In his call with Prime Minister Narendra Modi last week, US President Joe Biden expressed his concerns about the safety of people in Bangladesh and the future of democratic institutions there, the White House has said.

During the call, President Biden and PM Modi “shared concerns” on the recent developments in Bangladesh, White House national security communications adviser John Kirby told a press conference on Wednesday.

“I mean, the president made clear his continued concerns about the safety and security of the people in Bangladesh and the future of their democratic institutions,” he said in response to a question.

The statement issued by the White House after the August 26 call did not mention Bangladesh. However, a post on X by PM Modi and a statement issued by his office mentioned that Bangladesh was discussed during the telephonic conversation.

“The two leaders expressed their shared concern over the situation in Bangladesh. They emphasized restoration of law and order and ensuring safety and security of the minorities, particularly Hindus, in Bangladesh,” the Prime Minister’s Office (PMO) had said.

In his post on X, PM Modi had said,“We also discussed the situation in Bangladesh and stressed on the need for early restoration of normalcy, and ensuring the safety and security of minorities, especially Hindus, in Bangladesh.” 

(Except for the headline, this story has not been edited by NDTV staff and is published from a syndicated feed.)

In yet another endorsement of Republican candidate Donald Trump, tech billionaire Elon Musk said the former US president must win if the American people want to “preserve freedom and meritocracy”.

“I have never been materially active in politics before, but this time I think civilization as we know it is on the line. If we want to preserve freedom and a meritocracy in America, then Trump must win,” he wrote in a post on X.

Musk was responding to a post that praised him as the “one of the best in the world at synthesizing complex information”. The post was responding to a X user accusing Musk of spreading misinformation and joining the “MAGA cult”, a reference to Trump’s campaign slogan Make America Great Again.

The Tesla CEO had first openly endorsed Trump after he was shot at during a campaign rally in Pennsylvania.

“I fully endorse President Trump and hope for his rapid recovery. Last time America had a candidate this tough was Theodore Roosevelt,” he wrote on X while sharing a video of Trump raising his fist in the air after a bullet grazed the top of his ear during an assassination attempt.

Since then, Musk has not shied away from throwing his weight behind the former president’s re-election bid. From wanting to work on Trump’s cabinet to holding an exclusive interview with the Republican candidate on X, years after the platform banned him for “incitement of violence” after the January 6 violence.

Musk has also hit out at Trump’s rival and US Vice President Kamala Harris. On Wednesday, he shared a shared an AI-generated image of Harris and said she “vows to be a communist dictator on day one”. 

This came after Harris attacked Trump for “vowing to be a dictator on day one” of his job if he is elected President of USA again.

In the past, Musk had backed Joe Biden in the 2020 US Presidential Election. He has said he worked closely with the Obama administration and he voted for Hilary Clinton in 2016 against Trump.