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Biden's withdrawal from the U.S. presidential race injects greater uncertainty into the world at a time when Western leaders are grappling with wars in Ukraine and Gaza, a more assertive China in Asia and the rise of the far-right in Europe. During a five-decade career in politics, Biden developed extensive personal relationships with multiple foreign leaders that none of the potential replacements on the Democratic ticket can match. After his announcement, messages of support and gratitude for his years of service poured in from near and far. The scope of foreign policy challenges facing the next U.S. president makes clear how consequential what happens in Washington is for the rest of the planet. Here's a look at some of them.

Drilled down to its basics, a budget, whether of the government or a household, is essentially the same. It must balance expenditure on one hand with receipts or income on the other. But there is one key difference.

Joe Biden described the challenge of leading a psychologically traumatized nation. The United States had endured a life-altering pandemic. There was a jarring burst of inflation and now global conflict with Russia invading Ukraine, as well as the persistent threat to democracy he felt Donald Trump posed. How could Biden possibly heal that collective trauma?

Airbus has shortlisted eight sites in India to open its second assembly line in the country in partnership with Tata Advanced Systems (TASL), weeks ahead of the inauguration of the first, which is for the C295 transport plane. The second plant will make the H125 and will be the fourth for the single-engine helicopter after factories in France, Brazil and the US. It will produce around 10 helicopters a year with the first of these debuting in early 2026. Airbus expects the Indian subcontinent excluding Pakistan to be a market for about 500 such helicopters over the next 20 years. The H125 starts at a list price of '30 crore. «The FAL (final assembly line) in India will not only make us competitive in terms of lead time, delivery time, it will also help us address the growth of the Indian market and possibly the demand from neighbouring nations,» Olivier Michalon, executive vice president, global business, Airbus Helicopters, told reporters in the French city, location of the helicopter's first assembly line. He expects the model to be as successful in India as the Airbus A320 is with the country's airlines. «H125 is our A320,» he said.

Kotak Mahindra Bank, the country's fourth-biggest private lender by market value, said its margins and unsecured loan business are affected by the Reserve Bank of India's (RBI) embargo, but it has made progress in deepening relationships with Kotak 811 customers and enhanced offers to credit card customers. Ashok Vaswani, MD, conveyed this message to the analysts soon after declaring the first quarter results. He indicated that the RBI has not given any timeline on when the ban, imposed in the last week of April on onboarding customers digitally and issuing credit cards, would be lifted. «We have been assured that look, it's not as if we are going to wait till you finish every single thing before we lift the embargo,» he said. The bank has shown strong commitment by adding resources, and the RBI is aware of it, added Vaswani.

Bangladesh situation remaining tense and volatile, notwithstanding the decision by the country's Supreme Court on Sunday to scrap the student reservation policy which is the genesis of the current crisis. Opposition BNP through the Jamaat-e-Islami has threatened to unseat the Hasina government and has launched a campaign to influence the country's Army to prevent it from safeguarding the dispensation. A fake letter signed by «junior officers» of Bangladesh Army was circulated with an aim to pressurise the Army Chief to take a neutral stand. Dhaka-based sources told ET that the country's security establishment is backing Prime Minister Sheikh Hasina. On Sunday Bangladesh's Supreme Court scrapped most of the quotas that have sparked protests and in which at least 114 people have been killed. The Supreme Court's Appellate Division dismissed a lower court order that had reinstated the quotas, directing that 93% of government jobs will be open to candidates on merit, without quotas, reports said.

HDFC Bank managing director Sashidhar Jagdishan expressed disappointment over deposits in the quarter to June, a period when volatility in current account flows caught the country's largest private bank off guard. «I know that the most important part of our strategy is deposits, and are we happy with the kind of numbers that have come about? Not really. It has fallen short of our expectations, but frankly if you see this, this is not something new,» Jagdishan said during an analyst call after HDFC Bank released its first quarter results on Saturday. «But this time around, obviously we were a little bit surprised on the period-end numbers because of some unexpected flows in the current account which was more than what we had anticipated.»

Joe Biden announced Sunday that he is withdrawing from the presidential election race and endorsed Kamala Harris to take his place against Donald Trump this November.“It has been the greatest honour of my life to serve as your President,” Biden said in a statement released Sunday shortly before 2 p.m. ET.“And while it has been my intention to seek reelection, I believe it is in the best interest of my party and the country for me to stand down and to focus solely on fulfilling my duties as President for the remainder of my term,” he said.Biden said he would address the nation later this week to provide more details about his decision.In a separate statement, Biden gave his endorsement to his vice-president, Kamala Harris.“My very first decision as the party nominee in 2020 was to pick Kamala Harris as my Vice President.

LEH: Expanding its probe into the seizure of 108 kilogrammes of gold bars from the Line of Actual Control (LAC) along the India-China border, the Directorate of Revenue Intelligence (DRI) found that gold bars were smuggled from seven countries, including the United States, Canada, Germany, Saudi Arabia and Dubai, and were brought to Tibet, from where they were meant to be smuggled into India. A total of five suspects, including a couple who ran two cafes in upmarket Leh, have been arrested and taken to Ludhiana for interrogation by a joint team of the DRI, customs and Intelligence Bureau, officials told ET. They said the couple, identified as Tender Tashi and Tashi Dolma, recruited Tenzin Samphel, a native of Hanley in eastern Ladakh, who in turn hired two couriers, Tenzin Targy and Tsering Chamba, from Hanley. The interrogation of the suspects revealed the name of the alleged kingpin, who is believed to be based in Delhi and is presently on the run, according to the people.

Joe Biden announced decision to step down, the US President announced that he will endorse Vice President Kamala Harris as the presidential nominee for his party Democrats. It was unclear whether other senior Democrats would challenge Harris for the party's nomination — she was widely seen as the pick for many party officials — or whether the party itself would choose to open the field for nominations. «My fellow Democrats, I have decided not to accept the nomination and to focus all my energies on my duties as President for the remainder of my term. My very first decision as the party nominee in 2020 was to pick Kamala Harris as my Vice President. And it’s been the best decision I’ve made. Today I want to offer my full support and endorsement for Kamala to be the nominee of our party this year. Democrats — it’s time to come together and beat Trump. Let’s do this,» said Biden in his statement.

Joe Biden's decision to end his reelection campaign on Sunday followed a series of strategic missteps by his campaign team and White House aides that amplified concerns that the 81-year-old president wouldn't be able to win in November's election, or run the country for another four years. Biden's halting performance at the June 27 presidential debate against Republican candidate Donald Trump, pushed even some of his closest allies to question whether he could endure a full campaign, and added gasoline to a smoldering Democratic party movement questioning the wisdom of his second term. Within days, Biden went from the party's figurehead to a liability. He became the first sitting president to stand down from a possible reelection since Lyndon B. Johnson in 1968.

Joe Biden on Sunday announced that he has decided to 'step down' as Democratic Party's Presidential candidate in the forthcoming elections, following his fellow party members losing faith in his mental stability and lack of confidence to beat Donald Trump. «It has been the greatest honor of my life to serve as your President. And while it has been my intention to seek reelection, I believe it is in the best interest of my party and the country for me to stand down and to focus solely on fulfilling my duties as President for the remainder of my term,» Biden said in a letter to his countrymen. However, the President has not made it clear yet on who will replace him as Democrats' Presidential face.

West Bengal Chief Minister Mamata Banerjee offered shelter to people in distress from Bangladesh, sources in the Central government said a state administration has no locus standi on the issue. These matters are handled by the Union government and the comments are «totally misplaced», the sources said. In an address at a public event in Kolkata, Banerjee, referring to violence-hit Bangladesh, said she would keep the doors of West Bengal open for people in distress from the neighbouring country and offer them shelter. «These are matters which are handled by the Union government,» said a source in the Central government.

Taxation of capital gains has again gained currency in the run-up to the budget. Specifically, the treatment of capital gains arising from equity ownership. Theoretically, there is little to justify differential treatment of capital gains arising from separate asset classes.

Narendra Modi on Sunday announced that India will contribute one million dollars to the UNESCO World Heritage Centre to provide support for heritage conservation in countries, especially of the Global South. Speaking at the inauguration of the 46th session of the World Heritage Committee at Bharat Mandapam in New Delhi today, PM Modi said that India considers the preservation of global heritage as its responsibility, and hence, is providing support for heritage conservation not only in India but also in countries of the Global South. «India considers the preservation of global heritage as its responsibility, and hence, we are providing support for heritage conservation not only in India but also in countries of the Global South. India is assisting in the conservation of many heritages like Angkor Wat in Cambodia, Cham Temples in Vietnam, and Bagan Stupa in Myanmar. In this direction, I am making an announcement. India will contribute one million dollars to the UNESCO World Heritage Centre. This grant will be used for capacity building, technical assistance, and the conservation of world heritage sites,» PM Modi said.

Ukrainian shelling of Russia-held areas of the Donetsk region killed two people in the village of Horlivka, Russian state news agency RIA Novosti said. Three people were wounded by Russian drone strikes in southern Ukraine's partly occupied Kherson region, local officials said Sunday morning. In the country's northeast, officials in the Kharkiv region said two people were wounded when a village was hit by Russian shells.

Bangladesh via land ports came to a standstill on Sunday as there was no movement of cargo trucks to and fro due to the ongoing student protests in the neighbouring country, officials said. The Bangladeshi side of the Petrapole landport remained non-functional, they said. Nearly one-third of land-based trade between India and Bangladesh takes place through Petrapole. «Trade from other land ports to Bangladesh, including Petrapole, Gojadanga, Fulbari, and Mahadipur, has also stalled as Bangladeshi Customs announced a two-day holiday from Sunday, following the government's declaration of a holiday except for essential services due to unrest,» West Bengal Exporters' Coordination Committee Secretary Ujjal Saha said. The cargo trucks that crossed over to Bangladesh on Saturday from Mahadipur port in Malda have not returned, but they are safe, he said.

vote of confidence in Parliament on Sunday, nearly a week after he was sworn in to lead a coalition government in the Himalayan nation. Oli secured 188 votes in favour of the Vote of Confidence motion tabled by him while 74 votes were cast against the motion. Out of a total of 263 members of the House of Representatives, who were present, one member abstained. Oli, 72, required 138 votes out of a total of 275 votes to pass the floor test in the House of Representatives (HoR). Prime Minister Oli has won the vote of confidence in the Lower House, Speaker of the HoR Dev Raj Ghimire announced after the counting of votes.

inaugural ceremony of the 46th session of the World Heritage Committee got underway at the Bharat Mandapam here on Sunday evening in the presence of Prime Minister Narendra Modi and Director General of UNESCO Audrey Azoulay. India is hosting the key event of the UNESCO for the first time from July 21 to July 31. Modi will shortly inaugurate the session.

Budget 2024: Finance Minister Nirmala Sitharaman who will present Union Budget for record-seventh time is scheduled to table the Economic Survey on July 22, Monday. «The Economic Survey of India will be laid on the table of the Houses of Parliament on Monday, the 22nd of July, 2024. The Budget for the Union Territory of Jammu and Kashmir for 2024 will also be presented on the 23rd of July, 2024. Tentatively 6 items of legislative business and 3 items of financial business have been identified for being taken up during this session,» said Kiren Rijiju, Ministry of Parliamentary Affairs. The upcoming Budget will be Prime Minister Narendra Modi-led government's first major policy announcement after securing a third term in May. The Budget is set to host an array of measures to combat unemplyement and other persisting issues in the country.

Kanwar Yatra 2024, which is scheduled to start on Monday, Senior Superintendent of Police (SSP) Haridwar Parmendra Dobhal said that the entire Kanwar Mela area has been divided into 14 super zones and 35 zones. He said that over 5,500 police personnel have been deployed in this Kanwar Mela, and apart from this, a plan for route diversion has also been kept in it for crowd management. Speaking exclusively to ANI, the SSP said, «Police officers have been deployed in 132 sectors, which include central security forces as well as police officers. Police is ready for traffic control and crowd management.