Skip to content
Search

Latest Stories

First Quad summit went very well, says Biden

US president Joe Biden has said that the virtual summit he held last week with the leaders of India, Japan and Australia went very well.

Biden and the other leaders pledged at the first summit of a group known as the Quad to work to ensure a free and open Indo-Pacific region and to cooperate on maritime, cyber and economic security, issues vital to the four democracies in the face of challenges from China.


"It went very well. Everybody seemed to like it a great deal," Biden told reporters when asked about the meeting on his return to the White House from a weekend stay at his home in Delaware.

The Quad grouping comprises the US, India, Australia and Japan. The representatives of these nations have met periodically since its establishment in 2007.

Biden on Friday (12) opened the first Quad leaders' summit held virtually and attended by prime minister Modi, Australian prime minister Scott Morrison and Japanese prime minister Yoshihide Suga.

In his address, Biden said that it was going to be a vital arena for cooperation in the Indo-Pacific region. He also described Quad as a new mechanism to enhance cooperation and raise mutual ambition as they address accelerating climate change.

"We know our commitments...Our region is governed by international law, committed to all the universal values and free from coercion but I am optimistic about our prospect,” he said, in an apparent reference to China which is flexing its muscles in the region.

The four countries plan to establish a series of working groups that will focus on climate change; critical and emerging technologies, including working to set technology standards and norms and jointly developing some of the critical technologies of the future, officials said.

The summit has finalised a landmark initiative under which huge investments will be made in India to create additional production capacities to roll out a billion coronavirus vaccine doses by 2022 for exports to the Indo-Pacific region.

The four leaders are scheduled to meet in person later this year, reported PTI.

The evolving situation in the Indo-Pacific region in the wake of China's increasing military muscle-flexing has become a major talking point among leading global powers.

China is engaged in hotly contested territorial disputes in the South and East China Seas.

Both maritime areas in the South and East China seas are rich in minerals, oil and other natural resources and are also vital to global trade.

More For You

Trump

Trump said the suspect had been arrested earlier for 'terrible crimes,' including child sex abuse, grand theft auto and false imprisonment, but was released under the Biden administration because Cuba refused to take him back.

Getty Images

Trump says accused in Dallas motel beheading will face first-degree murder charge

US PRESIDENT Donald Trump has described Chandra Mouli “Bob” Nagamallaiah, the Indian-origin motel manager killed in Dallas, as a “well-respected person” and said the accused will face a first-degree murder charge.

Nagamallaiah, 50, was killed last week at the Downtown Suites motel by co-worker Yordanis Cobos-Martinez, a 37-year-old undocumented Cuban immigrant with a criminal history.

Keep ReadingShow less
Starmer Mandelson

Starmer talks with Mandelson during a welcome reception at the ambassador's residence on February 26, 2025 in Washington, DC.

Getty

Starmer under pressure from party MPs after Mandelson dismissal

PRIME MINISTER Keir Starmer is facing questions within the Labour party after the sacking of US ambassador Peter Mandelson.

Mandelson was removed last week after Bloomberg published emails showing messages of support he sent following Jeffrey Epstein’s conviction for sex offences. The dismissal comes just ahead of US president Donald Trump’s state visit.

Keep ReadingShow less
Nepal’s new leader pledges to act on Gen Z calls to end corruption

Officials greet newly-elected Prime Minister of Nepal's interim government Sushila Karki (R) as she arrives at the prime minister's office in Kathmandu on September 14, 2025. (Photo by PRABIN RANABHAT/AFP via Getty Images)

Nepal’s new leader pledges to act on Gen Z calls to end corruption

NEPAL’s new interim prime minister Sushila Karki on Sunday (14) pledged to act on protesters’ calls to end corruption and restore trust in government, as the country struggles with the aftermath of its worst political unrest in decades.

“We have to work according to the thinking of the Gen Z generation,” Karki said in her first address to the nation since taking office on Friday (12). “What this group is demanding is the end of corruption, good governance and economic equality. We will not stay here more than six months in any situation. We will complete our responsibilities and hand over to the next parliament and ministers.”

Keep ReadingShow less
UK secures £1.25bn US investment ahead of Trump’s visit

US president Donald Trump and UK prime minister Sir Keir Starmer arrive at Trump International Golf Links on July 28, 2025 in Balmedie, Scotland. (Photo by Jane Barlow-WPA Pool/Getty Images)

UK secures £1.25bn US investment ahead of Trump’s visit

THE British government has announced over £1.25 billion ($1.69bn) in fresh investment from major US financial firms, including PayPal, Bank of America, Citigroup and S&P Global, ahead of a state visit by president Donald Trump.

The investment is expected to create 1,800 jobs across London, Edinburgh, Belfast and Manchester, and deepen transatlantic financial ties, the Department for Business and Trade said.

Keep ReadingShow less
Nearly 150,000 join anti-migrant protest in London as clashes erupt

Protesters wave Union Jack and St George's England flags during the "Unite The Kingdom" rally on Westminster Bridge by the Houses of Parliament on September 13, 2025 in London, England. (Photo by Christopher Furlong/Getty Images)

Nearly 150,000 join anti-migrant protest in London as clashes erupt

MORE THAN 100,000 protesters marched through central London on Saturday (13), carrying flags of England and Britain and scuffling with police in one of the UK's biggest right-wing demonstrations of modern times.

London's Metropolitan Police said the "Unite the Kingdom" march, organised by anti-immigrant activist Tommy Robinson, was attended by nearly 150,000 people, who were kept apart from a "Stand Up to Racism" counter-protest attended by around 5,000.

Keep ReadingShow less