October 6, 2023
US President Joe Biden on Thursday defends plans to extend the border wall with Mexico, saying he didn't think such barriers worked but that he was bound by laws introduced under Donald Trump.
Democrat Biden pledged during his White House race with Trump in 2020 that he would abandon the Republican's signature policy and would not build any more of the wall. — AFP
October 5, 2023
President Joe Biden admits he was concerned that US political turmoil could disrupt wartime aid for Ukraine, but says he would soon give a major speech to convince doubters on backing Kyiv.
"It does worry me," Biden says when asked whether the ousting of Republican House speaker Kevin McCarthy by hardliners in his own party could derail more funds for Ukraine's war effort.
"But I know there are a majority of members of the House and Senate of both parties who have said that they support funding Ukraine," he tells reporters at the White House. — AFP
September 23, 2023
Mexican President Andres Manuel Lopez Obrador has requested a bilateral meeting with his US counterpart to discuss the migration crisis that has "overwhelmed" his country, his foreign minister says.
The meeting would occur in Washington when Lopez Obrador attends a summit of Latin American leaders, to be convened by US President Joe Biden on November 3.
Lopez Obrador wants to discuss "legal paths" to address the humanitarian situation facing hundreds of thousands of people who have recently attempted to make their way to the United States and to study the ways in which they can request asylum, as well as work visas for the agricultural sector. — AFP
September 23, 2023
The US auto workers union expands a strike against two of Detroit's "Big Three", while President Joe Biden announces plans to join the picket line in solidarity with employees.
Some 5,600 members of the United Auto Workers union walked out of 38 US parts and distribution centers at General Motors and Stellantis at noon Friday, adding to last week's dramatic worker walkout.
The UAW has described its campaign as an effort to level the economic playing field for the working class, but Friday's events also underscored the lofty political stakes, with Biden's visit coming just a day before a planned trip by Republican rival Donald Trump. — AFP
September 16, 2023
US President Joe Biden leads international calls of solidarity with Iranians one year after Mahsa Amini's death sparked mass protests, with Western powers unveiling a series of new sanctions.
The anniversary of Amini's death in the custody of the clerical state's morality police comes as some activists criticize what they see as a return to business as usual with Tehran, which was already under a slew of sanctions.
Biden says in a statement that "today -- as we remember Mahsa's tragic death -- we reaffirm our commitment to the courageous people of Iran who are carrying on her mission." — AFP
September 12, 2023
US President Joe Biden is counting his wins from a grueling trip to Asia, but at home he faces a string of political showdowns to keep his reelection bid on sure footing.
The 80-year-old had 2024 in his sights when he said on his return from India and Vietnam on Monday that his travels had "strengthened America's leadership on the global stage."
With his Democratic Party reportedly alarmed by his poll ratings, Biden used his time at the G20 in Delhi and in Hanoi to talk up his credentials as US commander-in-chief and international statesman. — AFP
September 8, 2023
President Joe Biden arrives in Vietnam on a mission to bolster US influence, but the heavy emphasis on countering rival China will likely confine human rights concerns to the margins.
Biden will become the latest in an unbroken line of US presidents since Bill Clinton in 2000 to visit the Southeast Asian former foe.
The underlying goal will be much the same as during Biden's time at the G20 summit in New Delhi this week -- to shore up support against China's growing influence. — AFP
September 6, 2023
US President Joe Biden heads to India for the G20 summit this weekend aiming to capitalize on the glaring absence of China's and Russia's leaders to bolster alliances in the sharply divided bloc.
Deep disagreements on Russia's war in Ukraine, the phasing out of fossil fuels and debt restructuring will dominate talks and likely hamper agreements at the two-day meeting in New Delhi.
Biden will discuss "a range of joint efforts to tackle global issues" including climate change and "mitigating the economic and social impacts of Russia's war in Ukraine", National Security Advisor Jake Sullivan says ahead of the summit. — AFP
August 19, 2023
US President Joe Biden says he expects to meet Chinese leader Xi Jinping later this year, despite taking a series of shots at the rival power.
Biden held his first meeting as president with Xi in November 2022 in Bali where they agreed to work to manage high tensions between the world's two largest economies.
Biden, answering a shouted question after meeting the leaders of Japan and South Korea, said, "I expect and hope to follow up on our conversation in Bali this fall, that's my expectation." — AFP
August 18, 2023
US President Joe Biden on Friday will announce new security cooperation at a first-of-a-kind three-way summit with the leaders of Japan and South Korea, hoping to send a message of strength to China which has already made clear its displeasure.
The summit at the Camp David presidential retreat in the mountains west of Washington would have been unimaginable until recently, with the two treaty-bound US allies at loggerheads for decades over the legacy of Japan's harsh 1910-1945 occupation of the Korean peninsula.
But South Korean President Yoon Suk Yeol, taking political risks at home, has turned the page by resolving a dispute over wartime forced labor, instead calling Japan a partner at a time of high tensions with both China and North Korea. — AFP
August 9, 2023
US President Joe Biden says he would travel to Vietnam "shortly" as part of an effort to improve ties with Hanoi, amid Washington's tensions with China.
"I'm going to be going to Vietnam shortly because Vietnam wants to change our relationship and become a partner," the US president says during remarks in New Mexico. — AFP
July 22, 2023
President Joe Biden announces that he has invited CIA Director William Burns to sit on the cabinet, a mostly symbolic elevation that recognized the US spymaster's broader role in the administration.
Biden praised Burns for providing him "clear, straightforward analysis that prioritizes the safety and security of the American people."
"Under his leadership, the CIA is delivering a clear-eyed, long-term approach to our nation's top national security challenges -- from tackling Russia's brutal aggression against Ukraine, to managing responsible competition with the People's Republic of China, to addressing the opportunities and risks of emerging technology," Biden says. — AFP
July 18, 2023
President Joe Biden agrees to meet with Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu later this year in the United States but declined, amid months of tension, to specify if this would be at the White House.
The offer of a meeting, made on the eve of a White House visit Tuesday by Israeli President Isaac Herzog, marks somewhat of an easing of tensions between Biden and a leader he recently described as heading "one of the most extremist" coalitions in half a century.
It will be the first such meeting since Netanyahu returned to office late last year, sparking Washington's ire with controversial judicial reforms and aggressive settlement expansions in occupied Palestinian territory. — AFP
July 1, 2023
President Joe Biden says that millions of Americans are "angry" after the Supreme Court brought down his student loan forgiveness program but he announced new measures to ease the financial burden.
"I know there are millions of Americans in this country who feel disappointed and discouraged or even a little bit angry," Biden says. "I must admit I do too."
Biden announces measures to "provide student debt relief to as many borrowers as possible, as quickly as possible." — AFP
June 24, 2023
Laser-focused on countering China, US President Joe Biden embraces Indian Prime Minister Narendra Modi as he has few other world leaders, casting aside any concerns about the Hindu nationalist's authoritarian streak.
Biden offered Modi the full pomp of a state visit with two dinners -- one intimate and one gala -- a meeting with top CEOs, and a long list of concrete takeaways including agreements on US engines for India's new home-grown fighter-jets and a major semiconductor factory.
Biden is "trying to tell the world that America is back. We've got partners and allies and we've got India on our side of the ledger," says Aparna Pande, a South Asia expert at the Hudson Institute. — AFP
June 7, 2023
Prime Minister Rishi Sunak flew in to Washington late Tuesday lobbying for Britain to take a lead role in regulating artificial intelligence, after a dire warning of the technology's existential dangers.
Sunak will meet President Joe Biden on Thursday for a White House summit, pledging unstinting support for Ukraine after Russia was accused of blowing up a major dam to thwart an apparent counter-offensive.
Any intentional attack on the Kakhovka dam would represent "the largest attack on civilian infrastructure in Ukraine since the start of the war, and just would demonstrate the new lows that we would have seen from Russian aggression," Sunak told reporters aboard his plane from London. — AFP
June 7, 2023
US Secretary of State Antony Blinken raises human rights in meeting with Saudi crown prince — AFP
June 5, 2023
A sonic boom that echoed over Washington Sunday was caused by two fighter jets scrambling to intercept an unresponsive aircraft that later crashed in rural Virginia, officials told AFP.
Residents of the city and its suburbs reported hearing the thundering noise, which rattled windows and shook walls for miles and caused social media to light up with people asking what had happened.
The two jets were scrambled from Joint Base Andrews, a Pentagon official told AFP, as they followed what the Federal Aviation Administration said was a Cessna Citation light aircraft that subsequently crashed in a mountainous area of southwest Virginia, which borders Washington.
The plane had taken off from Elizabethton, Tennessee and was bound for Long Island, New York, the FAA said.
However, flight tracking websites showed that it had turned around after reaching its destination and headed back south over or near Washington and into Virginia. — AFP
May 30, 2023
US President Joe Biden on Monday slammed Uganda's draconian new law against homosexuality as a grave human rights violation, and threatened to cut aid and investment in the east African country.
He called for the immediate repeal of the tough new measures, which state among other things that "engaging in acts of homosexuality" in Uganda would be an offense punishable with life imprisonment.
"The enactment of Uganda's Anti-Homosexuality Act is a tragic violation of universal human rights," Biden said in a statement, joining a chorus of condemnation after President Yoweri Museveni signed the measures into law.
"No one should have to live in constant fear for their life or being subjected to violence and discrimination," Biden said. "It is wrong." — AFP
May 29, 2023
US President Joe Biden and Republican leader Kevin McCarthy said they were confident Sunday of pushing a debt crisis deal through Congress and avoiding a cataclysmic default, despite skepticism from some lawmakers on both sides of the aisle.
The tentative agreement reached Saturday after weeks of intense talks offers a path back from the precipice, but getting it through both houses of Congress before the government starts running out of money will be a tough task.
Biden said he would speak to McCarthy at 3:00 pm (1900 GMT) "to make sure all the Ts are crossed and the Is are dotted."
Asked if there were any sticking points, the president replied: "None."
"I think we’re in good shape," he told reporters. — AFP
May 27, 2023
President Joe Biden says he is "hopeful" for a resolution within hours to the US debt ceiling standoff between Democrats and Republicans, raising hopes of an imminent end to the threat of default by the world's biggest economy.
"It's very close and I'm optimistic," Biden tells reporters at the White House. "I'm hopeful we'll know by tonight whether we're going to be able to have a deal."
The Democratic president said he hoped for a resolution to the standoff "before the clock strikes twelve." — AFP
May 21, 2023
US President Joe Biden on Sunday invited the leaders of Japan and South Korea to formal three-way talks in Washington, a senior US administration official said.
The leaders met briefly on the sidelines of the G7 summit, to which host Japan invited South Korea as long-frosty ties between the neighbours thaw.
Tokyo and Seoul, both key US allies, have long been at odds over issues related to Japan's brutal 1910-1945 colonial rule of Korea, including sexual slavery and forced labour. — AFP
May 20, 2023
Talks to avoid a US debt default are on a knife edge Saturday as President Joe Biden warns he would not accept "extreme" Republican demands but says he remained optimistic.
"I still believe we'll be able to avoid a default and we'll get something decent done," he tells reporters at the G7 summit in Hiroshima, Japan.
With the Treasury Department warning that the US government could run out of money as early as June 1 -- triggering massive economic disruption in the world's biggest economy and likely around the globe -- the political battle in Washington has see-sawed without any clear sign of resolution. — AFP
May 20, 2023
US President Joe Biden "looks forward" to meeting Ukrainian leader Volodymyr Zelensky in Hiroshima, the White House says Saturday, confirming the pair would meet on the sidelines of a G7 summit.
"It's a safe bet that President Biden will meet him," National Security Advisor Jake Sullivan says, without offering details on when the talks would happen.
"The president looks forward to the opportunity to be able to sit down face-to-face." — AFP
May 15, 2023
President Joe Biden said Sunday he remains "optimistic" about finding an agreement with his Republican opponents to raise the US debt limit and avoid a default, which his administration warned would cause "catastrophic" consequences.
Congressional Republicans are demanding budget cuts in exchange for lifting the US borrowing limit, while the White House has insisted for months that the nation's credit should not be up for negotiation.
Alarm bells are meanwhile ringing over the possibility of a first-ever US default, with uncertainty over the actual date the government would stop being able to pay its bills.
The two sides have remained at an impasse despite weeks of warnings from government officials and bankers that a default could unleash drastic consequences, including a possible recession and likely global financial contagion.
Nonetheless, Biden said Sunday he thinks he will eventually be able to reach a deal. — AFP
May 13, 2023
US President Joe Biden nominates Philip Jefferson to the number two job at the Federal Reserve, a position left vacant since Lael Brainard left for the White House in February.
If confirmed, he would take over as vice chair at a crucial time for the Fed, which has raised interest rates 10 times since last year as it looks to tackle above-target inflation.
Biden also tapped current World Bank executive director Adriana Kugler to serve as a Federal Reserve governor, and renominated Lisa Cook to serve a full 14-year term as a governor at the bank, the White House said in a statement. — AFP
May 10, 2023
President Joe Biden predicts that the US immigration situation will be "chaotic for a while" when Covid-era restrictions expire later this week.
Asked if the United States was ready for a surge in people crossing the Mexican border after the rules, known as Title 42, expire Thursday night, Biden tells reporters: "It remains to be seen. It's going to be chaotic for a while." — AFP
April 29, 2023
US President Joe Biden will meet 18 leaders from the South Pacific when he visits Papua New Guinea in May, a top regional diplomat says Saturday, as the US and China vie for influence in the region.
After the end of World War II, the South Pacific was seen as a relative diplomatic backwater, but it is increasingly the arena for powers to compete for commercial, political and military influence.
Papua New Guinea Foreign Minister Justin Tkatchenko said Biden would attend bilateral talks with his hosts and is "also having a meeting with the 18 Pacific Island leaders" from the Pacific Island Forum -- a regional bloc of mostly small states that are scattered across the vast swathe of ocean. — AFP
April 10, 2023
Northern Ireland on Monday marks the 25th anniversary of its landmark 1998 peace accords, with the UK province mired in political dysfunction and security concerns which threaten to overshadow the historic milestone.
No large-scale public events are planned for the day itself, but British Prime Minister Rishi Sunak and US President Joe Biden will arrive Tuesday to launch several days of high-profile commemorations.
The territory has been significantly reshaped since pro-UK unionist and pro-Irish nationalist leaders struck an unlikely peace deal on April 10, 1998 -- Easter Good Friday -- following marathon negotiations.
Brokered by Washington and ratified by governments in London and Dublin, the Good Friday Agreement largely ended three decades of devastating sectarian conflict in Northern Ireland and intermittent terrorist attacks on mainland Britain. — AFP
March 30, 2023
US President Joe Biden hails an "enormous opportunity" to increase economic integration with Argentina as he hosted the South American country's President Alberto Fernandez at the White House.
"This meeting is a chance to reaffirm that nothing is beyond our reach if we work together," Biden says seated next to his counterpart in the Oval Office.
The two countries are embarking "on the next century of our partnership" after 200 years of diplomatic relations, he adds, citing an "enormous opportunity to increase our economic integration."
Biden recalled that he should have received Fernandez last summer, but had to cancel after contracting Covid.
The Argentine leader thanked his host for US support in the relationship between Buenos Aires and international economic organizations. The International Monetary Fund recently announced a new deal with Argentina that paved the way for the disbursement of some $5.3 billion.
Fernandez also stressed his country's willingness to cooperate with the United States in the fight against climate change, saying that Argentina was facing the worst drought in its history. — AFP
March 27, 2023
The United States on Tuesday opens its second Summit for Democracy with its eyes firmly on the rest of the world, seeking a united front against authoritarianism as Russia attacks Ukraine and as China launches a diplomatic offensive.
President Joe Biden took office pledging to champion democracy, and in his first year made good with the inaugural summit, which sought to reaffirm US leadership after his predecessor Donald Trump eroded democratic norms and the attack on the Capitol.
This time round, in a nod to concerns that the first edition was too much about US navel-gazing, Biden has tapped co-hosts on each continent -- the presidents of Zambia, Costa Rica and South Korea and prime minister of The Netherlands.
In total he has invited 121 leaders for the three-day, mostly virtual summit — eight more than in 2021.
The summit comes as threats to democracy evolve "from what was seen as an important issue, albeit sort of a slow-moving threat, to one that is now both important and extremely urgent," said Marti Flacks, director of the human rights initiative at the Center for Strategic and International Studies. — AFP
March 26, 2023
US President Joe Biden ordered federal aid to the state of Mississippi to support local recovery efforts in areas affected by devastating tornadoes, the White House says.
The federal funding includes grants for temporary housing, home repairs and low-cost loans to cover uninsured property losses. — AFP
March 21, 2023
US President Joe Biden signs into law a bill requiring the release of intelligence materials on potential links between the outbreak of the COVID-19 pandemic and a laboratory in the Chinese city of Wuhan.
"We need to get to the bottom of Covid-19's origins..., including potential links to the Wuhan Institute of Virology," Biden says in a statement.
"In implementing this legislation, my administration will declassify and share as much of that information as possible," he adds. — AFP
March 7, 2023
President Joe Biden seeks again to woo working white Americans, fine-tuning his words as he wages an all but official campaign for re-election and hoping to win over a demographic that snubbed him in 2020.
"No billionaire should be paying a lower tax rate than a firefighter," Biden says in a speech to firefighters.
Since the start of his term in the White House, Biden, now 80, has told the same stories about growing up in a blue collar, middle class family in the factory town of Scranton, Pennsylvania. — AFP
February 28, 2023
The US government has announced plans to clamp down on an "alarming" surge in child labor in the country, where the number of illegally employed minors has jumped by two-thirds since 2018.
The uptick in illegal child labor in the United States coincides with a massive influx of unaccompanied children fleeing poverty and violence in Latin America -- with 130,000 referred to US government shelters in the last fiscal year alone.
"This is not a 19th century problem -- this is a today problem," Labor Secretary Marty Walsh says in a statement, calling for a vast mobilization of resources to tackle the problem.
"We need Congress to come to the table, we need states to come to the table." — AFP
February 26, 2023
Secretary of State Antony Blinken is heading to Central Asia hoping that greater US engagement will reassure former Soviet republics rattled by the Ukraine war, although Russia's historic clout limits the extent of cooperation.
Days after the anniversary of the Ukraine invasion, the top US diplomat will hold talks Tuesday in Kazakhstan and then Uzbekistan and meet jointly with foreign ministers of all five ex-Soviet Central Asian states in Kazakhstan's capital Astana.
Donald Lu, the top US diplomat for South and Central Asia, said the United States was realistic that the five nations were not going to end their relationships with Russia or their other giant neighbor, China, which has been boosting its own presence.
But he said Blinken would show that the United States is a "reliable partner" and different from Moscow and Beijing. -- AFP
February 25, 2023
US President Joe Biden says that he does not "anticipate a major initiative" from China to provide weapons to Russia in its war against Ukraine.
His comments come days after Secretary of State Antony Blinken told CBS that China was "considering providing lethal support" to Moscow ranging "from ammunition to the weapons themselves" -- which Beijing denied.
In a wide-ranging television interview with ABC News -- covering his bid for re-election and the war in Ukraine -- that aired Friday evening, Biden appeared to backtrack on Blinken's comments. — AFP
February 25, 2023
President Joe Biden indicates that he will indeed be announcing a 2024 bid for a second term -- only not right away.
Speculation has been mounting over Biden's plans. At 80, he is the oldest person ever in the US presidency and while he has repeatedly said he intends to run again, he has yet to commit.
In an interview with ABC News' David Muir, he says "my intention is..., has been from the beginning, to run." — AFP
February 23, 2023
US President Joe Biden has offered fresh criticism of Russia's suspension of a key nuclear treaty, but stressed there was no indication Moscow was moving closer to actually using an atomic weapon.
"It's a big mistake to do that, not very responsible," Biden tells ABC News in an interview in Poland, expanding on brief comments he made before meeting NATO chief Jens Stoltenberg and eastern European leaders in Warsaw.
"But I don't read into that that he's thinking of using nuclear weapons or anything like that," the US president adds. — AFP
February 17, 2023
US officials have reassured an increasingly nervous public of the government's commitment following a train derailment that resulted in the release of toxic chemicals in the soil, air and water in Ohio.
No traces of vinyl chloride, a colorless carcinogenic gas, nor hydrogen chloride were detected after examining more than 480 homes in the area of the crash, says Michael Regan, administrator of the US Environmental Protection Agency.
"I want this community to know that they don't have to manage this issue on their own. We will be here to help," Regan says while visiting the town of East Palestine, where the accident occurred.
Water from wells, streams and the city taps has been tested for multiple factors "to ensure that we're protecting these communities," he adds. — AFP
February 16, 2023
Joe Biden will complete a routine medical checkup on Thursday, a crucial step for the oldest-ever US president ahead of his expected fight for reelection in 2024.
The White House has promised to release the report by the 80-year-old president's doctor, as it also did during his previous checkup in 2021.
This time around, with the Republican 2024 campaign already kicking off, it will be scrutinized even more closely.
Despite poor poll ratings, Biden -- a Democrat -- has been suggesting for some time that he intends to run again, potentially lining up a rematch of his 2020 battle with his predecessor Donald Trump, who has already declared his candidacy. — AFP
February 9, 2023
President Joe Biden says the United States is not looking for conflict with China despite heightened tensions over last week's downing of a Chinese balloon that US officials say was part of a spy fleet spanning five continents.
"We're going to compete fully with China, but... we're not looking for conflict -- and that's been the case so far," he says in a televised interview with PBS.
Pointing to global ramifications of the balloon incident that has animated the United States, Secretary of State Antony Blinken said earlier that the United States was giving data to allies as it assesses recovered debris.
"We already shared information with dozens of countries around the world, both from Washington and through our embassies," Blinken says.
"We're doing so because the United States was not the only target of this broader program, which has violated the sovereignty of countries across five continents," he tells a joint news conference with NATO chief Jens Stoltenberg. — AFP
February 8, 2023
President Joe Biden touted America's "unbroken" democracy and resurgent economy in an optimistic State of the Union speech Tuesday -- as he sought to persuade skeptical voters that at 80 he still has what it takes to takes to run for reelection.
Biden's address before Congress and tens of millions of television viewers was a chance for the Democrat, who is expected soon to announce a bid for a second term, to pitch his centrist, populist vision of a country healing after Covid and the turmoil of Donald Trump's presidency.
In a raucous prime-time speech that occasionally more resembled the British parliament's Question Time than the staid annual US tradition, Biden eagerly took on jeering Republicans who newly control the House of Representatives.
Referring to the attempt to overturn the 2020 presidential election by Trump -- who is again seeking the White House -- Biden said that the United States had survived "its greatest threat since the Civil War."
"Today, though bruised, our democracy remains unbowed and unbroken," Biden said.
Biden touted unemployment figures which have hit a half-century low and stabilizing inflation as he told Americans that his economic plan aims to rebuild the country's manufacturing base.
"We're better positioned than any country on Earth right now," he said. -- AFP
February 8, 2023
President Joe Biden has touted America's "unbroken" democracy and resurgent economy in an optimistic State of the Union speech Tuesday -- as he sought to persuade skeptical voters that at 80 he still has what it takes to takes to run for reelection.
Biden's address before Congress and tens of millions of television viewers was a chance for the Democrat, who is expected soon to announce a bid for a second term, to pitch his centrist, populist vision of a country healing after Covid and the turmoil of Donald Trump's presidency.
Referring to Trump's attempt to overturn the 2020 presidential election, Biden says that the United States had survived "its greatest threat since the Civil War."
"Today, though bruised, our democracy remains unbowed and unbroken," Biden says. — AFP
February 3, 2023
President Joe Biden says he hopes the death of Tyre Nichols after a police beating will spur Congress to enact police reforms, urging Black lawmakers to "keep at it."
The Oval Office meeting between Biden and members of the Congressional Black Caucus took place a day after the funeral of Nichols, a Black man who died in Memphis on January 10, three days after being brutally beaten by police during a traffic stop.
"My hope is, this dark memory spurs some action that we've all been fighting for," Biden says. — AFP
February 1, 2023
President Joe Biden and the new Republican speaker of the House of Representatives, Kevin McCarthy, face off Wednesday at the White House to discuss the US debt standoff -- but so far apart they can't even agree on how to describe their get-together.
At stake is the stability of the US economy.
Republicans are threatening to block the usually rubber stamp approval for raising the nation's credit limit if Democrats don't first agree to steep future budget cuts. The White House, meanwhile, accuses the Republicans of taking the economy "hostage" in order to exact politically motivated budget concessions.
Fail to raise the debt ceiling by around June, the Treasury says, and the United States will be forced into default on its $31.4 trillion debt -- a historic first that would leave the government unable to pay bills, undermine the US economy's reputation, and likely panic investors. — AFP
January 28, 2023
President Joe Biden names his former top COVID-19 aide Jeff Zients to White House chief of staff -- one of the most crucial positions in an administration gearing up for a likely re-election campaign.
Zients replaces Ron Klain, who saw Biden through the first two years of his term in the post, arguably the most powerful behind-the-scenes job in any US administration. The swap will take place on February 8, a day after Biden delivers his State of the Union address to Congress.
The departure of Klain, who has worked with Biden throughout his decades-long Washington career -- from senator to vice president, then victor over Donald Trump in 2020 -- will deprive the 80-year-old president of an especially close, trusted aide. — AFP
January 27, 2023
US President Joe Biden -- who has not yet announced any plans to run for reelection, though he's openly considering another campaign -- will attend two Democratic fundraising events next week, a party source tells AFP.
Biden will head to New York on Tuesday and Philadelphia on Friday to meet with wealthy supporters, hoping to convince them to donate to the Democratic Party ahead of the 2024 elections.
Such fundraisers are essential in American political campaigns, which are fueled by hundreds of millions of dollars in private donations.
Despite Biden's official silence, the structure of a presidential run is slowly taking form around him. — AFP
January 21, 2023
President Joe Biden and House Speaker Kevin McCarthy both indicate they are willing to discuss raising the US debt ceiling, as Democratic and Republican lawmakers head toward a high-stakes clash over raising the nation's borrowing limit.
Their comments come one day after the US Treasury Department began taking "extraordinary measures" to help temporarily reduce the amount of outstanding debt subject to the limit, currently set at $31.4 trillion, and avoid defaulting on its payments.
Republicans, who took control of the House of Representatives earlier this month, have threatened to block the usual annual rubber stamping of a rise in the limit. — AFP
January 20, 2023
President Joe Biden downplays the furor over the discovery of old classified documents improperly stored in his personal belongings, saying "there's nothing there."
Asked by reporters during a trip to California about the issue, he says: "I think you're going to find there's nothing there."
"I have no regrets. I'm following what the lawyers have told me they want me to do. It's exactly what we're doing. There's no there there." — AFP
January 17, 2023
US President Joe Biden will travel to flood-hit areas of California on Thursday, the White House says, as the country's most populous state cleans up from a devastating series of storms.
Biden will tour "communities impacted by the devastation from recent storms, survey recovery efforts, and assess what additional federal support is needed," the White House says in a statement.
California has endured nine successive storms rolling in from the Pacific Ocean in a three-week period. The extreme weather has cost 19 lives.
Biden declared a major disaster in California over the weekend, allowing the federal government to expedite aid, including help with temporary housing and repairs. — AFP
January 10, 2023
US President Joe Biden seeks tougher action on illegal migration and drugs in talks with his Mexican counterpart Andres Manuel Lopez Obrador, as strains showed in the neighbors' approach to tackling the crisis.
Biden is visiting Mexico for the first time as president to meet Lopez Obrador and also hold three-way talks with Canadian Prime Minister Justin Trudeau at what is dubbed the "Three Amigos" summit.
Biden says that one of his priorities was discussing "the plague of fentanyl, which has killed 100,000 Americans so far," referring to the often-deadly opioid smuggled across the border by Mexican drug cartels.
Another vital issue was "how we can tackle irregular migration, which I think we're well on our way to doing," he said at the start of the talks, calling Mexico a "true partner." — AFP
January 9, 2023
US President Joe Biden arrived in Mexico on Sunday for talks on migration and drug trafficking as well as a North American leaders' summit.
Biden arrived at Mexico City's new international airport, Felipe Angeles, located north of the capital, after a politically charged stop at the southern US border -- his first since taking office.
He received a red-carpet welcome from his Mexican counterpart Andres Manuel Lopez Obrador, who then joined Biden in his armored limousine for the journey from the airport.
Biden will meet Monday and Tuesday with Lopez Obrador and Canadian Prime Minister Justin Trudeau one-on-one and also together, in what's dubbed the "Three Amigos" summit. — AFP
January 7, 2023
Democratic US President Joe Biden vowed Saturday to work with rival politicians after Republican Kevin McCarthy was named speaker of the House of Representatives.
"I am prepared to work with Republicans when I can," he said. "This is a time to govern responsibly and to ensure that we're putting the interests of American families first." — AFP
January 7, 2023
Kevin McCarthy lost out in the 14th round of voting in the race to be the next speaker of the US House of Representatives late Friday, amid extraordinary scenes of acrimonious Republican infighting.
McCarthy had been expected finally to win a majority to lead the Republican-controlled House, but his victory lap was derailed by a right-wing rebellion in his own ranks that extended the contest to one of the longest in history. — AFP
January 7, 2023
Republican frontrunner Kevin McCarthy was on the brink of being named as the new speaker of the US House of Representatives on Friday as he quelled a rebellion among his party's ranks that has paralyzed the lower chamber of Congress for days.
The Republicans, who hold a razor-thin majority, have been mired in internecine warfare as McCarthy lost a historic 11 consecutive ballots for the prestigious role, with around 20 conservative hardliners blocking his path since Tuesday.
But the 57-year-old Californian was able to pick up more than a dozen votes among the defectors in the 12th and 13th rounds on Friday after offering major concessions.
It was the only day in the tense, drawn-out process that saw McCarthy actually beat his Democratic opposite number Hakeem Jeffries, although neither has achieved the outright majority required to win the speakership. — AFP
January 5, 2023
Standing under the Brent Spence Bridge in Covington, Kentucky, Presiden Joe Biden celebrated the success of Democrats in working with a handful of Republicans in 2021 to win historic levels of funding for replace the ramshackle structure -- as well as thousands of other pieces of infrastructure around the nation.
Reinforcing that message was the presence of the top Republican senator, Mitch McConnell, a Kentuckian who opposes Biden on many issues, but led the Republican support for the Democrats' $1 trillion national infrastructure splurge, including $1.6 billion for his home state bridge.
"After years of politics being so divisive, there are bright spots across the country," Biden said.
"The Brent Spence Bridge is one of them -- a bridge that continues and connects different centuries, different states, different political parties. A bridge to the vision of America I know we all believe in -- where we can work together to get things done."
Biden may yet have to formally launch his 2024 re-election campaign, but the Kentucky speech all but served as the trailer. — AFP
December 16, 2022
US lawmakers direct the Pentagon to rescind its COVID-19 vaccine mandate as part of the $858 billion 2023 defense spending bill passed by the Senate.
The mandate -- under which the Pentagon says more than 8,000 military personnel have been discharged for refusal to comply -- was scrapped over the objections of US President Joe Biden and Defense Secretary Lloyd Austin, in a victory for Republicans who sought to end it.
While various other US measures aimed at curbing the spread of Covid-19 have previously been relaxed or removed, the Pentagon's vaccine requirement remained on the basis that it protected the health and readiness of military personnel.
But the National Defense Authorization Act (NDAA) for fiscal year 2023 -- which was previously passed by the House of Representatives, and still must be signed by Biden -- now requires the defense secretary to end the mandate.
The White House supported Austin's opposition to repealing the mandate, but that was not enough to carry the day in Congress. — AFP
December 15, 2022
President Joe Biden calls for a long-term partnership with Africa rooted in good governance as US businesses unveiled billions of dollars led by tech investment for a continent where China has become a top player.
Addressing a summit that brought 49 African leaders to the Washington cold, Biden avoided uttering China's name but made clear the United States would take a different approach.
At the first such gathering since Barack Obama invited African leaders in 2014, Biden said the United States sought "partnerships -- not to create political obligation, to foster dependence, but to spur shared success and opportunity."
"When Africa succeeds, the United States succeeds. Quite frankly, the whole world succeeds as well," the president said. — AFP
December 14, 2022
US President Joe Biden on Tuesday signed into law a bill granting federal protections to same-sex marriage, with a large crowd of guests gathered at the White House to celebrate the legislative milestone.
Biden -- who as vice president took a public stand in favor of same-sex unions well before they became legal throughout the United States in a 2015 Supreme Court decision -- touted the landmark law as a rights victory.
"America takes a vital step toward equality, for liberty and justice, not just for some, but for everyone," he said during the signing ceremony Tuesday afternoon. — AFP
December 13, 2022
President Joe Biden will on Tuesday sign into law a bill granting federal protections to same-sex marriage -- gathering thousands of guests at the White House to celebrate the legislative milestone.
It comes 12 years after Biden -- then Barack Obama's vice president -- took a public stand in favor of same-sex unions, well before they became legal in the entire United States through a 2015 US Supreme Court decision.
After the Supreme Court -- now significantly more conservative -- overturned longstanding abortion rights last June, lawmakers from the left and right came together to prevent any subsequent move to curb same-sex marriage rights, feared by some.
The legislation's final adoption by Congress last week marked a rare show of bipartisanship in deeply divided Washington. — AFP
December 13, 2022
The White House says ahead of the US-Africa Leaders summit that it was pledging $55 billion in economic, health and security support for Africa over the next three years.
One day before President Joe Biden hosts 50 African heads of state as Washington vies for influence in the continent, White House National Security Advisor Jake Sullivan said the United States aims to help African countries achieve their own goals.
"Working closely with Congress, the US will commit $55 billion to Africa over the course of the next three years across a wide range of sectors to tackle the core challenges of our time," Sullivan told reporters.
Sullivan declined to give details, saying they would be revealed during the coming three days of bilateral and multilateral talks and a dinner hosted by Biden at the White House for his African counterparts. — AFP
December 12, 2022
US President Joe Biden spoke with Ukrainian leader Volodymyr Zelensky on Sunday, reiterating Washington's strong support for the war-torn country and welcoming his counterpart's "openness to a just peace," the White House said.
The call came as Russia, which invaded Ukraine on February 24, has been targeting the pro-Western country's infrastructure, causing widespread energy cuts and leaving millions without power as temperatures drop.
Speaking to Zelensky, Biden underscored "ongoing US support for Ukraine's defense as Russia continues its assaults on Ukraine's critical infrastructure," a White House statement said.
Western-supplied weapons, including from the United States, have supported Ukraine's defense that has driven back Russian forces. — AFP
December 9, 2022
The US Congress passes landmark legislation to protect same-sex marriage under federal law, and President Joe Biden has vowed to quickly sign the measure.
The vote in the House of Representatives saw 39 Republicans join a united Democratic majority in a rare show of bipartisanship, provoking loud cheers on the floor less than 10 days after the Senate passed the same bill.
"Today, Congress took a critical step to ensure that Americans have the right to marry the person they love," Biden says in a statement.
He says the bipartisan vote would "give peace of mind to millions of LGBTQI+ and interracial couples who are now guaranteed the rights and protections to which they and their children are entitled." — AFP
December 3, 2022
US President Joe Biden signs into law a rare intervention by Congress forcing freight rail unions to accept a salary deal, avoiding a possibly devastating strike -- but putting the pro-union Democrat in an awkward political position.
Biden signs the law in a brief White House ceremony only a week before unions who had rejected the deal were expected to have gone on strike, threatening crucial supply chains across the world's biggest economy.
The deal delivers a hefty wage increase but four of the 12 unions involved refused to accept because there was no agreement on giving workers paid sick leave. Congress acted under a little used power to resolve disputes involving railroads. — AFP
November 18, 2022
The United States says it "strongly condemns" what it called a "test of a long-range ballistic missile" by North Korea, which Japan said may have had the range to hit the US mainland.
"The president has been briefed on the situation and he and his national security team will continue close consultations with allies and partners," National Security Council spokeswoman Adrienne Watson says in a statement.
"This launch is a brazen violation of multiple UN Security Council resolutions and needlessly raises tensions and risks destabilizing the security situation in the region," she says. — AFP
November 11, 2022
US President Joe Biden flies into UN climate talks in Egypt on Friday armed with major domestic achievements against global warming but under pressure to do more for countries reeling from natural disasters.
Biden will only spend a few hours at COP27 in the Red Sea resort of Sharm el-Sheikh, three days after US midterm elections that have raised questions about what the result could mean for US climate policy.
The US leader's climate agenda was given a major boost this year when Congress passed a landmark spending bill, the Inflation Reduction Act, which includes $369 billion for clean energy and climate initiatives. — AFP
October 29, 2022
US President Joe Biden will attend next month's COP27 United Nations climate summit in Egypt, the White House says, vowing he would "highlight the need for the world to act."
The COP27 conference will once more seek to boost global efforts to slow the climate crisis that is intensifying natural disasters, from wildfires to severe storms.
Biden will "advance the global climate fight and help the most vulnerable build resilience to climate impacts, and he will highlight the need for the world to act in this decisive decade," the White House says in a statement. — AFP
October 22, 2022
Joe Biden, the oldest person ever in the US presidency, says it's his "intention" to run again in 2024 and that his wife Jill thinks he should not "walk away."
Biden's comments in an interview with MSNBC addressed a question fascinating Washington watchers as Biden approaches his 80th birthday next month.
"I have not made that formal decision but it's my intention, my intention to run again, and we have time to make that decision," Biden tells MSNBC. — AFP
October 21, 2022
President Joe Biden on Thursday criticized rival Republicans for suggesting that US funding for Ukraine could be cut after congressional midterm elections next month.
"They said that if they win they're not likely to fund, to continue to fund Ukraine," Biden says while campaigning in Pennsylvania.
"These guys don't get it. It's a lot bigger than Ukraine. It's Eastern Europe. It's NATO. It’s really serious, serious consequential outcomes.
"They have no sense of American foreign policy." — AFP
October 17, 2022
President Joe Biden has "no plans" to meet with Saudi Crown Prince Mohammed bin Salman at an upcoming G20 summit in Indonesia, US National Security Advisor Jake Sullivan says.
Stormy US-Saudi relations have seen new strain over Riyadh's recent support for oil production cuts, with Biden warning of unspecified "consequences."
The move last week by OPEC+ -- composed of the Riyadh-led OPEC cartel and an additional group of 10 exporters headed by Russia -- would reduce global output by up to two million barrels per day from November.
It could send energy prices soaring amid an energy crisis triggered by the war in Ukraine, and as inflation-weary American voters prepare to cast ballots in midterm elections.
The move was widely seen as a diplomatic slap in the face, since Biden traveled to Saudi Arabia in July and met with the crown prince, despite vowing to make the kingdom an international "pariah" following the 2018 murder of journalist Jamal Khashoggi. — AFP
October 12, 2022
US President Joe Biden promised "consequences" for Saudi Arabia, after a Riyadh-led coalition of oil-producing nations sided with Russia to slash output.
The 13-nation OPEC cartel and its 10 allies headed by Moscow angered the White House last week with its decision to cut production by two million barrels a day from November, raising fears that oil prices could soar.
"I'm not going to get into what I'd consider and what I have in mind. But there will be -- there will be consequences," he tells CNN. — AFP
October 7, 2022
US President Joe Biden has pardoned thousands of Americans convicted of marijuana possession in a major new step towards destigmatizing the drug -- and fulfilling a promise to his supporters a month before midterm elections.
"I am announcing a pardon of all prior federal offenses of simple possession of marijuana," Biden says.
He did not call for fully decriminalizing cannabis, saying that "limitations on trafficking, marketing and under-age sales should stay in place."
Instead, the president homed in on individual possession of a substance that the government health authorities estimate was used by at least 18 percent of the population in 2019 -- and which is already permitted by multiple state governments for recreational or medical purposes. — AFP
September 19, 2022
President Joe Biden says in an in interview aired Sunday that he has yet to decide whether he will seek a second term in 2024, despite previously having stated he will run again.
Biden, who turns 80 in November, tells CBS' "60 Minutes" program that reelection is his "intention."
"But it's just an intention. But is it a firm decision that I run again? That remains to be seen," he says. — AFP
September 15, 2022
President Joe Biden on Thursday will address a White House conference on "hate-motivated violence" in his latest bid to call out what he sees as a dangerous tide of extremism across the country, officials said.
The event, dubbed "the United We Stand Summit," will highlight "the corrosive effects of hate-fueled violence on our democracy and public safety," the White House said in a statement.
The statement cited a deadly racist attack on a Black church in Charleston, South Carolina, in 2015, a mass shooting targeting Latinos in El Paso, Texas, in 2019, and another gun massacre, this time targeting African Americans, in Buffalo, New York, in May this year, as the kind of "hateful attacks" threatening the nation.
The summit comes just eight weeks ahead of midterm elections in which Republicans are seeking to take control of Congress.
It also comes just two weeks after Biden delivered a fiery speech denouncing the "extreme ideology" of former president Donald Trump, whose supporters overran the Capitol to try to overturn the 2020 election and who continues to promote far-right conspiracy theories. -- AFP
August 30, 2022
Prime-time congressional hearings and an unprecedented FBI raid on his home have ramped up legal pressures on Donald Trump, but analysts say a slow-moving, lower key investigation in Georgia could be the case that finally brings him down.
Scrutiny of the former president's effort to overturn the 2020 election in the state he lost to Joe Biden by fewer than 12,000 votes is intensifying as he eyes a third run for the White House in 2024.
The 76-year-old former reality TV star immediately cried foul after becoming the first Republican presidential candidate to lose Georgia in almost three decades.
But after three presidential ballot counts and the failure of numerous lawsuits, no evidence of significant voter fraud surfaced in the critical swing state.
Trump nevertheless meddled repeatedly in Georgia politics, pushing for secretary of state Brad Raffensperger in a now-infamous taped phone call to "find" enough votes to overturn Biden's victory.
A group of Brookings Institution legal experts wrote in October last year that Trump's post-election conduct in the state "leaves him at substantial risk of possible state charges predicated on multiple crimes."
In May, Fulton County's top prosecutor Fani Willis assembled a special grand jury to investigate attempts by Trump and his allies to overturn Georgia's election results.
-- AFP
August 13, 2022
US lawmakers adopt President Joe Biden's sprawling climate, tax and health care plan -- a major win for the veteran Democrat that includes the biggest ever American investment in the battle against global warming.
Passage in the House of Representatives along strict party lines came after approval of the bill in the Senate by a razor-thin margin, with Vice President Kamala Harris casting the tie-breaking vote.
Biden quickly hailed the adoption of his plan, which includes a $370 billion investment aimed at bringing about a 40 percent drop in greenhouse gas emissions by 2030. — AFP
August 11, 2022
US Secretary of State Antony Blinken is due to hold talks with Rwandan President Paul Kagame on Thursday, facing calls from campaigners to pressure Kigali over its human rights record and alleged support of rebels in the neighbouring Democratic of Congo.
Blinken arrived late Wednesday in Rwanda, the final stop of a three-nation trip to Africa, hot on the heels of a visit to the continent by Russian Foreign Minister Sergei Lavrov.
The US diplomat has sought to woo African nations, which have largely steered clear of backing Washington against Moscow in the Ukraine war, by calling for an "equal" partnership with the continent.
His visit comes after an unpublished independent investigation for the UN, seen by AFP last week, said Rwandan troops had attacked soldiers inside the DRC and aided M23 rebels, a primarily Tutsi rebel group.
The M23 has captured swathes of territory in eastern DRC in recent months, causing tensions to spike between Kigali and Kinshasa, which has repeatedly accused Kagame's government of backing the notorious militia.
In the DRC on Tuesday, Blinken said the United States was "very concerned by credible reports that Rwanda has supported the M23," adding that he would discuss the issue with Kagame, whose government has consistently denied the claims.
In a statement released Monday, Human Rights Watch called on Blinken to "urgently signal that there will be consequences for the government's repression and abuse in Rwanda and beyond its borders". -- AFP
August 8, 2022
The US Senate passes Joe Biden's ambitious climate, tax and health care plan -- a significant victory for the president ahead of crucial midterm elections.
Voting as a unified bloc and with the tie-breaking vote cast by Vice President Kamala Harris, Democrats approved the $430-billion spending plan, which will go to the House of Representatives next week, where it is expected to pass before being signed into law by Biden.
The plan, crafted in sensitive talks with members on the right wing of his Democratic Party, would include the biggest US investment ever on climate -- $370 billion aimed at effecting a 40 percent drop in greenhouse gas emissions by 2030. — AFP
July 15, 2022
US President Joe Biden "welcomes and commends the historic decision" by Saudi Arabia to lift restrictions on all carriers using its airspace, an apparent gesture of openness towards Israel, a White House statement says.
"This decision is the result of the President's persistent and principled diplomacy with Saudi Arabia over many months, culminating in his visit today," US National Security Adviser Jake Sullivan says in the statement.
He says Biden, who will land in Saudi Arabia for a controversial visit later Friday, "will have more to say on this breakthrough later today." — AFP
July 10, 2022
US Secretary of State Antony Blinken on Sunday hailed Thailand's role in the renewed US push in Southeast Asia, a key area of competition with China, on a trip where he also sought new ideas on how to restore democracy in Myanmar.
Signing an agreement pledging to keep expanding ties, Blinken pointed to Thailand's embrace of a new US-led economic plan for Asia as well as its efforts on climate change.
In Thailand, "we have an ally and partner in the Indo-Pacific of such importance to us in a region that is shaping the trajectory of the 21st century, and it is doing that every single day", Blinken said after talks with Foreign Minister Don Pramudwinai.
Thailand is America's oldest ally in Asia, famously offering elephants to Abraham Lincoln during the Civil War, but has also increasingly worked with a rising China. — AFP
June 18, 2022
President Joe Biden distances himself from an upcoming encounter with controversial Saudi leader Mohammed bin Salman, saying the reason for his trip to the oil-rich nation was not to meet the crown prince.
Biden is attending a regional Gulf Cooperation Council summit in Saudi Arabia in mid-July. The White House says he will meet the formal leader, King Salman, but also his team, notably de facto leader Prince Mohammed, commonly known as MBS.
US intelligence blames MBS for the horrific 2018 murder of Saudi-born critic Jamal Khashoggi, a US resident who wrote for The Washington Post. — AFP
June 11, 2022
US President Joe Biden leads a pledge by 20 nations in the Americas to work together on migration, seeking to step up action on a growing political priority at a summit beset by disputes.
The weeklong Summit of the Americas in Los Angeles wound down with promises by Biden to do more, and a joint declaration on migration that largely formalized existing arrangements rather than setting new policy.
The declaration called for "safety and dignity of all migrants" but also greater cooperation by law enforcement. — AFP
June 4, 2022
President Joe Biden is hoping to show a new era of US engagement with Latin America at a long-heralded summit next week, but the meeting has been clouded by boycott threats and charges of an unambitious agenda.
Regional leaders will descend on Los Angeles starting Monday for the weeklong Summit of the Americas at a time when China, seen by the United States as a fast-emerging rival, has been making inroads in a zone Washington has historically considered its turf.
Days ahead of the summit, the White House was still finalizing the invitation list in a bid to please Mexican President Andres Manuel Lopez Obrador, who has threatened not to come unless all nations are included. — AFP
June 3, 2022
US President Joe Biden urges lawmakers to ban privately owned assault weapons and high capacity magazines in order to curb the mass shootings plaguing the country.
"How much more carnage are we willing to accept?" Biden asks in a prime time television broadcast from the White House, saying that short of a ban the age for purchasing such weapons should be raised from 18 to 21. — AFP
June 2, 2022
The US government lifted restrictions Wednesday on air links to Cuba, one of the measures announced in May by President Joe Biden's administration in a gesture of conciliation toward the Communist-run island.
The decision will allow US airlines to serve other airports in Cuba aside from the capital Havana, a Department of Transportation document said.
The re-authorization of certain group trips is also planned, it said. — AFP
May 31, 2022
Under pressure to act after the latest US mass shooting that left 21 people dead, President Joe Biden vowed Monday to push for stricter gun regulation, an uphill battle given the Democrats' narrow congressional majority.
"I've been pretty motivated all along" to act on guns, Biden told reporters in Washington.
"I'm going to continue to push," he said, adding, "I think things have gotten so bad that everybody is getting more rational about it." — AFP
May 25, 2022
Two years after African American George Floyd was murdered by a white police officer in a Minneapolis street, President Joe Biden will on Wednesday sign an executive order further regulating federal law enforcement.
The White House called the move "historic" in a press release, but the new executive order does not go as far as the major police reform Biden promised during his election campaign.
The text provides for the creation of a national register to list all reports, disciplinary procedures and complaints concerning members of federal law enforcement agencies, the administration said. — AFP
May 23, 2022
President Joe Biden met Japanese Prime Minister Fumio Kishida in Tokyo ahead of the unveiling of a multinational trade initiative Monday as part of his push to reinvigorate US strategic power across Asia.
Fresh from a three-day visit to another key US ally, South Korea, Biden praised Tokyo as a "key global leader" for joining US-led pressure on Russia over its invasion of Ukraine.
"The US-Japanese alliance has long been a cornerstone of peace and prosperity in the Indo-Pacific and the United States remains fully committed to Japan's defence," Biden said after discussions with Kishida.
"We will face the challenges today and in the future together." — AFP
May 22, 2022
President Joe Biden landed in Japan on Sunday for the second leg of a trip to reinforce US alliances in Asia.
Biden, making his first trip to Asia as president, arrived at Yokota Air Base outside Tokyo, and will meet with Japan's prime minister and unveil a US-led trade initiative for the region on Monday, before joining a summit of the Quad regional grouping. — AFP
May 20, 2022
President Joe Biden leaves for South Korea and Japan to cement US leadership in Asia at a time when the White House's attention has been pulled back to Russia and Europe — and amid fears of a North Korean nuclear test during his trip.
Biden wants the trip to build on recent moves accelerating a years-long US pivot to Asia, where rising Chinese commercial and military power is undercutting Washington's dominance.
But highlighting competing demands from Europe, Biden met right before his departure with the leaders of Finland and Sweden to celebrate their applications for joining NATO — a seismic development sparked by Russia's invasion of Ukraine.
In another sign of growing US involvement in the conflict, the White House said Biden would put his signature while in Asia on a massive, $40 billion Ukraine weapons and aid package passed Thursday by Congress. — AFP
May 19, 2022
President Joe Biden leaves Thursday for South Korea and Japan to cement US leadership in Asia at a time when the White House's attention has been pulled back to Russia and Europe — and amid fears of North Korean nuclear tests overshadowing the trip.
The visits are being touted as proof that the United States is building on recent moves to cement its years-long pivot to Asia, where rising Chinese commercial and military power is undercutting decades of US dominance.
But highlighting competing demands from two sides of the world, Biden will meet at the White House with the leaders of Finland and Sweden to celebrate their applications for joining NATO before he boards Air Force One for Seoul. — AFP
May 17, 2022
When President Joe Biden visits the site of a racist massacre in upstate New York on Tuesday, he'll confront not only the shocking deaths of 10 Black people but warn against an ideology that "tears at the soul" of the country he promised to unite.
On one level, the trip by Biden and his wife Jill Biden to Buffalo will be a grimly routine tradition for presidents who for decades have railed against an unstoppable parade of mass shootings.
Hastily scheduled ahead of Biden's departure Thursday for a major diplomatic trip to South Korea and Japan, the Buffalo visit will be a chance to "try to bring some comfort to the community," White House Press Secretary Karine Jean-Pierre said. — AFP
May 16, 2022
US President Joe Biden offers a potent condemnation of racist extremism Sunday after a murderous rampage in Buffalo, and he called for citizens to end the hate that remains a "stain on the soul of America."
"A lone gunman, armed with weapons of war and a hateful soul, shot and killed 10 innocent people in cold blood at a grocery store on Saturday afternoon" in western New York state, Biden says in Washington at a service for fallen US police officers.
"We must all work together to address the hate that remains a stain on the soul of America," the president says. — AFP
May 13, 2022
President Joe Biden on Thursday welcomed Southeast Asian leaders to Washington, promising support for clean energy and maritime security in the face of a rising China.
The Biden administration made the pledge as it opened a two-day summit with the Association of Southeast Asian Nations, part of a campaign to show that the United States still prioritizes Asia despite months of intense focus on repelling Russia's invasion of Ukraine.
The White House announced some $150 million in new initiatives -- a modest sum compared with a $40 billion package for Ukraine and with the billions pumped into the region by China, which has surpassed the United States as ASEAN's largest trading partner.
But the United States said it was working with its private sector and it plans to unveil a broader package, the Indo-Pacific Economic Framework, when Biden travels next week to Tokyo and Seoul.
"I hope this meeting can build a momentum for the return of the US presence in the region," Indonesian President Joko Widodo told a forum of the US-ASEAN Business Council before the leaders headed to a White House dinner.
The White House said it was committing $60 million to new maritime initiatives that will include the deployment of a Coast Guard cutter and personnel to fight crime on sea. -- AFP
May 6, 2022
US President Joe Biden names Karine Jean-Pierre as the next White House press secretary, the first Black person to hold the high-profile post.
Jean-Pierre, who will also be the first openly LGBTQ+ person in the role, will replace Jen Psaki, under whom she served as deputy, from May 13.
Biden in a statement praised Jean-Pierre's "experience, talent and integrity," saying he was "proud" to announce her appointment. — AFP
May 5, 2022
US Secretary of State Antony Blinken tested positive Wednesday for Covid-19 and will shift to a virtual work schedule, the State Department says.
"The Secretary is fully vaccinated and boosted against the virus and is experiencing only mild symptoms," the department says in a statement.
Spokesman Ned Price says Blinken would no longer deliver a long-awaited speech on China policy scheduled for Thursday.
"He looks forward to returning to the department and resuming his full duties and travels as soon as possible," the statement says. — AFP
April 27, 2022
President Joe Biden will address the funeral of former secretary of state Madeleine Albright on Wednesday at a cathedral service featuring hundreds from the Washington political and diplomatic elite.
Albright, the first woman to head the State Department, and one of the major figures of late 20th century US diplomacy, died last month, aged 84.
Reflecting her status on the world stage, her funeral in Washington's National Cathedral will be packed with more than 1,400 people and carried live on television. — AFP
April 26, 2022
A US federal judge temporarily blocks President Joe Biden from ending a policy allowing the government to quickly expel migrants at the southern border during the pandemic.
The Biden administration had been on track to lift the measure, known as Title 42, on May 23 — a decision that sparked uproar among Republicans and many Democrats, as well as advocates for tougher border controls.
The US District Court in Louisiana said after a videoconference with lawyers it had "announced its intent to grant the motion" originally filed by Missouri, Louisiana and Arizona to stay the termination.
"The parties will confer regarding the specific terms to be contained in the Temporary Restraining Order and attempt to reach agreement," it said in the ruling. — AFP
April 22, 2022
President Joe Biden will host his Greek counterpart, Prime Minister Kyriakos Mitsotakis, at the White House next month to discuss the Western stand against Russia's invasion of Ukraine, officials said Thursday.
On May 16, "the leaders will discuss ongoing efforts with allies and partners to support the people of Ukraine and impose economic costs on Russia for its unprovoked aggression," White House Press Secretary Jen Psaki said.
Psaki said that in addition to marking the 201st anniversary of Greek independence, Biden and Mitsotakis will "discuss our close cooperation on global challenges, including climate change and energy security. The leaders will take stock of our joint efforts to promote global security through NATO, as well as our shared goals for peace and prosperity in the region." — AFP
April 15, 2022
President Joe Biden says he is considering sending senior US officials to Ukraine, in what would be a major show of support to Kyiv.
"We're making that decision now," Biden replied when asked if he would send officials to the war-torn European nation. He did not specify which officials might be under consideration.
In a brief back-and-forth with a reporter, Biden appeared to suggest he might also be willing to travel to Kyiv. — AFP
March 27, 2022
US President Joe Biden's administration will include more taxes on the wealthiest Americans in its 2023 budget proposal, due to be released on Monday, US media reported Saturday.
The "Billionaire Minimum Income Tax" would require the 700 or so American households worth more than $100 million to pay at least 20 percent on their full income, the Washington Post and other US media reported, citing a White House document.
"This minimum tax would make sure that the wealthiest Americans no longer pay a tax rate lower than teachers and firefighters," said the document, cited by the Post. — AFP
March 23, 2022
President Joe Biden leaves for Europe on a mission to bolster Western unity, ramp up unprecedented sanctions against Russia over its invasion of Ukraine and attempt to upset the post-Cold War balance of power.
The conflict with Russian President Vladimir Putin is redefining Biden's 14-month old presidency as he pivots from domestic woes to leading the transatlantic alliance in the most serious crisis in Europe for decades.
After four years of Donald Trump, who treated European nations as economic competitors and scorned the traditional US role as senior partner in NATO, Biden has put the accent on unity. At back-to-back summits in Brussels on Thursday, he'll be pushing for more. — AFP
March 23, 2022
Joe Biden's chief spokeswoman, Jen Psaki, says Tuesday she has tested positive for Covid-19 for the second time, but that the US President was negative.
The press secretary says she had held two socially-distanced meetings with Biden, who is vaccinated, a day earlier.
However, "the president tested negative today via PCR test," she says in a statement, adding that Biden, 79, is "not considered a close contact" as defined by the top US health agency. — AFP
March 16, 2022
US President Joe Biden is to travel to Brussels for NATO and EU summits next Thursday, officials say, as Western allies align their response to Russia's invasion of Ukraine.
The gatherings on March 24 of the US leader with his European counterparts come after Washington and Brussels unveiled successive waves of coordinated sanctions against Moscow.
"We will address Russia's invasion of Ukraine, our strong support for Ukraine, and further strengthening NATO's deterrence and defence," NATO Secretary General Jens Stoltenberg says in a tweet.
"At this critical time, North America and Europe must continue to stand together," he adds. — AFP
March 15, 2022
The United States is not currently discussing importing oil from authoritarian Venezuela, the White House said on Monday, dampening speculation that Washington could look to Caracas for help in combating tight supplies.
"It's not an active conversation at this time," Press Secretary Jen Psaki told reporters.
The United States does not even recognize leftist President Nicolas Maduro as the legitimate leader of Venezuela. However, President Joe Biden is looking for ways to relieve pressure on oil prices from the Covid-19 pandemic and now the war unleashed by major oil producer Russia against Ukraine. — AFP
March 11, 2022
The US Congress passes a huge omnibus 2022 spending bill Thursday including almost $14 billion in humanitarian and military aid to war-torn Ukraine, as its invasion by Russia entered its third week.
"We're keeping our promise to support Ukraine as they fight for their lives against the evil Vladimir Putin," Chuck Schumer, the leader of the Senate Democrats, says in a statement.
"With nearly $14 billion in emergency aid, Congress will approve more than double what the administration originally requested." — AFP
February 16, 2022
US President Joe Biden vows to push for a diplomatic resolution of the Ukraine crisis, but warns that a Russian invasion remained "very much a possibility" and that retaliatory sanctions were primed and ready.
Biden says that despite Russian claims earlier in the day, Washington and its allies had yet to verify the withdrawal of any of the 150,000 troops he says Moscow has now mustered along Ukraine's border.
"Analysts indicate that they remain very much in a threatening position," Biden says in an address on the crisis. — AFP
February 11, 2022
US President Joe Biden urges American citizens to leave Ukraine immediately, and warns about potential major conflict with Moscow should US and Russian troops engage each other on the ground.
"American citizens should leave, should leave now," Biden says in an interview with NBC News.
"We're dealing with one of the largest armies in the world. This is a very different situation and things could go crazy quickly," the president says. — AFP
February 8, 2022
The United States announces a deal with Japan to ease tariffs on imports of its steel, partially resolving a trade dispute that began under former president Donald Trump.
"I'm pleased to announce the deal we reached will strengthen America's steel industry and ensure its workforce stays competitive, while also providing more access to cheaper steel and addressing a major irritant between the United States and Japan, one of our most important allies," Commerce Secretary Gina Raimondo says in a statement. — AFP
February 7, 2022
US President Joe Biden is looking forward to a visit to Israel later this year, he told Prime Minister Naftali Bennett during a phone call between the two leaders on Sunday, according to a White House statement.
Biden also conveyed his "unwavering support" for Israel's security and "full support" for replenishing the Iron Dome air defense system. The pair also discussed fears that Russia is preparing to invade Ukraine, the White House said.
"The President thanked the Prime Minister for his invitation to visit Israel and said he looks forward to a visit later this year," the statement says. — AFP
January 26, 2022
President Joe Biden's administration formally withdraws the COVID vaccination-or-testing mandate for large businesses that was struck down by the Supreme Court.
The Occupational Safety and Health Administration (OSHA) said that although it was withdrawing the mandate it "strongly encourages vaccination of workers against the continuing dangers posed by Covid-19 in the workplace."
The conservative-dominated Supreme Court delivered a blow to Biden this month when it blocked his vaccination-or-testing mandate for businesses with 100 employees or more.
January 24, 2022
The US State Department issues a travel advisory warning Americans not to travel to Russia due to mounting tensions on the border with Ukraine.
"Do not travel to Russia due to ongoing tension along the border with Ukraine," a statement says, adding Americans could also face "harassment" and that the embassy would have "limited ability to assist US citizens."
It particularly moves to dissuade US citizens from traveling to the Russia-Ukraine border region, saying "the situation along the border is unpredictable and there is heightened tension," due to a Russian troop build up and military exercises in the area. — AFP
January 23, 2022
President Joe Biden marks the 49th anniversary of the landmark Supreme Court ruling establishing abortion rights in the United States by again urging that those rights be enshrined in federal law.
"The constitutional right established in Roe v. Wade nearly 50 years ago today is under assault as never before," Biden says in a statement on Saturday in which he was joined by Vice President Kamala Harris.
"It is a right we believe should be codified into law, and we pledge to defend it with every tool we possess." — AFP
January 20, 2022
President Joe Biden says that his first year in office has been a year of "challenges" but also one of "enormous progress."
"It's been a year of challenges, but it's also been a year of enormous progress," Biden says at a press conference held to mark his inauguration a year ago. — AFP
January 17, 2022
US President Joe Biden and Japanese Prime Minister Fumio Kishida will meet virtually Friday to discuss bilateral ties as well as security in the Pacific region, the White House said.
On the agenda will be fighting Covid-19 and climate change and exploring new technologies, according to a statement Sunday from the White House.
"The meeting will highlight the strength of the US-Japan Alliance, which is the cornerstone of peace, security, and stability in the Indo-Pacific and around the world," White House Press Secretary Jen Psaki said in the statement. — AFP
January 13, 2022
US inflation is "too high" and the Federal Reserve will make the issue a priority, Lael Brainard, the nominee to take the number-two position at the central bank, said Wednesday.
The Fed's "most important task" is to focus on "getting inflation back down to two percent while sustaining a recovery that includes everyone," Brainard said in remarks prepared for delivery at her nomination hearing before the Senate Banking Committee on Thursday. — AFP
January 8, 2022
US President Joe Biden will deliver the traditional State of the Union (SOTU) address March 1, the White House says, as the Democrat struggles to tame COVID-19 and get his stalled legislative agenda through Congress.
March is later than usual for the annual address, which a president typically delivers in late January or early February.
The timing is likely due to the pandemic: the Omicron variant is spreading like wildfire in the United States as in other countries and the presidential address is usually given to a packed audience of both chambers of Congress and many VIP guests. — AFP
December 28, 2021
The United States and Russia will negotiate on nuclear arms control and tensions over Ukraine on January 10, a White House national security spokesman told AFP on Monday.
"The United States looks forward to engaging with Russia," the spokesman for the National Security Council said.
Moscow and NATO representatives are then expected to meet on January 12, while Russia and the OSCE regional security body, which includes the United States, will meet on January 13, the spokesman added. — AFP
December 26, 2021
US President Joe Biden commends Americans for their strength and resilience in the face of the raging Covid-19 pandemic, urging "hope and renewal" during the holiday season.
In his first Christmas address as president, Biden praises "the enormous courage, character, resilience, and resolve in all of you who heal, comfort, teach, and protect and serve in ways big and small."
"You show there is much to gain in appreciation and gratitude for the gift of time and goodwill we share as we look out for one another," Biden says in a statement with First Lady Jill Biden.
"Again and again, you show how our differences are precious and our similarities infinite." — AFP
December 15, 2021
A leading Republican senator demands that President Joe Biden make amends over a cut in transmission of Taiwan's speech during last week's democracy summit, in what an official called an "honest mistake."
Audrey Tang, a Taiwanese minister, was speaking Friday at Biden's inaugural virtual Summit on Democracy when the broadcast abruptly stopped.
The cut came as Tang appeared before a map that showed Taiwan and China in different colors — indicative of divergent levels of democracy but possibly interpreted as recognizing the island as independent, a stance that infuriates Beijing.
Senator Marco Rubio, who has championed a hard line on China, accused Biden of trying to appease Beijing and questioned why Taiwan, unlike many participants, was not represented by its head of state.
"All that your administration accomplished in downgrading Taiwan's representation was to once again signal weakness rather than resolve," he said in a letter. — AFP
December 10, 2021
Democracy faces "sustained and alarming challenges" worldwide, US President Joe Biden said Thursday at a virtual summit on democracy where he sparked controversy by pointedly not inviting China and Russia.
Biden, who took office in January amid the biggest US political crisis in decades, said trends are "largely pointing in the wrong direction" and that "more than ever, democracy needs champions."
"We stand at an inflection point," Biden said. "Will we allow the backward slide of rights and democracy to continue unchecked?"
The two-day event, held by video link because of the coronavirus pandemic, was billed by the White House as US leadership in an existential struggle between democracies and powerful autocracies or dictatorships. — AFP
December 9, 2021
US President Joe Biden will call Ukraine's leader Volodymyr Zelensky Thursday in a show of support after warning Vladimir Putin of sanctions "like none he's ever seen" should Russian troops attack Ukraine.
The dramatic warning came a day after Biden and Putin talked for two hours by video link, and the US leader said his Russian counterpart got "the message."
"I made it very clear if in fact he invades Ukraine there will be severe consequences, severe consequences -- economic consequences like none he's ever seen or ever have been seen," Biden told reporters at the White House on Wednesday. — AFP
December 9, 2021
Donald Trump's former chief of staff filed suit Wednesday against the congressional committee pursuing him for criminal contempt over his refusal to testify in their probe of the deadly US Capitol assault.
Mark Meadows specifically names Nancy Pelosi, the Democratic leader of the House of Representatives who launched the investigation alongside all nine members of the panel preparing a report on the January 6 insurrection by thousands of Trump's supporters.
The lawsuit, filed a day after the panel told Meadows it was taking action over his defiance of a subpoena to appear for a deposition on Wednesday, challenges the legality of the "unduly burdensome" summons and asks the Washington district court to strike it down. — AFP
December 9, 2021
The US Senate votes to block President Joe Biden's vaccine-or-test mandate for large private employers, in a symbolic win for conservatives that will have little tangible effect.
The measure passed 52-48 with the support of all 50 Republicans in the upper chamber and two centrist Democrats, but is not expected to fare well in the House of Representatives, where it may only have support from the right.
The Senate pushback was led by Indiana's Mike Braun, who told reporters that threatening Americans' jobs if they refuse on both counts "is the heavy hand of government." — AFP
December 3, 2021
The US House of Representatives votes Thursday to keep federal agencies running for another 11 weeks and avoid a costly holiday-season government shutdown, although the stop-gap measure faces a thorny path in the Senate.
With the cash due to dry up at 11:59 pm Friday, the Democratic-controlled lower chamber passed temporary legislation to keep the lights on until February 18. -- AFP
December 2, 2021
The threat of a US federal government shutdown looms larger Wednesday as lawmakers failed to reach a budget agreement with just two days to go before the funding runs out.
Congress has until Friday night to come up with a new budget in order to avoid a sudden stoppage of most so-called non-essential federal government operations, putting hundreds of thousands of workers on furlough without pay.
Various administrative offices, national parks, museums and dozens of other services would see their congressional authorization to spend money stop at the end of Friday. — AFP
November 24, 2021
President Joe Biden has invited around 110 countries to a virtual summit on democracy in December, including major Western allies but also Iraq, India and Pakistan, according to a list posted on the State Department website on Tuesday.
China, the United States' principal rival, is not invited, while Taiwan is — a move that risks angering Beijing. Turkey, which like America is a member of NATO, is also missing from the list of participants.
Among the countries of the Middle East, only Israel and Iraq will take place in the online conference, scheduled for December 9-10. — AFP
November 24, 2021
President Joe Biden says that the release of strategic oil reserves by the United States and other major consumers will "make a difference" for Americans anxious about fuel prices.
"It will take time but before long you should see the price of gas drop," the president — who has seen his popularity sink amid a surge in fuel prices and overall inflation — says in a speech at the White House. — AFP
November 23, 2021
US President Joe Biden on Monday nominates Jerome Powell for a second term as Federal Reserve Chair, allowing him to continue his role overseeing the economy's recovery from Covid-19.
"We can't just return to where we were before the pandemic, we need to build our economy back better," Biden says in a statement.
"I'm confident that Chair Powell and Dr. Brainard's focus on keeping inflation low, prices stable and delivering full employment will make our economy stronger than ever before." — AFP
November 20, 2021
President Joe Biden warns against "violence" in the wake of the acquittal on all charges of a teenager who shot dead two people at a racially charged riot in Wisconsin.
Biden acknowledges that the verdict left him and "many Americans feeling angry and concerned," but says the "jury has spoken" and must be respected.
"I urge everyone to express their views peacefully, consistent with the rule of law. Violence and destruction of property have no place in our democracy," he says, noting that his team had been in touch with Wisconsin authorities "to prepare for any outcome." — AFP
November 18, 2021
President Joe Biden calls on US regulators to look into the causes of the nationwide spike in gasoline prices, which he said is hurting workers.
The president last week made fighting inflation a top priority after data showed consumer prices hit a 30-year high in October, fueling a slump in his public approval.
In a letter to the Federal Trade Commission (FTC), Biden took aim at oil companies he says are raising prices at the pump even as their expenses decline and profits soar. — AFP
November 16, 2021
President Joe Biden signs into law the biggest US infrastructure revamp in more than half a century at a rare bipartisan celebration Monday at the White House.
The $1.2 trillion package will fix bridges and roads, change out unhealthy lead water pipes, build an electric vehicle charging network, and expand broadband internet — the most significant government investment of the kind since creation of the national highways network in the 1950s.
"We've heard countless speeches... but today we're finally getting this done," Biden tells hundreds of invitees, including opposition Republicans, on the White House South Lawn. — AFP
November 15, 2021
With US President Joe Biden's poll numbers slumping under a surge in inflation, top adminstration officials defend his economic policies Sunday and blame the sharp price rises squarely on the Covid-19 pandemic.
Taking to the Sunday morning TV talk shows, White House economic adviser Brian Deese acknowledges inflation was "high right now" but insisted that was a worldwide trend triggered by the pandemic, and not a consequence of administration policy.
"What we have said consistently is that the pandemic and economy are interlinked," Deese toells CNN's State of Union, citing global, Covid-triggered supply chain blockages as a major inflationary factor. — AFP
November 13, 2021
US President Joe Biden will hold a hotly anticipated virtual summit with his Chinese counterpart Xi Jinping on Monday, the White House and China announce, as tensions mount over Taiwan, human rights and trade.
Relations between the world's two largest economies have recently deteriorated, in particular over Taiwan, a self-ruling democracy claimed by China, which last month made a record number of air incursions near the island.
Washington has repeatedly signaled its support for Taiwan in the face of Chinese aggression, but the United States and China reached a surprise agreement on climate at a summit in Glasgow. — AFP
November 8, 2021
President Joe Biden's administration issues a vocal defense of a controversial Covid-19 vaccine mandate for large companies despite a court challenge that temporarily freezes the program.
"The president and the administration wouldn't have put these requirements in place if they didn't think they were appropriate and necessary," Surgeon General Vivek Murthy says on ABC talk show "This Week."
"The administration is certainly prepared to defend them." — AFP
November 4, 2021
US President Joe Biden urges feuding Democrats Wednesday to resolve their differences and pass his $3 trillion economic agenda, a day after defeat in a key state gubernatorial election raised doubts over the scope of the spending.
"I do know that people want us to get things done," he tells reporters when pressed for lessons on longtime favorite Terry McAuliffe's upset loss to a Republican newcomer in Tuesday's Virginia governor's election.
"And that's why I'm continuing to push very hard for the Democratic Party to move along and pass my infrastructure bill and my Build Back Better bill." — AFP
November 1, 2021
The G20 summit of world leaders in Rome made "tangible progress" on key issues -- climate change, the coronavirus pandemic and the economy, US President Joe Biden says on Sunday.
"I believe we made tangible progress in part because of the commitment that the United States has brought to the table," Biden says at the end of the two-day G20 talks. — AFP
October 29, 2021
US President Joe Biden announces a "historic" blueprint for remaking America's economy, as he seeks to pressure dissenters within his own Democratic Party to back the plan after months of tortuous negotiations.
"I know we have a historic economic framework," Biden says in an address to the nation from the White House, shortly after meeting with Democratic leaders in Congress.
"It's a framework that will create millions of jobs, grow the economy, invest in our nation and our people, turn the climate crisis into an opportunity, and put us on a path not only to compete, but to win the economic competition for the 21st century against China and every other major country in the world." — AFP
October 28, 2021
US President Joe Biden criticises Beijing's "coercive" actions across the Taiwan Strait in an address to a summit of Asia-Pacific nations also attended by China's premier.
Tensions have soared as Beijing steps up air incursions near Taiwan, a self-ruled democracy that China considers to be a province awaiting reunification, by force if necessary.
Speaking via video link to the summit, Biden says the United States was "deeply concerned by China's coercive and proactive actions... across the Taiwan Strait" which separates the island from mainland China.
Such actions "threaten regional peace and stability", he says, according to a recording of his remarks obtained by AFP. — AFP
October 27, 2021
The United States forcefully criticizes Israel for the first time in years on its settlements, with President Joe Biden's administration saying it "strongly" opposed new construction on the West Bank.
"We are deeply concerned about the Israeli government's plan to advance thousands of settlement units" on Wednesday as well as tenders published Sunday for more than 1,300 homes, State Department spokesman Ned Price says.
"We strongly oppose the expansion of settlements, which is completely inconsistent with efforts to lower tensions and to ensure calm, and it damages the prospects for a two-state solution," he tells reporters. — AFP
October 26, 2021
President Joe Biden says he hopes Democrats will strike a deal on two massive spending packages this week and make America the "most advanced country in the world" again.
Speaking at the start of a crucial period for his presidency and the Democratic Party's wider fortunes, Biden urges a deal on a social spending bill expected to weigh in at a little less than $2 trillion and an infrastructure bill worth $1.2 trillion.
He says he wanted a deal by the end of this week, when he flies to two summits in Europe.
"That's my hope," he tells reporters, adding that talks on Sunday with one of the main obstacles to agreement, moderate Democratic Senator Joe Manchin, "went well." — AFP
October 22, 2021
President Joe Biden says the United States would defend Taiwan if the island were attacked by China, which considers it part of its territory.
"Yes," he responds when asked in a CNN town hall about defending Taiwan. "We have a commitment to that."
Biden's statement was at odds with the long-held US policy known as "strategic ambiguity," where Washington helps build Taiwan's defenses but does not explicitly promise to come to the island's help. — AFP
October 20, 2021
President Joe Biden was "more confident" about saving his multi-trillion-dollar agenda in Congress from internal party wrangling, the White House press secretary said late Tuesday, after a day of intensive negotiations with Democrats.
At stake are two huge bills: an infrastructure package worth $1.2 trillion and a second, even bigger proposal to expand the social safety net.
"After a day of constructive meetings, the President is more confident this evening about the path forward," said spokeswoman Jen Psaki.
"There was broad agreement that there is urgency in moving forward over the next several days and that the window for finalizing a package is closing," she added. — AFP
October 15, 2021
US President Joe Biden signs into law a bill to lift the nation's borrowing authority, averting the threat of a first-ever debt default -- but only for a few weeks.
On Tuesday the Democratic-controlled House of Representatives voted along party lines to pass the stop-gap $480 billion hike, which advanced from the Senate last Thursday after weeks of heated debate.
Without this increase in the debt limit, the Treasury warned that the federal government would be incapable of securing and servicing loans after October 18. This would have reverberated around the world as an economic catastrophe. — AFP
October 15, 2021
US President Joe Biden announces a major new COVID-19 vaccine donation for Africa and promised greater commitment to the continent as he welcomes his first African leader, Kenya's Uhuru Kenyatta.
Meeting at the White House, Biden and the Kenyan president promised to work together on climate change and ending violence on the Horn of Africa, although there appeared to be no headway on Kenya's hopes on a trade deal.
Biden announced that the United States would immediately donate another 17 million doses of the single-shot Johnson & Johnson vaccine to the African Union, on top of 50 million doses already sent. — AFP
October 14, 2021
The United States is returning to the UN Human Rights Council three-and-a-half years after its dramatic walk-out -- time seized upon by China to assert wider influence.
The United Nations General Assembly elects new members of the UN's top rights body on Thursday, with countries kicking off their three-year council term from January 1.
Though member states are chosen in a secret ballot, the election is a non-contest, with 18 candidate countries standing for 18 seats. — AFP
October 9, 2021
US President Joe Biden congratulates investigative journalists Maria Ressa of the Philippines and Dmitry Muratov of Russia for winning the Nobel Peace Prize for their work promoting freedom of expression.
"Ressa and Muratov have pursued the facts -- tirelessly and fearlessly," Biden says in a statement. "They have worked to check the abuse of power, expose corruption, and demand transparency.
"They have been tenacious in founding independent media outlets and defending them against forces that seek their silence."
October 1, 2021
President Joe Biden signs a stopgap bill passed earlier by Congress ahead of a midnight deadline to avoid forcing the US government to shut down due to lack of funding.
The House of Representatives voted by 254 votes to 175 to keep the lights on for another two months with a resolution that had already advanced comfortably from the Senate. — AFP
September 29, 2021
President Joe Biden is putting off a major trip to Chicago on Wednesday to stay behind in Washington and fight for his domestic agenda, which hangs from a thread in Congress, the White House said.
Biden had been meant to address his Covid-19 vaccination policy in Chicago but his two signature legislative policies — a $1.2 trillion infrastructure bill and an even bigger social spending package — risk failing in the divided legislature.
"He will now remain at the White House tomorrow to continue working on advancing these two pieces of legislation to create jobs," an administration official said in a surprise statement. — AFP
September 24, 2021
President Joe Biden deepens his bid to cement US leadership of the Indo-Pacific against a rising China with the first in-person summit of the regional Quad group.
Meeting in the White House, Biden and the leaders of Australia, India and Japan will discuss a COVID vaccines drive, regional infrastructure, climate change and securing supply chains for the semiconductors used in computer technology.
While China is not officially on the agenda, the Quad will stress backing for a "free and open Indo-Pacific," a senior US official told reporters. That's a phrase often standing in for ensuring that communist China will not end up dominating the region, including vital international sea lanes. — AFP
September 23, 2021
The White House says US President Joe Biden met with the warring wings of his Democratic Party in an effort to save his troubled economic plans.
The White House says in a statement Biden held three "productive and candid" meetings with two dozen members of Congress, as he dives in to try and settle an internal party squabble threatening to sink his ambitious social spending and infrastructure agenda.
One meeting featured the two most powerful Democrats, House Speaker Nancy Pelosi and Senate Majority Leader Chuck Schumer. Both are close Biden allies but are struggling to get their ranks in line behind the economic plans. — AFP
September 23, 2021
President Joe Biden says the US will donate 500 million more Pfizer-BioNTech vaccines to poorer countries, bringing its total commitment to 1.1 billion doses.
Biden is also to urge leaders at a virtual summit on the sidelines of the United Nations General Assembly to make sure 70 percent of their populations are covered by next September. — AFP
September 21, 2021
The Biden administration announces Monday that it would double the number of refugees it will accept in the coming fiscal year to 125,000, amid rising pressure from people fleeing Afghanistan and other countries.
"Today, the State Department is reaffirming our commitment to refugee resettlement in line with our long tradition of providing a safe haven and opportunity to individuals fleeing persecution," says spokesperson Ned Price.
"With the world facing unprecedented global displacement and humanitarian needs, the United States is committed to leading efforts to provide protection and promote durable solutions to humanitarian crises," Price says in a statement. — AFP
September 20, 2021
US President Joe Biden has requested early talks with French President Emmanuel Macron, France said on Sunday, in an apparent effort to mend fences after a row over a submarines contract sparked rare tensions between the allies.
But French government spokesman Gabriel Attal said Sunday that there would be a telephone conversation between Biden and Macron "in the coming days" at the request of the US president.
Macron will ask the US president for "clarification" after the announcement of a US-Australian-British defence pact that prompted Canberra's cancellation of the huge contract for diesel-electric French vessels. — AFP
September 18, 2021
President Joe Biden will host a virtual summit with world leaders on the coronavirus pandemic next Wednesday, a day after he addresses the United Nations General Assembly, the White House says.
"This meeting is about expanding and enhancing our shared efforts to defeat Covid-19" and will seek to "align on a common vision" against the virus, Press Secretary Jen Psaki says in a statement.
The summit will be "on the margins of the UN General Assembly." — AFP
September 17, 2021
The US State Department announces Thursday the approval of a maintenance contract worth up to $500 million for Saudi Arabia's military helicopter fleet, the first with the kingdom since Joe Biden became president.
Under the deal, a continuation of a previous agreement, the US will provide 350 contractor technicians and two government officials over two years to handle the maintenance of the Saudi military's Apache and Black Hawk attack helicopters, as well as the future fleet of Chinook transports.
Before his election Biden had promised to make Saudi leaders "pay" for the murder of US-based journalist Jamal Khashoggi, who was killed by a team closely tied to the court of Crown Prince Mohammed bin Salman. — AFP
September 16, 2021
The United States hopes to work "closely" in the Indo-Pacific with France, President Joe Biden said Wednesday as he announced a new strategic partnership in the region with Australia and Britain.
The new initiative throws into question a multi-billion-dollar French deal to provide conventional submarines to Australia.
Calling France "a key partner and ally in strengthening the security and prosperity of the region," Biden said "the United States looks forward to working closely with France and other key countries as we go forward." — AFP
September 15, 2021
President Joe Biden's administration will meet Friday with Israeli and Arab leaders to celebrate a normalization accord overseen by Donald Trump one year ago, calling it a step toward peace with the Palestinians.
US Secretary of State Antony Blinken's virtual meeting with his counterparts from Israel, the United Arab Emirates, Bahrain and Morocco marks a full embrace of what former president Trump considered one of his top foreign policy legacies.
State Department spokesman Ned Price said the administration was "thrilled to celebrate" the anniversary of the Abraham Accords, using the name given by the Trump administration from which the Biden team earlier shied away. — AFP
September 14, 2021
US President Joe Biden, whose international reputation has taken a hit after the chaotic withdrawal from Afghanistan, is upping the number of major diplomatic meetings this fall as he strives to boost alliances to counter China.
The White House said on Monday Biden will travel to New York on September 21 to address the United Nations General Assembly.
The world's largest diplomatic meeting, which was held virtually in 2020 due to the coronavirus pandemic, will be held this year with a hybrid in-person-virtual format. — AFP
September 10, 2021
President Joe Biden's administration will mandate companies with 100 or more employees to vaccinate all workers or administer weekly Covid-19 tests in a new effort to defeat the surging Delta virus, the White House says Thursday.
The companies must "ensure their workforce is fully vaccinated or require any workers who remain unvaccinated to produce a negative test result on at least a weekly basis," the White House says.
The measure will affect some 80 million people and comes in addition to extension of vaccine mandates for federal employees and new mandates for all those working in hospitals receiving federal healthcare reimbursements. — AFP
September 9, 2021
The Biden administration says Wednesday the United States should aim to garner nearly 50% of its electric supply from solar energy by mid-century, unveiling the latest component of its climate change strategy.
A report released by the Department of Energy (DOE) says solar could account for much as 40% of the power supply by 2035 and 45% by 2050, up from its current level of just three percent.
However reaching this level would require the United States to quadruple its annual solar capacity additions, the department says in a statement. — AFP
September 5, 2021
US President Joe Biden will commemorate the 20th anniversary of 9/11 by traveling to all the three sites of the attacks, the White House said Saturday.
On September 11, the president and First Lady Jill Biden will "honor and memorialize the lives lost 20 years ago," according to the White House statement.
They will take part in ceremonies in New York, where the twin towers of the World Trade Center fell; in Shanksville, Pennsylvania, the site of a crash of a plane hijacked by four jihadists; and in Arlington, Virginia, where the Pentagon was struck.
Biden had been counting on marking the 20th anniversary of the tragedy with a symbolic withdrawal of US troops from Afghanistan. — AFP
September 2, 2021
President Joe Biden will visit hurricane damage in the southern state of Louisiana on Friday, the White House says.
"The president will travel to New Orleans, Louisiana to survey storm damage from Hurricane Ida and meet with state and local leaders from impacted communities," the administration announces Wednesday.
Louisiana and Mississippi took the brunt of Hurricane Ida, which has killed four people. New Orleans was especially hard-hit. — AFP
August 25, 2021
US President Joe Biden's plans to spend nearly $5 trillion to change the world's largest economy advanced in the House of Representatives on Tuesday, after Democratic leaders reached an agreement with centrist lawmakers to end a dispute threatening the bills.
Biden and his Democratic allies controlling the chamber are pushing for passage of both a $1.2 trillion infrastructure overhaul and a bill costing $3.5 trillion over 10 years that would pay for improvements to education, health care and climate change resiliency.
The dispute erupted when centrist Democrats in the House said the infrastructure bill, which the Senate already approved, must be voted on first. — AFP
August 24, 2021
US Vice President Kamala Harris' trip to Hanoi delayed due to 'health incident', embassy says
August 23, 2021
US Vice President Kamala Harris vowed "enduring engagement" in Asia on Monday, offering reassurances of Washington's commitment to the region following the United States' withdrawal from Afghanistan and the Taliban takeover.
The hardline Islamists' swift return to power a week ago, and desperate scenes of thousands trying to flee, have cast a shadow over the United States' status as a global superpower.
But on a visit to Singapore, her first stop on a trip that will also include Vietnam, Harris repeatedly insisted that Washington could be depended on.
"Our administration is committed to enduring engagement in Singapore, into Southeast Asia and the Indo-Pacific," Harris told a press conference alongside Singapore's leader.
"The reason I am here is because the United States is a global leader, and we take that role seriously." — AFP
August 18, 2021
The United States is open to maintaining its diplomatic presence at Kabul's airport after a withdrawal deadline at the end of the month if conditions permit, a State Department spokesman says Tuesday.
"We are thinking about this in terms of August 31. If it is safe and responsible for us to potentially stay longer, that is something we may be able to look at," the spokesman, Ned Price, tells reporters. — AFP
August 17, 2021
US President Joe Biden warns the Taliban Monday not to disrupt or threaten the evacuation of thousands of American diplomats and Afghan translators at the Kabul airport.
The response to any attack would be "swift and forceful," Biden says in a televised address from the White House.
"We will defend our people with devastating force if necessary," he says. — AFP
August 17, 2021
US President Joe Biden on Monday acknowledges that the Afghan government collapsed more quickly than he expected even as he defends his decision to withdraw troops.
"I always promised the American people that I will be straight with you. The truth is, this did unfold more quickly than we had anticipated," Biden says in a national address.
"We gave them every chance to determine their own future. We could not provide them with the will to fight for that future." — AFP
August 16, 2021
US President Joe Biden on Sunday authorizes the deployment of another 1,000 US troops to Kabul to aid in the effort to evacuate thousands of US and Afghan civilians, a Pentagon official says, as the Taliban entered the Afghan capital and took control.
In all, 6,000 US soldiers will be in Kabul "in the coming days," the official said on condition of anonymity, as those seeking safe passage out of Afghanistan converged on the airport. — AFP
August 12, 2021
US President Joe Biden, who just scored an important victory with the passage of a giant infrastructure package, on Wednesday highlighted another key goal of his administration: a massive social spending plan aimed at helping middle-class Americans.
"As we recover from this crisis, now is the moment to put in place the long-term plan to build back America better," Biden said in a speech at the White House.
The Democratic leader lamented the rising costs "that are squeezing families month after month and year after year."
"We need to make this economy work better for working families in the long run," he added. — AFP
August 11, 2021
US President Joe Biden hails the "historic" $1.2 trillion infrastructure package passed by the Senate on Tuesday, saying it will "transform America."
The bill funds work on roads, bridges and ports, as well as clean water and high-speed internet that will create thousands of high-paying jobs, most of which do not require a college degree, Biden said.
The investments will make "infrastructure more resilient" and "allow us to outcompete the rest of the world," he adds. — AFP
August 10, 2021
The Taliban are making swift gains in Afghanistan but President Joe Biden is standing firm on a US exit with limited options appearing to be on the table to reverse the insurgents' momentum.
The Taliban's advances, including seizing six provincial capitals within days, may appear startling in their speed but were not unexpected in Washington as the US military completes the pullout ordered by Biden by August 31.
"The decision to withdraw was made in full knowledge that what we are seeing happen now was likely to happen," said Laurel Miller, until 2017 the US special representative for Afghanistan and Pakistan. — AFP
August 2, 2021
US senators on Sunday finalized a historic, trillion-dollar infrastructure proposal that is expected to be approved within days, Democratic Senate leader Chuck Schumer said.
If passed by Congress and signed into law, the bill would pump historic levels of federal funding into fixing US roads, bridges and waterways, ensuring broadband internet for all Americans and expanding clean energy programs.
A bipartisan group "finished writing the text of the infrastructure bill," Schumer told the Senate, which met for an extended weekend session in Washington.
"I believe the Senate can process relevant amendments and pass this bill in a matter of days."
The bill, a cornerstone of President Joe Biden's sweeping domestic agenda, is about 2,700 pages long and provides for $1 trillion in funding. — AFP
July 8, 2021
President Joe Biden pushes his giant infrastructure spending plans in a speech urging the country to modernize and create "an American century."
"We have to think bigger, we have to act bolder and we have to build back better," he says in a speech in Crystal Lake, Illinois.
Referring to Ronald Reagan's famous assertion in 1984 that the booming economy brought "morning in America," Biden says his plans promised "an American century." — AFP
July 3, 2021
President Joe Biden on Friday cheers the "historic" US rebound from the COVID-19 crisis as the economy gained 850,000 new jobs in June, cementing the evidence of a broad recovery.
The uptick was better than expected and came after two months of disappointing results, buoyed by big increases in the hard-hit leisure and hospitality sector, the Labor Department said in its closely watched monthly report.
With the latest gains, the world's largest economy has added 3.3 million jobs in the first six months of the year. — AFP
July 2, 2021
President Joe Biden will celebrate America's defeat of COVID-19 with a July 4th barbecue this Sunday, but the fireworks smoke will barely clear before the Democrat has to confront maybe even tougher challenges.
About 1,000 guests -- emergency service and essential workers, military members and their families -- are set to pour into the White House grounds for the kind of party unimaginable a year ago, when the country was under lockdown.
The Independence Day bash on the South Lawn, followed by a thunderous fireworks display on the National Mall, will allow Biden to mark what he's calling "independence from this virus."
June 29, 2021
Lawyers for the Trump Organization were making a last-ditch effort on Monday to ward off what appeared to be an impeding criminal indictment of the ex-president's company, according to US media.
A series of reports in recent days seem to indicate that closed-door investigations into the business practices of the former New York real estate mogul — a case opened more than two years ago by the Manhattan district attorney and two Democratic members of Congress, and focusing on alleged financial fraud — are about to bear fruit.
According to several media outlets, including the Washington Post, lawyers for the Trump Organization, an unlisted family holding company that owns golf clubs, hotels and luxury properties, were presenting their final arguments to prosecutors Monday to forestall charges.
A face-to-face meeting was scheduled, according to CNN. — AFP
June 24, 2021
US Vice President Kamala Harris on Friday will visit the country's border with Mexico, the White House announced, as the Biden administration faces intense scrutiny over its handling of an immigration surge.
Hundreds of thousands of migrants, many fleeing poverty and violence in Central America, have attempted to cross into the United States in recent months, prompting scathing criticism from Republicans that President Joe Biden's more humane approach to immigration was provoking rather than preventing a crisis.
Harris senior advisor Symone Sanders said Wednesday that the vice president will visit the border city of El Paso, Texas, and will be accompanied by Homeland Security Secretary Alejandro Mayorkas.
Biden tasked Harris earlier this year with overseeing efforts to address what the administration describes as root causes of migration from El Salvador, Guatemala and Honduras. — AFP
June 23, 2021
A day before US President Joe Biden was due to announce measures to combat a rise in violent crime, the Justice Department on Tuesday revealed it had created five new units to tackle gun trafficking.
The units will be set up in the next 30 days and will focus on the major cities of New York, Chicago, Los Angeles, San Francisco and Washington, which have suffered a sharp increase in homicides over the past year and a half.
Bringing together federal prosecutors, specialized police officers and local partners, the "firearms trafficking strike forces will investigate and disrupt the networks that channel crime guns into our communities with tragic consequences," said Attorney General Merrick Garland in a statement.
On Wednesday, Garland will be at the White House when the Democratic president sets out his administration's strategy to fight rising crime, in the face of criticism from the Republican opposition that he has not properly addressed the problem.
After years of decline, homicide rates rose about 25 percent in 2020, and remain at their highest levels in 2021. — AFP
June 21, 2021
Director Patrick Forbes hopes his new documentary "The Phantom" could be the spark prompting President Joe Biden to act against the death penalty thanks to its powerful message: "An innocent man was executed."
The movie, set for a July 2 release, takes a detailed look at the murder of Wanda Lopez, who was stabbed to death one night in February 1983 while working as a cashier in a Corpus Christi, Texas service station.
Just before she died, the young woman had called police to describe a suspect.
The documentary, a reconstitution of the crime in minute and chilling detail, opens with a recording of Lopez's last words: "You want it? I'll give it to you. I'll give it to you. I'm not going to do nothing to you. Please!"
The police, who arrived too late to save Lopez, took off in pursuit of a man who witnesses had seen fleeing on foot. Forty minutes later they arrested Carlos DeLuna, a 20-year-old with a long criminal record. He was hiding under a car.
Feeling certain they had found Lopez's killer, investigators ended the hunt, even as DeLuna vociferously insisted on his innocence. No trace of blood was found on him.
During his trial, DeLuna said he had fled out of fear of being blamed, and said he, in fact, knew the guilty party: a certain Carlos Hernandez whom he had met in prison.
But when shown photos of men by that name, DeLuna was unable to identify Carlos Hernandez. Certain lies he told during the trial further undercut his credibility.
The prosecutor insisted that "Carlos Hernandez" was a figment of DeLuna's imagination — a "phantom." He was convicted and subsequently sentenced to death.
After all his appeals failed, DeLuna was executed in 1989. — AFP
June 20, 2021
President Joe Biden went to church Saturday in his hometown a day after US Roman Catholic bishops issued a challenge to him over his support for abortion rights.
Biden and first lady Jill Biden spent time at St. Joseph on the Brandywine church in Wilmington. They also visited the church graveyard where the president's first wife Neilia, son Beau and infant daughter Naomi are buried.
Biden, 78, is a devout Catholic who attends mass at least once a week, and he supports the landmark 1973 US Supreme Court decision affirming a woman's right to an abortion. — AFP
June 14, 2021
US President Joe Biden will seek to restore bonds of trust at NATO's first post-Trump summit on Monday, as leaders push to revitalise the alliance despite differences over dangers ahead.
The allies will agree a statement stressing common ground on securing their withdrawal from Afghanistan, joint responses to cyber attacks and relations with a rising China.
Biden's predecessor Donald Trump undermined faith in the West's security architecture by questioning Washington's commitment to defend European partners.
And he clashed publicly with counterparts the last time leaders met in 2019, before abruptly heading home early.
In contrast, Biden has firmly reasserted American backing for the 72-year-old military alliance — and his administration has been making a show of consulting more with partners. — AFP
June 13, 2021
President Joe Biden marks the fifth anniversary of a mass shooting in a gay nightclub in Florida, taking the rare step of saying he would designate the club as a national memorial.
"In the coming days, I will sign a bill designating Pulse Nightclub as a national memorial, enshrining in law what has been true since that terrible day five years ago: Pulse Nightclub is hallowed ground," the US president says in a statement released as he continued a European tour.
On June 12, 2016, a gunman opened fire inside the Orlando club, killing 49 people, many of them Latinos, and wounding more than 50 others in what was then the deadliest mass shooting in modern US history. — AFP
June 11, 2021
President Joe Biden calls a US donation of 500 million COVID-19 vaccine doses to poorer countries a "historic step" in the fight against the global pandemic.
"This is about our responsibility, our humanitarian obligation to save as many lives as we can," he tells reporters on the eve of the G7 summit in Cornwall, southwest England, adding it was also in the US interest because of the risk of variants. — AFP
June 10, 2021
Joe Biden and Boris Johnson will hold their first face-to-face meeting Thursday, during which they will lay the foundations for a new pact, despite Brexit and its consequences in Northern Ireland casting a shadow on the old "special relationship".
Biden — on his first overseas tour as US president — and the British Prime Minister are set to agree a modern version of the 1941 "Atlantic Charter" signed by Winston Churchill and Franklin D. Roosevelt, that set out post-war goals for democracy, trade and opportunity.
But while keen to affirm the strength of the long-celebrated partnership, Biden has reportedly ordered US diplomats to scold Johnson over his handling of Brexit and its effects on the Northern Ireland peace process. — AFP
June 9, 2021
Joe Biden departs Washington early Wednesday on the first foreign trip of his presidency, launching an intense series of summits with G7, European and NATO partners before a tense face-to-face with Russia's Vladimir Putin.
Biden, 78, heads from the White House first to Britain ahead of a G7 summit in a Cornish seaside resort from Friday to Sunday.
From there, in rapid succession, the veteran Democrat will visit Queen Elizabeth II at Windsor Castle, fly to Brussels for summits with the NATO military alliance and European Union, then finish up in Geneva, where he meets Putin next Wednesday. — AFP
June 8, 2021
Joe Biden will fight what he calls a "defining" battle for democracy on his first foreign presidential trip, meeting top US allies in Europe ahead of a tricky summit with Russia's Vladimir Putin.
The busy agenda -- with G7, NATO and European Union summits ahead of the Putin sit-down in Geneva -- will see Biden fly the flag for a West he sees at an "inflection point."
"This is a defining question of our time," Biden wrote in The Washington Post ahead of his trip. — AFP
June 8, 2021
President Joe Biden reaffirmed US support for Ukraine's territorial integrity Monday after Russian troop movements on its border, and invited President Volodymyr Zelensky to the White House.
National Security Advisor Jake Sullivan told reporters that Biden talked by phone with Zelensky, telling him "he will stand up firmly for Ukraine's sovereignty" and "looks forward to welcoming him to the White House this summer."
The invitation to visit in July marked a show of support for Ukraine ahead of Biden's summit with Russian President Vladimir Putin in Geneva next week.
White House press secretary Jen Psaki said the leaders had discussed the countries' "shared democratic values and Ukraine's Euro-Atlantic aspirations."
She said Biden "affirmed the United States' unwavering commitment to Ukraine's sovereignty and territorial integrity in the face of ongoing Russian aggression in Donbas and Crimea."
In a statement Zelensky accepted the invitation. — AFP
June 7, 2021
US Vice President Kamala Harris arrived in Guatemala Sunday, bringing a message of "hope" to a region hammered by Covid-19 and which is the source of most of the undocumented migrants seeking entry to the United States.
Harris, who will also visit Mexico, is making her first journey abroad as President Joe Biden's deputy with an eye toward tackling the root causes of migration from the region — one of the thorniest issues facing the White House.
She landed at an air force base outside Guatemala City on Sunday evening, where she was greeted by Foreign Minister Pedro Brolo and US Ambassador William Popp. — AFP
June 6, 2021
The United States will stand with its European allies against Russia, President Joe Biden has promised ahead of the first face-to-face meeting with Vladimir Putin of his administration.
Biden will head to Europe Wednesday, and is set to attend both the G-7 and NATO summits as well as holding a high-stakes meeting with the Russian leader in Geneva on June 16.
The summit comes amid the biggest crisis in ties between the two countries in years, with tensions high over a litany of issues including hacking allegations, human rights and claims of election meddling. — AFP
June 5, 2021
The administration of President Joe Biden announces it would restore protections under the Endangered Species Act, a law credited with saving iconic animals like the gray wolf and bald eagle, which were loosened by his predecessor Donald Trump.
Conservation groups welcomed the move but said they were concerned about how long the reversal might take.
"The US Fish and Wildlife Service (FWS) is committed to working with diverse federal, Tribal, state and industry partners to not only protect and recover America's imperiled wildlife but to ensure cornerstone laws like the Endangered Species Act are helping us meet 21st century challenges," says the agency's Martha Williams. — AFP
June 3, 2021
US President Joe Biden says he is "looking" at possible retaliation after the White House linked Russia to a cyberattack against global meat processing giant JBS.
Asked by a reporter if he would take action against President Vladimir Putin, whom he will meet for a summit in Geneva later this month, Biden says: "We're looking closely at that issue."
The ransomware attack on a US subsidiary of Brazilian-owned JBS has again prompted accusations that Russia is at least harboring cybercriminals. — AFP
May 29, 2021
US President Joe Biden proposes a $6 trillion budget that for first time in 45 years did not prohibit federal funds being used for abortion, as the Democrat leader fulfilled a campaign pledge.
The absence of the "Hyde amendment" in the proposed budget will be subject of bitter debate in Congress, where elected Republicans will seek to reintroduce it.
The amendment limits the use of federal funds to finance abortions through Medicaid in cases of rape, incest or when the mother's life is in danger. Medicaid is public health medical insurance intended for poorer Americans. — AFP
May 28, 2021
President Joe Biden urges "generational" investment in US infrastructure to keep the economic superpower ahead of China while ensuring that less wealthy Americans are not left behind.
Speaking at a community college in Cleveland, Ohio, Biden says his $1.7 trillion American Jobs Plan is an opportunity to capitalize on the rapid US recovery from the COVID-19 shutdown.
"We're at an inflection point," he says. "We have a chance to seize the economic momentum... and this time we're going to deal everyone in, everyone who's been left out." — AFP
May 22, 2021
President Joe Biden acknowledges there is no easy path to getting North Korea to give up its nuclear weapons but reaffirmed his "iron-clad" commitment to the US alliance with South Korea after talks with President Moon Jae-in.
"We're under no illusions how difficult this is -- none whatsoever. The past four administrations have not achieved the objective. It's an incredibly difficult objective," Biden tells reporters at a press conference with his South Korean counterpart at the White House.
The US leader also announced he had named veteran diplomat Sung Kim, the former US ambassador to Seoul, as his special envoy for North Korea. — AFP
May 21, 2021
President Joe Biden meets South Korean President Moon Jae-in at the White House on Friday to underscore a strategic focus on Asia, while playing down chances of quick progress on the two biggest challenges facing the United States.
The rising power of China as a rival for leadership in Asia and the powder keg of nuclear-armed North Korea loom over the talks.
The Biden administration admits it has no easy answer to either. — AFP
May 8, 2021
The United States added just 266,000 jobs in April -- a quarter of the number expected -- in a surprise setback for President Joe Biden's efforts to revive an economy blighted by the COVID-19 pandemic.
The weak hiring also pushed the unemployment rate up slightly to 6.1%, according to the Labor Department's monthly employment report released Friday.
The data defied economists' upbeat predictions that widespread Covid-19 vaccines and government relief measures would allow businesses to return to normal and add one million jobs last month. — AFP
May 6, 2021
President Joe Biden says that America's Republicans face an identity crisis and a "mini-revolution" after Donald Trump's turbulent presidency.
The Democrat, who defeated Trump last November and had pledged to work with Republicans if he could, said the opposition has lost its way.
"It seems as though the Republican Party is trying to identify what it stands for and they're in the midst of a significant mini-revolution," he tells reporters at the White House. — AFP
May 4, 2021
President Joe Biden announces, after coming under fierce criticism, that he was raising the maximum number of refugees allowed into the United States this year to 62,500 — up from the 15,000 cap imposed by his predecessor Donald Trump.
The change follows backlash from allies over Biden's earlier decision to keep the Trump-era limits -- a politically costly moment of confusion that stood out in a White House notable for its iron discipline in its first three months.
"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 says in a statement. — AFP
May 3, 2021
Britain this week hosts the first face-to-face meeting of G7 foreign ministers in two years, joined by US Secretary of State Antony Blinken, as world powers tackle pandemic recovery plus growing tensions with Russia and China.
The Covid-secure gathering in London will prepare the ground for a G7 summit in southwest England next month, which will mark Joe Biden's inaugural visit to Europe as US president. Both events will also be joined by Indian leaders.
Many of the G7 nations have rallied to India's aid as the world's most populous democracy confronts a terrifying surge of coronavirus cases, although the pandemic is ebbing elsewhere in the West thanks to mass vaccination drives. — AFP
April 30, 2021
US President Joe Biden meets with longtime ally and Democratic icon Jimmy Carter as he visited the southern state of Georgia to pitch his huge spending plans.
It was their first face-to-face encounter since Biden won the White House last November.
"They are such a powerful reminder that serving our country isn't limited to the office you hold," Jill Biden says afterwards in Duluth, Georgia, before introducing her husband at a rally. — AFP
April 29, 2021
The United States will stand up to China but is not looking for conflict, President Joe Biden was to say in an address to Congress on Wednesday.
In prepared remarks, Biden said that he had told his Chinese counterpart Xi Jinping that "we welcome the competition — and that we are not looking for conflict." — AFP
April 29, 2021
US President Joe Biden tells Americans in his first speech to Congress that the nation has pulled off a massive logistical success with its battle against the coronavirus pandemic.
"Because of you, the American people, our progress these past 100 days against one of the worst pandemics in history is one of the greatest logistical achievements our country has ever seen," the president says in an address to a joint session of Congress.
The 78-year-old Biden notes that senior deaths from COVID-19 have plunged some 80% since January, more than half of all US adults have received at least one vaccine dose, and that first responders considered the vaccine as "a dose of hope." — AFP
April 28, 2021
The Biden administration announces a new effort Tuesday to pressure "transnational criminal organizations" it said were involved in smuggling undocumented migrants crossing the southern border.
Secretary of Homeland Security Alejandro Mayorkas says the new Operation Sentinel will bring together multiple law and border enforcement agencies along with the State Department to make it hard for the gang members to travel internationally or move money and goods around.
"These criminal organizations put profit over human life. They routinely prey on migrants taking vast sums of money from them, in exchange for often empty promises to get them safely to the United States," Mayorkas says. — AFP
April 27, 2021
US Vice President Kamala Harris promises Guatemalan President Alejandro Giammattei Monday that Washington would give more help to Central American countries struggling to stop migrants from fleeing north.
Harris, who leads President Joe Biden's efforts to address the influx of migrants from Guatemala, Honduras and El Salvador to the US-Mexico border, met with Giammattei by videoconference, prior to her visit to Central America scheduled for June.
"The United States plans to increase relief to the region, strengthen our cooperation to manage migration in an effective, secure and humane manner," she promises Giammattei. — AFP
April 27, 2021
President Joe Biden will propose a tax hike on the investment gains of the wealthiest individuals to pay for his new plan to help US families, a top White House economist says.
Biden this week is expected to lay out his $1.8 trillion American Families Plan that would provide national child care, paid family leave and free community college, using higher taxes on the rich to offset the hefty price tag.
The increased levy on the profits earned from sales of stocks and other assets will only impact those earning $1 million a year, a narrow sliver of American taxpayers comprising 500,000 people, said Brian Deese, head of the White House National Economic Council.
"This change will only apply to three tenths of a percent of taxpayers, which is not the top one percent, it's not even the top one half of one percent," he tells reporters, citing 2018 tax filing data. — AFP
April 22, 2021
US President Joe Biden is preparing to recognize the World War I-era killings of 1.5 million Armenians by the Ottoman Empire as genocide, US media says.
Such a move would further inflame tensions with NATO ally Turkey, which vehemently rejects the designation that has already been adopted by dozens of other countries including France and Russia.
Biden is expected to announce the genocide designation on Saturday, the 106th anniversary of the mass killings that began in 1915, when the Ottoman Empire was battling Tsarist Russia during World War I in the region that is now Armenia, according to The New York Times and Wall Street Journal. — AFP
April 21, 2021
China's President Xi Jinping will attend US President Joe Biden's virtual climate summit this week, Beijing says, as the world's top polluting nations seek rare common ground despite wider political tensions.
Biden has invited 40 world leaders including Xi and Russia's Vladimir Putin to the meet starting on Earth Day, meant to mark Washington's return to the front lines of the fight against climate change after former president Donald Trump disengaged from the process.
The virtual summit will be the first meeting between the two leaders since Biden became president. — AFP
April 21, 2021
President Joe Biden calls on Americans to unite after the guilty verdict in the racially charged murder by a policeman of a Black man and pleaded for protesters to stay clear of violence.
"This is the time for this country to come together, to unite as Americans," he says in nationally televised remarks.
"There are those who will seek to exploit the raw emotions in the moment — agitators and extremists who have no interest in social justice," he warns. "We can't let them succeed." — AFP
April 17, 2021
US President Joe Biden says it was too early to know whether indirect talks underway with Iran would succeed in reviving a nuclear accord.
Biden says the United States does "not think that it's at all helpful" that Iran this week ramped up uranium enrichment, a move taken in response to sabotage on a nuclear facility believed to have been carried out by Israel.
"We are nonetheless pleased that Iran has continued to agree to engage in discussions," Biden says at a joint news conference with Japanese Prime Minister Yoshihide Suga. — AFP
April 16, 2021
Finnish President Sauli Niinisto has offered Finland as a host country for a possible meeting between US president Joe Biden and his Russian counterpart Vladimir Putin, Niinisto's office says.
"When it comes to this possible meeting, the readiness of Finland to organise it has been presented to both Washington and Moscow," a spokesman for the Finnish President's Office told AFP by email.
Finland previously hosted Putin and President Trump in Helsinki for the 2018 summit between the two leaders. — AFP
April 16, 2021
President Joe Biden receives Japan's prime minister for his first in-person summit, with the leaders expected to announce a $2 billion 5G initiative as part of a concerted US push to compete with China.
Biden's decision to invite Prime Minister Yoshihide Suga as his first guest -- with South Korean President Moon Jae-in set to come in May -- reflects his renewed priority on US alliances as he zeroes in on a rising China as America's most pressing challenge.
A senior US official said that technology leader Japan would announce a "very substantial commitment" of $2 billion in partnership with the United States "to work on 5G and next steps beyond." — AFP
April 15, 2021
Reviving the Iran nuclear deal would seem like a simple task for US President Joe Biden. Iran wants him to lift sanctions in exchange for Tehran's return to compliance.
But as Iran and the United States resume indirect talks in Vienna led by the European Union, the Biden administration faces the question of which sanctions exactly are on the table.
Further casting a shadow over the talks is an explosion at a key Iranian nuclear facility purportedly carried out by Israel, a sworn foe of the 2015 accord, which led Tehran to announce it was ramping up uranium enrichment closer to weapons-grade levels. — AFP
April 14, 2021
President Joe Biden will formally announce the withdrawal of all US troops from Afghanistan before this year's 20th anniversary of the September 11 attacks, finally ending America's longest war despite mounting fears of a Taliban victory, officials say.
The drawdown delays only by around five months an agreement with the Taliban by former president Donald Trump to pull troops, amid a growing consensus in Washington that little more can be achieved.
The decision came as Turkey announced an international peace conference on Afghanistan in hopes of reaching an agreement that brings stability to a nation battered by nearly 40 years of war. — AFP
April 14, 2021
President Joe Biden agrees to address a joint session of Congress this month to mark 100 days in office as he grapples with critical issues including the coronavirus pandemic and America's economic woes.
Biden accepted House Speaker Nancy Pelosi's invitation to deliver an April 28 address on "the challenges and opportunities of this historic moment."
The speech will not technically be a so-called State of the Union address, which American presidents give yearly under the Constitution. Brand new leaders like Biden instead deliver a speech to a joint session of Congress. — AFP
April 14, 2021
President Joe Biden will withdraw all US troops from Afghanistan before this year's 20th anniversary of the September 11 attacks, finally ending America's longest war despite mounting fears of a Taliban victory, officials say Tuesday.
The drawdown delays only by around five months an agreement with the Taliban by former president Donald Trump to pull troops, amid a growing consensus in Washington that little more can be achieved.
The decision came as Turkey announced an international peace conference on Afghanistan in hopes of reaching an agreement that brings stability to a nation battered by nearly 40 years of war. But the Taliban, newly emboldened, said they would boycott the conference. — AFP
April 13, 2021
President Joe Biden met virtually Monday with leading CEOs for a summit on the semiconductor shortage as he works to build support for his infrastructure bill.
Biden, in brief remarks to a group that included the leaders of General Motors, Alphabet/Google, and US semiconductor powerhouse Intel, said the United States must build up its own infrastructure to prevent future supply crises.
"We led the world in the middle of the 20th century," Biden said. "We led the world toward the end of the century, we're going to lead the world again." — AFP
April 8, 2021
President Joe Biden will unveil measures on Thursday aimed at curbing rampant US gun violence, especially seeking to prevent the spread of untraceable "ghost guns," White House officials said.
Biden has come under pressure from his Democratic party to tackle the bloodshed, most recently highlighted by mass killings in Colorado, Georgia and California.
In addition to relatively modest measures on the politically hyper-sensitive issue, Biden will announce his nomination of David Chipman, a gun-control proponent, to head the Bureau of Alcohol, Tobacco, Firearms and Explosives — a central agency in the fight against gun violence. — AFP
April 7, 2021
President Joe Biden announces that all adults across America will be eligible for Covid-19 shots within two weeks, while economic powerhouse California set a June 15 target to fully reopen businesses.
The positive news from the United States — which has reported the most coronavirus deaths of any country but is now a leader in the vaccine rollout — contrasted with a record daily toll in Brazil and Europe's troubled rollout of the AstraZeneca shot.
Biden announced in a White House speech that he is moving up the deadline for all over 18 to be eligible for vaccines to April 19. The previous target had been May 1. — AFP
April 2, 2021
Japan's Prime Minister Yoshihide Suga will hold face-to-face talks with Joe Biden in Washington on April 16, as the first foreign leader hosted by the US president, the Japanese government says.
Local media had reported the trip would take place next week, but top government spokesman Katsunobu Kato said the mid-April date would give both sides time to prepare.
The trip comes at a time of renewed focus on China's role in the region, as well as its alleged abuses of the Uyghur minority and its crackdown on freedoms in Hong Kong. — AFP
April 1, 2021
US President Joe Biden announces a massive $2 trillion infrastructure program that he says will generate millions of jobs, revitalize the US economy and help Washington compete with China.
"It's the largest American jobs investment since World War II. It will create millions of jobs, good-paying jobs," Biden says.
The United States "can't delay another minute' to rebuild US infrastructure, he says. — AFP
March 31, 2021
US President Joe Biden nominates several Black women, an Asian American and the first Muslim ever to federal judgeships Tuesday in a push for diversity in the US court system.
Breaking with predecessor Donald Trump's four-year effort to staff federal courts with largely white male conservatives, Biden unveils his first 11 picks for judges, with only two of them men, neither of them white.
At the top of his list was nominating Judge Ketanji Brown Jackson, who is African-American, to the US Court of Appeals for the District of Columbia Circuit, which is known to handle major cases. — AFP
March 29, 2021
US President Joe Biden's new trade negotiator has said the United States is not yet ready to lift tariffs on Chinese imports, but could be open to talks with Beijing.
US Trade Representative Katherine Tai, whose appointment was confirmed earlier this month, told The Wall Street Journal she understood the levies were hitting some American companies and consumers, but they can also protect businesses.
In January 2020, then-president Donald Trump signed an accord between Beijing and Washington after a bruising trade battle that saw tariffs imposed by both sides.
"I have heard people say, 'Please just take these tariffs off,'" the 47-year-old Tai told the WSJ in an interview published Sunday. — AFP
March 26, 2021
President Joe Biden warns North Korea that the United States will "respond accordingly" if it escalates its military testing, after Pyongyang fired two missiles in its first major provocation since he took office.
The nuclear-armed North has a long history of using weapons tests to ramp up tensions, in a carefully calibrated process to try to forward its objectives.
Biden's response demonstrates a change of tone from his predecessor Donald Trump, who engaged in an extraordinary diplomatic bromance with North Korean leader Kim Jong Un and last year repeatedly played down similar short-range launches. — AFP
March 22, 2021
"The border is closed": With those words, a top Biden administration official pushes back Sunday against fast-mounting criticism that it has bungled immigration policy, spurring an influx of migrants in the biggest crisis to emerge under the new president.
Homeland Security Secretary Alejandro Mayorkas says the administration's message to would-be border-crossers was simple: "Now is not the time to come. Do not come. The journey is dangerous.
"We are building safe, orderly and humane ways to address the needs of vulnerable children," he says on ABC's "This Week." — AFP
March 18, 2021
US President Joe Biden says that it would be "tough" to meet the deadline to withdraw American troops from Afghanistan by May 1, as agreed with the Taliban in a deal secured under Donald Trump.
The Taliban insurgents have largely stuck to a promise not to attack US or other foreign troops since the agreement was struck in February last year, but they say the date to end America's longest war is inflexible.
"Could happen, but it is tough," Biden says when asked about the May 1 deadline in a TV interview broadcast on Wednesday. "I'm in the process of making that decision now." — AFP
March 17, 2021
US President Joe Biden urges migrants not to come to the United States as criticism mounted over a surge in people arriving at the southern border with Mexico -- including thousands of unaccompanied children.
"Yes I can say quite clearly don't come over ... Don't leave your town or city or community," he says in an interview with ABC News, addressing the migrants. — AFP
March 17, 2021
US President Joe Biden's administration intends to show its firmness against Beijing in its first meeting with Chinese diplomatic leaders in Alaska on Thursday, but does not expect immediate results, US officials.
Secretary of State Antony Blinken and White House national security adviser Jake Sullivan are set for talks with senior Chinese official Yang Jiechi and Foreign Minister Wang Yi that represent "an initial discussion to understand... our interests, intentions and priorities," one senior US official tells reporters.
"Sometimes there is sense, potentially a perception, or maybe it's a hope in Beijing, that our public message is somehow different than our private message. And we think it's really important that we dispel that idea very early," the official adds. — AFP
March 17, 2021
US President Joe Biden will hold his first formal press conference since taking office next week, White House Press Secretary Jen Psaki said Tuesday.
Biden, who was sworn in on January 20, has broken with precedent by waiting so long to hold a full question and answer session with journalists. The White House says that he has frequently answered questions in informal settings instead.
The press conference on March 25 will take place more than 60 days into Biden's term. — AFP
March 16, 2021
President Joe Biden's $1.9 trillion stimulus will start flooding into the US economy soon, and some analysts say much of that money could end up invested in stocks or even bitcoin.
Over the weekend, the government began sending the $1,400 direct payments that will go to nearly everyone in the United States.
About $400 billion in payments will flow directly to households, going to individuals earning less than $75,000 a year or married couples making up to $150,000, as well as their children. — AFP
March 12, 2021
US President Joe Biden warns Americans not to relent in the fight to defeat Covid-19, saying it was "far from over," while offering hope for brighter days to come as virus cases wane and vaccinations accelerate.
"This fight is far from over," Biden says in his first primetime address to the nation. "This is not the time to let up."
He urges Americans to get vaccinated and to continue to follow social distancing rules and wear face masks, adding that ultimately, "history will record that we faced and overcame one of the toughest and darkest periods in this nation's history." — AFP
March 12, 2021
President Joe Biden will order authorities across the entire United States to lift priority restrictions on people wanting to get Covid-19 vaccinations by the start of May, an official said Thursday.
"He will direct states that no later than May 1, all Americans need to be eligible to receive the vaccine," said a senior administration official, who asked not to be identified.
Biden will discuss his plans in a primetime television speech later Thursday. — AFP
March 10, 2021
US President Joe Biden will hold first-ever joint talks Friday with the leaders of Australia, India and Japan, boosting an emerging four-way alliance often cast as a bulwark against China.
It will be one of the first summits, albeit in virtual format, for Biden, who has vowed to revive US alliances in the wake of the disarray of Donald Trump's administration. — AFP
March 10, 2021
President Joe Biden plans to nominate a prominent advocate of breaking up Big Tech firms to a key regulatory post, suggesting an aggressive antitrust stance, media reports said Tuesday.
The reports said Lina Khan — a Columbia University law professor who has suggested antitrust laws could be interpreted to break up tech titans — would be named to the Federal Trade Commission, an agency with some authority over mergers and antitrust policy.
Khan's appointment would follow the naming of Tim Wu, another Big Tech critic, to an economic advisory post in the White House. — AFP
March 7, 2021
US President Joe Biden hails the Senate passage of a $1.9 trillion relief package for the pandemic-stricken American economy, following a marathon overnight voting session.
"I promised the American people help was on the way. Today, I can say we've taken one more giant step forward in delivering on that promise," Biden says after the plan was approved along strict party lines. — AFP
March 3, 2021
President Joe Biden says Tuesday the United States would have sufficient vaccine supply by the end of May to inoculate the entire US adult population.
"We're now on track to have enough vaccine supply for every adult in America by the end of May," says Biden — who had previously forecast it would take until the end of July to amass that many doses.
"That's progress. Important progress. But it is not enough to have the vaccine supply," Biden says, stressing the work still ahead to administer the vaccines once acquired. — AFP
March 2, 2021
The US Senate will start its debate "this week" on President Joe Biden's massive economic stimulus plan, Democratic Majority Leader Chuck Schumer says Monday.
The House of Representatives, also under Democratic control, on Saturday approved the $1.9 trillion package designed to jumpstart the US economy after the implosion caused by the Covid-19 pandemic, and which included a hike in the federal minimum wage.
The version of the bill the Senate will debate will not include the latter section on increasing minimum wage due to congressional rules governing the budgetary process. — AFP
February 27, 2021
US President Joe Biden will attend his second "virtual" summit with a foreign leader early next week when he meets his Mexican counterpart Andres Manuel Lopez Obrador.
"On Monday, March 1, President Joe Biden will meet with President Andres Manuel Lopez Obrador," White House Press Secretary Jen Psaki says in a statement.
She added that the "virtual event" would touch on cooperation on migration, joint development efforts in Southern Mexico and Central America, Covid-19 recovery and economic cooperation. — AFP
February 26, 2021
US President Joe Biden urges Congress to "move quickly" to pass a $1.9 trillion coronavirus relief package after a Senate ruling that prevents a minimum wage hike from being included in the sweeping plan.
"President Biden is disappointed in this outcome, as he proposed having the $15 minimum wage as part of the American Rescue Plan," White House press secretary Jen Psaki says in a statement.
"He urges Congress to move quickly to pass the (bill), which includes $1400 rescue checks for most Americans" and other funding to help control and end the pandemic. — AFP
February 26, 2021
President Joe Biden reaffirms the US commitment to Saudi Arabia's defense but stressed the importance of human rights Thursday in a long-delayed first call with Saudi King Salman, the White House said.
They discussed "the US commitment to help Saudi Arabia defend its territory as it faces attacks from Iranian-aligned groups," a statement says.
However, Biden also "affirmed the importance the United States places on universal human rights and the rule of law" in the call, which was overshadowed by a soon-to-be-released US intelligence report on the murder of Washington Post journalist Jamal Khashoggi in a Saudi consulate. — AFP
February 24, 2021
The US Senate easily confirms two more of Joe Biden's cabinet nominees as the president fills out his inner circle, although another pick was facing mounting opposition.
Linda Thomas-Greenfield, 68, a former career diplomat, earns confirmation to be US ambassador to the United Nations, on a 78-20 vote.
The Senate then comfortably greenlights Tom Vilsack, 70, to be secretary of agriculture, a post he held throughout Barack Obama's administration. — AFP
February 23, 2021
US President Joe Biden calls the milestone of more than 500,000 US deaths from Covid-19 "heartbreaking" on Monday and urges the country to unite against the pandemic.
"I know what it's like," an emotional Biden says in a national television address, referring to his own long history of family tragedies.
"I ask all Americans to remember, remember those we lost and those they left behind," Biden says. "I also ask us to act, to remain vigilant, to say socially distant, to mask up, to get vaccinated." — AFP
February 19, 2021
President Joe Biden will pledge $4 billion in US aid to the Covax global Covid-19 vaccination program during his virtual meeting with other G7 leaders on Friday, White House officials say.
An initial $2 billion will be released "by the end of this month," with the rest coming over the next two years, a senior White House official who asked not to be identified says Thursday. — AFP
February 16, 2021
Kamala Harris spoke with French President Emmanuel Macron on Monday to discuss topics including the pandemic and climate change, in a rare phone call between a US vice president and a foreign leader.
Harris's office released a statement saying she had expressed her commitment "to revitalizing the transatlantic alliance."
"Vice President Harris and President Macron agreed on the need for close bilateral and multilateral cooperation to address COVID-19, climate change, and support democracy at home and around the world," the statement said. — AFP
February 14, 2021
The White House said Saturday it has accepted the resignation of a staffer who allegedly threatened to "destroy" a reporter who was asking about his personal life.
White House Deputy Spokesman TJ Ducklo was originally suspended for one week without pay, but now the administration of President Joe Biden has accepted his resignation, White House Press Secretary Jen Psaki said in a statement.
According to Vanity Fair magazine, Ducklo called Politico reporter Tara Palmeri after she began asking questions about his months-old personal relationship with a reporter from Politico rival Axios, Alexi McCammond.
"I will destroy you," Ducklo allegedly said to Palmeri in a phone call shortly after Biden's January 20 presidential inauguration.
According to Vanity Fair, Ducklo "made derogatory and misogynistic comments" to Palmeri and called her "jealous." — AFP
February 13, 2021
President Joe Biden's administration announces that asylum seekers forced to remain in Mexico while their cases are being resolved in the United States will begin to be admitted into the US as of next week.
Biden instructed the Department of Homeland Security earlier this month to take action to end the controversial "Remain in Mexico" program put in place by his predecessor Donald Trump.
It saw tens of thousands of non-Mexican asylum seekers -- mostly from Central America -- sent back over the border pending the outcome of their asylum applications, creating a humanitarian crisis in the area, exacerbated by the COVID-19 pandemic. — AFP
February 11, 2021
Joe Biden challenged Chinese leader Xi Jinping on human rights, trade and regional muscle-flexing, in their first call since the new US president took office.
An increasingly assertive Beijing has tested US patience since Xi came to power, and under former president Donald Trump found itself on the receiving end of trade tariffs as relations frayed.
Biden is under pressure at home and abroad to maintain the stance that Trump adopted, as the West looks to hold China to account for human rights abuses against mainly Muslim Uighurs in Xinjiang and its crushing of opposition in Hong Kong, as well as saber-rattling over Taiwan.
His call on Wednesday was about setting the tone for the relationship, at a time when many in the US and the wider world blame China for failing to contain the coronavirus pandemic, which was first discovered in Wuhan. — AFP
February 11, 2021
Joe Biden voices concern to Chinese leader Xi Jinping about crackdown in Hong Kong, rights in Xinjiang, according to White House.
February 11, 2021
US President Joe Biden announces sanctions against Myanmar's military leaders and demanded they relinquish power, after tens of thousands of people took to the streets of the Southeast Asian nation's biggest city for a fifth consecutive day demanding a return to democracy.
The popular show of force in Yangon, which came in defiance of a protest ban in Myanmar's former capital, saw crowds swarm through the city and call for the release of Aung San Suu Kyi following her ouster in a coup last week.
Protesters faced down police a day after authorities dispersed crowds elsewhere with tear gas and rubber bullets, and ramped up their harassment of the deposed leader's party. — AFP
February 8, 2021
President Joe Biden anticipates the US rivalry with China will take the form of "extreme competition" rather than conflict between the two world powers.
Biden says in an excerpt of a CBS interview aired Sunday that he has not spoken with Chinese counterpart Xi Jinping since he became US president.
"He's very tough. He doesn't have — and I don't mean it as a criticism, just the reality — he doesn't have a democratic, small D, bone in his body," Biden says. — AFP
February 6, 2021
President Joe Biden seizes on feeble US employment data to argue the world's largest economy needs his $1.9 trillion pandemic relief package, which cleared a key Senate hurdle without support from the Republican opposition.
The closely-watched jobs data showed the unemployment rate dropped to 6.3 percent in January, but the economy added only 49,000 jobs, the Labor Department says.
The anemic report made plain the ongoing struggles in the United States as Americans cope with the largest COVID-19 outbreak in the world. — AFP
January 28, 2021
US President Joe Biden's administration on Wednesday signalled a fresh look at US policy in the Middle East, announcing reviews of massive arms packages for the United Arab Emirates and Saudi Arabia as well as envisioning a slow return to diplomacy with Iran.
On his first full day on the job, Secretary of State Antony Blinken said that his top priorities would include addressing the catastrophe for civilians in Yemen, where US ally Saudi Arabia has been bombarding Iranian-linked Huthi rebels.
"We've seen a campaign, led by Saudi Arabia, that has also contributed to what is by many estimates the worst humanitarian crisis in the world today, and that's saying something," Blinken told a news conference.
"It's vitally important even in the midst of this crisis that we do everything we can to get humanitarian assistance to the people of Yemen, who are in desperate need," he said of the country where 80 percent of the 29 million people rely on aid to survive. — AFP
January 27, 2021
US President Joe Biden ordered the end to the use of private prisons for federal inmates Tuesday, saying they incentivized throwing more people in prison without improving on government-run jails.
Biden ordered the Justice Department to phase out the use of private incarceration facilities, which house about 16 percent of federal prisoners.
"There is broad consensus that our current system of mass incarceration imposes significant costs and hardships on our society and communities and does not make us safer," Biden said in the order.
"To decrease incarceration levels, we must reduce profit-based incentives to incarcerate by phasing out the federal government's reliance on privately operated criminal detention facilities," he said. — AFP
January 26, 2021
The US Senate on Tuesday voted to confirm Janet Yellen as the first woman to lead the US Department of the Treasury.
Yellen, who was also the first woman to lead the Federal Reserve and the White House Council of Economic Advisers, will play a key role in crafting US President Joe Biden's economic policy as the United States confronts the ongoing Covid-19 pandemic. — AFP
January 25, 2021
US President Joe Biden will re-impose a COVID-19 travel ban on most non-US citizens who have been in Britain, Brazil, Ireland and much of Europe, a White House official said Sunday, as the new administration ramps up its pandemic response.
Biden will also on Monday extend the ban to travelers who have recently been to South Africa amid warnings that new, more transmissible coronavirus variants are already establishing themselves in the United States, the official said, confirming US media reports.
The new president last week tightened mask wearing rules and ordered quarantine for people flying into the United States, as he seeks to tackle the country's worsening coronavirus crisis.
Biden has said that the COVID-19 death toll would likely rise from 420,000 to half a million next month — and that drastic action was needed. — AFP
January 25, 2021
French President Emmanuel Macron and new US President Joe Biden are in agreement on climate change and how to fight coronavirus, the Elysee palace said on Sunday.
The two leaders spoke for the first time since Biden's inauguration in a telephone call Sunday and also discussed "their willingness to act together for peace in the Near and Middle East, in particular on the Iranian nuclear issue," the French presidency said.
The pair spoke for about an hour in English, according to members of Macron's team.
Earlier this week, Macron had lauded Biden's decision to return to the Paris climate accord. — AFP
January 24, 2021
Boris Johnson and Joe Biden on Saturday vowed to deepen ties and cooperate on tackling climate change in their first conversation since the US president's inauguration, the British prime minister's office said.
Johnson congratulated Biden on his inauguration and "the two leaders looked forward to deepening the close alliance between our nations", said the statement from Downing Street.
British newspapers reported that Johnson was the first European leader to receive a call from Biden, who earlier spoke to Canadian and Mexican counterparts. — AFP
January 23, 2021
Canadian leader Justin Trudeau and new US President Joe Biden speak on the phone on an extensive range of topics, and make plans to meet in person "next month," Ottawa said.
"The two leaders agreed to meet next month in order to advance the important work of renewing the deep and enduring friendship between Canada and the United States," Trudeau's office says in a statement. — AFP
January 22, 2021
Russia says it welcomed a proposal by US President Joe Biden to extend New START, a landmark nuclear arms reduction agreement due to expire next month.
"We can only welcome the political will to extend this document," Kremlin spokesman Dmitry Peskov tells reporters, noting that any decision to extend the pact will depend on "the details of this proposal". — AFP
January 22, 2021
In his first White House briefing as US President Joe Biden's top advisor on COVID-19, Anthony Fauci said it was "liberating" that he could focus on science without fear of repercussion now that Donald Trump had left office.
The top infectious disease scientist was briefing reporters Thursday on the state of the US outbreak that has claimed more than 408,000 lives.
Asked to compare his experience under the previous administration to the new one, the 80-year-old responded a little coyly at first, saying he wasn't sure he could "extrapolate" based on first impressions.
"But one of the things that was very clear as recently as about 15 minutes ago, when I was with the president, is that one of the things that we're going to do is to be completely transparent, open and honest.
"If things go wrong, not point fingers but to correct them and to make everything we do be based on science and evidence." — AFP
January 21, 2021
In a dramatic about-turn, the new US administration on Thursday thanks the World Health Organization for leading the global pandemic response and vowed to remain a member.
"The United States also intends to fulfil its financial obligations to the organisation," top US scientist Anthony Fauci, who has been named President Joe Biden's chief medical adviser, tells a meeting of the WHO's executive board. — AFP
January 21, 2021
Taiwan's de facto ambassador to the US was formally invited to President Joe Biden's inauguration in what Taipei says Thursday was a precedent-setting first since Washington switched recognition to Beijing in 1979.
Hsiao Bi-khim, Taipei's envoy, posted a video of herself at Wednesday's inauguration saying she was "honored to represent the people and government of Taiwan here at the inauguration of President Biden and Vice President Harris".
"Democracy is our common language and freedom is our common objective," she added.
Taipei's foreign ministry said it was the first time in decades that a Taiwanese envoy had been "formally invited" by the inauguration's organizing committee while the ruling Democratic Progressive Party described it as "a new breakthrough in 42 years". — AFP
January 21, 2021
Mexico hails US President Joe Biden's order to halt construction of Donald Trump's wall along the US-Mexican border, as well as his other immigration-linked reforms.
"Mexico welcomes the end of the construction of the wall, the immigration initiative in favor of DACA and a path to dual citizenship," Foreign Minister Marcelo Ebrard wrote on Twitter.
He was referring to the Deferred Action for Childhood Arrivals program to regularize the immigration status of young people who arrived illegally as children, which Trump tried to shut down. — AFP
January 21, 2021
President Joe Biden's first call to a foreign leader will be to Canadian Prime Minister Justin Trudeau, White House spokeswoman Jen Psaki says.
"His first foreign leader call will be on Friday with Prime Minister Trudeau," Psaki tells reporters at her first White House briefing.
She says they would discuss the "important relationship with Canada" and the Biden administration's decision to halt further construction of the Keystone XL oil pipeline between Canada and the United States. — AFP
Joe Biden takes office as the 46th president of the United States with an optimistic call for unity, vowing to bridge deep divides and defeat domestic extremism two weeks after a violent mob tried to undo his election victory.
On a frigid but sunny day at the very Capitol building that was assaulted on January 6, Biden was sworn in moments after Kamala Harris became America's first woman vice president, closing the book on Donald Trump's tumultuous four years.
"Democracy is precious, democracy is fragile and at this hour, my friends, democracy has prevailed," Biden says before a National Mall that was virtually empty due to the ultra-tight security and a raging COVID-19 pandemic that he vowed to confront immediately. — AFP