klain will be his White House Chief of Staff, thereby declaring his first White House personnel.

US President-elect Joe Biden on Wednesday announced that his longtime aide Ron Klain will be his White House Chief of Staff, thereby declaring his first White House personnel. "Ron has been invaluable to me over the many years that we have worked together," the president-elect said in a statement on 59-year-old Klain who was his chief of staff when he was vice president during the Obama era. Also read | Progressives’ wish list for Biden starts with Warren and Sanders "His deep, varied experience and capacity to work with people all across the political spectrum is precisely what I need in a White House chief of staff as we confront this moment of crisis and bring our country together again," he said as quoted by the news agency AFP. Also read | United States of America is ‘back in the game’: Joe Biden tells world leaders Meanwhile, Donald Trump's refusal to accept Biden's victory continued as he reiterated election rigging without providing any pieces of evidence despite calls from some fellow Republicans to accept the verdict. Trump, on Wednesday, tweeted voting in Wisconsin on Election day led to "possibly illegal suppression" and he was now "now preparing to win the state". Trump's refusal to concede defeat also led to both him and Biden honouring military personnel on Veterans Day separately on a day that is marked as one of national unity.

Joe Biden makes first White House appointment, names Klain as Chief of Staff

LONDON — At least he wasn’t left waiting by the phone.

British officials expressed relief that Prime Minister Boris Johnson was included in President-elect Joe Biden’s first round of calls with foreign leaders Tuesday, along with Chancellor Angela Merkel of Germany, President Emmanuel Macron of France and Prime Minister Micheal Martin of Ireland.

Some worried that Johnson’s ideological kinship with President Donald Trump and his backing of Brexit, which Biden had opposed, would put him at the back of the queue, as President Barack Obama once warned Britain if it voted to leave the European Union.

But the inclusion of pint-size Ireland on the list was at least as telling as Britain’s, a red flag to diplomats that Brexit could still get in the way of the country’s cherished special relationship with United States.

Biden spoke to Martin right after Johnson, according to Irish officials. He delivered the same message to both men — that he “reaffirmed his support for the Good Friday Agreement in Northern Ireland,” according to a statement issued by the Biden transition office.

Downing Street made no mention of Northern Ireland in its account of the call, preferring to focus on how Johnson and Biden pledged to cooperate on “shared priorities, from tackling climate change, to promoting democracy and building back better from the coronavirus pandemic.”

The Good Friday Agreement, brokered in 1998 under President Bill Clinton, ended decades of sectarian violence in Northern Ireland. It has become a potential source of conflict between Biden and Johnson because Britain’s trade negotiations with the EU could put the accord in jeopardy.

“It’s really quite pointed and deliberate that Biden raised the Good Friday Agreement with Johnson,” said Bobby McDonagh, a former Irish ambassador to Britain. “The British do not like it in general when American presidents raise Ireland with them, going back to Thatcher and Reagan.”

Biden, who speaks often of his Irish roots, warned Johnson during the campaign not to take any steps that would undermine the accord. That came after the Johnson government introduced legislation to rewrite parts of its Withdrawal Agreement with the EU that address Northern Ireland. The revisions, critics say, could lead to the resurrection of a hard border across Ireland.

Downing Street contends that the legislation, known as the Internal Market Bill, is meant to ensure that trade flows freely between Britain and Northern Ireland and is merely a safety net in case there is no trade deal. If Johnson does strike one, he could always remove the offending language.

By all accounts, Biden and Johnson did not get into the weeds in their 20-minute exchange. The two have never met, and the prime minister carries some baggage. He alienated people in Obama’s circle by once referring to “the part-Kenyan president’s ancestral dislike of the British Empire.”

This time, Johnson seemed determined to get off on the right foot. He invited Biden to attend a climate change conference in Glasgow next November and hailed Vice President-elect Kamala Harris for her “historic achievement.” And it was noteworthy that he invoked the slogan “building back better,” one used by both the Biden campaign and his government.

The Irish were evidently less nervous about a call to Martin. His office tweeted that he had a “very positive” conversation with Biden, then abruptly deleted it — he had not yet spoken to the president-elect.

For many in Britain, it was enough that Johnson remained near the top of the incoming U.S. president’s call sheet. British newspapers crowed that Biden spoke to Johnson before Merkel or Macron, though Biden officials declined to clarify the order of the calls.

Either way, it was a better showing than four years ago, when British diplomats were chagrined to learn that President-elect Donald Trump had taken calls from President Recep Tayyip Erdogan of Turkey and President Abdel-Fattah el-Sissi of Egypt before one from Prime Minister Theresa May.

Even Australia’s prime minister, Malcolm Turnbull, got through, thanks to a private number for Trump that he got from golfer Greg Norman. (That turned out to be a mixed blessing: In another call a month later, the new president heatedly rejected an Obama-era deal to take refugees from Australia, and eventually hung up on the prime minister.)

Kim Darroch, the former British ambassador to the United States, finally connected his boss to Trump by tracking down the president-elect through his secretary at Trump Tower. It was an off-the-wall experience that has little in common with Biden’s meticulously choreographed outreach to foreign leaders.

“It was a helpful signal for the British that Johnson was in the batch of the first four Europeans, and, I assume, quite a big relief for Downing Street,” Darroch said. “As expected, the Biden team are a whole lot more organized about this than Trump. You didn’t find Erdogan and Sissi getting the first two calls.”

LONDON — At least he wasn’t left waiting by the phone. British officials expressed relief that Prime Minister Boris Johnson was included in President-elect Joe Biden’s first round of calls with foreign leaders Tuesday, along with Chancellor Angela Merkel of Germany, President Emmanuel Macron of France and Prime Minister Micheal Martin of Ireland.

LONDON — At least he wasn’t left waiting by the phone. British officials expressed relief that Prime Minister Boris Johnson was included in President-elect Joe Biden’s first round of calls with foreign leaders Tuesday, along with Chancellor Angela Merkel of Germany, President Emmanuel Macron of France and Prime Minister Micheal Martin of Ireland. Some worried that Johnson’s ideological kinship with President Donald Trump and his backing of Brexit, which Biden had opposed, would put him at the back of the queue, as President Barack Obama once warned Britain if it voted to leave the European Union. But the inclusion of pint-size Ireland on the list was at least as telling as Britain’s, a red flag to diplomats that Brexit could still get in the way of the country’s cherished special relationship with United States. Biden spoke to Martin right after Johnson, according to Irish officials. He delivered the same message to both men — that he “reaffirmed his support for the Good Friday Agreement in Northern Ireland,” according to a statement issued by the Biden transition office. Downing Street made no mention of Northern Ireland in its account of the call, preferring to focus on how Johnson and Biden pledged to cooperate on “shared priorities, from tackling climate change, to promoting democracy and building back better from the coronavirus pandemic.” The Good Friday Agreement, brokered in 1998 under President Bill Clinton, ended decades of sectarian violence in Northern Ireland. It has become a potential source of conflict between Biden and Johnson because Britain’s trade negotiations with the EU could put the accord in jeopardy. “It’s really quite pointed and deliberate that Biden raised the Good Friday Agreement with Johnson,” said Bobby McDonagh, a former Irish ambassador to Britain. “The British do not like it in general when American presidents raise Ireland with them, going back to Thatcher and Reagan.” Biden, who speaks often of his Irish roots, warned Johnson during the campaign not to take any steps that would undermine the accord. That came after the Johnson government introduced legislation to rewrite parts of its Withdrawal Agreement with the EU that address Northern Ireland. The revisions, critics say, could lead to the resurrection of a hard border across Ireland. Downing Street contends that the legislation, known as the Internal Market Bill, is meant to ensure that trade flows freely between Britain and Northern Ireland and is merely a safety net in case there is no trade deal. If Johnson does strike one, he could always remove the offending language. By all accounts, Biden and Johnson did not get into the weeds in their 20-minute exchange. The two have never met, and the prime minister carries some baggage. He alienated people in Obama’s circle by once referring to “the part-Kenyan president’s ancestral dislike of the British Empire.” This time, Johnson seemed determined to get off on the right foot. He invited Biden to attend a climate change conference in Glasgow next November and hailed Vice President-elect Kamala Harris for her “historic achievement.” And it was noteworthy that he invoked the slogan “building back better,” one used by both the Biden campaign and his government. The Irish were evidently less nervous about a call to Martin. His office tweeted that he had a “very positive” conversation with Biden, then abruptly deleted it — he had not yet spoken to the president-elect. For many in Britain, it was enough that Johnson remained near the top of the incoming U.S. president’s call sheet. British newspapers crowed that Biden spoke to Johnson before Merkel or Macron, though Biden officials declined to clarify the order of the calls. Either way, it was a better showing than four years ago, when British diplomats were chagrined to learn that President-elect Donald Trump had taken calls from President Recep Tayyip Erdogan of Turkey and President Abdel-Fattah el-Sissi of Egypt before one from Prime Minister Theresa May. Even Australia’s prime minister, Malcolm Turnbull, got through, thanks to a private number for Trump that he got from golfer Greg Norman. (That turned out to be a mixed blessing: In another call a month later, the new president heatedly rejected an Obama-era deal to take refugees from Australia, and eventually hung up on the prime minister.) Kim Darroch, the former British ambassador to the United States, finally connected his boss to Trump by tracking down the president-elect through his secretary at Trump Tower. It was an off-the-wall experience that has little in common with Biden’s meticulously choreographed outreach to foreign leaders. “It was a helpful signal for the British that Johnson was in the batch of the first four Europeans, and, I assume, quite a big relief for Downing Street,” Darroch said. “As expected, the Biden team are a whole lot more organized about this than Trump. You didn’t find Erdogan and Sissi getting the first two calls.”

Would he or wouldn't he? Johnson is relieved that Biden called

Two critical unemployment programs are set to expire at the end of the year, potentially leaving millions of Americans vulnerable to eviction and hunger and threatening to short-circuit an economic recovery that has already lost momentum.

As many as 13 million people are receiving payments under the programs, which Congress created last spring to expand and extend the regular unemployment system during the coronavirus pandemic. Leaders of both major parties have expressed support for renewing the programs in some form, but Congress has been unable to reach a deal to do so. It remains unclear how the results of last week’s election will affect prospects for an agreement.

That means that for now, at least, people like Randy Williams must prepare for the possibility that they are weeks away from losing their only income.

Williams, 56, lost his job as a manager at a Memphis, Tennessee-area Cracker Barrel in the first weeks of the pandemic. His state jobless benefits ran out last month, leaving him to rely on a 13-week extension under the federal Pandemic Emergency Unemployment Compensation program, which ends in late December.

Already, Williams is struggling to get by on his $275 weekly benefit check, the maximum allowed in Tennessee. He has fallen behind on rent, racked up thousands of dollars in credit card debt and turned to a food pantry run by a church.

Even with the benefits, “I may have got behind on this or that, robbing Peter to pay Paul this month,” he said. “But without it, I’m dead in the water.”

The expanded unemployment programs are some of the last vestiges of the trillions of dollars in aid that Congress provided through a series of emergency measures in the spring. That spending — which included direct checks to most U.S. households, $600 a week in supplemental unemployment benefits and hundreds of billions of dollars in support for small businesses — offset the pandemic’s financial toll for many families and helped fuel an economic recovery that was initially stronger than many forecasters expected.

Much of that assistance expired over the summer, however. Economic gains have slowed significantly since then, and studies have found that millions of Americans fell into poverty as aid dried up. Employment data released Friday showed that the number of people out of work for more than six months, the standard threshold for long-term unemployment, rose 1.2 million in October, to 3.6 million.

The year-end benefits cliff could be even more damaging. Many families have depleted any savings they built when the $600 supplement was available. A partial federal eviction moratorium is scheduled to expire at the end of the year, although it could be extended. And benefits checks won’t just shrink, as they did over the summer; they will disappear.

“The safety net still has kind of held up until now, and I think we have been maybe lulled into a sense of complacency,” said Andrew Stettner, an expert on unemployment benefits at the Century Foundation, a progressive policy research group. “We’re just putting people in this really precarious financial position where the damage of unemployment can just hit really hard.”

Nearly 4 million Americans are receiving benefits under the pandemic compensation program. That number has doubled in the past month and is expected to keep rising as more people reach the end of their state benefits, which last 26 weeks in most of the country.

If the program ends at the end of the year, some workers will be able to continue to receive benefits under a federal program not tied to the pandemic. But those benefits aren’t available in some states, including Tennessee, and don’t cover some types of workers, like freelancers.

Congress last spring created a separate emergency program, Pandemic Unemployment Assistance, to cover people left out of the normal unemployment system, such as freelancers and self-employed workers as well as those unable to work because of pandemic-related child care issues and similar obstacles. There were 9.3 million people in that program in mid-October, according to federal data, although some experts on the unemployment system believe that figure overstates the total.

By any measure, millions are in danger of losing their benefits. Many economists warn that the harm would extend not just to individual workers but also to the broader economy.

“Those households then have to dramatically cut back on their spending, they then fall further behind on their rent, and that means that their landlords suffer and the businesses that they would have been buying from will suffer,” said Jesse Rothstein, an economist at the University of California, Berkeley.

Conservative economists have long argued that unemployment benefits can be counterproductive because they discourage recipients from seeking or accepting jobs. That argument has been persuasive with many Republican lawmakers, who fought to end extended benefits during the last recession a decade ago and who have been skeptical of offering more generous benefits during the current crisis.

Progressives, including Rothstein, have countered that the disincentive effects of benefits are small, especially when jobs are scarce, and that giving workers a lifeline lets them seek out better jobs. In recent years, researchers have also used new data sources to study what happens when benefits run out and have found clearer evidence that losing benefits creates significant hardship for families.

Bruce Meyer, a University of Chicago economist and longtime critic of unemployment benefits, said he remained unconvinced by many of the traditional progressive arguments for unemployment insurance. But he said he found the new data compelling.

“Unemployment insurance does not help you get a better job; it keeps you out of work and lets your skills deteriorate,” he said. “But it keeps you from starving.”

The threat of losing benefits is amplified during a pandemic. Matt Weis, chief program officer at the National Able Network, a Chicago-based nonprofit organization, said he had long counseled job seekers to look for a “survival job” — one that will pay the bills while they look for more permanent work. But that is a harder argument to make when many sources of stopgap work, like seasonal retail and fast food, could carry health risks.

“It’s just putting people in a really, really tricky situation,” Weis said. “Do I preserve my health and the health of my family by staying home and not working? OK, fine, how do I do that? I’ve got bills to pay.”

Two critical unemployment programs are set to expire at the end of the year, potentially leaving millions of Americans vulnerable to eviction and hunger and threatening to short-circuit an economic recovery that has already lost momentum.

Two critical unemployment programs are set to expire at the end of the year, potentially leaving millions of Americans vulnerable to eviction and hunger and threatening to short-circuit an economic recovery that has already lost momentum. As many as 13 million people are receiving payments under the programs, which Congress created last spring to expand and extend the regular unemployment system during the coronavirus pandemic. Leaders of both major parties have expressed support for renewing the programs in some form, but Congress has been unable to reach a deal to do so. It remains unclear how the results of last week’s election will affect prospects for an agreement. That means that for now, at least, people like Randy Williams must prepare for the possibility that they are weeks away from losing their only income. Williams, 56, lost his job as a manager at a Memphis, Tennessee-area Cracker Barrel in the first weeks of the pandemic. His state jobless benefits ran out last month, leaving him to rely on a 13-week extension under the federal Pandemic Emergency Unemployment Compensation program, which ends in late December. Already, Williams is struggling to get by on his $275 weekly benefit check, the maximum allowed in Tennessee. He has fallen behind on rent, racked up thousands of dollars in credit card debt and turned to a food pantry run by a church. Even with the benefits, “I may have got behind on this or that, robbing Peter to pay Paul this month,” he said. “But without it, I’m dead in the water.” The expanded unemployment programs are some of the last vestiges of the trillions of dollars in aid that Congress provided through a series of emergency measures in the spring. That spending — which included direct checks to most U.S. households, $600 a week in supplemental unemployment benefits and hundreds of billions of dollars in support for small businesses — offset the pandemic’s financial toll for many families and helped fuel an economic recovery that was initially stronger than many forecasters expected. Much of that assistance expired over the summer, however. Economic gains have slowed significantly since then, and studies have found that millions of Americans fell into poverty as aid dried up. Employment data released Friday showed that the number of people out of work for more than six months, the standard threshold for long-term unemployment, rose 1.2 million in October, to 3.6 million. The year-end benefits cliff could be even more damaging. Many families have depleted any savings they built when the $600 supplement was available. A partial federal eviction moratorium is scheduled to expire at the end of the year, although it could be extended. And benefits checks won’t just shrink, as they did over the summer; they will disappear. “The safety net still has kind of held up until now, and I think we have been maybe lulled into a sense of complacency,” said Andrew Stettner, an expert on unemployment benefits at the Century Foundation, a progressive policy research group. “We’re just putting people in this really precarious financial position where the damage of unemployment can just hit really hard.” Nearly 4 million Americans are receiving benefits under the pandemic compensation program. That number has doubled in the past month and is expected to keep rising as more people reach the end of their state benefits, which last 26 weeks in most of the country. If the program ends at the end of the year, some workers will be able to continue to receive benefits under a federal program not tied to the pandemic. But those benefits aren’t available in some states, including Tennessee, and don’t cover some types of workers, like freelancers. Congress last spring created a separate emergency program, Pandemic Unemployment Assistance, to cover people left out of the normal unemployment system, such as freelancers and self-employed workers as well as those unable to work because of pandemic-related child care issues and similar obstacles. There were 9.3 million people in that program in mid-October, according to federal data, although some experts on the unemployment system believe that figure overstates the total. By any measure, millions are in danger of losing their benefits. Many economists warn that the harm would extend not just to individual workers but also to the broader economy. “Those households then have to dramatically cut back on their spending, they then fall further behind on their rent, and that means that their landlords suffer and the businesses that they would have been buying from will suffer,” said Jesse Rothstein, an economist at the University of California, Berkeley. Conservative economists have long argued that unemployment benefits can be counterproductive because they discourage recipients from seeking or accepting jobs. That argument has been persuasive with many Republican lawmakers, who fought to end extended benefits during the last recession a decade ago and who have been skeptical of offering more generous benefits during the current crisis. Progressives, including Rothstein, have countered that the disincentive effects of benefits are small, especially when jobs are scarce, and that giving workers a lifeline lets them seek out better jobs. In recent years, researchers have also used new data sources to study what happens when benefits run out and have found clearer evidence that losing benefits creates significant hardship for families. Bruce Meyer, a University of Chicago economist and longtime critic of unemployment benefits, said he remained unconvinced by many of the traditional progressive arguments for unemployment insurance. But he said he found the new data compelling. “Unemployment insurance does not help you get a better job; it keeps you out of work and lets your skills deteriorate,” he said. “But it keeps you from starving.” The threat of losing benefits is amplified during a pandemic. Matt Weis, chief program officer at the National Able Network, a Chicago-based nonprofit organization, said he had long counseled job seekers to look for a “survival job” — one that will pay the bills while they look for more permanent work. But that is a harder argument to make when many sources of stopgap work, like seasonal retail and fast food, could carry health risks. “It’s just putting people in a really, really tricky situation,” Weis said. “Do I preserve my health and the health of my family by staying home and not working? OK, fine, how do I do that? I’ve got bills to pay.”

Millions face loss of jobless aid: ‘Without it, I’m dead in the water’

Judit Polgar might be the one woman in the world who knows how Beth, the heroine of the hit Netflix series 'The Queen’s Gambit,' really feels. Like Beth, Polgar, who is from Hungary, stood out during her career because she regularly beat the world’s top players, including Garry Kasparov, in 2002, when he was ranked No&nbsp;1.

Polgar, the only woman to ever be ranked in the Top 10 or to play for the overall world championship, retired from competitive chess in 2014. Watching the series, which she described as an “incredible performance,” gave her a sense of déjà vu, particularly in the later episodes.

But there was one respect in which she could not identify with Beth’s experience: how the male competitors treated her.

“They were too nice to her,” Polgar said. When Polgar was proving herself and rising in the world rankings, the men often made disparaging comments about her ability and sometimes jokes, which they thought were funny but were actually hurtful, she said.

And no one ever resigned to her, as Shapkin did to Beth in Episode 7 by gallantly holding her hand near his lips.

“There were opponents who refused to shake hands,” she recalled. “There was one who hit his head on the board after he lost.”

Not every woman has had negative experiences. Irina Krush, who won her eighth US&nbsp;Women’s Championship last month, said she felt as if the chess community and men in particular were supportive of her when she was an up-and-coming player. She said of the series, “The spirit of what they are showing conforms to my experience.”

Whether what happens to Beth is typical or not, the popularity of 'The Queen’s Gambit' has inspired anew a debate about inequality and sexism in chess and what, if anything, can be done about them.

Though chess would seem like one area where men and women should be able to compete on equal footing, historically, few women have been able to do so. Among the more than 1,700 regular grandmasters worldwide, only 37, including Polgar and Krush, are women. Currently, only one woman, Hou Yifan of China, ranks in the Top 100, at No&nbsp;88, and she has been playing infrequently, even before the pandemic.

The superiority of men in the game is so well established that the best female players have freely acknowledged it. In a recent issue of Mint, in an article titled 'Why Women Lose at Chess,' Koneru Humpy, an Indian player currently ranked No&nbsp;3 among women, said men are just better players. “It’s proven,” she said. “You have to accept it.”

The dearth of women at the top of the game is one reason that there are separate tournaments for women, including a world championship; the World Chess Federation even created titles for women, such as women grandmaster.

Having such institutionalized, second-class status might seem like a bad idea, but not according to Anastasiya Karlovich, a grandmaster who was the press officer for the World Chess Federation for several years. She said the women’s titles permit more female players to earn a living as professionals, thereby increasing their participation in the game.

Karlovich said the Netflix show has helped her indirectly: It has made the parents of her chess students look at her differently.

“They have more respect for me. They understand better the life of a player,” she said.

While some men have speculated that the reason there are so few top female players is because they are not wired for it — Kasparov once said that it is not in their nature — women think the overriding reason is cultural expectations and bias.

Krush said the cultural cleaving between boys and girls happens at a young age. Scrolling through lists of the top players in the United States who are 7, 8 and 9, Krush pointed out that there are only a handful of girls in the Top 10.

That creates and reinforces another problem that discourages women’s participation: too few social contacts. Jennifer Shahade, a two-time U.S. women’s champion who has written two books about women in chess ('Chess Bitch' and 'Play Like a Girl!') and is the women’s program director at the US Chess Federation, said teenage girls tend to stop playing chess because there are so few of them and they want the social support. That Beth is a loner is likely an important reason she does not quit playing in tournaments.

Of 74,000 members in total, the US Chess Federation said it has about 10,500 female members. Shahade wants to increase that number, as well as their participation. To that end, she and the federation started an online chess club in April to keep female players engaged during the pandemic. In the last few weeks, there have been between 80 and 140 participants, with quite a few older players. The last meeting also had a special guest: Kasparov, who has become a big booster of women’s chess since his retirement from competition in 2005. He was also a consultant on the Netflix series.

To keep the momentum going, Shahade is launching a new online group called the “Madwoman’s Book Club.” The title refers to a pejorative name used for the queen in the 15th and 16th centuries after it became the most powerful piece on the board. The first meeting, this Friday, already has 100 people signed up.

The subject of the discussion should come as no surprise: 'The Queen’s Gambit'&nbsp;by Walter Tevis, the book on which the Netflix series is based. 
&nbsp;

Judit Polgar might be the one woman in the world who knows how Beth, the heroine of the hit Netflix series 'The Queen’s Gambit,' really feels. Like Beth, Polgar, who is from Hungary, stood out during her career because she regularly beat the world’s top players, including Garry Kasparov, in 2002, when he was ranked No 1.

Judit Polgar might be the one woman in the world who knows how Beth, the heroine of the hit Netflix series 'The Queen’s Gambit,' really feels. Like Beth, Polgar, who is from Hungary, stood out during her career because she regularly beat the world’s top players, including Garry Kasparov, in 2002, when he was ranked No 1. Polgar, the only woman to ever be ranked in the Top 10 or to play for the overall world championship, retired from competitive chess in 2014. Watching the series, which she described as an “incredible performance,” gave her a sense of déjà vu, particularly in the later episodes. But there was one respect in which she could not identify with Beth’s experience: how the male competitors treated her. “They were too nice to her,” Polgar said. When Polgar was proving herself and rising in the world rankings, the men often made disparaging comments about her ability and sometimes jokes, which they thought were funny but were actually hurtful, she said. And no one ever resigned to her, as Shapkin did to Beth in Episode 7 by gallantly holding her hand near his lips. “There were opponents who refused to shake hands,” she recalled. “There was one who hit his head on the board after he lost.” Not every woman has had negative experiences. Irina Krush, who won her eighth US Women’s Championship last month, said she felt as if the chess community and men in particular were supportive of her when she was an up-and-coming player. She said of the series, “The spirit of what they are showing conforms to my experience.” Whether what happens to Beth is typical or not, the popularity of 'The Queen’s Gambit' has inspired anew a debate about inequality and sexism in chess and what, if anything, can be done about them. Though chess would seem like one area where men and women should be able to compete on equal footing, historically, few women have been able to do so. Among the more than 1,700 regular grandmasters worldwide, only 37, including Polgar and Krush, are women. Currently, only one woman, Hou Yifan of China, ranks in the Top 100, at No 88, and she has been playing infrequently, even before the pandemic. The superiority of men in the game is so well established that the best female players have freely acknowledged it. In a recent issue of Mint, in an article titled 'Why Women Lose at Chess,' Koneru Humpy, an Indian player currently ranked No 3 among women, said men are just better players. “It’s proven,” she said. “You have to accept it.” The dearth of women at the top of the game is one reason that there are separate tournaments for women, including a world championship; the World Chess Federation even created titles for women, such as women grandmaster. Having such institutionalized, second-class status might seem like a bad idea, but not according to Anastasiya Karlovich, a grandmaster who was the press officer for the World Chess Federation for several years. She said the women’s titles permit more female players to earn a living as professionals, thereby increasing their participation in the game. Karlovich said the Netflix show has helped her indirectly: It has made the parents of her chess students look at her differently. “They have more respect for me. They understand better the life of a player,” she said. While some men have speculated that the reason there are so few top female players is because they are not wired for it — Kasparov once said that it is not in their nature — women think the overriding reason is cultural expectations and bias. Krush said the cultural cleaving between boys and girls happens at a young age. Scrolling through lists of the top players in the United States who are 7, 8 and 9, Krush pointed out that there are only a handful of girls in the Top 10. That creates and reinforces another problem that discourages women’s participation: too few social contacts. Jennifer Shahade, a two-time U.S. women’s champion who has written two books about women in chess ('Chess Bitch' and 'Play Like a Girl!') and is the women’s program director at the US Chess Federation, said teenage girls tend to stop playing chess because there are so few of them and they want the social support. That Beth is a loner is likely an important reason she does not quit playing in tournaments. Of 74,000 members in total, the US Chess Federation said it has about 10,500 female members. Shahade wants to increase that number, as well as their participation. To that end, she and the federation started an online chess club in April to keep female players engaged during the pandemic. In the last few weeks, there have been between 80 and 140 participants, with quite a few older players. The last meeting also had a special guest: Kasparov, who has become a big booster of women’s chess since his retirement from competition in 2005. He was also a consultant on the Netflix series. To keep the momentum going, Shahade is launching a new online group called the “Madwoman’s Book Club.” The title refers to a pejorative name used for the queen in the 15th and 16th centuries after it became the most powerful piece on the board. The first meeting, this Friday, already has 100 people signed up. The subject of the discussion should come as no surprise: 'The Queen’s Gambit' by Walter Tevis, the book on which the Netflix series is based.

How 'The Queen's Gambit' started a new debate about sexism in chess

In the <a href="https://www.wionews.com/topics/us-election">US election 2020</a>, one of the wins for <a href="https://www.wionews.com/topics/donald-trump">Donald Trump </a>was from the state of Florida, where many conservative Cuban Americans backed his denunciation of leftist governments in Latin America.&nbsp;

However, people living in Cuba have preferred president-elect <a href="https://www.wionews.com/topics/joe-biden">Joe Biden </a>and a major reason is Trump's accusation that the Democrat favours leftist policies.&nbsp;

Also read |&nbsp;<a href="https://www.wionews.com/world/donald-trump-continues-to-say-that-us-election-2020-was-stolen-341737">Donald Trump continues to say that US Election 2020 was 'stolen'</a>

For the unversed, Cuba is under Communist leadership for six decades.&nbsp;

Also read |&nbsp;<a href="https://www.wionews.com/world/biden-vows-to-unite-america-in-first-address-as-us-president-elect-341540">Biden vows to unite America in first address as US president-elect</a>

"I'm not the type to trust an American president, but given the situation, I prefer the other one over Trump," said Pablo Zalvidar, a 57-year-old parking attendant, as quoted by news agency AFP.&nbsp;

In the administration of Trump's predecessor Barack Obama, historic rapprochement took place with Cuba in 2014, which opened the path of cordial relations between two nemeses.&nbsp;

However, the path was not followed when Trump came to power and in his four years, 130 measures were enacted on Cuba to reinforce embargo, a move that affected several people and nation's budding private sector.&nbsp;

Among the harsh measures, US cruises and many direct flights to Cuba were suspended and the US consulate in Havana was also shut down.&nbsp;

Political expert Jorge Gomez Barata said Trump's reelection would have been "a disaster or an apocalyptic threat" for Cuba.&nbsp;

"Trump, I can't stand the sight of him!" said Aidelvis Blanco, an employee at The Mandarin restaurant, hoping that Biden as a president will "make us feel better."

Biden's win has been a "really good news for the entrepreneur community in Cuba. The private sector was one of the hardest hit by the Trump administration's Cuban policy," said &nbsp;Oniel Diaz, head of the Auge consulting firm.&nbsp;

The president-elect is also generating a lot of hopes as he as the vice-president also encouraged collaboration between both the American countries in a host of sectors and played a key role in the reunification of people from Cuba and the Cuban diaspora.&nbsp;

Cuban President Miguel Diaz-Canel on Sunday while congratulating Biden for the election win praised "the new direction" taken by the Americans and added that he believes in "the possibility of having a constructive bilateral relationship while respecting our differences." 
&nbsp;

In the US election 2020, one of the wins for Donald Trump was from the state of Florida, where many conservative Cuban Americans backed his denunciation of leftist governments in Latin America.

In the US election 2020, one of the wins for Donald Trump was from the state of Florida, where many conservative Cuban Americans backed his denunciation of leftist governments in Latin America. However, people living in Cuba have preferred president-elect Joe Biden and a major reason is Trump's accusation that the Democrat favours leftist policies. Also read | Donald Trump continues to say that US Election 2020 was 'stolen' For the unversed, Cuba is under Communist leadership for six decades. Also read | Biden vows to unite America in first address as US president-elect "I'm not the type to trust an American president, but given the situation, I prefer the other one over Trump," said Pablo Zalvidar, a 57-year-old parking attendant, as quoted by news agency AFP. In the administration of Trump's predecessor Barack Obama, historic rapprochement took place with Cuba in 2014, which opened the path of cordial relations between two nemeses. However, the path was not followed when Trump came to power and in his four years, 130 measures were enacted on Cuba to reinforce embargo, a move that affected several people and nation's budding private sector. Among the harsh measures, US cruises and many direct flights to Cuba were suspended and the US consulate in Havana was also shut down. Political expert Jorge Gomez Barata said Trump's reelection would have been "a disaster or an apocalyptic threat" for Cuba. "Trump, I can't stand the sight of him!" said Aidelvis Blanco, an employee at The Mandarin restaurant, hoping that Biden as a president will "make us feel better." Biden's win has been a "really good news for the entrepreneur community in Cuba. The private sector was one of the hardest hit by the Trump administration's Cuban policy," said Oniel Diaz, head of the Auge consulting firm. The president-elect is also generating a lot of hopes as he as the vice-president also encouraged collaboration between both the American countries in a host of sectors and played a key role in the reunification of people from Cuba and the Cuban diaspora. Cuban President Miguel Diaz-Canel on Sunday while congratulating Biden for the election win praised "the new direction" taken by the Americans and added that he believes in "the possibility of having a constructive bilateral relationship while respecting our differences."

Why Cubans prefer any US president other than Donald Trump

China on Monday refused to congratulate <a href="https://www.wionews.com/topics/joe-biden">Joe Biden </a>for winning the <a href="https://www.wionews.com/topics/us-election">presidential election</a>, saying the outcome still needs to be decided.&nbsp;

After several world leaders hailed Biden's victory, China said that the fate of US election would be decided by its "laws and procedures".

Also read |&nbsp;<a href="https://www.wionews.com/india-news/did-you-know-mumbai-has-5-bidens-president-elect-himself-claims-341859">Did you know Mumbai has '5 Bidens'? President-elect himself claims</a>

"Our understanding is that the outcome of the election will be determined in accordance with US laws and procedures," said foreign ministry spokesman Wang Wenbin told press in a briefing, as quoted by news agency AFP.&nbsp;

Also read |&nbsp;<a href="https://www.wionews.com/world/after-jared-melania-advises-donald-trump-to-accept-us-election-2020-results-341813?UTM_SRC=breakingnews">After Jared, Melania advises Donald Trump to accept US election 2020 results</a>

"China's position on the relevant issues has been consistent and clear. Our resolve to protect the country's sovereignty, security and development benefits will not waver. We have always advocated that China and the US should control existing differences on the basis of mutual respect and mutual non-interference in internal affairs, and promote the healthy and stable development of China-US relations. We hope the new US government can meet China halfway."

Beijing's statements came despite the relations between both the countries took a great hit under <a href="https://www.wionews.com/topics/donald-trump">Donald Trump </a>due to several reasons, among which trade tariffs and coronavirus crisis raised most concerns.

Trump blames China for giving the world pandemic and often describes the virus as "Wuhan virus".&nbsp;

This puts China in the list of Russia and Mexico that has still not recognised Biden as the president-elect.&nbsp;

Meanwhile, Trump has refused to accept defeat and continues to push the claim that the election was rigged and he is the real winner of it.&nbsp;

China on Monday refused to congratulate Joe Biden for winning the presidential election, saying the outcome still needs to be decided. After several world leaders hailed Biden's victory, China said that the fate of US election would be decided by its "laws and procedures".

China on Monday refused to congratulate Joe Biden for winning the presidential election, saying the outcome still needs to be decided. After several world leaders hailed Biden's victory, China said that the fate of US election would be decided by its "laws and procedures". Also read | Did you know Mumbai has '5 Bidens'? President-elect himself claims "Our understanding is that the outcome of the election will be determined in accordance with US laws and procedures," said foreign ministry spokesman Wang Wenbin told press in a briefing, as quoted by news agency AFP. Also read | After Jared, Melania advises Donald Trump to accept US election 2020 results "China's position on the relevant issues has been consistent and clear. Our resolve to protect the country's sovereignty, security and development benefits will not waver. We have always advocated that China and the US should control existing differences on the basis of mutual respect and mutual non-interference in internal affairs, and promote the healthy and stable development of China-US relations. We hope the new US government can meet China halfway." Beijing's statements came despite the relations between both the countries took a great hit under Donald Trump due to several reasons, among which trade tariffs and coronavirus crisis raised most concerns. Trump blames China for giving the world pandemic and often describes the virus as "Wuhan virus". This puts China in the list of Russia and Mexico that has still not recognised Biden as the president-elect. Meanwhile, Trump has refused to accept defeat and continues to push the claim that the election was rigged and he is the real winner of it.

China refuses to acknowledge Joe Biden as next president of US

The United States set a new grim record of over 120,000 coronavirus cases in the last 24 hours, surging past the record it made the previous day, according to a tally by John Hopkins University.&nbsp;

At least 123,085 new Covid-19 infections were confirmed between 8:30 pm Wednesday and 8:30 pm Thursday (0130 GMT) as per the tally.&nbsp;

Also read | <a href="https://www.wionews.com/world/new-study-explains-long-covid-or-persistence-of-coronavirus-symptoms-340789">New study explains 'long COVID', or persistence of coronavirus symptoms&nbsp;&nbsp; &nbsp;</a>

As many as 1,226 people also lost their lives in the past 24 hours across the US.&nbsp;

Also read | <a href="https://www.wionews.com/india-news/india-adds-over-50000-new-coronavirus-cases-in-a-day-340753">India adds over 50,000 new coronavirus cases in a day</a>

On Wednesday, 99,600 coronavirus cases were confirmed in the country that globally leads in the number of infections and fatalities.&nbsp;

Nineteen out of 50 states confirmed record daily increase on Thursday. Earlier, 16 states reported record one-day surge in coronavirus cases on Oct 30, as per the Reuters data.

Though the latest uptick is wide, the Midwest regions have been hit the hardest, according to daily new cases per capita.&nbsp;

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However, the daily deaths in the US are not rising at the same pace as infections, averaging 850 fatalities a day, up from 700 last month.&nbsp;

But, the hospitalisations of patients infected with Covid-19 rose to 52,500 on Thursday, which is rising for a successive 11th day and heading nearer to the highest-ever 58,370 admissions seen in July.&nbsp;

The United States set a new grim record of over 120,000 coronavirus cases in the last 24 hours, surging past the record it made the previous day, according to a tally by John Hopkins University.

The United States set a new grim record of over 120,000 coronavirus cases in the last 24 hours, surging past the record it made the previous day, according to a tally by John Hopkins University. At least 123,085 new Covid-19 infections were confirmed between 8:30 pm Wednesday and 8:30 pm Thursday (0130 GMT) as per the tally. Also read | New study explains 'long COVID', or persistence of coronavirus symptoms As many as 1,226 people also lost their lives in the past 24 hours across the US. Also read | India adds over 50,000 new coronavirus cases in a day On Wednesday, 99,600 coronavirus cases were confirmed in the country that globally leads in the number of infections and fatalities. Nineteen out of 50 states confirmed record daily increase on Thursday. Earlier, 16 states reported record one-day surge in coronavirus cases on Oct 30, as per the Reuters data. Though the latest uptick is wide, the Midwest regions have been hit the hardest, according to daily new cases per capita. × However, the daily deaths in the US are not rising at the same pace as infections, averaging 850 fatalities a day, up from 700 last month. But, the hospitalisations of patients infected with Covid-19 rose to 52,500 on Thursday, which is rising for a successive 11th day and heading nearer to the highest-ever 58,370 admissions seen in July.

With a record of over 120,000 Covid-19 cases, US sets another grim milestone

The situation of the election in the United States continues to remain tense and the world is waiting eagerly to see the next president of the United States. Over the last several months, the world's largest economy has seen it all: from becoming the world's worst-hit coronavirus country, widespread protests, riots and violence related to racism and President Donald Trump's erratic presidency and unverified claims.

The situation of the election in the United States continues to remain tense and the world is waiting eagerly to see the next president of the United States. Over the last several months, the world's largest economy has seen it all: from becoming the world's worst-hit coronavirus country, widespread protests, riots and violence related to racism and President Donald Trump's erratic presidency and unverified claims. The record voting through postal ballots meant that the declaration of results will take a considerable amount of time and that is why even after nearly three days, we don't know who the next president would be. However, social media has kept Americans busy as the medium is helping them crack some jokes and lessen the intensity of a tightly-fought election. In a reference to the worn-out method of files getting downloaded in times when internet speed used to be slow in the era of internet explorer, an Instagram account by the name of Oatmeal shared an image of votes getting counted and time remaining is several minutes. View this post on Instagram A post shared by theoatmeal (@theoatmeal) on Nov 4, 2020 at 8:58am PST × Good morning! Looking forward to another day of this.😭#ElectionResults2020 #Elections2020 #thursdaymorning pic.twitter.com/a4FnKtCOQp — Holly Figueroa O'Reilly (@AynRandPaulRyan) November 5, 2020 × Nevada AG Aaron Ford responds to people sharing a meme joking that the Zootopia sloth is who is counting ballots in Nevada: "my friend @Bakari_Sellers tweeted about it and I told him he aint right about that." Adds "we're doing to the best we can," "it's going to take some time" pic.twitter.com/scbtNSDk3t — Cheyenne Haslett (@cheyennehaslett) November 5, 2020 × Many users also trolled Nevada, which is one of the key states that has not completed its counting, with one person sharing a video making fun of election officials and the background music running: "I don't really want to work today". View this post on Instagram Nevada left the chat A post shared by Saint Hoax (@sainthoax) on Nov 4, 2020 at 6:54pm PST × nevada after counting 1 ballot an hour pic.twitter.com/2i8JycJtLt — joe (@jxeker) November 5, 2020 × me driving to nevada to count those votes myself #Elections2020 pic.twitter.com/u6h5CBEMUt — rosina :p (@r0sinab) November 4, 2020 × The counting remains on the states of Nevada, Georgia, Pennsylvania, North Carolina, and Alaska and since none of the contenders has an outright lead, these states will decide the next American president.

Americans share hilarious posts as election counting saga continues

The Cathedral Church of St. John the Divine in New York has organized a daily prayer vigil to call for peace in the face the tightly contested U.S. presidential election. Canon Patrick Malloy led a small group of people gathered on the steps of the church on Wednesday (November 4), seated on folding chairs in front of an icon and small display of burning candles.

New York church holds daily prayer vigil to 'safeguard the nation's democracy'

Voters in Los Angeles were treated to a musical accompaniment by a mariachi band, as they cast their ballots at Dodger Stadium on Tuesday (November 3).

Mariachi band serenades new voter in Los Angeles

Pop star Britney Spears has sought to reassure fans concerned for her mental health, saying she is "the happiest I've ever been."

Britney Spears tells worried fans 'I'm fine'

"Real Housewives of Beverly Hills" cast member and recording artist Erika Jayne has filed for divorce from her lawyer husband Tom Girardi after 21 years of marriage.

'Real Housewives of Beverly Hills' cast member and performer Erika Jayne files for divorce

Families in the San Diego suburb of Carlsbad wanted their children to enjoy the annual Halloween celebrations as per usual, but in a COVID-safe way. Parents and costumed kids managed to enjoy the traditional trick-or-treating amid the coronavirus pandemic.

Kids in California enjoy a COVID-safe Halloween

With Cuban flavor and in the best Celia Cruz style, the group "Los 3 de la Habana" is blasting Miami a week ahead of Election Day with 'The Trump Song', an earworm salsa beat with the lyrics "Oh my God, I'll vote for Donald Trump." The President himself has added the song to his campaign rally playlist and posted their video and thanked them on his official Youtube channel.

"The Trump Song": Earworm Cuban Salsa hit blasts in Miami ahead of Election Day

Lauding Australia's response to handling the coronavirus pandemic, US's top infectious disease expert Anthony Fauci said he "wished" America also adopted a similar approach.&nbsp;

Fauci said Australia was "one of the countries that has done actually quite well" in an interview to the University of Melbourne and the Melbourne's Doherty Institute, as quoted by The Guardian.&nbsp;

Also read | <a href="https://www.wionews.com/world/covid-19-vaccine-will-not-be-available-before-2021-fauci-declares-week-before-us-election-337855">COVID-19 vaccine will not be available before 2021, Fauci declares week before US election&nbsp;</a>&nbsp; &nbsp;

"I really wish that we could transplant that kind of mentality here," Fauci said, adding masks in the US have become "a political statement".

Also read | <a href="https://www.wionews.com/world/trump-calls-coronavirus-expert-anthony-fauci-a-disaster-336526">Trump calls coronavirus expert Anthony Fauci a 'disaster'</a>

He said he would get into "serious trouble" if he walked into a meeting in the White House and used the word "shutdown" or "lockdown", referring to Melbourne striking up the right balance between opening the economy, wearing masks and the lockdown.&nbsp;

"If you walk on the streets of Melbourne, 99.9% of people are wearing masks," Fauci said saying he wished America also went with the same approach.

However, people were "ridiculed" for wearing masks in the US, Fauci said. &nbsp;&nbsp;

"In fact, people were ridiculed for wearing masks. It depended upon what side of a particular political spectrum you were at, which is so painful to me as a physician and a scientist and a public health person," the infectious expert said.&nbsp; 
&nbsp;

Lauding Australia's response to handling the coronavirus pandemic, US's top infectious disease expert Anthony Fauci said he "wished" America also adopted a similar approach.

Lauding Australia's response to handling the coronavirus pandemic, US's top infectious disease expert Anthony Fauci said he "wished" America also adopted a similar approach. Fauci said Australia was "one of the countries that has done actually quite well" in an interview to the University of Melbourne and the Melbourne's Doherty Institute, as quoted by The Guardian. Also read | COVID-19 vaccine will not be available before 2021, Fauci declares week before US election "I really wish that we could transplant that kind of mentality here," Fauci said, adding masks in the US have become "a political statement". Also read | Trump calls coronavirus expert Anthony Fauci a 'disaster' He said he would get into "serious trouble" if he walked into a meeting in the White House and used the word "shutdown" or "lockdown", referring to Melbourne striking up the right balance between opening the economy, wearing masks and the lockdown. "If you walk on the streets of Melbourne, 99.9% of people are wearing masks," Fauci said saying he wished America also went with the same approach. However, people were "ridiculed" for wearing masks in the US, Fauci said. "In fact, people were ridiculed for wearing masks. It depended upon what side of a particular political spectrum you were at, which is so painful to me as a physician and a scientist and a public health person," the infectious expert said.

Anthony Fauci lauds Australia's Covid-19 response, says people 'ridiculed' in US for wearing masks

At a 2018 groundbreaking ceremony for a Foxconn plant in Wisconsin, President Donald Trump declared that the factory would be the “eighth wonder of the world” — a $10 billion hub that would hire 13,000 workers to make flat-screen televisions in America’s heartland.

This month, Wisconsin denied Foxconn tax subsidies for failing to make good on its investment plans. The company has hired less than a quarter of the 2,080 workers it was expected to employ last year and invested just $300 million, rather than the expected $3.3 billion, according to a report from Wisconsin’s Division of Executive Budget and Finance.

The Foxconn plant, the report said, appears to be primarily used for storage and is “off track to be considered a viable manufacturing facility.” Innovation centers that the Taiwanese company was supposed to open across the state sit empty.

Also read:&nbsp;<a href="http://13.235.153.162/world/judge-rejects-us-request-to-shield-trump-from-rape-accusers-defamation-lawsuit-338376" hreflang="en">Judge rejects US request to shield Trump from rape accuser's defamation lawsuit</a>

Foxconn’s failure to create the kind of factory powerhouse that Trump described demonstrates how the president’s promise of an American manufacturing renaissance has not always resulted in the pledged jobs or economic investment. Trump has threatened companies like General Motors, Harley-Davidson and Carrier with backbreaking taxes and boycotts if they moved manufacturing abroad, often cajoling job promises out of those firms. But in many cases, those pledges went unfulfilled once Trump’s attention shifted elsewhere and market realities could not be ignored.

At the first presidential debate in September, Trump claimed that he had brought back 700,000 factory jobs after the Obama administration neglected the sector. Jobs did increase during the first three years of his term, though not to the degree he suggested: Manufacturing employment rose by just under 500,000 jobs. Through August, employment in the sector had fallen by more than 200,000 from when Trump took office, as a wave of plant closures and the pandemic recession took a toll.

“The president likes to fly in and make a show of being involved and showing that he got something going,” said Matthew Jewell, a science and engineering professor at the University of Wisconsin-Eau Claire, who was hoping that his students might find jobs at one of Foxconn’s nearby innovation centers that sit vacant. “It was frustrating for us.”

Those unfulfilled promises may matter little to Trump’s supporters, who see the president’s corporate jawboning and manufacturing rhetoric as evidence that he is fighting hard for American workers. Most polls continue to show Trump having an edge over Joe Biden, the Democratic nominee, when it comes to managing the economy.

In some ways, Trump’s efforts to revitalize American manufacturing have been undercut by his own policies. His 2017 tax cuts jump-started investment and led many companies to promise new jobs. But his trade fights with China, Europe, Canada and Mexico proved a drag on the economy, as the United States imposed levies on its biggest trading partners, prompting retaliatory taxes on American goods. Trump’s tariffs on foreign steel and aluminum and $360 billion worth of Chinese goods have weighed particularly hard on the manufacturing sector, which fell into recession last year. The coronavirus pandemic has since upended the economy entirely, erasing the “blue-collar boom” that Trump administration officials had been promoting.

Last month, Trump invited Steve Burns, the chief executive of Lordstown Motors, to the White House to herald the company’s new electric pickup truck. The visit was intended to celebrate Trump’s role as a jobs savior. In 2019, he successfully compelled General Motors to sell a plant in Lordstown, Ohio, that it was planning to shutter to Lordstown Motors, an upstart car manufacturer. The plan was meant to avert about 1,600 layoffs.

The Ohio Tax Credit Authority said it was requiring GM to repay $28 million in tax credits and invest $12 million in the Mahoning Valley because of its decision to close the Lordstown assembly factory. It was awarded the tax credits in 2008 on the condition that it would employ 3,700 workers in the city for 20 years.

After the sale, some of the General Motors employees took jobs at other plants, but the Lordstown Motors factory currently employs only about 50 engineers. Burns has said that he plans to hire 600 more workers next year and then ramp up staffing significantly in 2022.

Sen. Sherrod Brown, D-Ohio, said the new company was a welcome development but criticized Trump for not doing more to protect workers at the original GM plant, which produced the Chevrolet Cruze. Many of that plant’s workers have been forced to commute to other states for new jobs, and it remains unclear what kind of wages will be offered at the GM factory once it gets up and running. He said Trump’s attention had already shifted, leaving workers to hope the jobs materialize.

“He comes in with his bluster and makes promises but then the workers have to fend for themselves,” Brown said in an interview.

Also read:&nbsp;<a href="http://13.235.153.162/world/how-trump-and-bolsonaro-broke-latin-americas-covid-19-defenses-338261" hreflang="en">How Trump and Bolsonaro broke Latin America’s COVID-19 defenses</a>

Trump’s powers of persuasion have at times had only a partial effect. In 2016, before he took office, Trump pressured United Technologies, the parent company of the heating and cooling giant Carrier, to keep an Indianapolis factory open and not move the jobs to Mexico. With a mix of threats and incentives, the company agreed to keep the plant open, saving more than 700 jobs. However, in 2017 and 2018 Carrier cut about 500 jobs from that factory, moving those roles to Mexico.

In other instances, companies have ignored Trump’s demands. The president lashed out at Harley-Davidson two years ago when it announced it would move some of its manufacturing overseas to avoid tariffs that Europe imposed on American products in retaliation for the president’s steel and aluminum tariffs. The president called for a boycott of the company, threatened it with new taxes and accused it of “surrender.” Struggling financially, the motorcycle company moved ahead with plans to build a plant in Thailand and close a factory in Kansas City, Missouri.

But by last year, Trump appeared to have let go of his grudge. After Harley-Davidson reported falling profits because of European tariffs, Trump said on Twitter: “So unfair to U.S. We will reciprocate.” No further action has been taken.

During the 2020 presidential race, Trump has looked past the unintended consequences of many of his economic policies, boasting instead that he created the strongest economy in history. In the president's campaign messaging, even some of his advertisements overlook the challenges that he has created for sectors he was trying to save, such as steel.

Trump imposed steep tariffs on global steel imports early on in his term, temporarily raising prices and helping American manufacturers. But as global demand for steel slowed as a result of rising prices, the industry was left with a hangover. A September ad, reported earlier by Vice News, showed an image of Trump wearing a hard hat during a 2018 visit to a U.S. Steel mill in Illinois. The same mill announced plans to furlough about 700 workers this year, and the Pittsburgh-based company said in May that it would reduce its workforce by 2,700 overall as losses mounted.

The president has had some success intervening to project jobs when the government is directly involved. In August, Trump fired board members of the Tennessee Valley Authority, a federally owned corporation that provides electricity across the Southeast, after it announced plans to outsource more than 100 technology jobs to contractors in other countries. The president assailed the authority’s chief executive for being overpaid and warned of more firings before the utility reversed course.

Peter Navarro, the director of the White House’s Office of Trade and Manufacturing Policy, argued that Trump’s threats of tariffs have succeeded in compelling companies to keep jobs in the United States. He also contended that Democratic policies of tightening regulation on the energy industry and potential cuts to spending on the military would hurt the workers these industries support.

“In a Biden world, these jobs will be gone,” Navarro said in an interview.

As for Foxconn, Navarro said that the company was helping the United States compete in a sector that had been dominated by China and dismissed the company’s failure to meet its 2019 investment targets, instead blaming the coronavirus for the delay. “The CCP Virus has slowed everything down,” he said, referring to the Chinese Communist Party.

Foxconn said last week that it remained committed to Wisconsin but did not offer details of how it would move forward.

&nbsp;

(END OPTIONAL TRIM.)

In an interview with a Milwaukee television station last week, Trump insisted that — if he is reelected — Foxconn would fulfill its promises to the state.

“They will do what I tell them to do,” Trump said. “They will do what’s supposed to be done.”

At a 2018 groundbreaking ceremony for a Foxconn plant in Wisconsin, President Donald Trump declared that the factory would be the “eighth wonder of the world” — a $10 billion hub that would hire 13,000 workers to make flat-screen televisions in America’s heartland.

At a 2018 groundbreaking ceremony for a Foxconn plant in Wisconsin, President Donald Trump declared that the factory would be the “eighth wonder of the world” — a $10 billion hub that would hire 13,000 workers to make flat-screen televisions in America’s heartland. This month, Wisconsin denied Foxconn tax subsidies for failing to make good on its investment plans. The company has hired less than a quarter of the 2,080 workers it was expected to employ last year and invested just $300 million, rather than the expected $3.3 billion, according to a report from Wisconsin’s Division of Executive Budget and Finance. The Foxconn plant, the report said, appears to be primarily used for storage and is “off track to be considered a viable manufacturing facility.” Innovation centers that the Taiwanese company was supposed to open across the state sit empty. Also read: Judge rejects US request to shield Trump from rape accuser's defamation lawsuit Foxconn’s failure to create the kind of factory powerhouse that Trump described demonstrates how the president’s promise of an American manufacturing renaissance has not always resulted in the pledged jobs or economic investment. Trump has threatened companies like General Motors, Harley-Davidson and Carrier with backbreaking taxes and boycotts if they moved manufacturing abroad, often cajoling job promises out of those firms. But in many cases, those pledges went unfulfilled once Trump’s attention shifted elsewhere and market realities could not be ignored. At the first presidential debate in September, Trump claimed that he had brought back 700,000 factory jobs after the Obama administration neglected the sector. Jobs did increase during the first three years of his term, though not to the degree he suggested: Manufacturing employment rose by just under 500,000 jobs. Through August, employment in the sector had fallen by more than 200,000 from when Trump took office, as a wave of plant closures and the pandemic recession took a toll. “The president likes to fly in and make a show of being involved and showing that he got something going,” said Matthew Jewell, a science and engineering professor at the University of Wisconsin-Eau Claire, who was hoping that his students might find jobs at one of Foxconn’s nearby innovation centers that sit vacant. “It was frustrating for us.” Those unfulfilled promises may matter little to Trump’s supporters, who see the president’s corporate jawboning and manufacturing rhetoric as evidence that he is fighting hard for American workers. Most polls continue to show Trump having an edge over Joe Biden, the Democratic nominee, when it comes to managing the economy. In some ways, Trump’s efforts to revitalize American manufacturing have been undercut by his own policies. His 2017 tax cuts jump-started investment and led many companies to promise new jobs. But his trade fights with China, Europe, Canada and Mexico proved a drag on the economy, as the United States imposed levies on its biggest trading partners, prompting retaliatory taxes on American goods. Trump’s tariffs on foreign steel and aluminum and $360 billion worth of Chinese goods have weighed particularly hard on the manufacturing sector, which fell into recession last year. The coronavirus pandemic has since upended the economy entirely, erasing the “blue-collar boom” that Trump administration officials had been promoting. Last month, Trump invited Steve Burns, the chief executive of Lordstown Motors, to the White House to herald the company’s new electric pickup truck. The visit was intended to celebrate Trump’s role as a jobs savior. In 2019, he successfully compelled General Motors to sell a plant in Lordstown, Ohio, that it was planning to shutter to Lordstown Motors, an upstart car manufacturer. The plan was meant to avert about 1,600 layoffs. The Ohio Tax Credit Authority said it was requiring GM to repay $28 million in tax credits and invest $12 million in the Mahoning Valley because of its decision to close the Lordstown assembly factory. It was awarded the tax credits in 2008 on the condition that it would employ 3,700 workers in the city for 20 years. After the sale, some of the General Motors employees took jobs at other plants, but the Lordstown Motors factory currently employs only about 50 engineers. Burns has said that he plans to hire 600 more workers next year and then ramp up staffing significantly in 2022. Sen. Sherrod Brown, D-Ohio, said the new company was a welcome development but criticized Trump for not doing more to protect workers at the original GM plant, which produced the Chevrolet Cruze. Many of that plant’s workers have been forced to commute to other states for new jobs, and it remains unclear what kind of wages will be offered at the GM factory once it gets up and running. He said Trump’s attention had already shifted, leaving workers to hope the jobs materialize. “He comes in with his bluster and makes promises but then the workers have to fend for themselves,” Brown said in an interview. Also read: How Trump and Bolsonaro broke Latin America’s COVID-19 defenses Trump’s powers of persuasion have at times had only a partial effect. In 2016, before he took office, Trump pressured United Technologies, the parent company of the heating and cooling giant Carrier, to keep an Indianapolis factory open and not move the jobs to Mexico. With a mix of threats and incentives, the company agreed to keep the plant open, saving more than 700 jobs. However, in 2017 and 2018 Carrier cut about 500 jobs from that factory, moving those roles to Mexico. In other instances, companies have ignored Trump’s demands. The president lashed out at Harley-Davidson two years ago when it announced it would move some of its manufacturing overseas to avoid tariffs that Europe imposed on American products in retaliation for the president’s steel and aluminum tariffs. The president called for a boycott of the company, threatened it with new taxes and accused it of “surrender.” Struggling financially, the motorcycle company moved ahead with plans to build a plant in Thailand and close a factory in Kansas City, Missouri. But by last year, Trump appeared to have let go of his grudge. After Harley-Davidson reported falling profits because of European tariffs, Trump said on Twitter: “So unfair to U.S. We will reciprocate.” No further action has been taken. During the 2020 presidential race, Trump has looked past the unintended consequences of many of his economic policies, boasting instead that he created the strongest economy in history. In the president's campaign messaging, even some of his advertisements overlook the challenges that he has created for sectors he was trying to save, such as steel. Trump imposed steep tariffs on global steel imports early on in his term, temporarily raising prices and helping American manufacturers. But as global demand for steel slowed as a result of rising prices, the industry was left with a hangover. A September ad, reported earlier by Vice News, showed an image of Trump wearing a hard hat during a 2018 visit to a U.S. Steel mill in Illinois. The same mill announced plans to furlough about 700 workers this year, and the Pittsburgh-based company said in May that it would reduce its workforce by 2,700 overall as losses mounted. The president has had some success intervening to project jobs when the government is directly involved. In August, Trump fired board members of the Tennessee Valley Authority, a federally owned corporation that provides electricity across the Southeast, after it announced plans to outsource more than 100 technology jobs to contractors in other countries. The president assailed the authority’s chief executive for being overpaid and warned of more firings before the utility reversed course. Peter Navarro, the director of the White House’s Office of Trade and Manufacturing Policy, argued that Trump’s threats of tariffs have succeeded in compelling companies to keep jobs in the United States. He also contended that Democratic policies of tightening regulation on the energy industry and potential cuts to spending on the military would hurt the workers these industries support. “In a Biden world, these jobs will be gone,” Navarro said in an interview. As for Foxconn, Navarro said that the company was helping the United States compete in a sector that had been dominated by China and dismissed the company’s failure to meet its 2019 investment targets, instead blaming the coronavirus for the delay. “The CCP Virus has slowed everything down,” he said, referring to the Chinese Communist Party. Foxconn said last week that it remained committed to Wisconsin but did not offer details of how it would move forward. (END OPTIONAL TRIM.) In an interview with a Milwaukee television station last week, Trump insisted that — if he is reelected — Foxconn would fulfill its promises to the state. “They will do what I tell them to do,” Trump said. “They will do what’s supposed to be done.”

Trump’s manufacturing promises disappoint as economy sours

US Secretary of State Mike Pompeo has kicked off his four-nation tour, starting with India while&nbsp;the Communist Party of China is holding its plenary.

The next five days could fundamentally cement new policies, alliances and set the foundation for India's future foreign policy. With just a week to go for the presidential election, it's rare for top US Leaders to travel abroad at this time. But China's aggression in the region has pushed Washington to reach out to its Asian allies.

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India 2+2 dialogue

Two ministers from each side - The foreign and defence ministers of India and the US will sit down and participate in talks. In New Delhi, the American leaders have landed. In Beijing, China's Communist Party is holding its plenary session.

India and the US have made an announcement to sign BECA - The Basic Exchange and Cooperation Agreement. It's a military pact which will give India access to advanced American map and satellite imagery, which in turn would help automated weapons, drones and missiles.

Also read:&nbsp;<a href="https://www.wionews.com/india-news/india-to-sign-beca-military-pact-with-us-338112" hreflang="en">India to sign BECA military pact with US</a>

The agreement will also pave the way for the US to ship sophisticated missile technology to India. Reports say US Defence Secretary Mike Esper could also discuss ways to increase cooperation between American and Indian forces.

Esper's wishlist could include intelligence sharing, stepping up joint exercises and arms sales.

Meanwhile in Beijing, the Communist Party has a four-day-long plenary in which they are expected to lay out long term plans. This includes approving new rules for the Central Committee: a political body of the top leadership in China.

More powers could be given to the Central Committee, which in turn would give more power to Xi Jinping. 
 
What does it mean for the world?

Beijing is already upping the ante against Washington. China has sanctioned American defence companies like Lockheed Martin, Boeing Defense and Raytheon for selling weapons to Taiwan. The United States is arming Taiwan as threats from China grow.

Also read:&nbsp;<a href="https://www.wionews.com/india-news/rajnath-singh-mark-esper-discuss-joint-service-cooperation-in-bilateral-meet-338063" hreflang="en">Rajnath Singh, Mark Esper discuss joint service cooperation in bilateral meet</a>

The PLA has raised the threat of war by stepping up drills and activities near Taiwan, at the border with India, and in the South China Sea. The United States is building an alliance to counter China. Mike Pompeo will visit more allies on his trip to Asia including Sri Lanka and the Maldives, followed by Indonesia. One of the six countries contesting China's expansive claims in the South China Sea.

US Secretary of State Mike Pompeo has kicked off his four-nation tour, starting with India while the Communist Party of China is holding its plenary. The next five days could fundamentally cement new policies, alliances and set the foundation for India's future foreign policy.

US Secretary of State Mike Pompeo has kicked off his four-nation tour, starting with India while the Communist Party of China is holding its plenary. The next five days could fundamentally cement new policies, alliances and set the foundation for India's future foreign policy. With just a week to go for the presidential election, it's rare for top US Leaders to travel abroad at this time. But China's aggression in the region has pushed Washington to reach out to its Asian allies. India 2+2 dialogue Two ministers from each side - The foreign and defence ministers of India and the US will sit down and participate in talks. In New Delhi, the American leaders have landed. In Beijing, China's Communist Party is holding its plenary session. India and the US have made an announcement to sign BECA - The Basic Exchange and Cooperation Agreement. It's a military pact which will give India access to advanced American map and satellite imagery, which in turn would help automated weapons, drones and missiles. Also read: India to sign BECA military pact with US The agreement will also pave the way for the US to ship sophisticated missile technology to India. Reports say US Defence Secretary Mike Esper could also discuss ways to increase cooperation between American and Indian forces. Esper's wishlist could include intelligence sharing, stepping up joint exercises and arms sales. Meanwhile in Beijing, the Communist Party has a four-day-long plenary in which they are expected to lay out long term plans. This includes approving new rules for the Central Committee: a political body of the top leadership in China. More powers could be given to the Central Committee, which in turn would give more power to Xi Jinping. What does it mean for the world? Beijing is already upping the ante against Washington. China has sanctioned American defence companies like Lockheed Martin, Boeing Defense and Raytheon for selling weapons to Taiwan. The United States is arming Taiwan as threats from China grow. Also read: Rajnath Singh, Mark Esper discuss joint service cooperation in bilateral meet The PLA has raised the threat of war by stepping up drills and activities near Taiwan, at the border with India, and in the South China Sea. The United States is building an alliance to counter China. Mike Pompeo will visit more allies on his trip to Asia including Sri Lanka and the Maldives, followed by Indonesia. One of the six countries contesting China's expansive claims in the South China Sea.

Eventful week in Asia: US' message to China

The United States announced on Sunday that Armenia and Azerbaijan have given their consent to a "humanitarian ceasefire" over disputed Nagorno-Karabakh region that will take effect on Monday. &nbsp;

"Congratulations to Armenian Prime Minister Nikol Pashinyan and Azerbaijani President Ilham Aliyev, who just agreed to adhere to a cease fire effective at midnight. Many lives will be saved," US President Donald Trump said on Twitter.

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Congratulations to Armenian Prime Minister Nikol Pashinyan and Azerbaijani President Ilham Aliyev, who just agreed to adhere to a cease fire effective at midnight. Many lives will be saved. Proud of my team <a href="https://twitter.com/SecPompeo?ref_src=twsrc%5Etfw">@SecPompeo</a> &amp; Steve Biegun &amp; <a href="https://twitter.com/WHNSC?ref_src=twsrc%5Etfw">@WHNSC</a> for getting the deal done!
— Donald J. Trump (@realDonaldTrump) <a href="https://twitter.com/realDonaldTrump/status/1320481440560132097?ref_src=twsrc%5Etfw">October 25, 2020</a></blockquote>
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The latest ceasefire brokered by the US came after similar agreements negotiated by France and Russia to stop the fighting that has killed thousands.&nbsp;

It will take effect at 8 am local time (12 am EDT) on Oct. 26, said a joint statement by the US State Department and the governments of Azerbaijan and Armenia.&nbsp;

Also read | <a href="https://www.wionews.com/world/armenia-azerbaijan-continue-to-clash-over-nagorno-karabakh-despite-us-talks-337833">Armenia, Azerbaijan continue to clash over Nagorno-Karabakh despite US talks</a>

Elin Suleymanov, Azerbaijan Ambassador to the US welcomed the ceasefire in a statement that also blamed Armenia for "provocations".

Also read | <a href="https://www.wionews.com/world/international-community-including-india-should-recognise-karabakhs-existential-threat-armenian-pm-to-wion-337725">International community, including India, should recognise Karabakh's existential threat: Armenian PM to WION</a>

"We urge Armenia to observe the ceasefire and stop its military provocations as agreed. Azerbaijan is strongly committed to achieving peace and the high number of Azerbaijani civilian deaths in recent weeks shows who is the aggressor," she said.

Armenia and Azerbaijan's decades-long conflict is over Karabakh since the 1990s when Armenian separatists captured the mountainous region in a war that killed about 30,000 people.&nbsp;

Karabakh's self-declared independence has not been recognised globally, which includes Armenia, and it remains a part of Azerbaijan according to international law.

The prevailing fighting broke out on September 27 between the neighbouring nations who accuse each other of having targeted the civilians and violating the previous truces.

The United States announced on Sunday that Armenia and Azerbaijan have given their consent to a "humanitarian ceasefire" over disputed Nagorno-Karabakh region that will take effect on Monday.

The United States announced on Sunday that Armenia and Azerbaijan have given their consent to a "humanitarian ceasefire" over disputed Nagorno-Karabakh region that will take effect on Monday. "Congratulations to Armenian Prime Minister Nikol Pashinyan and Azerbaijani President Ilham Aliyev, who just agreed to adhere to a cease fire effective at midnight. Many lives will be saved," US President Donald Trump said on Twitter. Congratulations to Armenian Prime Minister Nikol Pashinyan and Azerbaijani President Ilham Aliyev, who just agreed to adhere to a cease fire effective at midnight. Many lives will be saved. Proud of my team @SecPompeo & Steve Biegun & @WHNSC for getting the deal done! — Donald J. Trump (@realDonaldTrump) October 25, 2020 × The latest ceasefire brokered by the US came after similar agreements negotiated by France and Russia to stop the fighting that has killed thousands. It will take effect at 8 am local time (12 am EDT) on Oct. 26, said a joint statement by the US State Department and the governments of Azerbaijan and Armenia. Also read | Armenia, Azerbaijan continue to clash over Nagorno-Karabakh despite US talks Elin Suleymanov, Azerbaijan Ambassador to the US welcomed the ceasefire in a statement that also blamed Armenia for "provocations". Also read | International community, including India, should recognise Karabakh's existential threat: Armenian PM to WION "We urge Armenia to observe the ceasefire and stop its military provocations as agreed. Azerbaijan is strongly committed to achieving peace and the high number of Azerbaijani civilian deaths in recent weeks shows who is the aggressor," she said. Armenia and Azerbaijan's decades-long conflict is over Karabakh since the 1990s when Armenian separatists captured the mountainous region in a war that killed about 30,000 people. Karabakh's self-declared independence has not been recognised globally, which includes Armenia, and it remains a part of Azerbaijan according to international law. The prevailing fighting broke out on September 27 between the neighbouring nations who accuse each other of having targeted the civilians and violating the previous truces.

US announces new ceasefire between Armenia and Azerbaijan

The United States welcomes India's emergence as a leading regional and global power, the US State Department said ahead of the 2+2 ministerial in New Delhi.

It also said the US is looking forward to work closely with India during the latter's upcoming UNSC term, starting January 1, 2021.

"The United States welcomes India's emergence as a leading regional and global power. The United States looks forward to collaborating closely with India during its upcoming term on the UN Security Council," the State Department said in a fact sheet before the start of the 3rd 2+2 India US ministerial in New Delhi.

Secretary of State Mike Pompeo and Defense Secretary Mark Esper will hold meetings with External Affairs Minister S Jaishankar and Defense Minister Rajnath Singh for the US-India 2+2 Ministerial Dialogue.

The visiting leaders will also meet Prime Minister Narendra Modi and hold discussions with other government and business leaders on ways to advance the US-India Comprehensive Global Strategic Partnership, it said.

In a fact sheet, the State Department said the two countries have a strong and growing bilateral relationship built on shared values and a commitment to a free and open Indo-Pacific.

As the world's oldest and largest democracies, the United States and India enjoy deeply rooted democratic traditions, it added.

"The growth in the partnership reflects a deepening strategic convergence on a range of issues. Our cooperation is expanding in important areas including health, infrastructure development, energy, aviation, science, and space," it said, adding that holding the third US-India 2+2 Ministerial Dialogue in just over two years demonstrates a high-level commitment to their shared diplomatic and security objectives.

President Donald Trump made a historic visit to India earlier this year, speaking in Ahmedabad before over 100,000 people.

Pompeo's visit marks the fourth visit to India by a Secretary of State during the Trump Administration.

According to the State Department, the recent Quadrilateral Ministerial meeting in Tokyo convened by Pompeo and his counterparts from India, Japan, and Australia, demonstrated the strong cooperative ties among Indo-Pacific democracies interested in strengthening a rules-based order in which all nations are sovereign, strong, and prosperous.

"The Quad has proven to be an effective multilateral mechanism, helping to create resilient supply chains, promote transparency, counter disinformation and increase maritime security," it said.

India, with its large economy, strong support for entrepreneurship and innovation, and its growing international trade, is one of the world's leading economic powers and is well-positioned to promote our shared vision for a free and rules-based Indo-Pacific where all nations can prosper, it said.

Observing that India and the US are expanding cooperation between the two militaries, the fact sheet said this includes the navies, which play a critical role in ensuring freedom of navigation in the Indo-Pacific.

In July 2020, the Indian Navy successfully completed a passing exercise with the US Navy as the Nimitz Carrier Strike Group transited through the Indian Ocean Region.

In 2019, the US and India held their first-ever tri-service exercise, Tiger Triumph, in which the US Navy and Marines, Air Force, and Army participated in a bilateral exercise with their Indian counterparts. The United States welcomes Australia joining the Malabar naval exercise alongside India and Japan, it added.

Noting that defence trade has increased significantly over the past two decades, the State Department said India maintains the largest fleets of C-17 and P-8 aircraft outside the United States and as of 2020, the United States has authorized more than $20 billion in defence sales to India.

"The United States and India enjoy robust defence industrial cooperation. Through the US- India Defense Technology and Trade Initiative, the United States and India work together on co-production and co-development of defence equipment," it said.

The United States welcomes India's emergence as a leading regional and global power, the US State Department said ahead of the 2+2 ministerial in New Delhi. It also said the US is looking forward to work closely with India during the latter's upcoming UNSC term, starting January 1, 2021.

The United States welcomes India's emergence as a leading regional and global power, the US State Department said ahead of the 2+2 ministerial in New Delhi. It also said the US is looking forward to work closely with India during the latter's upcoming UNSC term, starting January 1, 2021. "The United States welcomes India's emergence as a leading regional and global power. The United States looks forward to collaborating closely with India during its upcoming term on the UN Security Council," the State Department said in a fact sheet before the start of the 3rd 2+2 India US ministerial in New Delhi. Secretary of State Mike Pompeo and Defense Secretary Mark Esper will hold meetings with External Affairs Minister S Jaishankar and Defense Minister Rajnath Singh for the US-India 2+2 Ministerial Dialogue. The visiting leaders will also meet Prime Minister Narendra Modi and hold discussions with other government and business leaders on ways to advance the US-India Comprehensive Global Strategic Partnership, it said. In a fact sheet, the State Department said the two countries have a strong and growing bilateral relationship built on shared values and a commitment to a free and open Indo-Pacific. As the world's oldest and largest democracies, the United States and India enjoy deeply rooted democratic traditions, it added. "The growth in the partnership reflects a deepening strategic convergence on a range of issues. Our cooperation is expanding in important areas including health, infrastructure development, energy, aviation, science, and space," it said, adding that holding the third US-India 2+2 Ministerial Dialogue in just over two years demonstrates a high-level commitment to their shared diplomatic and security objectives. President Donald Trump made a historic visit to India earlier this year, speaking in Ahmedabad before over 100,000 people. Pompeo's visit marks the fourth visit to India by a Secretary of State during the Trump Administration. According to the State Department, the recent Quadrilateral Ministerial meeting in Tokyo convened by Pompeo and his counterparts from India, Japan, and Australia, demonstrated the strong cooperative ties among Indo-Pacific democracies interested in strengthening a rules-based order in which all nations are sovereign, strong, and prosperous. "The Quad has proven to be an effective multilateral mechanism, helping to create resilient supply chains, promote transparency, counter disinformation and increase maritime security," it said. India, with its large economy, strong support for entrepreneurship and innovation, and its growing international trade, is one of the world's leading economic powers and is well-positioned to promote our shared vision for a free and rules-based Indo-Pacific where all nations can prosper, it said. Observing that India and the US are expanding cooperation between the two militaries, the fact sheet said this includes the navies, which play a critical role in ensuring freedom of navigation in the Indo-Pacific. In July 2020, the Indian Navy successfully completed a passing exercise with the US Navy as the Nimitz Carrier Strike Group transited through the Indian Ocean Region. In 2019, the US and India held their first-ever tri-service exercise, Tiger Triumph, in which the US Navy and Marines, Air Force, and Army participated in a bilateral exercise with their Indian counterparts. The United States welcomes Australia joining the Malabar naval exercise alongside India and Japan, it added. Noting that defence trade has increased significantly over the past two decades, the State Department said India maintains the largest fleets of C-17 and P-8 aircraft outside the United States and as of 2020, the United States has authorized more than $20 billion in defence sales to India. "The United States and India enjoy robust defence industrial cooperation. Through the US- India Defense Technology and Trade Initiative, the United States and India work together on co-production and co-development of defence equipment," it said.

US welcomes India's rise as a leading regional, global power

Matthew Loflin was coughing up blood, struggling to breathe and losing consciousness in his cell while awaiting trial on drug-possession charges in this historic Southern city.

US jails are outsourcing medical care, and the death toll is rising

US Secretary of State Michael Pompeo reached New Delhi on Monday ahead of the 2+2 ministerial level meet with Indian ministers.&nbsp;Pompeo arrived with his wife Susan Pompeo in New Delhi for the meet which will also see US Secretary of Defense Mark Esper. Both Esper and Pompeo will meet their Indian counterparts Minister of External Affairs (MEA) S Jaishankar and Defence Minister Rajnath Singh.

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US Secretary of State Michael Pompeo and his wife, Susan Pompeo, arrive in Delhi. 
 
US Secretary of State Michael Pompeo is in India today to participate in the third India-US 2+2 Ministerial Dialogue tomorrow. <a href="https://t.co/Fxzzr6TvXh">pic.twitter.com/Fxzzr6TvXh</a>
— ANI (@ANI) <a href="https://twitter.com/ANI/status/1320642098480046080?ref_src=twsrc%5Etfw">October 26, 2020</a></blockquote>
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Both Pompeo and Esper's two-day visit will see bilateral talks with Jaishankar and Singh and a meet with Prime Minister Narendra Modi and NSA Ajit Doval.&nbsp;

Also read |&nbsp;<a href="https://www.wionews.com/india-news/quad-is-an-alignment-of-democracies-senior-us-administration-official-to-wion-337615">Quad is an alignment of democracies: Senior US administration official to WION</a>

This will be the third edition of the 2+2 ministerial dialogue between the two nations and this time, officials have said, the focus would be regional security cooperation, defence information-sharing so that both New Delhi and Washington can tackle global challenges better.

Officials also said that there will be talks on public health cooperation to deal with coronavirus pandemic and cooperation on working together in the Indo-Pacific.&nbsp;

As Pompeo was set to begin his trip to India and other Asian countries, he tweeted that he would "promote a shared vision for a free and open Indo Pacific".

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Wheels up for my trip to India, Sri Lanka, Maldives, and Indonesia. Grateful for the opportunity to connect with our partners to promote a shared vision for a free and open <a href="https://twitter.com/hashtag/IndoPacific?src=hash&amp;ref_src=twsrc%5Etfw">#IndoPacific</a> composed of independent, strong, and prosperous nations. <a href="https://t.co/IoaJvtsHZC">pic.twitter.com/IoaJvtsHZC</a>
— Secretary Pompeo (@SecPompeo) <a href="https://twitter.com/SecPompeo/status/1320400111059537920?ref_src=twsrc%5Etfw">October 25, 2020</a></blockquote>
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"Wheels up for my trip to India, Sri Lanka, Maldives, and Indonesia. Grateful for the opportunity to connect with our partners to promote a shared vision for a free and open #IndoPacific composed of independent, strong, and prosperous nations, the secretary of state tweeted.&nbsp;

US Secretary of State Michael Pompeo reached New Delhi on Monday ahead of the 2+2 ministerial level meet with Indian ministers. Pompeo arrived with his wife Susan Pompeo in New Delhi for the meet which will also see US Secretary of Defense Mark Esper.

US Secretary of State Michael Pompeo reached New Delhi on Monday ahead of the 2+2 ministerial level meet with Indian ministers. Pompeo arrived with his wife Susan Pompeo in New Delhi for the meet which will also see US Secretary of Defense Mark Esper. Both Esper and Pompeo will meet their Indian counterparts Minister of External Affairs (MEA) S Jaishankar and Defence Minister Rajnath Singh. US Secretary of State Michael Pompeo and his wife, Susan Pompeo, arrive in Delhi. US Secretary of State Michael Pompeo is in India today to participate in the third India-US 2+2 Ministerial Dialogue tomorrow. pic.twitter.com/Fxzzr6TvXh — ANI (@ANI) October 26, 2020 × Both Pompeo and Esper's two-day visit will see bilateral talks with Jaishankar and Singh and a meet with Prime Minister Narendra Modi and NSA Ajit Doval. Also read | Quad is an alignment of democracies: Senior US administration official to WION This will be the third edition of the 2+2 ministerial dialogue between the two nations and this time, officials have said, the focus would be regional security cooperation, defence information-sharing so that both New Delhi and Washington can tackle global challenges better. Officials also said that there will be talks on public health cooperation to deal with coronavirus pandemic and cooperation on working together in the Indo-Pacific. As Pompeo was set to begin his trip to India and other Asian countries, he tweeted that he would "promote a shared vision for a free and open Indo Pacific". Wheels up for my trip to India, Sri Lanka, Maldives, and Indonesia. Grateful for the opportunity to connect with our partners to promote a shared vision for a free and open #IndoPacific composed of independent, strong, and prosperous nations. pic.twitter.com/IoaJvtsHZC — Secretary Pompeo (@SecPompeo) October 25, 2020 × "Wheels up for my trip to India, Sri Lanka, Maldives, and Indonesia. Grateful for the opportunity to connect with our partners to promote a shared vision for a free and open #IndoPacific composed of independent, strong, and prosperous nations, the secretary of state tweeted.

US Secretary of State Mike Pompeo arrives in New Delhi

Indian-American Republican politician Nikki Haley on Saturday said that Indian-American community contributes a lot to the United States...we have to protect them. So we want the community to remember that President Trump has given us the lowest unemployment and has allowed businesses to thrive.

Former envoy to United Nations, Speaking during an event in Philadelphia said that in the aftermath of the coronavirus, there is more of a coalition that the United States is bringing in India along with Australia and Japan."

"India is the largest democracy that shares our values. And President Trump and Prime Minister Modi get along so well. But now we are actually partnering with them on defence and trade and other areas," she said at a fireside chat event organised by the Indian Voices for Trump in the battleground state of Philadelphia.&nbsp;

"And with COVID-19 coming from China. There's more of a coalition that the United States is bringing in India, along with Australia and Japan. And so, really, the foreign policy of President Trump has been gangbusters over any other president that we have had in decades, and that affects every one of us from national security," she added.&nbsp;

Haley, the two-term governor of South Carolina, was the first Cabinet-ranking Indian-American in any presidential administration. She is now campaigning for Trump ahead of the US election.&nbsp;

In a message for all Indian Americans, Haley told ANI: "The Indian American community contributes a lot to the United States, and it is the best country in the world but we have to protect them. So we need the American community to remember that President Trump was given us the lowest unemployment has allowed for businesses to thrive."

"It`s really allowed us the opportunity to excel in every field and every direction we need to go and continue to support him so that we can continue doing that for our children, our grandchildren right," she added.

(With inputs from agencies)

Indian-American Republican politician Nikki Haley on Saturday said that Indian-American community contributes a lot to the United States...we have to protect them.

Indian-American Republican politician Nikki Haley on Saturday said that Indian-American community contributes a lot to the United States...we have to protect them. So we want the community to remember that President Trump has given us the lowest unemployment and has allowed businesses to thrive. Former envoy to United Nations, Speaking during an event in Philadelphia said that in the aftermath of the coronavirus, there is more of a coalition that the United States is bringing in India along with Australia and Japan." "India is the largest democracy that shares our values. And President Trump and Prime Minister Modi get along so well. But now we are actually partnering with them on defence and trade and other areas," she said at a fireside chat event organised by the Indian Voices for Trump in the battleground state of Philadelphia. "And with COVID-19 coming from China. There's more of a coalition that the United States is bringing in India, along with Australia and Japan. And so, really, the foreign policy of President Trump has been gangbusters over any other president that we have had in decades, and that affects every one of us from national security," she added. Haley, the two-term governor of South Carolina, was the first Cabinet-ranking Indian-American in any presidential administration. She is now campaigning for Trump ahead of the US election. In a message for all Indian Americans, Haley told ANI: "The Indian American community contributes a lot to the United States, and it is the best country in the world but we have to protect them. So we need the American community to remember that President Trump was given us the lowest unemployment has allowed for businesses to thrive." "It`s really allowed us the opportunity to excel in every field and every direction we need to go and continue to support him so that we can continue doing that for our children, our grandchildren right," she added. (With inputs from agencies)

Indian-American community contributes a lot to the United States: Nikki Haley

Four adults and three children were rescued after their boat capsized due to strong winds near Davis Islands in Tampa, Florida on Monday (October 19).

Bodycam video shows boat rescue in Florida

US judiciary committee approves Amy Coney Barrett nomination. The committee's approval for Amy Coney Barrett for Donald Trump's Supreme Court choice has cleared the way for full senate vote.

US judiciary committee approves Amy Coney Barrett nomination for Supreme Court

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US constitution has been badly shattered and violated in the 2020 election: Trump