US opens embassy in Solomon Islands after 30-year absence to counter China

Move comes amid concerns about Beijing’s military ambitions in Indo-Pacific region after it struck a security pact with Solomons last year

The United States has opened an embassy in Solomon Islands after a 30-year absence as it seeks to boost diplomatic relations in the Pacific as a counter to China.

The US secretary of state, Antony Blinken, announced the news late on Wednesday, saying that “more than any other part of the world, the Indo-Pacific region – including the Pacific Islands – will shape the world’s trajectory in the 21st century”.

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Rishi Sunak plans US trip with Northern Ireland high on agenda

UK officials in flurry of diplomacy seeking agreement with EU over protocol, but play down talk that deal is close

Rishi Sunak is considering a trip to visit Joe Biden in the US as talks between the UK and EU over the Northern Ireland protocol intensify.

The prime minister’s officials are drawing up plans for him to travel to Washington in the coming weeks to discuss a range of topics, including Ukraine, economic security and technology.

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Myanmar junta hit by western sanctions as ‘silent strikes’ mark coup anniversary

The UK, US, Canada and Australia have announced a range of measures aimed at punishing Myanmar’s military

The UK, US and Canada have imposed fresh sanctions against Myanmar’s military, including some measures aimed at stopping the supply of aviation fuel to its air force, which is accused of indiscriminately bombing civilian areas.

The sanctions were announced two years on from the 2021 February coup, in which Myanmar’s military ousted the democratically elected government of Aung San Suu Kyi, detaining her and plunging the country into turmoil.

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Antony Blinken ends Middle East tour with no breakthrough

US secretary of state says it is up to Israelis and Palestinians to find way to end recent violence

The US secretary of state, Antony Blinken, has finished his Middle East tour with no breakthrough in reducing tensions between Israelis and Palestinians, saying that it was “fundamentally up to them” to end the violence after days of bloodshed.

Blinken said he had heard “deep concern about the current trajectory” during meetings in Israel and the occupied West Bank but, beyond calling for a “de-escalation”, he offered no new US initiative.

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China attacks ‘unscrupulous’ US after reports of further crackdown on Huawei

Beijing reacts angrily to reports that Washington has moved to restrict American exports to hi-tech company

China has reacted angrily to reports that the United States has stopped approving licences for American companies to export most items to China’s hi-tech company Huawei, accusing the US of deliberately targeting Chinese companies under the pretext of national security.

US officials are creating a new formal policy of denial for shipping items to Huawei that would include items below the 5G level, including 4G items, wifi 6 and 7, artificial intelligence, and high-performance computing and cloud items, according to a Reuters report that quoted unnamed sources.

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All countries must help prevent ‘catastrophic’ war amid China-US tensions, Australian minister says

In a speech in London, Penny Wong calls on nations to examine how they use power and networks to avoid conflict

The Australian foreign affairs minister, Penny Wong, is calling on all countries to play their part to prevent a “catastrophic” war in the Indo-Pacific region.

Amid increasing tensions between the US and China, Wong warned in London on Tuesday that the region was becoming “more dangerous and volatile”.

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Ukraine says US and German tank pledges ‘only the beginning’ and calls for fighter jets

President Volodymyr Zelenskiy praised the decision by western allies but urged speed in the delivery of new weaponry

Commitments from the United States and Germany to send advanced battle tanks to counter Russian aggression has been hailed as “only the beginning” by a senior official in Ukraine, who said hundreds of tanks were needed, as Kyiv renewed its calls for fighter jets.

Andriy Yermak, the head of Ukraine’s presidential administration, made the comments as President Volodymyr Zelenskiy praised the decision by western allies, urging them to provide large quantities of tanks quickly.

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US joins Germany in sending tanks to Ukraine as Biden hails ‘united’ effort

President lauds ‘unflagging commitment to Ukraine’ as officials approve 31 M1 Abrams tanks to add to Germany’s 14 Leopard 2A6s

Joe Biden has approved sending 31 M1 Abrams tanks to Ukraine, a significant escalation in the US effort to counter Russian aggression as international reluctance to send tanks to the battlefront falls away.

The reversal of the US’s previous position came after Germany confirmed it will make 14 of its Leopard 2A6 tanks available for Ukraine’s war effort, and give partner countries its permission to re-export other battle tanks to aid Kyiv.

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Washington Post condemns Pompeo for ‘vile’ Khashoggi ‘falsehoods’

Fred Ryan says former secretary of state ‘outrageously misrepresents’ Post journalist murdered by Saudi Arabian regime

The publisher of the Washington Post, Fred Ryan, has blasted the former secretary of state Mike Pompeo for “outrageously misrepresenting” and “spreading vile falsehoods” about Jamal Khashoggi, the Post columnist murdered by the Saudi Arabian regime in 2018.

“It is shameful that Pompeo would spread vile falsehoods to dishonor a courageous man’s life and service and his commitment to principles Americans hold dear as a ploy to sell books,” Ryan said.

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US to designate Russia’s Wagner Group as ‘transnational criminal organization’

US will apply designation in the coming days, says national security council spokesman, imposing new sanctions on the group

The US will designate the Russian mercenary group Wagner as a “significant transnational criminal organization”, imposing further sanctions on the military contractor which has been aiding Moscow in its invasion of Ukraine.

The White House national security council spokesman, John Kirby, announced on Friday that the treasury will apply the new designation in the coming days, putting it in the same category as Italian mafia groups and Japanese and Russian organized crime.

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White House says Republicans have ‘zero credibility’ over Biden documents case – live

House Republicans are seeking to embarrass president over retention of papers from time as vice-president

The Biden administration is calling on House Republicans to “come clean” about the deals Kevin McCarthy made to win election as House speaker, and accusing the party of embracing extreme policies.

“House Republicans have yet to come clean with the American people about the secret agreements Kevin McCarthy made with the most Maga members of their conference in order to end their leadership election debacle,” the White House said in a statement. “But as we learn more about what was hashed out behind closed doors, it has become clear that these hidden agreements could impact the lives of every American.”

An unprecedented tax hike on the middle class and a national abortion ban are just a glimpse of the secret, backroom deals Speaker McCarthy made with extreme MAGA members to end this month’s chaotic elections and claim the gavel. The few agreements we know about would fundamentally reshape our economy in a devastating way for working families and criminalize women for making their own health care decisions. They’re also planning to plunge the economy into chaos and take millions of American jobs and 401k plans hostage unless they can cut Medicare. What other hidden bargains did Speaker McCarthy make behind closed doors with the most extreme, ultra MAGA members of the House Republican conference? The American people have a right to know – now – which is why we are calling on him to make every single one of them public immediately.

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Japan’s PM vows to modernise military for new era of threats

Fumio Kishida outlines step change in US-Japan security alliance after White House meeting with Joe Biden

Japan’s prime minister, Fumio Kishida, has pledged to modernise his country’s military alongside US president Joe Biden, warning that Russia’s invasion of Ukraine had opened a dangerous new era and could embolden China.

Welcoming Kishida at the White House, Biden hailed the Japanese government’s announcement last month that it will double defence spending over the next five years and develop new capabilities.

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Attack from space would trigger collective defence, say US and Japan, amid China fears

Antony Blinken says China is ‘greatest shared strategic challenge’ in the region as US backs Japan’s biggest military build-up since second world war

The US and Japan have said that an attack in space would trigger their security treaty, as senior officials from both countries warned that China represents the “greatest strategic challenge” to regional security.

“We agree that [China] is the greatest shared strategic challenge that we, our allies and partners face,” the US secretary of state, Antony Blinken, said on Thursday after meeting his Japanese counterpart, Yoshimasa Hayashi, in Washington.

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Nobel panel knew Kissinger Vietnam deal unlikely to bring peace, files show

Accords negotiated by Kissinger and Le Duc Tho in 1973 sealed US exit from war but were soon flouted by North and South Vietnam

The 1973 Nobel peace prize to top US diplomat Henry Kissinger and North Vietnam’s Le Duc Tho, among the most disputed in the award’s history, was given in the full knowledge the Vietnam war was unlikely to end any time soon, newly released papers show.

Nominations to the Peace prize remain secret for 50 years. On 1 January, documents about the prize awarded to Kissinger and Hanoi’s chief negotiator Tho were made available on request.

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Biden’s response to Israel’s far-right government: avoid confrontation

As Netanyahu takes an aggressively anti-Palestinian line, the White House will seek to avoid the humiliations heaped on Obama

The more things change in Israel, the harder Joe Biden is working to make sure they stay the same.

The new far-right government of the Israeli prime minister, Benjamin Netanyahu, which includes openly anti-Arab racists, is already causing concern in the White House with commitments to expand illegal settlements in the occupied territories and annex Palestinian land.

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World leaders condemn Brazil violence as US lawmakers call for Bolsonaro extradition

Joe Biden says situation in Brazil is ‘outrageous’ as presidents across South America denounce ‘assault on democracy’

Joe Biden said the situation in Brazil was “outrageous” after supporters of the former president Jair Bolsonaro invaded the country’s congress, presidential palace and supreme court on Sunday, with some senior US lawmakers calling for the far-right figure to be extradited from the US.

Biden’s words of condemnation were echoed by world leaders across the globe, including some of Brazil’s closest neighbours.

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US announces new $3.75bn aid package for Ukraine and its neighbors

Latest tranche of assistance will include for the first time Bradley armored vehicles

The White House has announced a new $3.75bn military assistance package to help Ukraine and its neighbors on Nato’s eastern flank as Russia’s invasion of Ukraine grinds on.

The latest tranche of assistance will include for the first time Bradley armored vehicles for Ukraine. The armored carrier is used to transport troops to combat and is known as a “tank-killer” because of the anti-tank missile it can fire.

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Türkiye, not Turkey: US diplomats agree to spelling change

State department says it will stop writing the word Turkey and use preferred spelling of Türkiye in public communications

The US state department has said it will largely stop writing the word Turkey and instead call the country Türkiye, agreeing to a request by the Turkish government, which resents the inadvertent association with poultry.

In a statement announcing measures to disrupt financiers of the Islamic State group, the state department wrote of joint action between “the United States and Türkiye”, written with an umlaut over the u.

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Chinese navy jet flies within 10ft of US air force plane over South China Sea

US aircraft forced to take evasive maneuvers during latest incident over contested shipping, fishing and gas field-rich region

A Chinese military plane came within 10ft (three meters) of a US air force aircraft over the contested South China Sea last week and forced it to take evasive maneuvers to avoid a collision in international airspace, the US military said.

The close encounter followed what the US called a recent trend of increasingly dangerous behavior by Chinese military aircraft.

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Australia and China team up to protest WTO blockages caused by US vetoes on appeal body

More than 100 countries stress ‘the urgency and importance’ of filling appeal judge positions as US continues years-long disruption started by Trump

Australia has teamed up with China and more than 100 countries to protest longstanding blockages at the World Trade Organization as the United States vetoes appeal judge appointments.

Australia and China remain at odds over specific trade disputes between them – such as Beijing’s tariffs on Australian wine and barley – but are united in concern about the years-long disruption to a key appeal body.

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