President ordered strike on Kabul safe house last month during a high-level meeting, administration says
A US drone strike in Afghanistan has killed the top al-Qaida leader Ayman al-Zawahiri, Joe Biden announced on Monday.
The US president described the death of Zawahiri, who was Osama bin Laden’s deputy and successor, as a major blow to the terrorist network behind the September 11 2001 attacks.
Continue reading...National security council says speaker has ‘right to visit’ after China warns its military would ‘not sit idly by’
The US national security council (NSC) has insisted that House Speaker Nancy Pelosi “has the right to visit Taiwan”, amid reports that she will be landing on the island on Tuesday – a move that China has vowed to respond to forcefully.
Speaking at a press conference in Washington on Monday, NSC spokesman John Kirby said Pelosi has visited Taiwan before “without any incident”.
Continue reading...Reports that House speaker could visit Taiwan have riled China; analysts say she may yet do so in unofficial capacity
The US House speaker, Nancy Pelosi, has begun a tour of Asia but questions remain over whether it will include a stop in Taiwan.
In a press release on Sunday, Pelosi said a delegation would travel to the Indo-Pacific “to reaffirm America’s strong and unshakeable commitment to our allies and friends in the region”.
Continue reading...US president reiterates opposition to undermining peace in Taiwan amid tension over potential Pelosi trip
The Chinese president has warned Joe Biden against “playing with fire” over Taiwan in a highly anticipated phone call that lasted more than two hours on Thursday, as tensions remain high over the House speaker Nancy Pelosi’s possible trip to the island next month.
“Those who play with fire will be perished by it. It is hoped that the US will be clear-eyed about this,” said Xi Jinping, according to a Chinese statement. He also urged the US to implement the three joint communiques that serve as the foundation for relations between the two countries “both in word and in deed”. Xi vowed “resolutely” to safeguard China’s national sovereignty and territorial integrity and said this is “the firm will of more than 1.4 billion Chinese people”.
Continue reading...Mike Pompeo and Mark Esper support visit to ‘freedom-loving Taiwan’ but Biden concerned any trip would antagonise Beijing
Plans for Nancy Pelosi, the US House speaker, to visit Taiwan have prompted opposition from China and the American military but support from Republicans in Washington, including former members of the Trump administration.
Trump’s second secretary of defense, Mark Esper, told CNN: “I think if the speaker wants to go, she should go.”
Continue reading...State department says military government in Yangon has not faced enough economic and diplomatic pressure, amid global outrage at killings
A senior US official has urged China to do more to rein in Myanmar’s military after its execution of four people, saying that “it cannot be business as usual with the junta”, as the killings drew widespread international condemnation.
State department spokesperson Ned Price told a briefing: “Arguably, no country has the potential to influence the trajectory of Burma’s next steps more so than the PRC [People’s Republic of China]”, noting that the junta “has not faced the level of economic and in some cases diplomatic pressure that we would like to see”.
Continue reading...As Washington seeks to shore up alliances in the Pacific, Gen Mark Milley says Beijing’s attempts to expand its influence are ‘not benign’
The Chinese military has become significantly more aggressive and dangerous over the past five years, the United States’ top military officer said during a trip to the Indo-Pacific that included a stop in Indonesia.
Gen Mark Milley, chairman of the joint chiefs of staff, said on Sunday that the number of intercepts by Chinese aircraft and ships in the Pacific region with US and other partner forces had increased significantly over that time, and the number of unsafe interactions has risen by similar proportions.
Continue reading...US military advises against House speaker’s reported trip as president is due to talk to Xi Jinping for first time in four months
Joe Biden has cautioned against the reported trip to Taiwan next month by the House speaker, Nancy Pelosi, saying the US military had assessed “it is not a good idea right now”.
The Financial Times reported earlier this week that Pelosi would lead a delegation to Taiwan in August to show support for the democratically ruled island, which Beijing claims is a breakaway province. The trip was initially scheduled for April but was postponed due to Pelosi testing positive for Covid at the time.
Continue reading...Donna Edwards, leading contender in Maryland primary for safe seat, lost after pro-Israeli groups poured millions to block her
Pro-Israel groups have heralded the defeat of a leading Democratic contender for Congress after pouring millions of dollars into blocking her election, for failing to be sufficiently supportive of Israeli government policies.
Donna Edwards, who was for months the favourite to win the primary for a safe seat in Maryland, lost to Glenn Ivey on Tuesday after the American Israel Public Affairs Committee (Aipac) and allied groups waded into the race.
Continue reading...Critics say Aipac and its allies are seeking to influence Democratic politics with money from Republican billionaires
Pro-Israel lobby groups have poured millions of dollars into a Democratic primary for a Maryland congressional seat on Tuesday, in the latest attempt to block an establishment candidate who expressed support for the Palestinians.
A surge in political spending by organisations funded by hardline supporters of Israel, led by the American Israel Public Affairs Committee (Aipac), has reshaped Democratic primaries over recent months even though debate about the country rarely figures as a major issue in the elections.
Continue reading...Request comes after Biden returns from Saudi trip in which he claims to have raised journalist’s murder with crown prince
The Biden administration asked a US judge for a 60-day extension before it formally weighed in on whether Mohammed bin Salman, the Saudi crown prince, ought to be granted sovereign immunity in a case involving the murder of Washington Post columnist Jamal Khashoggi.
The Department of Justice said in a filing before a US district court that it had initiated a “decision-making process” about whether it would file a statement of interest in the case but that it would not be able to comply with the court’s requested deadline of 1 August.
Continue reading...The Guardian’s Lois Beckett reports on an overlooked aspect of the bipartisan gun safety bill passed last month that will pay for efforts to reduce gun violence in neighborhoods across the country:
In 2013, a month after the school shooting in Newtown, Connecticut, a group of Black pastors and other activists visited the Obama White House to press the administration to do more to prevent gun violence in communities of color.
Continue reading...Analysis: US president aiming to convince Jeddah to increase oil supply in order to calm global energy markets
Joe Biden landed in the Saudi Arabian port city of Jeddah to a tepid welcome from the Saudi crown prince whose country he once pledged to make a “pariah” on the world stage.
While Saudi Arabia announced it would open its airspace to flights from Israel, making Biden the first US president to fly directly from Tel Aviv to the kingdom, expectations of further gains during his visit remained low. The US national security adviser Jake Sullivan told journalists onboard Air Force One not to expect any bilateral announcements in response to American demands that Saudi Arabia pump more oil to calm global energy markets after the Russian invasion of Ukraine.
Continue reading...Trio of dissidents in US condemn president’s trip to Saudi Arabia and accuse him of ‘normalising’ murderous regime
Khalid Aljabri, Lina al-Hathloul, and Abdullah Alaoudh grew up within a few blocks of each other in their Al-Falah neighborhood in Riyadh, but never knew each other.
On Friday, as Joseph Biden touched down in Jeddah, in their native Saudi Arabia, the three exiles met for the first time for a Middle Eastern breakfast in Arlington, Virginia, in the outskirts of Washington.
Continue reading...US president promises $300m in aid amid anger in Bethlehem and East Jerusalem at sidelining of quest for Palestinian state
Joe Biden was greeted by small groups of protesters and billboards decrying the Israeli occupation of the Palestinian territories as apartheid during his brief visits to East Jerusalem and Bethlehem, signs of disappointment at the sidelining of the Palestinian quest for statehood during the president’s tour of the Middle East.
The president visited Augusta Victoria hospital in East Jerusalem on Friday morning, where he promised $300m (£250m) in assistance for the Palestinians, before travelling in a convoy to Bethlehem to meet the Palestinian Authority president, Mahmoud Abbas, and visit the Church of the Nativity.
Continue reading...Analysis: Israel has transformed itself from regional pariah to ally to many Arab states
Joe Biden has made clear that the Middle East is not a priority for his administration: Ukraine, China and the US midterm elections are all more pressing issues. Still, when Air Force One touches down in Tel Aviv for his first visit to the region as president on Wednesday afternoon, Biden will be faced with a rapidly changing – and still unstable – part of the world.
Biden’s main goal is to convince Saudi Arabia of the need to increase global oil supplies to ease the energy crisis sparked by Russia’s invasion of Ukraine. But the fact that he flies directly to Jeddah after two days in Israel and the occupied Palestinian territories speaks to a significant shift: Israel’s transformation from regional pariah to ally for many Arab states.
Continue reading...The US secretary of state flies to Japan to give condolences to nation as country’s ruling LDP holds muted celebrations for poll victory
The US secretary of state, Antony Blinken has described assassinated former Japanese prime minister Shinzo Abe as a “man of vision”, as the country’s ruling party held muted celebrations following a resounding election victory.
The Liberal Democratic party (LDP), which Abe led for almost a decade, and its junior coalition party increased their majority in the upper house on Sunday, two days after Abe was shot during a campaign speech in the western city of Nara.
Continue reading...Beijing’s ‘alignment with Russia’ is complicating relations, US secretary of state tells Wang Yi in talks aimed at defusing tensions
China’s support for Russia’s war in Ukraine is complicating US-Chinese relations at a time when they are already beset by rifts and enmity over numerous other issues, the US secretary of state has told his Chinese counterpart
In five hours of talks in their first face-to-face meeting since October, Antony Blinken said he expressed deep concern to the Chinese foreign minister, Wang Yi, about Beijing’s stance on Russia’s actions in Ukraine and did not believe Beijing’s protestations that it was neutral in the conflict.
Continue reading...‘Infuriating’ exclusions made just weeks before Joe Biden’s Saudi visit and expected rapprochement with the crown prince
Family members of several US nationals who are being held in Saudi Arabia and Egypt were not invited to attend a recent call with Antony Blinken, the secretary of state, in a move that was called “infuriating and discriminatory” by one critic.
The apparent decision to exclude the families from a 22 June call between Blinken and relatives of US nationals who are hostages or otherwise wrongfully detained in Russia, Venezuela, Rwanda and other countries, was made just weeks before Joe Biden’s controversial trip to the Middle East and an expected rapprochement between the US president and Saudi Arabia’s de facto ruler, Mohammed bin Salman, the crown prince.
Continue reading...Chinese president says ‘one country, two systems’ will endure and democracy flourishes after unprecedented unpicking of freedoms
Xi Jinping has hailed China’s rule over Hong Kong as he led 25th anniversary celebrations of the city’s handover from Britain, insisting democracy was flourishing despite a political crackdown that has silenced dissent.
After swearing in a new hardline chief executive, John Lee, in a solemn ceremony on Friday morning, the Chinese president laid out his vision for the city and its administrators.
Continue reading...