Manaus:

Joe Biden on Sunday will be the first sitting US president to visit the Amazon — the vast tropical rainforest that nearly killed a predecessor, Teddy Roosevelt, after he left office. The trip is part of Biden’s final swing through South America before he hands the keys of the White House to Donald Trump, who becomes the United States’ 47th president in two months.

Biden, 81, will touch down in the biggest city in the Amazon, Manaus, on his way to Rio de Janeiro, where a two-day G20 summit is to be held.

The Amazon jungle was not a fortunate destination for the 26th US president, Roosevelt. He had a near-death experience in it when he went on a canoe expedition there in 1914, four years after his 1901-1909 stint in office.

Roosevelt, a Republican known for his adventurous spirit, had teamed up with a Brazilian explorer, Candido Rondon, to chart the Rio da Duvida (the River of Doubt), a tributary in the wild center-west of Brazil, in the Amazon.

The river, 760 kilometers (470 miles) long, proved a formidable foe. Several members of Roosevelt’s expedition died and the ex-president, aged 55 at the time, caught malaria and a leg infection, which incapacitated him in the final arduous stretch.

“T. R. (Teddy Roosevelt) was out of his mind toward the end; Rondon gave him up for dead several times,” his great-grandson Tweed Roosevelt said in remarks noted by The New York Times in 1992.

Roosevelt himself, when he was warned of the dangers by friends at the American Museum of Natural History before embarking on his trip, told them he had already lived a full life and was ready for the risk. “I have had my full share, and if it is necessary for me to leave my bones in South America, I am quite ready to do so,” he said, according to the Smithsonian Magazine.

In the end, the Roosevelt-Rondon expedition was saved from disaster when they came across Brazilian rubber-tappers in the jungle, who helped them enough so they could make it to cargo boats, and from there back to the safety of the outside world.

Roosevelt never fully recovered his health from his ordeal, though he and Rondon received acclaim for mapping the River of Doubt. The former president died in 1919 at home of a blood clot in his lungs, aged 60. In his honor, the river he navigated was renamed the Roosevelt River.

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

Describing U.S. President Joe Biden as a “great man” who loved his country, world leaders on Monday thanked him for his bold steps and global leadership during challenging times.

Mr. Biden on Sunday announced that he is exiting the 2024 presidential race and backed his deputy Kamala Harris to be the Democratic Party’s presidential candidate in the November 5 election.

Also Read:U.S. Presidential Elections 2024 LIVE updates

In a post on X, British Prime Minister Keir Starmer said he respects President Biden’s decision and looks forward to working together for the remainder of his term.

“I know that, as he has done throughout his remarkable career, he will have made his decision based on what he believes is best for the American people,” said Mr. Starmer, who met with Mr. Biden this month in Washington.

Former U.K. prime minister Rishi Sunak said in a post on X that he saw Mr. Biden’s “love for America and dedication to service” firsthand while working with him. He also outlined some achievements between the U.S. and the U.K.

Australian Prime Minister Anthony Albanese in a post on X thanked Mr. Biden for his “leadership and ongoing service”.

“The Australia-US Alliance has never been stronger with our shared commitment to democratic values, international security, economic prosperity and climate action for this and future generations,” he said.

Canadian Prime Minister Justin Trudeau thanked Mr. Biden for being a “partner to Canadians – and a true friend”.

“I’ve known President Biden for years. He’s a great man, and everything he does is guided by his love for his country. As President, he is a partner to Canadians — and a true friend. To President Biden and the First Lady: thank you,” Mr. Trudeau posted on X along with a photograph of him with Mr. Biden.

Japanese Prime Minister Fumio Kishida said, “I refrain from commenting directly on this issue because it involves domestic politics in the US but I recognise that President Biden’s decision is based on his desire to make the best possible political decision.”

Ukrainian President Volodymyr Zelensky said his country is grateful to President Biden for his “unwavering support” for its fight for freedom, which, along with strong bipartisan support in the United States, has been and continues to be critical.

“Many strong decisions have been made in recent years and they will be remembered as bold steps taken by President Biden in response to challenging times. And we respect today’s tough but strong decision,” he said on X.

Mr. Zelenskyy said Ukraine will always be thankful for Mr. Biden’s leadership. “He supported our country during the most dramatic moment in history, assisted us in preventing Putin from occupying our country, and has continued to support us throughout this terrible war,” he said.

Taking to X, Israeli President Isaac Herzog described Mr. Biden as a “true ally of the Jewish people” and thanked him for his friendship and steadfast support for the Israeli people over his decades-long career.

“As the first U.S. President to visit Israel in wartime, as a recipient of the Israeli Presidential Medal of Honor, and as a true ally of the Jewish people, he is a symbol of the unbreakable bond between our two peoples. I send him, @FLOTUS Jill Biden, and all his family, my warmest wishes from Jerusalem,” Herzog wrote.

Israeli Defence Minister Yoav Gallant in a post on X said the U.S. president’s “steadfast backing, especially during the war, has been invaluable”.

The Biden administration has been one of the biggest supporters of Israel’s war in Gaza since Hamas’ October 7 attacks last year. But he has increasingly clashed with Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu over humanitarian aid and the mounting civilian death toll of the conflict.

Mr. Netanyahu, who is expected to visit Washington this week, has not yet given any statement on Mr. Biden’s decision to withdraw from the presidential race.

Irish Prime Minister Simon Harris called Mr. Biden “a proud American with an Irish soul,” and thanked him for his “global leadership” and “friendship”.

In a post on X, Ireland Foreign Minister Micheal Martin said he heard the news “with both sadness & admiration”, describing Biden as an “abiding friend of Ireland”. Martin said Biden provided “invaluable support for peace & prosperity on this island” and wished him the best.

New Zealand Prime Minister Christopher Luxon said in a post on X that “Biden has dedicated his life to public service, and that is something that deserves much respect.” He thanked Biden for his “commitment to New Zealand” and said he looks “forward to working with him for the remainder of his presidency.”

Polish Prime Minister Donald Tusk wrote on X that Mr. Biden had made difficult decisions “thanks to which Poland, America and the world are safer, and democracy stronger.”

“I know you were driven by the same motivations when announcing your final decision. Probably the most difficult one,” Mr. Tusk said.

Venezuelan President Nicolas Maduro at a rally on Sunday said Mr. Biden made the “correct” decision and put his family and health first. He wished him “health and a long life.”

South Korean President Yoon Suk Yeol’s office said it does not wish to comment on domestic political situations in other countries, but added that the South Korean government “will continue to work closely with the U.S. to further develop the South Korea-U.S. global comprehensive strategic alliance”.

Mr. Biden’s decision to nominate Ms. Harris, who is of both Indian and African origin, follows weeks of intense pressure from fellow Democrats after his disastrous presidential debate performance against his Republican rival and former U.S. president Donald Trump last month.

“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,” Mr. Biden said in a post on X.

U.S. President Joe Biden on March 5 called on Hamas to accept a Gaza ceasefire deal by the Muslim holy month of Ramadan, while the Palestinian militant group warned talks for a truce and hostage release cannot go on “indefinitely”.

As famine threatens Gazans, U.S. and Jordanian planes again airdropped food aid into the besieged territory of 2.4 million people in a joint operation with Egypt and France.

Bombing and fighting in the war sparked by the October 7 attack killed another 97 people in Gaza, said the health ministry in the Hamas-run territory, where Israel said its jets had struck 50 targets over the past day.

In Cairo, U.S. and Hamas envoys were meeting Egyptian and Qatari mediators in protracted negotiations to end the fighting and free hostages before Ramadan starts on March 10 or 11.

Egypt’s Al-Qahera News, which is close to the country’s intelligence services, said the talks were “ongoing” and would continue for a fourth consecutive day on Wednesday.

The parties in Egypt — so far excluding Israel — have discussed a plan for a six-week truce, the exchange of dozens of hostages for hundreds of Palestinian prisoners, and increased aid into Gaza.

Osama Hamdan, a Hamas official in Beirut, said the Islamist group would “not allow the path of negotiations to be open indefinitely”.

Mr. Biden warned Hamas to agree to a Gaza ceasefire by Ramadan, after his top diplomat, Antony Blinken, urged it to accept an “immediate ceasefire”.

“It’s in the hands of Hamas right now,” the U.S. president told reporters.

“There’s got to be a ceasefire because Ramadan — if we get into circumstances where this continues to Ramadan, Israel and Jerusalem could be very, very dangerous.”

Also read | U.N. envoy says ‘reasonable grounds’ to believe Hamas committed sexual violence on October 7

He did not elaborate, but the United States last week urged Israel to allow Muslims to worship at the flashpoint Al-Aqsa mosque compound in Jerusalem during Ramadan.

The Israeli government said later that it would allow Muslim worshippers to access Al-Aqsa during Ramadan “in similar numbers to those in previous years”.

‘We want to eat and live’

As conditions in Gaza deteriorate, Israel has also faced increasingly sharp rebukes from Washington.

Vice President Kamala Harris had expressed “deep concern about the humanitarian conditions in Gaza” during talks on Monday with war cabinet member Benny Gantz, a centrist political rival of right-wing Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu.

American cargo planes airdropped more than 36,000 meals into Gaza Tuesday in a joint operation with Jordan, which said French and Egyptian planes also took part.

The United Nations has warned famine is “almost inevitable” in the Palestinian territory.

Israeli media reported, meanwhile, that the country’s negotiating team had so far boycotted the Cairo talks after Hamas had failed to provide it with a list of the living hostages.

Israel has said it believes 130 of the original 250 captives remain in Gaza, but that 31 have been killed.

Senior Hamas leader Bassem Naim told AFP on Monday that the group did not know “who among them are alive or dead, killed because of strikes or hunger”, and that the captives were being held by “numerous groups in multiple places”.

He said that, in order for all of them to be located, “a ceasefire is necessary”.

The war started with Hamas’s October 7 attack on southern Israel that resulted in about 1,160 deaths, most of them civilians, according to an AFP tally based on Israeli official figures.

Israel’s retaliatory offensive has killed 30,631 people, mostly women and children, according to the health ministry.

Fighting raged on in Gaza, with Hamas officials reporting dozens of Israeli air strikes near the European Hospital in Hamad City, in the main southern city of Khan Yunis.

Khan Yunis residents said decomposing bodies were lying in streets lined with destroyed homes and shops.

“We want to eat and live,” said Nader Abu Shanab, pointing to the rubble with blackened hands.

“Take a look at our homes. How am I to blame, a single, unarmed person without any income in this impoverished country?”

Israel-U.N. tensions

The U.N. World Health Organization said an aid mission to two hospitals in northern Gaza had found children dying of starvation.

“The lack of food resulted in the deaths of 10 children,” said WHO chief Tedros Adhanom Ghebreyesus.

On Tuesday, the WHO estimated at least 8,000 Gaza patients needed evacuating for treatment, which would relieve pressure on the few functioning hospitals.

Tensions between Israel and the United Nations flared on Monday, with Israel recalling its ambassador over the handling of allegations of sexual assault during the October attack.

Israel accused the U.N. of taking too long to respond to the claims, as the world body published a report that said there were “reasonable grounds to believe” rapes were committed and that hostages taken to Gaza had also faced sexual violence.

“In most of these incidents, victims first subjected to rape were then killed, and at least two incidents relate to the rape of women’s corpses,” the report said.

Shortly before the report’s release, Israel said it was recalling its ambassador Gilad Erdan over what it said was an attempt by the U.N. to “silence” reports of sexual violence by Hamas.

U.N. chief Antonio Guterres’s spokesman denied trying to suppress the report.

The war has sparked violence across the region, including near-daily exchanges of fire between Israeli forces and Lebanon’s Hezbollah movement.

U.S. envoy Amos Hochstein, who urged a diplomatic solution during a Beirut visit Monday, met with Israeli Defence Minister Yoav Gallant in Tel Aviv.

Mr. Gallant told Mr. Hochstein on Tuesday that Israel was committed to the diplomatic process but “emphasised that Hezbollah’s aggression is dragging the parties to a dangerous escalation”, his office said.