All stories by Lalit K Jha
Spent childhood listening to Ramayana, Mahabharata: Obama
Rediff.com17 Nov 2020'Maybe it was its (India's) sheer size, with one-sixth of the world's population, an estimated two thousand distinct ethnic groups, and more than seven hundred languages spoken,' Obama writes on his fascination of India in his latest book A Promised Land.
Not just politicians, even voters are divided now: Obama
Rediff.com16 Nov 2020Obama, in an interview to CBS News on Sunday, said that they have to work with the media and the tech companies to find ways to inform the public better about the issues and bolster the standards to ensure that they can separate truth from fiction.
Biden, Harris, Trump extend Diwali greetings
Rediff.com15 Nov 2020In a joint statement, Biden and Harris wished a happy Diwali to everyone celebrating the festival of lights across the US, India and the world.
'Trump's voter fraud claims delegitimise democracy'
Rediff.com13 Nov 2020"I'm more troubled by the fact that other Republican officials who clearly know better are going along with this, are humouring him in this fashion," Obama told CBS News in an interview.
Trump bans US investments in firms linked to Chinese military
Rediff.com13 Nov 2020The executive order, which was signed by Trump on Thursday, prohibits certain purchases involving publicly traded securities or any securities that are derivative of or are designed to provide investment exposure to such securities of any Communist Chinese military company.
'Biden likely to be pragmatic in dealing with Pak'
Rediff.com12 Nov 2020Pakistan's close ties with China and its lack of democracy and disregard for human rights will not be overlooked, said Haqqani, who currently is a Senior Fellow at the Hudson Institute think-tank in Washington.
Biden names longtime aide as White House chief of staff
Rediff.com12 Nov 2020In addition to supporting the president-elect, Klain will work to build a diverse, experienced and talented team to help President-elect Biden and Vice President-elect Kamala Harris meet the urgent challenges facing the country, a media release said.
US polls: Georgia announces hand recount of votes
Rediff.com12 Nov 2020With the margin being so close, there is a need to recount, Georgia's secretary of state Brad Raffensperger said. Trump has alleged there has been massive voter fraud and electoral malpractice.
Defiant Trump insists he will 'win' Prez election
Rediff.com11 Nov 2020He has refused to concede the election, while the mainstream US media has declared 77-year-old Democratic presidential candidate Joe Biden as the winner, who is now the President-elect.
Indian-American named Chief of Staff to Acting US Defence Secretary
Rediff.com11 Nov 2020The new appointment from the Pentagon comes a day after Trump fired Defence Secretary Mark Esper and designated the National Counter Terrorism Center Director, Chris Miller, as the Acting Secretary of Defence.
Trump not conceding is an embarrassment, says Biden
Rediff.com11 Nov 2020Responding to questions from reporters on Trump not conceding the race, Biden hoped that at the end it's all going to come to fruition on January 20th.
Smooth transition to a second Trump administration: Pompeo
Rediff.com11 Nov 2020The world is watching what's taking place here. We're going to count all the votes, Pompeo said.
Trump campaign says election far from over; Biden moves forward with his plans
Rediff.com10 Nov 2020Outgoing US President Donald Trump has declined to concede the closely-fought November 3 presidential race to Democrat Biden and is mounting legal fights in several key battleground states, but there has been no evidence of voter irregularities or widespread fraud in the election -- billed as one of the most divisive and bitter in recent American history.
Republican attorney generals move US SC to hear mail-in ballot dispute
Rediff.com10 Nov 2020Alleging that the order made by the Pennsylvania Supreme Court was unconstitutional, the attorney generals said the state overstepped its constitutional authority in accepting late ballots and violated the election clauses of the Constitution and that voting by mail creates voter fraud risks.
Trump fires Defence Secretary after election defeat
Rediff.com10 Nov 2020Trump's firing comes days after Esper in an interview told The Military Times that he was not a "yes man" for the president.
Pfizer withheld Covid vaccine news before elections: Trump
Rediff.com10 Nov 2020Trump had said that he worked on removing a large number of bureaucratic obstacles to fast-track development and approval of a vaccine.
Indian-American physician named co-chair of Biden's Covid task-force
Rediff.com9 Nov 2020Dr Murthy, 43, a former United States Surgeon General, along with two other co-chairs -- Dr David Kessler and Dr Marcella Nunez-Smith -- would lead a team of leading public health experts who will advise Biden and Vice President-elect Kamala Harris on the deadly virus.
COVID, economic recovery, racial equality top priorities for Biden, Harris
Rediff.com9 Nov 2020The Biden team updated its website to showcase four policy areas the incoming administration will prioritise: COVID-19, economic recovery, racial equity and climate change.
George Bush says vote was "fundamentally fair"
Rediff.com9 Nov 2020Bush, however, also said that outgoing President Donald Trump has the right to request recounts and pursue legal challenges, with any unresolved issues to be "properly adjudicated".
Kamala Harris as vice president was long overdue: Biden
Rediff.com8 Nov 2020The 56-year-old Democratic Senator from California, who on Saturday became America's first female, first Black and first South Asian vice president-elect, represents a new face of political power.