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US President Joe Biden on Sunday conferred Pope Francis with the Presidential Medal of Freedom with Distinction, recognising the Pope's significant influence and contributions, just days before leaving the White House. Taking to social media platform X (formerly Twitter), President Biden expressed his admiration for Pope Francis and called the leader of the Catholic Church the "People's Pope." «Pope Francis, your humility and your grace are beyond words, and your love for all is unparalleled. As the People's Pope, you are a light of faith, hope, and love that shines brightly across the world,» Biden said on X.

In a statement, the White House highlighted the range of security assistance provided to Taiwan, including the first-ever use of Foreign Military Financing (FMF) and Presidential Drawdown Authority (PDA), as well as International Military Education and Training (IMET), Taipei Times reported. The statement also noted that President Joe Biden had identified the Indo-Pacific as a crucial region for the future of both the US and the world.

India had formally expressed displeasure with the Indonesian government on Subianto's decision to travel to Pakistan from New Delhi, where he will be the chief guest for the Republic Day celebrations. Pakistan was not part of his plan until he met Pakistan Prime Minister Shehbaz Sharif. However, Malaysia was part of his original plan. Indonesia has been among Organisation of Islamic Cooperation member countries that have not backed Pakistan's position on Kashmir at the forum.

Congress that if the opposition alliance is broken will not be able to join together again, the Uddhav Balasaheb Thackeray Sena on Saturday announced that they would be fighting the Mumbai, Thane,Pune, Nagpur and all other municipal and other local body polls on their own and not in an alliance with its allies Congress and Sharad Pawar's Nationalist Congress Party. «We have decided that for all the local municipal elections from Mumbai to Nagpur we will be going solo. Whatever happens we will see.»said Sanjay Raut Rajya Sabha MP of the UBT Sena. Raut said that the UBT had decided to fight on its own as it wants to expand its party and feels that if the party goes into an alliance with the Congress and NCPSP for the local body polls it would mean lesser seats for its grassroot workers. «When would our grass root workers get an opportunity to fight elections? Hence all local body polls like Municipal Polls,zilla parishad and Panchayat polls would be contested by our party independently.»said Raut.

Wang Yi made a surprise visit to the Maldives, during which he held talks with President Mohamed Muizzu and discussed the state of bilateral relations, amid Male's recent warming up to India. Wang, who is also a member of the powerful Political Bureau of the Communist Party, met Muizzu during his stopover in Male on Friday while on his way back from a tour, official media reported. This was the first major visit by a Chinese official to Maldives after Muizzu visited China in January last year, months after his election. During Muizzu's visit, the two countries elevated the bilateral ties to a comprehensive strategic cooperative partnership and signed some key agreements.

Former US President Donald Trump's legal battles could soon affect his ability to travel internationally, as many countries have strict entry requirements that bar individuals with felony convictions. With Trump facing 34 felony charges related to his involvement in a hush money scheme during the 2016 election, his criminal record could complicate travel to several nations that enforce such policies. According to Newsweek, G7 countries like Canada, the United Kingdom, and Japan, along with others such as Israel and China, have policies preventing convicted felons from entering their borders. These restrictions could hinder Trump’s ability to travel abroad if his convictions stand, raising questions about how this might impact his international dealings, especially if he pursues a second term in office. These entry bans vary across countries. Some, like Canada and Japan, will deny entry to anyone with a felony conviction, while others, such as Brazil and Cambodia, may not check criminal records at the border but could deny entry if a conviction is discovered later.

Vice President Jagdeep Dhankhar on Saturday said that indigenisation has no point when it is confined to nuts and bolts. Stressing the spirit to innovate and to engage in research, he said it must be inflamed in students in schools and colleges. The Vice President was speaking at the Bharat Electronics Limited (BEL) R&D Award ceremony here that was attended by Governor of Karnataka Thaawarchand Gehlot, and BEL CMD Manoj Jain among others. «From a global perspective, if you look, our patent contribution leaves much to be desired. When it comes to research, the research has to be authentic. The research has to be cutting-edge. The research has to be practical. The research must change the ground reality. There is no use having research which goes a little beyond surface sketching. Your research must correlate with the change you seek to bring about,» Dhankar said.

export of nuclear energy technologies, so the sanctions are seen as a form of unfair competition from unfriendly states," it said. «For nearly three years, we have operated under growing sanctions pressure, adapting successfully and remaining prepared for any scenario. Rosatom continues to meet all its commitments to partners in full,» Rosatom said in a statement. President Joe Biden's administration announced Friday that it's expanding sanctions against Russia's critically important energy sector, unveiling a new effort to inflict pain on Moscow for its grinding war in Ukraine as President-elect Donald Trump gets set to return to office vowing to quickly end the conflict. Two Indian companies-Skyhart Management Services and Avision Management Services- and senior officials from Rosatom which specialises in nuclear energy, nuclear non-energy goods and high-tech products were among the over 150 entities and individuals, including major Russian oil producers Gazprom Neft and Surgutneftegas, Russian insurance companies, and shadow fleet vessels, were imposed with restrictions.

Vice President Jagdeep Dhankhar said on Saturday that extensions in service, extensions in any form for a particular post are set back to those who are in line. Dhankhar was delivering the inaugural address at the 25th National Conference of Chairpersons of State Public Service Commission being held in Bengaluru. According to him, extension of service indicates that some individuals are indispensable. «Indispensability is a myth. Talent abounds in this country. No one is indispensable. And therefore, it lies in the domain of public service commissions at the state and the central level that when they have a role in such kinds of situations, they must be firm,» added the VP. He also said public service commissions' appointments cannot be driven by patronage, or by favouritism.

Barack Obama, turned to Kimberly Clausing, a former member of the Biden administration and author of a book extolling the virtues of free trade. «Everyone in this room agrees with your book,» Furman said. «No one outside of this room agrees with your book.» The academics and policy wonks gathered in the hotel conference room laughed, but the comment captured something real: After decades of helping shape policy on weighty matters such as taxes and health insurance, economists find that their influence is at a low ebb.

Donald Trump that the United States should take it over. In an interview with The Associated Press, Ricaurte Vasquez denied Trump's claims that China was controlling the canal's operations, and said making exceptions to current rules concerning its operation would lead to «chaos.» He said Chinese companies operating in the ports on either end of the canal were part of a Hong Kong consortium that won a bidding process in 1997. He added that U.S. and Taiwanese companies are operating other ports along the canal as well. Trump has gone so far as to suggest the US should take back control of the canal and he would not rule out using military might to do so.

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Kamala Harris is competent to run for presidency again in four years, outgoing US President Joe Biden said Friday, noting that the decision on this would finally be on her. «I think that's a decision she might think she's competent to run again in four years. That'll be a decision for her to make,» Biden told reporters at a news conference here. Biden made history in 2020 by appointing Harris as the first ever Indian American, African American and woman as the Vice President of the country. In the summer of 2024, after a disastrous presidential debate with Donald Trump in Atlanta, Biden withdrew from the race and went ahead to endorse Harris for presidency. Harris soon became the Democratic Party's presidential nominee.

Donald Trump, outgoing US President Joe Biden on Friday ruled out leaving from public life for now. «I'm not going to be out of sight — out of mind,» Biden told reporters at the White House. Biden, 82, was responding to reporters' questions if he has decided what kind of role will he will have post-presidency. «Do you plan to speak out after you leave Washington, or are you going to follow kind of more of the Bush model where you're kind of out of sight and out of mind?» he was asked.

US President- elect Donald Trump pretty recently criticized former US President George W. Bush for not shaking Donald Trump's hand during former US President Jimmy Carter’s funeral, reported Daily Beast. According to Daily Beast, on his War Room podcast, Steve Bannon labeled former US President George W. Bush as ‘the worst president in the history of the country’ being second only to James Buchanan and actually expressed severe disdain for ‘Bush-related’ individuals while calling them ‘bitter’ and eventually lacking class. Steve Bannon also recounted how that how former US president George W. Bush walked past US President- elect Donald Trump without even an acknowledgment and then instead greeting former US President Barack Obama which he actually interpreted as an attempt to humiliate Donald Trump, asserted Daily Beast. Adding onto that, he also noted that while Donald Trump reportedly does not care about the snub, Steve Bannon found it eventually indicative of a broader disrespect from the George W. Bush camp.

hush money case, marking a significant moment in U.S. legal history. This sentence means that Trump will not face jail time, fines, or probation, allowing him to assume the presidency without the threat of imprisonment.

Yoon Suk Yeol's security chief resigned Friday, a week after leading a team that blocked an attempt to arrest the impeached president over his short-lived imposition of martial law. Park Chong-jun offered to resign earlier in the day as he appeared for police questioning over alleged obstruction of duties last week. His offer was accepted by Acting President Choi Sang-mok. The resignation comes as the Corruption Investigation Office for High-ranking Officials, which is leading the probe into Yoon for alleged insurrection, is mulling their next move to take Yoon in custody. Vice chief of the Presidential Security Service team will serve as an acting leader, a PSS official said. It's not immediately clear if the vice chief will cooperate with the probe team's warrant execution. The vice chief has also defied multiple police summons to appear for questioning and has received a third summons to appear before investigators on Saturday, according to Yonhap News.

Biden's administration announced on Friday that it's expanding sanctions against Russia's critically important energy sector, unveiling a new effort to inflict pain on Moscow for its nearly 3-year-old war in Ukraine as President-elect Donald Trump gets set to return to office vowing to quickly end the conflict. The outgoing Democratic administration billed the new sanctions as the most significant to date against Moscow's oil and liquefied natural gas sectors, the driver of Russia's economy. Officials said the sanctions, which punish entities that do business with the Russians, have the potential to cost the Russian economy upward of billions of dollars per month. More than 180 oil-carrying vessels that are suspected to be part of a shadow fleet utilised by the Kremlin to evade oil sanctions as well as traders, oil field service firms and Russian energy officials are also targeted by the new sanctions.

Donald Trump was sentenced Friday in his hush money case, but the judge declined to impose any punishment. The outcome cements Trump's conviction before he returns to power before while freeing him to return to the White House unencumbered by the threat of a jail term or a fine. Trump's sentence of an unconditional discharge caps a norm-smashing case that saw the former and future president charged with 34 felonies, put on trial for almost two months and convicted by a jury on every count. Yet, the legal detour — and sordid details aired in court of a plot to bury affair allegations — didn't hurt him with voters, who elected him to a second term.