Category Archives: US foreign policy

Biden staffers urge president to ‘hold Israel accountable’ and protect Palestinians – live

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With the Tokyo Olympics just weeks away, the US State Department has issued a “Level 4” warning against traveling to Japan, that’s now struggling through another surge in Covid cases.

A new wrinkle two months before Olympics. US State Department advises travelers not to visit Japan. https://t.co/Hrnfkwzayz

A Tokyo medical organization has joined calls to cancel Japan’s Olympic games this summer, citing a surge in #COVID19 cases in the country.

“Japan will bear the maximum responsibility” for deaths caused by the games, it said.

Just 3.5% of people in Japan have been vaccinated. pic.twitter.com/TGZBVRZXmy

The Trump Administration, which forced families to separate at the border, also made migrant parents leave without their children according to a new Department of Homeland Security Inspector General report.

The agency watchdog found that Immigration and Customs Enforcement (Ice) knowingly deported parents who had asked to be allowed to take their children back, the Associated Press reports.

That contradicted assertions by senior DHS officials that parents were choosing to leave their children in the U.S. to stay with family or for other reasons while they were deported in 2017 and 2018 as the administration sought to enforce a hard-line approach to immigration enforcement.

The findings, issued by Trump-appointed Inspector General Joseph Cuffari, provide new insight into a policy that became a significant political crisis for the previous administration and a continuing challenge for the current one, which is working to reunite children who remain separated even now.

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Blinken pledges US will deal with ‘grave humanitarian situation in Gaza’

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US secretary of state also reaffirms Biden administration supports a two-state solution

The US secretary of state, Antony Blinken, has pledged the Biden administration will deal with “the grave humanitarian situation in Gaza” and will seek “equal measures of security” for Israelis and Palestinians as a ceasefire after 11 days of conflict held throughout the weekend.

More than 240 people in Gaza, including at least 66 children, and a dozen in Israel were killed during the violence, marking the first major diplomatic crisis for the Biden administration.

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Palestinians return to devastated homes as UN calls for Gaza dialogue

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World leaders welcome ceasefire but Hamas and Israel’s Benjamin Netanyahu remain belligerent

Tens of thousands of displaced Palestinians in Gaza have begun returning to their homes to inspect the devastation from 11 days of Israeli airstrikes in its war with Hamas.

Gaza City, on the Mediterranean coast, had been warped by the intense attacks, with gaping holes in the skyline from where high-rise buildings had collapsed, their remains sprawling into the street. Cars mounted pavements to avoid craters.

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‘We must unite the country’: Biden signs anti-Asian hate crimes bill – live

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In his remarks before signing the anti-Asian American hate crimes bill, Joe Biden denounced racism as an “ugly poison” that has tarnished the country.

“I believe with every fiber of my being that there are simple core values and beliefs that should bring us together as Americans,” the president said of the bill.

President Biden: "I believe with every fiber of my being that there are simple core values and beliefs that should bring us together as Americans. One of them is standing together against hate, against racism — the ugly poison that has long haunted and plagued our nation." pic.twitter.com/DB1gsTNoen

Senate minority leader Mitch McConnell applauded Joe Biden for signing the anti-Asian American hate crimes bill into law moments ago.

“Recent increases in anti-Asian hate crimes are alarming,” the Republican leader said on Twitter. “I’m proud the Senate took bipartisan action — and, as the proud husband of a remarkable Asian-American woman, I am especially glad this effort is now law.”

I applaud @POTUS for signing the COVID-19 Hate Crimes Act into law. Recent increases in anti-Asian hate crimes are alarming. I’m proud the Senate took bipartisan action — and, as the proud husband of a remarkable Asian-American woman, I am especially glad this effort is now law.

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Gaza: Israel security cabinet ‘to vote on unilateral ceasefire’ – reports

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US White House says it believes Israel is in a position to wind down operations

Israel’s security cabinet has met amid reports that the government was considering halting its bombardment of Gaza, as international pressure to end the bloodshed gathered momentum.

The country’s public broadcaster, Kan, reported that the cabinet, headed by the prime minister, Benjamin Netanyahu, would vote on a proposed “unilateral ceasefire” to go into effect within 24 hours. Israeli officials did not immediately confirm the report.

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South Korea’s balancing act will test Biden’s plan to get tough with China

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Analysis: Seoul’s navigation of geopolitical landscape in east Asia hints at limits of united front with US

When the South Korean president goes to Washington DC on Friday, his discussions with Joe Biden about China will test the limits of the US president’s rhetoric to “work with [its] allies to hold China accountable”. It will also exhibit the dilemma faced by middle-sized powers such as South Korea.

The White House spokesperson, Jen Psaki, said last month that Moon Jae-in’s visit “will highlight the ironclad alliance between the United States and [South Korea], and the broad and deep ties between our governments, people and economies”.

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Pelosi condemns Republicans for opposing January 6 commission: ‘They’re afraid of the truth’ – live

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The House voted 252-175 to establish a commission investigating the 6 January attack on the US Capitol. Among those who voted in favor of establishing the commission were 35 Republicans.

John Katko, the Republican ranking member of the House homeland security committee helped write the bill to establish the commission, had urged his fellow Republicans to support the proposal.

Republicans in Congress are rebelling against the mask requirement on the House chamber, which remains in place due to Covid-19 safety concerns from Democrats, who hold the majority.

During votes on Tuesday, several Republican lawmakers refused to wear masks as they stood in the chamber and encouraged other members to join them.

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US calls on Israel to ‘de-escalate’ Gaza violence in push for ceasefire

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Joe Biden takes tougher line in phone call with Benjamin Netanyahu, but Israel and Hamas deny truce is imminent

Joe Biden has told Benjamin Netanyahu that he expects “a significant de-escalation today on the path to a ceasefire” between Israel and militants in Gaza, in a notable toughening of the US president’s language on the conflict.

The White House said that in a phone call on Wednesday, “the two leaders had a detailed discussion on the state of events in Gaza, Israel’s progress in degrading the capabilities of Hamas and other terrorist elements, and ongoing diplomatic efforts by regional governments and the United States.”

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Clashes in Jerusalem and West Bank amid protests and strikes

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Palestinian man killed and more than 70 wounded as hundreds hurl stones at Israeli checkpoint

Serious clashes erupted in Jerusalem and the occupied West Bank on Tuesday as Palestinians took part in a day of protests and strikes over Israel’s bombardment of Gaza.

A Palestinian man was killed and more than 70 wounded, including 16 by live fire, in clashes with Israeli troops on the outskirts of Ramallah, according to the Palestinian Authority health ministry. Two Israeli soldiers were injured.

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EU sidelined and divided as war rages again in Middle East

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Analysis: internal tensions and differences with the US have left the bloc unable to take a clear position on Israel-Palestine

If the US secretary of state, Antony Blinken, wanted to symbolise the Joe Biden administration’s determination not to become embroiled in the Israel-Palestine issue, he could not have timed better his current trip to Copenhagen, Reykjavik and Kangerlussuaq, Greenland. Important discussions on the Arctic and the climate crisis may be on the agenda, but the chilly north is a distance from the tunnels, rocket fire and screams of those suffering in the latest war in the Middle East.

It may well be that in his numerous calls to key regional actors on the plane to Denmark Blinken made more progress in inching Israel, and Hamas, towards a ceasefire the US had been reluctant to demand in public.

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Russia officially dubs US and Czech Republic ‘unfriendly’ states

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Government says US missions can no longer hire local staff following law Putin signed last month

The Russian government has officially deemed the United States and the Czech Republic “unfriendly” states, and announced that US diplomatic missions could no longer employ local staff while Czech missions could employ a maximum of 19.

Moscow first announced the ban on the US hiring local staff last month as part of its retaliation for a slew of new US sanctions against Russia for interfering in the 2020 US presidential election and for involvement in the SolarWind hack of US federal agencies.

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Libya’s first female foreign minister pressed to quit

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Najla El-Mangoush subjected to personal abuse after demanding withdrawal of Turkish troops and mercenaries

Libya’s first female foreign minister has come under pressure to resign and been subjected to personal abuse seven weeks into the job, after she called for Turkish troops and mercenaries to leave her country.

Najla El-Mangoush, a lawyer and human rights activist, was appointed foreign minister by the country’s interim prime minister, Abdelhamid Dbeibah, after he faced a backlash for backtracking on promises that 30% of ministerial posts would go to women.

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US-Germany rift as Berlin opposes plan to ditch Covid vaccine patents

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  • Germany says waiver would inhibit private sector research
  • Opposition to Biden plan threatens to deadlock WTO talks

The US and Germany are at odds on the issue of waivers for patents on Covid-19 vaccines, as Berlin argued that a waiver would not increase production and would inhibit future private sector research.

The disagreement is the first major rift between the two economic powers since Joe Biden took office, and threatens to deadlock discussions at the World Trade Organization (WTO) and sour relations within the G7 group of major industrialised democracies.

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Falling Chinese rocket to crash to Earth on weekend as US calls for ‘responsible space behaviours’

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Communist party newspaper claims Long March 5B should easily burn up in atmosphere but expert warns pieces will reach Earth

The White House has called for “responsible space behaviours” as a Chinese rocket, thought to be out of control, looks set to crash back to Earth on Saturday, US time.

The US Space Command is tracking debris from the Long March 5B, which last week launched the main module of China’s first permanent space station into orbit. The roughly 30-metre (100ft) long stage would be among the biggest space debris to fall to Earth.

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Biden’s world: how key countries have reacted to the US president’s first 100 days

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The new administration has signalled a sharp break in foreign policy from the Trump era – but how is that playing globally?

At the opening of Joe Biden’s online climate summit last week, Europe’s relief was was palpable: “It is so good,” gushed the European commission president, Ursula von der Leyen, “to have the US back on our side.”

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Biden becomes first US president to recognise Armenian genocide

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President called Recep Tayyip Erdoğan on Friday to inform him US would make designation on 106th anniversary of the genocide

Joe Biden has become the first US president declare formal recognition of the Armenian genocide, more than a century after the mass killings by Ottoman troops and opening a rift between the new US administration and Ankara.

Related: Biden vows US will work with Russia on climate

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Compete, confront, cooperate: climate summit test for Biden’s China watchwords

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Analysis: Xi Jinping is likely to push back against US claim to global leadership, but both know their interests overlap on tackling environment

Observers of the US and China this week may ponder whether a joint call to tackle the climate crisis marks a positive change in their fraught relationship, as the two leaders meet for the first time since Joe Biden was sworn into office.

After four years of Donald Trump, the bilateral relationship has reached its lowest ebb since formal ties were established in January 1979. In both capitals, fear of a “new cold war” is on the rise. Many highlight growing competition, and the opposing nature of the two countries’ political systems.

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US ambassador to leave Moscow as tensions rise

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John Sullivan’s departure will leave both countries’ embassies without their top diplomats at key moment

Washington’s ambassador to Moscow has announced that he will return to the US for consultations, days after the Russian government recommended he leave the country during what it said was an “extremely tense situation”.

John Sullivan’s departure will leave both countries’ embassies without their top diplomats at a crucial moment, with Washington and Moscow recently announcing new sanctions, a Russian military buildup near Ukraine, and concerns about the opposition leader Alexei Navalny’s health while in detention.

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The US is pulling out of Afghanistan. But it will never leave those of us who served there

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Historians will judge America’s longest war. Now, the sounds of helicopters over my home take me back to Losano Ridge, Gardez, the men I fought for and those who did not return

I am one of more than 800,000 American military veterans who have served in Afghanistan since 2001. Tens of thousands more served in other capacities, from intelligence and diplomacy to aid and development. It’s fair to ask whether the end of the war affects how one views his or her own small role in the effort. If we didn’t “win”, whatever winning means in a war like this, did we matter? Were the sacrifices in vain?

Related: Damned either way, Biden opts out of Afghanistan as US tires of ‘forever wars’

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US and China commit to cooperating on climate crisis

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World’s biggest polluters release joint commitment to climate action following John Kerry visit to Shanghai

The US and China have “committed to cooperating” on the pressing issue of climate change, the two sides said in a joint statement on Saturday, following a visit to Shanghai by US climate envoy John Kerry.

“The United States and China are committed to cooperating with each other and with other countries to tackle the climate crisis, which must be addressed with the seriousness and urgency that it demands,” said the statement from Kerry and China’s special envoy for climate change, Xie Zhenhua.

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