TheNewsGuru

Tag: BIDEN

  • Biden, Queen Elizabeth to meet in person after G7 Summit

    Biden, Queen Elizabeth to meet in person after G7 Summit

    Queen Elizabeth II will hold her first in-person meeting with a foreign leader in over a year when she hosts US President Joe Biden on June 13 after he attends a G7 summit, Buckingham Palace announced Thursday.

    It said the 95-year-old monarch will meet the president and First Lady Jill Biden at Windsor Castle west of London, where she has largely lived since the coronavirus pandemic first swept Britain in March 2020.

    The Queen, who has received her two doses of Covid-19 vaccination, has been holding the vast majority of meetings virtually, including audiences with foreign ambassadors.

    It will be her first meeting in person with a foreign head of state since the pandemic hit, and her most high-profile official engagement since presiding over the state opening of parliament on May 11.

    That was the Queen’s first public appearance since the funeral of her husband Prince Philip. He died on April 9, aged 99.

    In a statement of condolence then, the Bidens paid tribute to the late Duke of Edinburgh. “His legacy will live on not only through his family, but in all the charitable endeavours he shaped,” they wrote.

    The meeting with the president and first lady will come the day after the Queen’s official birthday, and will follow the three-day summit of Group of Seven leaders in Cornwall, southwest England.

    The G7 gathering starts Biden’s first foreign tour since he took office in January. He will also make stops at a NATO summit in Brussels and in Geneva, for a June 16 summit with Russian President Vladimir Putin.

    With the exception of Lyndon B. Johnson, the Queen has met every US president during her 69-year reign. Donald Trump staged a controversial state visit to Britain in June 2019.

    The official birthday celebration is normally marked by a military parade called “Trooping the Colour”, featuring hundreds of personnel from Britain’s most prestigious regiments.

    But it has been cancelled for a second year, owing to the pandemic.

  • Biden raises refugees admission cap to 62,500 from Trump’s 15,000

    Biden raises refugees admission cap to 62,500 from Trump’s 15,000

    President Joe Biden has raised the cap for refugee admissions into the United States to 62,500, in a U-turn that more than quadruples the limit set by his predecessor.

    The number announced on Monday was still short of the 125,000 Biden promised during his presidential campaign, though he said he intended to set that as the goal for next year.

    Biden had previously set this year’s refugee admissions level at 15,000, maintaining the cap set by former president Donald Trump, but after receiving criticism in April he walked it back.

    “Today, I am revising the United States’ annual refugee admissions cap to 62,500 for this fiscal year.

    “This erases the historically low number set by the previous administration of 15,000, which did not reflect America’s values as a nation that welcomes and supports refugees,” Biden said in a statement on Monday.

    He said that the 62,500 cap was unlikely to be reached this fiscal year, which ends Sept. 30.

    “We are working quickly to undo the damage of the last four years. It will take some time, but that work is already underway,” he added.

    The Trump administration’s 15,000 cap was the lowest since the introduction of the U.S. refugee programme in 1980.

    The previous limit for the last fiscal year was 18,000.

    In 2016, then-president Barack Obama’s last full year in office, about 85,000 refugees were allowed into the U.S.

    Trump lowered the limit in 2017, his first in office, and about 53,000 refugees were let in, according to a report issued last year by the Department of Homeland Security.

  • JUST IN: U.S. announces sanctions against Moscow, expels 10 Russian diplomats

    JUST IN: U.S. announces sanctions against Moscow, expels 10 Russian diplomats

    The United States announced economic sanctions against Russia on Thursday and the expulsion of 10 diplomats in retaliation for what Washington says is the Kremlin’s US election interference, a massive cyberattack, and other hostile activity.

    President Joe Biden’s executive order “sends a signal that the United States will impose costs in a strategic and economically impactful manner on Russia if it continues or escalates its destabilizing international action,” the White House said.

    More to follow . . .

  • Biden, Macron, Merkel, honour Prince Philip on his death

    Biden, Macron, Merkel, honour Prince Philip on his death

    World leaders including U.S. President Joe Biden, President Emmanuel Macron of France, and Chancellor Angela Merkel of Germany, have expressed their condolences at the death of Prince Philip.

    “On behalf of all the people of the United States, we send our deepest condolences to Her Majesty Queen Elizabeth II, the entire Royal Family, and all the people of the United Kingdom on the death of His Royal Highness Prince Philip, the Duke of Edinburgh,” the Bidens said in a statement.

    “Over the course of his 99-year life, he saw our world change dramatically and repeatedly,” the statement said.

    “Prince Philip gladly dedicated himself to the people of the UK, the Commonwealth, and to his family,” the Bidens said, adding that he would be remembered especially for “the impact of his decades of devoted public service.”

    House speaker Nancy Pelosi also expressed condolences on behalf of the U.S. Congress in a tweet, while former president Bill Clinton and ex-secretary of state Hillary Clinton said: “We enjoyed every opportunity we had to visit with him through the years, and will always be deeply grateful for the kindness he showed us.”

    French President Emmanuel Macron also joined in paying tribute to Prince Philip for the “exemplary life” he lived.

    His life was “defined by bravery, a sense of duty and commitment to the youth and the environment,” Macron wrote in English on Twitter on Friday.

    He expressed his sincere condolences to Queen Elizabeth II, the British royal family, and the British people.

    It was the same for German Chancellor Angela Merkel, who tweeted, “The death of Prince Philip fills me with great sadness.

    “His friendship towards Germany, his straightforwardness, and his sense of duty will remain unforgotten.”

  • U.S. President Biden invites Buhari, Putin , Xi Jinping, 37 other world leaders to climate summit

    U.S. President Biden invites Buhari, Putin , Xi Jinping, 37 other world leaders to climate summit

    United States President Joe Biden is inviting President Muhammadu Buhari and 39 other world leaders to his first climate talks scheduled for next month.

    The virtual meeting is also attracting President Vladimir Putin of Russia , Xi Jinping of China and President Matamela Cyril Ramaphosa, South Africa.

    The president is seeking to revive a U.S.-convened forum of the world’s major economies on climate that George W. Bush and Barack Obama both used and Donald Trump let languish.

    On the list of the invited leaders released by the White House yesterday are the followings: Prime Minister Gaston Browne, Antigua and Barbuda, President Alberto Fernandez, Argentina, Prime Minister Scott Morrison, Australia, Prime Minister Sheikh Hasina, Bangladesh, Prime Minister Lotay Tshering, Bhutan, President Jair Bolsonaro, Brazil, Prime Minister Justin Trudeau, Canada, President Sebastián Piñera, Chile, President Xi Jinping, People’s Republic of China, President Iván Duque Márquez, Colombia.
  • Biden confirms interest in 2024 U.S. Presidential race when he would have clocked 82

    Biden confirms interest in 2024 U.S. Presidential race when he would have clocked 82

    President Joe Biden on Thursday said he expects to run for reelection in 2024 with Vice President Kamala Harris on the ticket.

    “The answer is yes, my plan is to run for reelection,” Biden said at his first presidential news conference. “That’s my expectation.”

    When asked about the potential for another Biden-Harris ticket, Biden praised Harris for the work she’s done so far.

    “I would fully expect that to be the case,” he said. “She’s doing a great job. She’s a great partner.”

    On Wednesday, Biden tapped Harris to lead the administration’s efforts on immigration issues, amid a surge at the southern border. It’s one of the most politically risky situations facing the White House, and a role similar to what then-President Barack Obama tasked Biden to do as vice president.

    As for a potential Trump 2024 challenge, Biden said he had “no idea” what the field would look like.

    “I have no idea if there will be a Republican Party,” he told a reporter. “Do you?”

    TheNewsGuru.com, TNG reports that former President Donald Trump has teased a potential run in recent weeks, although he has also said his focus is on taking back control of Congress in the upcoming midterm elections.

    “Who knows? I may even decide to beat them for a third time,” Trump said at last month’s Conservative Political Action Conference in Orlando, Fla., a reference to false claims that the 2020 election was stolen from him.

    Questions about a potential second Biden term have swirled around the president, who conservatives have targeted over concerns about his age, stamina and mental acuity.

    At 78, Biden is the oldest person to hold the country’s highest office. In 2024, he will turn 82.

    Early in his presidential campaign, Biden signaled to aides that he was considering serving only a single term or even making a one-term pledge.

    But the president has since insisted that he would not commit to just four years in office, saying “I don’t have any plans on one term.”

    In January, aides said that Biden was invigorated by his victory, having finally reached the Oval Office after first mulling a presidential run in 1980.

    Biden, however, also hedged against the possibility of a 2024 run on Thursday, saying that he was “a great respecter of fate.”

    “I’ve never been able to plan four and a half, three and a half years ahead for certain,” he said.

  • Putin reacts angrily to Biden’s ‘killer’ comments

    Putin reacts angrily to Biden’s ‘killer’ comments

    The Kremlin has reacted angrily to US President Joe Biden’s remarks that Russian leader Vladimir Putin is “a killer,” calling the comment unprecedented and describing the relationship between the two countries as “very bad.”

    In an interview with ABC that aired Wednesday, Biden said Putin “will pay a price” for his efforts to undermine the 2020 US election following a landmark American intelligence assessment that found the Russian government meddled in the 2020 election with the aim of “denigrating” Biden’s candidacy.
    When interviewer George Stephanopoulos asked Biden if he thought Putin was “a killer,” the President said, “Mhmm. I do.”
    Responding to the comments, Kremlin spokesman Dmitry Peskov told reporters on Thursday that “there hasn’t been anything like this in history.”
    He said it was clear that Biden “definitely does not want to improve relations” with Russia and that the relationship between the two countries is “very bad.” When asked how it can affect relations, Peskov said “it is absolutely clear how,” but refused to elaborate.
    “These are very bad statements by the President of the United States. He definitely does not want to improve relations with us, and we will continue to proceed from this,” Peskov said.
    Russia pulled its US ambassador on Wednesday in response to the comments. Peskov added he couldn’t say if Putin himself will react to the remark and he insisted the ambassador, Anatoly Antonov, has been “invited” back to Moscow to discuss Russia-US relations.
    Peskov said there are currently no plans for Putin to meet with Antonov, but if necessary Putin will have a discussion with him.
    In the interview, Biden also claimed he told Putin in 2011 he didn’t think Putin had a soul. Putin’s response, Biden recalls, was to say, “We understand one another.”
    “Look, most important thing dealing with foreign leaders, and I’ve dealt with a lot of them over my career, is just know the other guy,” Biden told ABC.
    The US intelligence community said in its Tuesday report that the Russian government meddled in the 2020 election with an influence campaign “denigrating” President Joe Biden and “supporting” former President Donald Trump, detailing a massive disinformation push that successfully targeted, and was openly embraced, by Trump’s allies.
    The report is the most comprehensive assessment of foreign threats to the 2020 elections to date, detailing extensive influence operations by US adversaries that sought to undermine confidence in the democratic process, in addition to targeting specific presidential candidates.
    The President wouldn’t provide more details to ABC on what “price” Putin will pay, but the Biden administration is expected to announce sanctions related to election interference as soon as next week, three US State Department officials have told CNN. The officials did not disclose any details related to the expected sanctions but said they will target multiple countries including Russia, China and Iran.
    Culled from CNN
  • I think Putin is a killer – Biden

    I think Putin is a killer – Biden

    U.S. President Joe Biden has agreed that Russian President Vladimir Putin is a “killer,” adding that he will “pay” for interfering in the 2020 presidential election in an ABC News interview that aired Wednesday.

    His pre-taped remarks aired after the U.S. intelligence community’s first assessment of foreign interference in the campaign. The report said Putin likely authorized influence operations aimed at promoting then-President Donald Trump and discrediting Biden’s candidacy.

    “He will pay a price,” Biden said in response to the findings.

    Biden said he had warned Putin of potential consequences to election meddling when the two spoke following his inauguration in January.

    “We had a long talk, he and I, when we — I know him relatively well. And the conversation started off, I said, ‘I know you and you know me. If I establish this [interference] occurred, then be prepared.”

    Asked by host George Stephanopoulos whether he thinks the Russian president is a “killer,” Biden replied: “I do.”

    “The price he’s going to pay, you’ll see shortly,” he added without giving further detail.

    He noted that there are still areas in which Moscow and Washington can find common ground despite the two powers’ chilled relations.

    “There are places where it’s in our mutual interest to work together,” he said. “That’s why I renewed the [New] START agreement. That occurred while he’s doing this.”

    Biden also described his March 2011 meeting with Putin, who was then Russia’s prime minister, saying: “President Bush had said I looked in his eyes and saw his soul. I said look in your eyes, and I don’t think you have a soul. He looked back and he said, ‘We understand each other’.”

    The U.S. intelligence report’s findings are likely to be followed by the Biden administration’s announcement of new sanctions as soon as next week, CNN and Reuters reported, citing unnamed officials.

    Biden did not elaborate on the possible Russian sanctions during the ABC News interview.

    Biden’s comments drew immediate condemnation from the speaker of Russia’s lower house of parliament Vyacheslav Volodin, who called them an “attack on Russia” and “hysteria due to weakness.”

  • New York governor should resign if sexual misconduct allegation confirmed – Biden

    New York governor should resign if sexual misconduct allegation confirmed – Biden

    U.S. President Joe Biden told ABC News that New York Governor Andrew Cuomo should resign if allegations that he sexually harassed and assaulted women were confirmed by an ongoing investigation. 

    When asked if he thought Cuomo should resign if the investigation confirms sexual misconduct, Biden briefly said “yes.”

    “I think he’ll probably end up being prosecuted, too,” the president added.

    At the same time, Biden noted that there should be an investigation to determine whether the allegations put by several women were true.

    At least seven women have accused Cuomo, 63, of harassment, with one claiming that he forcibly tried to kiss her, and another saying that he effectively propositioned another for sex.

    The most explosive allegation is that he put his hand uninvitingly under the shirt of a female colleague and groped her. 

    Cuomo vowed last week not to bow to political pressure and step down over allegations that he sexually harassed and assaulted women who worked under him, saying he was confident a state investigation would clear him.

    New York Attorney General Letitia James has opened an independent investigation into the allegations.

    Dozens of U.S. politicians have called on Cuomo to step down over the sex scandal.
  • COVID-19: Biden signs $1.9tn relief bill into law

    COVID-19: Biden signs $1.9tn relief bill into law

    US President Joe Biden has signed a $1.9tn economic relief bill that aims to help Americans impacted by the Covid-19 pandemic into law.

    The bill includes $1,400 payments, an extension of jobless benefits, and a child tax credit that is expect to lift millions out of poverty.

    Mr Biden said the relief package will rebuild “the backbone of this country”.

    The spending bill, one of the largest in US history, passed Congress without a single Republican supporter.

    Mr Biden is due to give a primetime address later on Thursday to tout the bill’s provisions. He and other Democrats will also hold a signing ceremony at the White House on Friday.

    This sixth Covid-19 relief bill is a major legislative win for Mr Biden.

    The package has been broadly popular among Americans.

    A March Pew Research Center poll found that 70% of US adults surveyed expressed support for the bill, including 41% of Republicans.

    Unemployment skyrocketed over the last year, with a current rate of 6.2%, according to the US Labor Department.

    Mr Biden had originally planned the bill signing for Friday, but it was pushed up in his schedule “because Congress enroled the bill more quickly than we anticipated,” White House spokesperson Jen Psaki said in a tweet.

    Joe Biden was originally expected to sign the ambitiously named “American Recovery Plan Act” at the White House on Friday. Instead the final step in enacting the president’s first significant piece of legislation was moved up to Thursday afternoon.

    An official ceremony is still planned for Friday, but the scheduling change reveals an administration anxious to get busy selling the American people on the benefits of this massive and multifaceted piece of government spending.

    This – and Biden’s address to the nation Thursday night – are the opening gun of a two-week public-relations blitz, including presidential travel, to highlight the legislation. It shouldn’t be too hard a sell, as opinion polls indicate widespread support for the law even among Republican voters.

    What Biden and the Democrats don’t want is a repeat of the 2009 Great Recession relief bill passed under President Barack Obama. Many in the party believe that Democrats did not claim enough credit for the law’s benefits – and that voters had forgotten about their efforts when they cast their ballots in the 2010 congressional mid-term elections (and roundly voted Democrats out of office).

    Biden, as vice-president, had a front-row seat for that debacle. His actions as president suggest he hasn’t forgotten it.