John Deere has agreed to allow its customers in the United States to repair their own equipment.
Farmers were previously only permitted to use authorised parts and service facilities rather than cheaper independent repair options.
Deere and Company is one of the world’s largest manufacturers of agricultural equipment.
For years, consumer groups have urged businesses to allow customers to repair everything from smartphones to tractors.
The American Farm Bureau Federation (AFBF) and Deere & Co. signed a memorandum of understanding (MOU) on Sunday.
“It addresses a long-running issue for farmers and ranchers when it comes to accessing tools, information and resources, while protecting John Deere’s intellectual property rights and ensuring equipment safety,” AFBF President Zippy Duvall said.
Under the agreement, equipment owners and independent technicians will not be allowed to “divulge trade secrets” or “override safety features or emissions controls or to adjust Agricultural Equipment power levels.”
The firm looks forward to working with the AFBF and “our customers in the months and years ahead to ensure farmers continue to have the tools and resources to diagnose, maintain and repair their equipment,” Dave Gilmore, a senior vice president at Deere & Co. said.
Farmers are part of a grassroots right-to-repair movement that has been putting pressure on manufacturers to allow customers and independent repair shops to fix their devices.
In 2022, Apple launched a “self-service repair” scheme giving customers the ability to replace their own batteries, screens and cameras of recent iPhones.
The UK and European Union have policies enforcing manufacturers to make spare parts available to customers and independent companies for some electronics.
“Consumers have long been complaining that products not only tend to break down faster than they used to, but that repairing them is often too costly, difficult to arrange for lack of spare parts, and sometimes impossible,” according to the European Parliamentary Research Service.
Some US states like New York and Massachusetts and have passed similar measures. President Biden signed an executive order in 2021 calling on the Federal Trade Commission to draw up a countrywide policy allowing customers to repair their own products, particularly in the technology and agriculture sectors.
In an article for The Sun, the former Top Gear host spoke about the Duchess of Sussex, which social media users called “entirely unacceptable”.
The administration of US President Joe Biden has stated that Washington “looks forward to working closely” on shared objectives with newly appointed Peruvian President Dina Boluarte after top US diplomat Antony Blinken spoke on the phone with the troubled South American leader.
The talks between Blinken and Boluarte were confirmed by the US Department of State on Sunday, as unrest in Peru persists in the wake of President Pedro Castillo’s ouster earlier this month. Two days prior, the call had occurred.
“Secretary Blinken encouraged Peru’s institutions and civil authorities to redouble their efforts to make needed reforms and safeguard democratic stability,” the State Department said in a statement.
Boluarte was sworn in by Peru’s Congress to replace Castillo on December 7 after lawmakers ousted the former president, who had announced plans to “temporarily” dissolve Congress and rule by decree in what he said was an effort to “re-establish the rule of law and democracy”.
Boluarte previously served as vice president to Castillo, who has been arrested on charges of rebellion and conspiracy after his removal. On Thursday, a Peruvian court extended the left-wing leader’s pre-trial detention to 18 months.
Castillo had faced multiple crises during his short tenure as president. Sworn in July 2021, the teacher and union leader from rural Peru faced corruption allegations, a grim approval rating, and a stillborn legislative agenda thwarted by an opposition-dominated Congress.
Now Boluarte is facing a crisis of her own as demonstrators demand her resignation.
Blinken’s call with Boluarte came amid political chaos and ongoing anti-government protests calling for early elections and Castillo’s release.
“The United States looks forward to working closely with President Boluarte on shared goals and values related to democracy, human rights, security, anti-corruption, and economic prosperity,” the State Department said.
“Secretary Blinken stressed the need for all Peruvian actors to engage in constructive dialogue to ease political divisions and focus on reconciliation.”
In a national address on Saturday, Boluarte called on Congress to authorise early elections “in line” with the demands of the people of Peru.
Boluarte’s administration had declared a nationwide state of emergency on Wednesday, suspending freedom of movement and assembly in a bid to quell the unrest, which has left several people dead.
Taiwan’s Defense Ministry announced Tuesday that China has sent a record 18 nuclear-capable H-6 bomber aircraft into Taiwan’s air defence zone as Beijing continues to increase strain on the autonomous island.
According to Taiwan’s Defense Ministry, a total of 21 Chinese warplanes were sent into Taiwan’s southwest air defence identification zone (also known as an ADIZ) in the 24-hour period between Monday morning and Tuesday morning.
According to the ministry, it kept an eye on the situation and tracked the Chinese aircraft using both its fighter jets and land-based missile systems.
Since Taipei started publishing daily data on Chinese fighter incursions in 2020, the flights mark the highest number of H-6 sorties in a 24-hour period.
An ADIZ is unilaterally imposed and distinct from sovereign airspace, which is defined under international law as extending 12 nautical miles from a territory’s shoreline.
China’s ruling Chinese Communist Party views Taiwan – a democratically governed island of 24 million – as part of its territory, despite having never controlled it. It has long vowed to “reunify” the island with the Chinese mainland, by force if necessary.
Tensions surrounding Taiwan have increased markedly this year. A visit to the island by United States House Speaker Nancy Pelosi in August prompted Chinese fury and an immediate flurry of military exercises.
Since then, Beijing has stepped up military pressure tactics on the island, sending fighter jets across the median line of the Taiwan Strait, the body of water separating Taiwan and China.
For decades, the median line had served as an informal demarcation line between the two, with military incursions across it being rare.
In November, US President Joe Bidenmet Chinese leader Xi Jinping in-person for the first time during his presidency at the G20 summit in Indonesia. Afterward, Biden described the three-hour meeting as “open and candid,” and cast doubt on an imminent invasion of Taiwan.
Formal bilateral talks on climate cooperation are expected to resume as well as part of a broader set of agreements between Biden and Xi – with China having previously halted talks as part of retaliation for Pelosi’s visit to Taiwan.
Operations have resumed at the Ukrainian Black Sea port of Odesaafter Russia attacked energy facilities in the city with Iranian-made drones.
The port in the country’s south was shut after strikes on Saturday knocked out power to 1.5 million people and all non-critical infrastructure.
With sub-zero temperatures expected this week, Ukraine’s president said it could take days to restore power.
Under a UN-brokered agreement, Odesa is one of three ports used to ship grain.
The agreement, mediated by Turkey and the UN, allows Ukrainian products to be transported safely to the rest of the world. The deal has helped bring down soaring global food prices.
Although operations at Odesa port were briefly stopped on Sunday, Ukraine’s agriculture minister said grain exports would not be suspended.
In total, Russia launched 15 Iranian-made drones at the regions of Odesa andneighbouring Mykolaiv, 10 of which were shot down, Ukraine’s armed forces said.
“The situation in the Odesa region is very difficult,” Ukraine’s President Volodymyr Zelensky said in his nightly address. “Unfortunately the hits were critical, so it takes more than just time to restore electricity. It doesn’t take hours, but a few days.”
Thousands of people have made use of the region’s “points of invincibility” – facilities which supply electricity and warmth to residents during blackouts.
Images posted on social media showed dozens of people crowding round power points charging their phones.
The strikes on Ukraine’s energy infrastructure, which intensified in mid-October, have left millions of people in nearly all regions of the country without power, as temperatures drop below zero.
A complete blackout across the entire country is a now realistic scenario, Ukraine’s Foreign Minister Dmytro Kuleba told German television on Sunday.
Russia’s frequent attacks on Ukraine’s power grid have led to calls for the West to supply Kyiv with better air defence weapons.
On Sunday, US President Joe Biden told President Zelensky that Ukraine’s air defence was a priority for Washington.
The two spoke in a phone call before a meeting of G7 leaders on Monday, where further sanctions against Russia and Iran will be discussed.
The proposed measures would target Iran over its supply of drones to Russia, while EU foreign ministers are set to discuss a ninth package of sanctions which would place almost 200 more individuals and entities on its sanctions list.
East of Odesa, Ukrainian strikes killed two people in the Russian-occupied city of Melitopol over the weekend, according to Moscow-installed local authorities.
The city has been under occupation since early March and is a major logistics hub for Russian forces in the south-east.
It is strategically located between Mariupol to the east, Kherson and the Dnipro River to the west, and Crimea to the south
Nearly one week after the US midterm elections, the race for control of the lower chamber of Congress remains tight.
Republicans must win at least 218 seats to retake control of the House of Representatives, a task that has become increasingly difficult.
According to CBS News race projections, the party has currently won 214 seats, while Democrats have won 210.
Meanwhile, Democrats retained control of the Senate, the upper chamber of Congress.
The Biden administrationhad feared that a loss of power in Congress would bring the president’s agenda to a halt.
If the two parties split control of Washington, Democrats will “maintain our positions” but voters should not “expect much of anything”, President Biden said on Monday.
Speaking to reporters in Indonesia, where he is attending the G-20 summit, Mr Biden said the results had “sent a very strong message around the world that the United States is ready to play” and wants to remain “fully engaged in the world”.
He noted there was “a strong rejection” of election denialism, political violence and voter intimidation. But he warned that, without a majority in the House, Democrats would be unable to codify abortion rights through legislation, a key priority for liberal voters.
Out of the 11 House races that still remain to be called, most are in western and southwestern states, including California and Arizona.
The latter’s race for governor is also too close to call, with Republican Kari Lake – a chief proponent of false claims that the 2020 election was stolen from Donald Trump – trailing Democrat Katie Hobbs.
A loss for Ms Lake would see her join the ranks of pre-eminent Trump-backed election deniers who lost last week. But a BBC News tally of results found at least 125 election deniers have won races for the House, Senate and governorships.
Newly elected members of Congress, including the first lawmaker from Generation Z and the first openly gay Republican, have already begun arriving in Washington for orientation.
History suggests the party controlling the White House usually loses seats in a midterm election, and Democrats’ performance this year is considered the best for a sitting party in at least 20 years.
That has endangered leadership bids for the top Republicans in the Senate and House ahead of the party’s internal elections on Tuesday.
House Minority Leader Kevin McCarthy – who hopes to succeed Nancy Pelosi as Speaker in the next Congress – and Senate Minority Leader Mitch McConnell are both reportedly scrambling to garner support from their colleagues.
Divisions within the party have been on full display in recent days as former President Donald Trump,who has received some of the blame for a poor showing, prepares to launch another presidential run later this week.
As the sun sets in Bali, Xi and Biden remain ensconced in the Mulia hotel, their meeting approaching the two-hour mark.
Officials in the United States do not believe it will last much longer. However, with Biden’s press conference scheduled for 21:30 local time (13:30 GMT), it is clear that they are also prepared for talks to last longer if necessary.
The two are believed to be discussing Taiwan, global economic security, North Korea, and Russia’s invasion of Ukraine. The US also hopes that the meeting will ease tensions that have risen since US House Speaker Nancy Pelosi’s visit to Taiwan in August.
Biden and US officials have gone to great pains to clearly signal this aim of conciliation in recent days. Biden has stressed repeatedly that the US does not want conflict with Xi, and he told Xi earlier that the US and China must show they “can manage our differences, prevent competition from becoming anything ever near conflict, and to find ways to work together”.
Biden also said he was “committed to keeping the lines of communication open between you and me personally” as well as their governments across the board, and that the world expected their two countries to play a role in addressing climate challenges and food shortages.
Xi appears to be on the same page. He acknowledged the China-US relationship was in “such a situation” that it has caused concern, “and it is not what the international community expects of us”.
“We need to chart the right course for the China-US relationship,”he told Biden, given that “the world has come to a crossroads”.
Both leaders have basically acknowledged they know what’s fully at stake here, and signalled to the global community that they will act responsibly. We will soon find out what they’ve agreed on – and the path they have set for the rest of us.
US President Joe Biden says, it is the duty and responsibility of every nation to act on climate change.
Mr. Biden spoke in Egypt following the president’s better-than-expected midterm election results in the United States.
He claimed that the United States is a global climate leader because it has passed comprehensive climate legislation.
The two-week meeting is attended by approximately 35,000 people in Sharm el-Sheikh.
“The climate crisis is about human security, economic security, environmental security, national security and the very life of the planet,” said Mr Biden.
He echoed UK Prime Minister Rishi Sunak’s comments on Monday that Russia’s war in Ukraine is a reason to act faster on climate.
Noting that the past eight years have been the warmest on record, he described the impacts of climate change on Africa nations, including a four-year drought in the Horn of Africa.
Mr Biden promised to tighten US rules on methane emissions from oil and gas companies. Methane is the most potent greenhouse gas and significantly contributes to the warming of Earth’s atmosphere.
“Today, thanks to the actions we have taken, I can stand here as president of the United States of America and say with confidence the US will meet our emissions targets by 2030,” he said.
He also pledged more money for poorer nations suffering from climate disasters, including drought and flooding. But the sums remain far short of what the US, along with other developed nations, have promised.
“Joe Biden comes to COP27 and makes new promises but his old promises have not even been fulfilled. I’d rather have one apple in my hand than the promise of five that never come,” said Mohamed Adow, Power Shift Africa director.
“The inconvenient truth is that the United States is grossly underperforming on its international climate finance commitments,” said president of World Resources Institute Ani Dasgupta.
IMAGE SOURCE,REUTERS Image caption, Activists, NGOs, politicians and negotiators from around the world are at COP27
In August the US passed legislation to tackle climate change that experts have called “radical” and “historic”. The Inflation Reduction Act could reduce US greenhouse gas emissions by 40% by 2030.
Mr Biden’s Democrat party feared that it would lose crucial seats in the mid-term elections on Tuesday, which could have weakened their climate agenda. But it performed better than expected.
“While control of Congress is still being determined, one thing is certain: the massive climate-friendly investments in the Inflation Reduction Act are here to stay,” says Dan Lashof, director of World Resources Institute United States.
Mr Biden also held talks with Egyptian President Abdul Fattah al-Sisi amid heightened concern over the fate of jailed British-Egyptian pro-democracy activist Alaa Abdel Fattah.
There’s been no independent confirmation about Mr Abdel Fattah’s condition since he is said to have received “medical intervention” on Thursday, days after he began refusing water as part of a long hunger strike.
It is the sixth day of the COP summit, which is focussed on implementing ambitious promises made at COP26 in Glasgow last year.
Vulnerable nations have called on richer countries to pay for the irreversible damage climate change wrecks on their homes.
“We will not give up… the alternative consigns us to a watery grave,” Bahamas Prime Minister Philip Davis said on Tuesday, urging nations to “get real”.
They say developed nations owe this money because they became rich off decades of using fossil fuels.
By contrast many less developed countries, particularly the small island nations most at risk, have contributed virtually nothing to total emissions.
Richer nations have historically avoided the question of compensation or reparations, but the issue – referred to as “loss and damage” – was put on the COP agenda this year for the first time since the summits began 30 years ago.
Human rights groups are highlighting the plight of an estimated 60,000 political prisoners in Egypt.
In a reminder of the danger the world faces, UN Secretary General Antonio Guterres told the summit “we are on a highway to climate hell with our foot on the accelerator”.
On Friday a report warned that emissions of carbon dioxide (CO2) are rising so quickly that there is a 50% chance the world will soon cross the crucial temperature threshold of 1.5C.
US president Joe Bidensays the cooling inflation numbers are a sign of economic strength in America, and his administration is making progress on its efforts to bring costs down.
“My economic plan is showing results,” Biden says in a statement.
He says that with inflation slightly dropping, Americans are getting a “much-needed” break at the grocery store ahead of the Thanksgiving and Christmas holidays.
He also touts legislation his administration recently passed, which will soon bring down prescription drug prices and energy costs.
Looking ahead from the US midterm elections, Biden says he “will work with anyone – Democrat or Republican – on ideas to provide more breathing room to middle-class and working families”.
On Tuesday, millions of Americanswill vote in the midterm elections, which will determine the balance of power in Congress.
The entire United States House of Representatives, roughly one-third of the United States Senate, and key state governorships are all up for grabs.
In opposing rallies, President Joe Biden, a Democrat, and ex-President Donald Trump, a Republican, made their closing arguments.
Mr. Biden’s ability to pass legislation will be hampered if Republicans win the House, as most projections predict.
Democrats currently control both chambers of Congress and the White House by razor-thin margins.
The party in power typically sheds an average of two dozen or so seats in the midterms, which fall midway through a president’s four years in office.
While Mr Biden himself is not up for re-election on Tuesday, midterms are often seen as a referendum on a president’s leadership.
Despite delivering on promises to lower prescription drug prices, expand clean energy and revamp US infrastructure, Mr Biden has seen his popularity suffer following the worst inflation in four decades, record illegal crossings at the US-Mexico border, and voter concerns about crime.
A political thumping for Democrats on Tuesday could embolden murmurs within the party about whether Mr Biden, who turns 80 this month, should run for re-election in 2024.
He went to Maryland on Monday night to campaign for Wes Moore, who is expected to make history as the third black governor ever elected in the US.
IMAGE SOURCE,GETTY IMAGES Image caption, Wes Moore (centre) looks set to become the third black governor ever elected in the US
“Today we face an inflection point,” Mr Biden told a cheering crowd at a historically black university outside Washington.
“We know in our bones that our democracy’s at risk and we know that this is your moment to defend it.”
According to a tally by the BBC’s US partner, CBS News, more than half of Republican midterms candidates have raised doubts about the integrity of the 2020 White House election, echoing Mr Trump’s false claims of widespread fraud.
Mr Trump spent the eve of election dayholding a final rally in Ohio alongside Republican Senate candidate JD Vance.
The former president, who has been teasing a 2024 White House comeback bid, said he would make a “very big announcement” at his Florida estate Mar-a-Lago on 15 November.
He told the crowd: “If you support the decline and fall of America, then you must, you absolutely must vote for the radical left, crazy people.
“If you want to stop the destruction of our country, then tomorrow you must vote Republican in a giant red wave.”
Mr Trump’s party needs to net only five seats to flip the House and a single seat to take over the evenly divided Senate.
Non-partisan election observers project the Republicans will pick up roughly 15-25 seats in the 435-seat House.
IMAGE SOURCE,GETTY IMAGES Image caption, Supporters of Donald Trump await his arrival for Monday’s rally in Vandalia, Ohio
But the battle for the upper chamber of Congress could go either way, according to most political forecasts, and is expected to come down to hotly fought races in Pennsylvania, Georgia, Nevada and Arizona.
Should Republicans win the House, they have vowed to shut down the Democratic-led inquiry into last year’s Capitol riot and launch investigations into the Biden administration.
Kevin McCarthy, who would probably become Republican speaker of the House– placing him second in line to the presidency – has refused to rule out impeachment proceedings.
Mr Biden’s power to appoint judges or administrative posts for the next two years would be severely curtailed if Republicans win the Senate.
More than 43.5m early votes have already been cast, according to the US Elections Project.
But it might be days or weeks before the outcome of the midterms is clear if races are close, as some states allow ballots to be posted on election day, and there could be recounts.
If elected president, Lula would likely be unable to lead a transformational, leftist agenda.
The theme of “return” has dominated the presidential election campaign in Brazil. Many think the country is either going to see the comeback of Luiz Inacio Lula da Silva, marking a second pink tide of progressive South American governments, or the return of the Workers’ Party (PT), removed from power after President Dilma Rousseff’s impeachment in 2016.
Or it is going to face a government takeover by forces associated with the military dictatorship (1964-1985) – right-wing defenders of family, tradition, and property and apologists for political violence and torture of political opponents.
There may be an element of truth to this interpretation, but sometimes turning to the past to make sense of the present can make it more difficult to discern the major differences between them. Indeed, if Lula were to win the presidential race, Brazil would not go back to the 2000s; nor is a military takeover led by his opponent, incumbent President Jair Bolsonaro, that likely.
The vote: The poor vs the poorer
While many saw the results of the October 2 elections as a clear victory for Lula and the Brazilian left, a closer look reveals a different reality. Lula obtained 57 million or 48 percent of the valid votes – less than what many polls predicted – which sent him to a run-off with Bolsonaro.
The incumbent president obtained 51 million votes, two million more than in the first round of the 2018 presidential election. This is despite the fact that his government failed in its economic policies, the management of the pandemic, the fight against corruption, and the climate change agenda, especially with regard to curbing Amazon deforestation.
In the parliamentary and governor elections, which also took place on October 2, the right-wing parties and, in particular, the far right, performed much better than forecasts showed. They won more representatives in the two houses of parliament than PT and its allies.
Among those elected to parliament were former Judge Sergio Moro, who led the anti-corruption probe that saw Lula jailed; Damares Alves, the loudest proponent of the “gender ideology” conspiracy theory, which claims family values are under threat; and former health minister Eduardo Pazuello, who mismanaged the pandemic response. They were all ministers in Bolsonaro’s government.
The elections did not see a massive migration of the votes from the poor to Lula and his party, as was expected in light of the pro-poor policies in his first two terms (2003-2010). In that period, the country experienced extraordinary economic growth combined with successful income distribution measures, which generated massive support among impoverished Brazilians for Lula in his bid for re-election in 2006. He ended his second term with an 80 percent popularity rating and a GDP growth of 7.5 percent.
Part of the reason why Lula was unable to rally all of his former electorates may be that financial aid programmes for disadvantaged families introduced by Bolsonaro to address the economic downturn during the pandemic were extended.
According to Giuseppe Cocco, a political science professor at the Federal University of Rio de Janeiro, another reason may be that the effect of anti-Bolsonarism was to some extent mitigated by anti-Lulism – the negative sentiment triggered by corruption cases against Lula and the PT that contributed to bringing Bolsonaro to power in the first place.
Furthermore, Cocco’s research shows that the incumbent attracted more votes than Lula from the “precariat” – Brazilians who are above the poverty line but, nevertheless, face constant economic insecurity. These are people who are microentrepreneurs, who have gig jobs, small businesses or who are self-employed. They struggle economically and seek the stability that the far-right promises.
The right-wing tendencies of this layer of Brazilian societybecame apparent ahead of the 2018 election when a truck drivers’ strike took place. The protest started over rising fuel prices but ended with calls by some participants for the army to intervene and “solve the problems” of the state. Bolsonaro backed the strike, which boosted his popularity ahead of the vote.
Lula, on the other hand, draws support from the poorest strata, those who are on the threshold of subsistence. They have been the beneficiaries of his signature social programme, the Bolsa Familia, which distributed conditional cash transfers.
The line between the two groups is blurred, but the tension between them over income and economic opportunity seems to provide a better explanation of the electoral results than a more simplistic analysis that paints Lula as the candidate of the poor and Bolsonaro – as the choice of the elites and the well-off.
A Brazilian Biden
The campaign rhetoric Lula adopted was also quite different from previous elections. Unlike in the past, when he openly clashed with the elites, this time around, the PT candidate presented himself as the candidate of the system, as a “Brazilian Biden”, so to speak, putting an end to a Trumpist interlude.
He gathered an extraordinarily broad front, which included almost the entire left opposition, but also the main representatives of economic power from various sectors, social democrats, conservative liberals, the leftist environmentalist Marina Silva, former officials, such as the social-democratic liberal Fernando Henrique Cardoso, and others.
His campaign was also not dominated by street mobilisation or sharp factionalism. On the contrary, there were explicit guidelines to supporters not to confront the voters of the other candidate, and even to deemphasise the PT’s traditional colour red at campaign events.
Although his coalition had prepared a leftist political programme, Lula ignored it in the debates, sidestepped it in speeches to voters and the media, and stressed on several occasions that he would not take divisive positions, especially when it comes to his plans for the economy. Throughout the campaign, he built an image as the promoter of peace, indicating the need to resolve the conflicts that are multiplying in and between different social segments.
Bolsonaro and the Bolsonarist forces, on the other hand, fully occupied the anti-systemic political space. The incumbent spent the election campaign making verbal attacks against the corporate media – especially against the biggest TV network, Globo – the Brazilian Supreme Court and universities.
In a country that has traditionally seen intimidation, blackmail, and the murder of electoral opponents in urban peripheries and in the hinterland, Bolsonaro’s rhetoric put Brazil at risk of widespread politically motivated violence. A number of murders were attributed to feuds between sympathisers of the two candidates, while a video of a Bolsonaro supporter licking the barrel of a shotgun went viral.
Diminished appetite for a coup
Despite Bolsonaro’s incitement and heightened fears of violence, it is unlikely that a victory for Lula in the run-off would be challenged by the military. Even the prospect of an invasion of the Congress building in Brasilia – like the one that happened in January 2021 in the US – seems less likely.
The army’s top generals have given clear signals that whoever wins at the polls will assume the presidency. Furthermore, foreign powers, such as the Biden administration, have indicated that they would not support anti-democratic ventures.
Bolsonaro has been ambiguous about accepting the results. However, the fact that right-wing parties and far-right politicians won the majority of seats in parliament has diminished the appetite for coup talk.
Whatever the outcome of the election, the struggle for safeguarding minority rights, improving public services, expanding social programmes, protecting the environment, and embracing a security paradigm that is not guided by state violence against underserved populations will remain difficult. A victory for Bolsonaro, which is quite unlikely, would consolidate the far-right takeover of the state, leading to more policies aimed at dismantling public services, destroying the environment, and systematically sabotaging minority protections and academic institutions.
A win for Lula, which seems more likely, would also pose great challenges. Given the dominance of the right in parliament, it would be difficult to push through progressive policies. Social movements, collectives, and activists would have to focus on the defence of the government, which would take away energy and resources from ongoing struggles, as happened during the 2016 impeachment process against Dilma. The PT and its supporters would face a radicalised and armed opposition on the ground committed to defending “true Christianity”, “family values” and traditional gender roles. In this context, a Lula victory would not mean a return to the “happy Brazil” of the 2000s, as his campaign suggested.
The way out of the deep crisis that Brazil has plunged into in the last decade could be a Brazilian New Deal that pushes through much-needed structural changes in labour law and market, supports the creative role of minorities, and embraces the centrality of the global environmental agenda, something that Lula seems far from being able to lead, as corruption scandals and worn-off populist rhetoric have broken his spell.
But his election could at least provide an opportunity to seek reconciliation and rebuild bridgesbetween polarised segments of society. His return could set the ground for the construction of much-needed political alternatives.
DISCLAIMER: Independentghana.com will not be liable for any inaccuracies contained in this article. The views expressed in the article are solely those of the author and do not reflect those of The Independent Ghana
White House has reported that US President Joe Biden and UK Prime Minister Rishi Sunak have agreed to work together to support Ukraine.
They first spoke just hours after Sunak became Britain’s third prime minister this year.
The two leaders also reaffirmed the “special relationship” between the US and the UK, and said they would work together to advance global security and prosperity, the White House said in a read-out of the conversation.
“The leaders agreed on the importance of working together to support Ukraine and hold Russiaaccountable for its aggression,” the statement said.
The Biden administration is increasing pressure on Nicaraguan President Daniel Ortega’s authoritarian rule, threatening a ban on Americans doing business in the country’s gold industry, raising the prospect of trade restrictions, and deporting 500 government insiders.
The actions, stemming from an executive order signed by President Joe Biden on Monday, are the latest and perhaps most aggressive attempt by the U.S. to hold the former Sandinista guerrilla leader accountable for his continued attacks on human rights and democracy in the Central American country as well his continued security cooperation with Russia.
Previous rounds of sanctions have focused on Ortega, his wife, and vice president, Rosario Murillo, and members of their family and inner circle. But none of those moves have managed to loosen Ortega’s grip on power The latest target by Ortega’s government: the Roman Catholic Church. In August, security raided the residence of a bishop, detaining him and several other clergies.
The new executive order greatly expands a Trump-era decree declaring Ortega’s hijacking of democratic norms, undermining of the rule of law, and use of political violence against opponents a threat to U.S.′ national security.
Together with the Treasury Department’s simultaneous sanctioning of Nicaragua’s General Directorate of Mines, the order all but makes it illegal for Americans to do business with Nicaragua’s gold industry. It’s the first time the U.S. has identified a specific sector of the economy as potentially off-limits and can be expanded in the future to include other industries believed to fill the government’s coffers.
The executive order also paves the way for the U.S. to restrict investment and trade with Nicaragua — a move recalling the punishing embargo imposed by the U.S. in the 1980s during Ortega’s first stint as president following the country’s bloody civil war.
“The Ortega-Murillo regime’s continued attacks on democratic actors and members of civil society and unjust detention of political prisoners demonstrate that the regime feels it is not bound by the rule of law,” said Under Secretary of the Treasury for Terrorism and Financial Intelligence Brian E. Nelson. “We can and will use every tool at our disposal to deny the Ortega-Murillo regime the resources they need to continue to undermine democratic institutions.”
In her daily comments Monday to official media, Murillo did not directly mention the expanded U.S. sanctions, but said that Nicaraguans are “defenders of the national sovereignty.”
She also read a letter from Ortega congratulating China President Xi Jinping who was named to another term as head of the ruling Communist Party Sunday, in which Ortega questioned the “aggressive imperial ambition” of the west.
Monday’s action could signal the start of a new offensive taking aim at the broader economy — something the Biden administration has been reluctant to pursue fear of adding to the country’s hardships and unleashing more migration. For the fiscal year that ended in September, U.S. border agents encountered Nicaraguans nearly 164,000 times at the southwest border — more than triple the level for the previous year.
At the same time, frustrations have been building in Washington over the way Nicaragua’s economic elites have largely remained silent amid Ortega’s crackdown.
The Biden administration’s targeting of the gold industry could sap Ortega’s government of one of its biggest sources of revenue. Gold was the country’s largest export in 2020 and the country, already the largest producer of the precious metal in Central America is looking to double its output in the next five years.
According to Nicaragua’s Central Bank, the country exported a record 348,532 ounces of gold in 2021, and the country’s mining association projects exports totaling 500,000 ounces in 2023.
Among foreign investors active in the country is Condor Gold, whose CEO, Mark Child, appeared in a photo with the Nicaraguan leader in a September presentation for investors prepared by the U.K.-based company.
“He is basically totally supportive of the project,” Child said in a March interview following a 90-minute meeting with Ortega. “That meeting… basically gives a major green light for the construction of project finance and materially de-risks the project.”
The Toronto and London-listed Condor has permits to build and operate three open pit mines, the most advanced of which is believed to hold 602,000 ounces of gold worth nearly $900 million at current prices. Condor is partly owned by a company belonging to an American mining engineer who has worked for decades in the country.
Shares in Condor were up slightly 2 cents, or 3.8%, following the U.S. announcement. However, another Toronto-listed junior mining company with operations in Nicaragua, Calibre Mining Corp, saw its share price plunge 17 cents, or 17%.
The Vancouver-based firm has several mining projects in Nicaragua believed to contain 2.9 million ounces of gold.
As part of Monday’s actions, the Treasury Department also froze the U.S. assets of Reinaldo Lenin Cerna, who it describes as a close adviser to Ortega. According to the Treasury Department, Cerna was the head of state security during Ortega’s first presidency and allegedly helped carry out the assassination of the head of security for former dictator Anastasio Somoza.
Additionally, the State Department will also be pulling the U.S. visas of more than 500 Nicaraguan individuals and their family members who either work for the Ortega government or help formulate, implement and benefit from policies that undermine democracy in the country, U.S. officials told The Associated Press on the condition of anonymity to discuss the action. Previously it froze the U.S. assets of the defense minister and other members of the security forces tied to the shuttering of more than 1,000 nongovernmental organizations.
Previously, the Biden administration also sanctioned the state-owned mining company. It also reallocated the country’s sugar quota, taking away a valuable U.S. subsidy worth millions of dollars every year.
Nicaraguans began fleeing their country in 2018, initially to neighboring Costa Rica, after Ortega violently put down massive street protests. Then in 2021 security forces began rounding up leading opposition leaders, including seven potential challengers to Ortega ahead of that year’s presidential elections. Without a meaningful challenger, Ortega coasted to a fourth consecutive five-year term and Nicaraguans left their homeland in even larger numbers.
Rishi Sunak’s victory in the Conservative leadership election has been described as a “groundbreaking milestone” by US President Joe Biden.
After meeting King Charles today, Mr Sunak is set to become Britain’s first black prime minister. On Monday, Mr. Biden made the remark at a White House event commemorating the Indian holiday of Diwali.
Mr Sunak, a 42-year-old multimillionaire former hedge fund boss, won the race to lead the Conservative Partyon Monday and will become the UK’s youngest leader in modern times.
His family migrated to Britain from India in the 1960s, a period when many people from Britain’s former colonies moved to the country to help it rebuild after World War Two.
“We’ve got the news that Rishi Sunak is now the prime minister,” Mr Biden said. “He’s expected to become the prime minister I think tomorrow when he goes to see the King.
“Pretty astounding. A groundbreaking milestone and it matters.”
White House press secretary Karine Jean-Pierre had earlier said Mr Biden would call Mr Sunak in the coming days, noting that it was protocol for the US president to wait to offer his congratulations until after an incoming British prime minister had met with the monarch and been formally invited to form a new government.
Ukraine’s President Zelenskyy has thanked the United States for its latest $725 million aid package. He said he was very pleased with the rounds for the HIMARS truck-mounted rocket system.
America has now donated more than $17.5bn (£15.6m) in aid since the war started in February.
Separately, Ukraine also expects the US and Germany to deliver anti-aircraft systems this month to help it counter Russian missile and drone attacks, defence minister Oleksiy Reznikov said on Friday.
Sincerely grateful to @POTUS, the 🇺🇸 people for providing another $725 mln security aid package. We will receive, in particular, much-needed rounds for HIMARS and artillery. A wonderful gift for 🇺🇦 Defenders’ Day! The Russian aggressor will be defeated, 🇺🇦 will be free!
President Joe Bidenon Thursday delivered a stark warning about the dangers behind Russian President Vladimir Putin’s nuclear threats as Moscow continues to face military setbacks in Ukraine.
“First time since the Cuban missile crisis, we have a direct threat of the use (of a) nuclear weapon if, in fact, things continue down the path they are going,” Biden warned during remarks at a Democratic fundraiser in New Yorkwhere he was introduced by James Murdoch, the youngest son of media mogul Rupert Murdoch, according to the pool report.
He added: “I don’t think there’s any such thing as the ability to easily (use) a tactical nuclear weapon and not end up with Armageddon.”
It’s striking for the President to speak so candidly and invoke Armageddon, particularly at a fundraiser, while his aides from the National Security Council to the State Department to the Pentagon have spoken in much more measured terms, saying they take the threats seriously but don’t see movement on them from the Kremlin.
“I’m trying to figure out what is Putin’s off ramp?” Biden said during the event, “Where does he find a way out? Where does he find himself in a position that he does not only lose face but lose significant power within Russia?”
His comments come as the US considers how to respond to a range of potential scenarios, including fears that Russians could use tactical nuclear weapons, according to three sources briefed on the latest intelligence and previously reported by CNN.
Officials have cautioned as recently as Thursday that the US has not detected preparations for a nuclear strike. However, experts view them as potential options the US must prepare for as Russia’s invasion falters and as Moscow annexes more Ukrainian territory.
“This nuclear saber-rattling is reckless and irresponsible,” Pentagon spokesperson Brig. Gen. Pat Ryder said earlier Thursday. “As I’ve mentioned before, at this stage, we do not have any information to cause us to change our strategic deterrence posture, and we don’t assess that President Putin has made a decision to use nuclear weapons at this time.”
A US official said that despite Biden’s warning that the world is the closest it has been to a nuclear crisis since the 1960s, they have not seen a change to Russia’s nuclear posture as of now. White House press secretary Karine Jean-Pierre’s Tuesday statement that there has been no indication of a change in Russia’s posture and therefore no change in the US posture still stands, the official said.
A senior US government official expressed surprise at the President’s remarks, saying there were no obvious signs of an escalating threat from Russia.
While there is no question Russia’s nuclear posture is being taken seriously, this official said the President’s language at a fundraiser tonight caught other officials across the government off guard.
“Nothing was detected today that reflected an escalation,” the official said, who went on to defend Biden’s remarks because of the ongoing gravity of the matter.
At the fundraiser, Biden was speaking clearly about the threat officials believe Russia poses, a person familiar with his thinking told CNN.
Still, US officials have taken somber note of the Russian President’s repeated public threats to use nuclear weapons. In a televised address late last month, Putin said, “If the territorial integrity of our country is threatened, we will, without doubt, use all available means to protect Russia and our people. This is not a bluff.”
Last Friday, at a ceremony in which he announced the illegal annexation of four Ukrainian regions, Putin said Russia would use “all available means” to defend the areas, adding that the US had “created a precedent” for nuclear attacks in the bombings of Hiroshima and Nagasaki in World War II.
“We’ve got a guy I know fairly well,” Biden said of Putin Thursday. “He’s not joking when he talks about the potential use of tactical nuclear weapons or biological or chemical weapons because his military is, you might say, significantly under-performing.”
All those who were found guilty of national marijuana possession convictions have received pardons from President Joe Biden.
About 6,500 people with federal convictions for basic marijuana possession are expected to benefit, according to officials.
No one is currently in federal prison solely for possession of marijuana. Most convictions occur at the state level.
But the federal pardons will make it easier for people to get employment, housing, and education, Mr Biden said.
As a presidential candidate, Mr Biden promised to decriminalise cannabis use, as well as expunging convictions.
“Sending people to prison for possessing marijuana has upended too many lives and incarcerated people for conduct that many states no longer prohibit,” Mr Biden said on Thursday.
As a White House candidate, Mr Biden was criticised for writing a 1994 crime bill that stiffened penalties for drug crimes and led to more incarceration of minorities.
The Democratic president said he would call upon all state governors to issue their own marijuana pardons.
He is also directing the Department of Justice and the Department of Health to review how cannabis is classified under federal law.
“We classify marijuana at the same level as heroin – and more serious than fentanyl,” said Mr Biden. “It makes no sense.”
Recreational marijuana is already legal in 19 states and Washington DC. Medical use is legal in 37 states and three US territories.
However, the drug remains illegal at the federal level, even in states where it can be legally bought and used, meaning people there could still be convicted for possession in certain circumstances.
The pardons come a month before November’s congressional mid-term elections,which will determine the power balance in Washington for the last two years of Mr Biden’s term.
Life for Pot, a website advocating for the release of non-violent marijuana offenders, noted that there are no known federal prisoners that will be affected by Mr Biden’s measure, tweeting: “This is window dressing.”
Cannabis company shares jumped on the stock market by around 20% with news of Mr Biden’s pardons.
Mr Biden is not the first US president to pardon cannabis offenders.
On his final day in office,Donald Trump pardoned 12 marijuana offenders, including some who had been jailed for life under the three-strikes rule created by Mr Biden’s 1994 crime bill.
US President Joe Biden, says the risk of a nuclear “Armageddon” is higher than it has ever been since the 1962 Cuban Missile Crisis.
Vladimir Putin’s threat to use tactical nuclear weapons after suffering setbacks in Ukraine, according to Mr. Biden, was “not joking.”
The US was “trying to figure out” Mr Putin’s way out of the war, he added.
The US and the EU have previously said Mr Putin’s nuclear sabre-rattling should be taken seriously.
However, the US National Security Adviser Jake Sullivan last week said that, despite Moscow’s nuclear hints, the US had seen no signs that Russia was imminently preparing to use a nuclear weapon.
Ukraine has been retaking territory occupied by Russia, including in the four regions Russia illegally annexed recently.
For several months US officials have been warning that Russia could resort to the use of weapons of mass destruction if it suffers setbacks on the battlefield.
President Biden said the reason the Russian leader had not been “not joking” when he talked about using tactical nuclear, biological, or chemical weapons – “because his military is, you might say, significantly underperforming”.
“For the first time since the Cuban Missile Crisis, we have a direct threat to the use of nuclear weapons, if in fact, things continue down the path they’d been going,” Mr Biden told fellow Democrats.
“We have not faced the prospect of Armageddon since Kennedy and the Cuban Missile Crisis.”
The confrontation is considered by many experts to be the closest the world has ever come to full-scale nuclear war.
During a speech last Friday, President Putin said the US had created a “precedent” by using nuclear weapons against Japan at the end of World War Two – a comment that would not have gone unnoticed by Western governments, our Russia editor Steve Rosenberg points out.
Mr Putin has also threatened to use every means at his disposal to protect Russian territory.
Even as Mr Putin signed the final papers formally annexing four regions of Ukraine – Luhansk, Donetsk, Zaporizhzhia, and Kherson – Kyiv’s forces were advancing inside those areas he had claimed.
Hundreds of thousands of men have been fleeing Russia rather than wait to be drafted to fight in Ukraine.
Ukraine’s President Volodymyr Zelensky has previously dismissed Moscow’s nuclear threats as a “constant narrative of Russian officials and propagandists”.
Paul Stronski, of the Carnegie Endowment for International Peace, told the BBC that Russia’s “destabilising rhetoric” is aimed at deterring the West.
There has also been some pushback against Moscow’s nuclear threats in Russia itself. An editorial in the country’s mainstream Nezavisimaya Gazeta newspaper was heavily critical of “senior Russian officials” for “talking about the nuclear button”.
“To allow, in thoughts and words, the possibility of a nuclear conflict is a sure step to allowing it in reality.”
In order to tour the hurricane Ian damage, US President Joe Biden and Florida Governor Ron DeSantis temporarily put their political differences aside.
Mr. Biden shook hands with the emerging Republican star after viewing the storm’s devastation from a helicopter, and they exchanged compliments.
At least 108 people were killed by Ian, a category four storm. Mr Biden said Florida’s recovery may take years.
Officials are searching buildings for more victims as crews begin repairs.
The president and the Florida governorhave previously clashed over pandemic policies, climate change, abortion, and LGBT issues.
Most recently Mr Biden slammed Mr DeSantis for flying undocumented migrants to the wealthy liberal enclave of Martha’s Vineyard, Massachusetts.
But on Wednesday the two had only warm words for one another as they focused on hurricane relief during a joint press conference in the city of Fort Myers.
Mr DeSantis, who is widely expected to run for president in 2024, and his wife met Mr Biden and First Lady Jill Biden on a wharf littered with storm debris.
IMAGE SOURCE,GETTY IMAGES
Mr DeSantis thanked the Bidens for coming to Florida and said he had been “very fortunate” to have good coordination with the federal government.
Mr Biden told reporters that Mr DeSantis had done a “good job”, and that “we have very different political philosophies, but we’ve worked hand in glove”.
“What the governor’s done is pretty remarkable,” Mr Biden said, adding that he had “recognised there’s a thing called global warming”.
Mr DeSantis has backed funding to harden Florida’s defences against flooding, but has also argued in the past that global warming is being used as a pretext “to do a bunch of left-wing things”.
“More fires have burned in the west and the south-west, burned everything right to the ground, than in the entire state of New Jersey, as much room as that takes up,” the president said.
“The reservoirs out west here are down to almost zero. We’re in a situation where the Colorado River looks more like a stream.”
Meanwhile, Mr DeSantis received praise from another potential White House rival.
At an event in Miami, former President Donald Trump lauded his response to the hurricane, saying: “God bless our governor.”
Mr Trump and his former protege have been circling each other warily ahead of a widely anticipated duel for the 2024 Republican White House nomination.
Over 278,000 homes and businesses in Florida did not have electricity on Wednesday a week after Hurricane Ian made landfall, according to website poweroutage.us.
A temporary road to the hard-hit Pine Island – population 9,000 – opened ahead of schedule. But Sanibel Island is still cut off.
Officials say the death toll from Hurricane Ian may rise as more victims are identified.
The family of a mother of four from Ohio say she died after travelling to Fort Myers to celebrate her 40th birthday.
Nishelle Harris-Miles became trapped in an Airbnb rental as floodwaters in the home pushed her towards the ceiling and a nail pierced her main artery, according to local media.
President Joe Biden is “disappointed” that the Saudi-led OPEC+ oil cartel agreed to cut output by 2 million barrels per day, the White House said Wednesday, as the threat of rising gas prices, looms weeks ahead of critical midterm elections.
The decision by the grouping of major oil producers rebuffed heavy lobbying from US administration officials and prompted Biden to say he was concerned about the move. It reversed a small increase in output OPEC+ announced shortly after Biden visited Saudi Arabia for a conference in July.
Still, the White House insisted that the visit was not a “waste of time,” even as it sharply criticized the decision to cut production.
“The President is disappointed by the shortsighted decision by OPEC+ to cut production quotas while the global economy is dealing with the continued negative impact of Putin’s invasion of Ukraine,” said two of Biden’s top aides, national security adviser Jake Sullivan and National Economic Council Director Brian Deese, in a statement.
“At a time when maintaining a global supply of energy is of paramount importance, this decision will have the most negative impact on lower- and middle-income countries that are already reeling from elevated energy prices,” the two advisers wrote.
The administration will “consult with Congress on additional tools and authorities to reduce OPEC’s control over energy prices,” the statement read, without specifying which actions are under consideration to dampen the oil cartel’s sway.
Slashing oil production just ahead of November’s midterm elections poses a potential political problem for the President, who has touted this summer’s decreasing gas prices as he works to promote his agenda. The average gas price has been rising nationally again in recent days, according to AAA.
Departing the White House on Wednesday, Biden said he was concerned about the possibility of a significant cut to production.
“I need to see what the detail is. I am concerned, it is unnecessary,” he said in response to a question about the OPEC+ decision as he departed the White House for Florida, where he was set to tour storm damage.
The international cartel of oil producers held a critical meeting Wednesday, where energy ministers decided to slash production by 2 million barrels per day, the biggest cut since the start of the pandemic.
For the past several days, Biden’s senior-most energy, economic and foreign policy officials had been lobbying their foreign counterparts in Middle Eastern allied countries including Kuwait, Saudi Arabia, and the United Arab Emirates to vote against cutting oil production.
When he visited Saudi Arabia in July, Biden sought to make clear it wasn’t solely to ask the oil-rich kingdom to increase its oil output. After decrying the regime’s human rights record as a candidate, Biden fist-bumped the powerful Crown Prince Mohammed bin Salman, who US intelligence has said masterminded the murder of Saudi journalist and US resident Jamal Khashoggi.
Speaking on Fox News shortly after the decision was announced, National Security Councilcommunications coordinator John Kirby said the oil cartel was “adjusting back their numbers down a little bit” after making a small increase after Biden’s visit.
“OPEC+ has been saying and telling the word they’re actually producing 3.5 million more barrels than they actually are. So in some ways this announced decrease really gets them back into more alignment with actual production,” Kirby said, noting there hadn’t yet been dramatic shifts in the price of oil.
“We have to see how it plays out over the long term,” he said.
Kirby said Biden’s visit to Jeddah, Saudi Arabia, for a regional conference “was not about oil.”
“It was about larger national strategic and national interest goals throughout the region to try to foster a more integrated cooperative region,” he said.
Following one of the “deadliest” hurricanes to ever hit Florida, the US president has plans to travel there. As the storm travels north, further warnings have been issued.
In the wake of Hurricane Ian, US President Joe Biden announced on Thursday that he is arranging a trip to Florida.
“When the conditions allow it, I’m going to be going to Florida,” the president said.
Biden was speaking at FEMA emergency management headquarters in Washington, which has been organizing the federal response to the disaster that has laid waste to swathes of the southern peninsula state.
“This could be the deadliest hurricane in Florida history,” he said, adding that “The numbers… are still unclear, but we’re hearing reports of what may be a substantial loss of life.”
At least six deaths have been reported, but this number is expected to climb as rescue workers spread across the affected areas.
More than 2.5 million homes and businesses had been left without power by Thursday.
The National Hurricane Centre (NHC) issued a hurricane warning for the coastline of South Carolina, as Ian headed further north with maximum sustained winds of 70 mph (110 km/h).
Hurricane Ian has left vast amounts of damage and destruction in its wake
Sir Elton John performed at the White House for the first time since 1998, and was given an award from US President Joe Biden for his contribution to music.
The veteran star wowed more than 2,000 guests, including teachers, nurses and LGBTQ advocates, with his performance, which was put together to celebrate “everyday history makers”.
At the end of the show, President Biden surprised Sir Elton with the National Humanities Medal.
The 75-year-old singer is currently on a farewell tour after a career spanning more than 50 years.
President Yoon Suk-yeol of South Korea has denied making insulting remarks to the US Congress following his meeting with US President Joe Biden last week in New York.
He was recorded using a hot mic and appeared to be referring to US lawmakers with a phrase that may either be translated as “idiots” or something considerably heavier in Korean.
The footage quickly went viral in South Korea.
But his spokeswoman says he had “no reason to talk about the US or utter the word ‘Biden’”.
The remark is said to have occurred as part of a conversation about Mr Biden’s drive to increase the US contribution to a global initiative known as the Global Fund, which would require congressional approval.
“How could Biden not lose face if these [expletive] do not pass it in Congress?,” Mr Yoon apparently said to his aides afterward.
Presidential spokeswoman Kim Eun-hye said in New York on Thursday Mr Yoon did not actually say “Biden”, but a similar-sounding Korean word, and that he was referring to the South Korean parliament, not the US Congress.
Many were unconvinced by the government’s defense – an opposition MP said it was like telling Koreans they were “hearing impaired”.
Mr Yoon is a former prosecutor who only entered politics last year and won the presidential elections earlier this year by less than 1%.
He is known as being prone to gaffes and has been struggling with low approval ratings soon after being elected, correspondents say.
Last year, he had to backtrack on his comment that the authoritarian president Chun Doo-hwan, who was responsible for massacring protesters in 1980, was “good at politics”.
At an event to mark the 1,160th year of Russia’s statehood, he said the country would not lose its sovereignty and would not give in to “blackmail and intimidation”.
Western officials would likely argue that they have not threatened the sovereignty of Russia, and it is instead Moscow that is endangering Ukraine’s sovereignty.
Hours after Mr Putin ordered partial mobilization to boost troops in Ukraine, he also lauded the Russian military.
He claimed it was fighting to save people in Ukraine’s easternDonbas region, where Moscow has alleged Russian citizens are being persecuted.
But Ukraine has forcefully denied the accusations and has aimed to push Russian forces out of its territory.
Speaking at the UN General Assembly, he said Russia has made “irresponsible nuclear threats” and that “a nuclear war cannot be won and can never be fought”.
His comments come just hours after Vladimir Putin warned the West he was not bluffing about the potential use of nuclear weapons.
Mr Biden said Russia has “attempted to erase a sovereign state from the map”, adding that the war is about “extinguishing Ukraine’s right to exist as a state, plain and simple”.
“Wherever you are, that should make your blood run cold.”
The United States has traditionally adhered to a strategy of “strategic ambiguity” and has not been explicit about how it would react to an attack in terms of military force.
In his clearest remarks to date on the subject, US President Joe Biden stated US military would defend Taiwan in the case of a Chinese invasion.
Asked in a TV interview whether America would defend the self-ruled island, claimed by China, he replied bluntly: “Yes, if in fact, there was an unprecedented attack.”
The US has long stuck to a policy of “strategic ambiguity” and has not made clear whether it would respond
militarily, to an attack.
Asked to clarify if he meant that, unlike in Ukraine, US forces would defend Taiwan from Chinese invasion, Mr Biden again replied: “Yes.”
The CBS 60 Minutes interview showed a president appearing to go beyond long-standing US policy onTaiwan, which states a commitment to a One-China policy, in which Washington officially recognises Beijing and not Taipei.
Biden’s remarks are sure to anger Beijing, which was enraged by a visit to Taiwan by US House speaker Nancy Pelosi back in August.
That visit prompted China to conduct its largest-ever military exercises around Taiwan.
Chinese President Xi Jinping has vowed to bring democratically-governed Taiwan under Beijing’s control and has
not ruled out the use of force.
Asked last October if the United States would come to the defence of Taiwan, the president said: “Yes, we have a commitment to do that,” but a White House spokesperson said he was not, in fact, announcing any change in US policy – and some experts denounced the comment as a “gaffe”.
For a two-day visit to celebrate Queen Elizabeth II, President Joe Biden flew into London late on Saturday. According to the president, the long-reigning monarch “shaped an era.”
Biden, who visited the late sovereign last year and said later that she reminded him of his mother, is joining leaders from a considerable number of other countries to pay their respects to the late sovereign.
For Biden, it is an opportunity to think back on a monarch whose life was a timeline of the most important historical events of the last 100 years and who personified a dedication to public service.
When Biden first encountered the Queen in 1982, his own Irish American mother admonished him not to show her any respect.
He didn’t bow down then, or when he met the Queen as President last year while attending a Group of 7 summits in England. But his respect for a woman whose constancy on the world stage over the last century was unparalleled has been plain.
“She was a great lady. We’re so delighted we got to meet her,” Biden said on the day that she died.
The Queen’s surprise decision last year to travel to the Cornish coast to meet world leaders at the G7 summit was a signal of her desire to remain engaged in global affairs.
Later that week, when she hosted Biden and first lady Jill Biden for tea at Windsor Castle, she inquired about two authoritarian leaders, Presidents Xi Jinping of China and Vladimir Putin of Russia, the President told reporters afterward.
“She had such curiosity. She wanted to know all about American politics, and what was happening. So, she put us at ease,” Jill Biden said recently in an interview with NBC.
At Sunday evening’s reception, Biden will see Charles for the first time since he became King. The two men have met previously and spoke last week by phone.
As Prince of Wales, Charles was a passionate campaigner for certain issues Biden has also championed, including combating climate change. It remains to be seen how involved the new King will be on those issues going forward.
Relatively close in age — Charles is 73, Biden is 79 — the two men have a shared experience of being in the public eye for decades before assuming their current roles as heads of state.
On his call with the King, Biden “conveyed the great admiration of the American people for the Queen, whose dignity and constancy deepened the enduring friendship and special relationship between the United States and the United Kingdom,” the White House said. “President Biden conveyed his wish to continue a close relationship with the King.”
Security in the British capital is at its highest level in memory as Biden and dozens of other world leaders convene to remember the late Queen, who met 13 sitting US Presidents during her reign.
White House aides have declined to provide specific security details for the President’s visit but say they are working well with their British counterparts to ensure the demands of presidential security are met.
Plans for the Queen’s funeral have been in place for years, allowing US advisers greater insight into precisely what will happen over the coming days as they make security arrangements.
The White House said it received an invitation only for the President and first lady, making for a slimmed-down American footprint.
Biden traveled with his national security adviser, communications director, and other personal aides aboard Air Force One to London.
When reports emerged last week that world leaders would be required to ride on a bus to the funeral, US officials were skeptical and shot down the suggestion Biden that would travel to Westminster Abbey in a coach.
In 2018, when other world leaders traveled together in a bus to a World War I memorial in Paris, then-US President Donald Trump traveled separately in his own vehicle. The White House explained at the time that the separate trip was “due to security protocols.”
The Queen’s death came at a moment of economic and political turmoil for the United Kingdom. A new prime minister, Liz Truss, entered office after months of uncertainty following the decision of her predecessor, Boris Johnson, to step down.
Truss invited several visiting world leaders to meet individually at 10 Downing Street this weekend. In the role for only a little more than a week, it will be Truss’ first time meeting face to face with many of her foreign counterparts.
While her office initially said Biden would be among the leaders visiting Downing Street, it was later announced that Truss and the President would meet for formal bilateral talks on Wednesday on the sidelines of the United Nations General Assembly in New York.
A host of issues are currently testing the US-UK “special relationship,” which has been heralded repeatedly in the UK.
It was only two days after Truss traveled to Balmoral Castle in Scotland to formally accept the Queen’s appointment as prime minister that the long-reigning monarch passed away. Since then, the country has been in a formal period of mourning.
Truss inherited a deep economic crisis, fueled by high inflation and soaring energy costs, that has led to fears the UK could soon enter a prolonged recession. The challenges have been aggravated by Russia’s invasion of Ukraine, which has caused volatility in the oil and gas markets.
While few in the Biden administration shed tears at Johnson’s resignation– Biden once described him as the “physical and emotional clone” of Trump — the US and the UK were deeply aligned in their approach to Russia under his leadership.
White House officials expect that cooperation will continue under Truss, even as she comes under pressure to ease economic pressures at home.
Less certain, however, is whether Truss’s hard-line approach to Brexit will sour relations with Biden. The President has taken a personal interest in the particular issue of the Northern Ireland Protocol, a post-Brexit arrangement that requires extra checks on goods moving between Northern Ireland and the rest of the UK.
The rules were designed to keep the border between Northern Ireland and the Republic of Ireland open and avoid a return to sectarian violence. But Truss has moved to rewrite those rules, causing deep anxiety in both Brussels and Washington.
Biden, who makes frequent references to his Irish ancestry, has made his views clear on the issue, even though it does not directly involve the United States. Congressional Democrats have similarly expressed concern over any steps that could reignite the Northern Ireland conflict.
In their first phone call as counterparts earlier this month, Biden raised the matter with Truss, according to the White House.
A US readout of their conversation said they discussed a “shared commitment to protecting the gains of the Belfast/Good Friday Agreement and the importance of reaching a negotiated agreement with the European Union on the Northern Ireland Protocol.”
It, however, remains unlikely that it intends to use such weapons.
Tactical nuclear weapons are those which can be used at relatively short distances, as opposed to “strategic” nuclear weapons which can be launched over much longer distances and raise the spectre of all-out nuclear war.
In an interview with CBS’ 60 Minutes correspondent Scott Pelley in the White House, President Biden was asked what he would say to President Putin if he was considering using weapons of mass destruction in Ukraine.
“Don’t, don’t, don’t,” was President Biden’s response.
Mr Biden was then asked what the consequences would be for Mr Putin if such a line was crossed.
“You think I would tell you if I knew exactly what it would be? Of course, I’m not gonna tell you. It’ll be consequential,” Mr Biden responded.
“They’ll become more of a pariah in the world than they ever have been. And depending on the extent of what they do will determine what response would occur.”
The war in Ukraine has not gone as well as the Kremlin had hoped.
In recent days, Ukraine says it has recaptured more than 8,000 sq km (3,088 sq miles) of territory in the northeastern Kharkiv region.
Despite the apparent setback, President Putin has insisted that Ukraine’s successful counter-offensive will not stop Russia’s plans of continuing its operations in the east of the country.
US President Joe Biden has wasted no time in congratulating Liz Truss after her first speech as prime minister.Â
He said he looked forward to “deepening the special relationship” between the US and the UK.
Ms Truss and Mr Biden will be close allies in supporting Ukraine over the coming months as it continues to fight back against Russia’s war.
Congratulations to Prime Minister Liz Truss.
I look forward to deepening the special relationship between our countries and working in close cooperation on global challenges, including continued support for Ukraine as it defends itself against Russian aggression.
US House Speaker Nancy Pelosi landed in Taipei on Tuesday, marking a significant show of support for Taiwan despite China’s threats of retaliation over the visit.
Pelosi’s stop in Taipei is the first time that a US House speaker has visited Taiwan in 25 years. Her trip comes at a low point in US-China relations and despite warnings from the Biden administration against a stop in Taiwan. A Taiwanese official told CNN that Pelosi is expected to stay in Taipei overnight.
Pelosi and the congressional delegation that accompanied her said in a statement on Tuesday that the visit “honors America’s unwavering commitment to supporting Taiwan’s vibrant democracy.”
“Our discussions with Taiwan leadership will focus on reaffirming our support for our partner and on promoting our shared interests, including advancing a free and open Indo-Pacific region,” the House speaker’s statement said. “America’s solidarity with the 23 million people of Taiwan is more important today than ever, as the world faces a choice between autocracy and democracy.”
The House speaker wrote an op-ed that was published in The Washington Post after she landed Tuesday, arguing that her trip demonstrated the US commitment to Taiwan under threat from China. “In the face of the Chinese Communist Party’s accelerating aggression, our congressional delegation’s visit should be seen as an unequivocal statement that America stands with Taiwan, our democratic partner, as it defends itself and its freedom,” Pelosi wrote.
Pelosi is traveling with House Foreign Affairs Chairman Gregory Meeks of New York, Veterans Affairs Chairman Mark Takano of California, and Reps. Suzan DelBene of Washington state, Raja Krishnamoorthiof Illinois, and Andy Kim of New Jersey.
Pelosi’s stop in Taiwan was not listed on the itinerary of her congressional visit to Asia, but the stop had been discussed for weeks in the lead-up to her trip. The potential stop prompted warnings from China as well as the Biden administration, which briefed the speaker about the risks of visiting the democratic, self-governing island, which China claims as part of its territory.
On Monday, China warned against the “egregious political impact” of Pelosi’s visit, saying that the Chinese military “won’t sit by idly” if Beijing believes its “sovereignty and territorial integrity” is being threatened.
China’s Ministry of Foreign Affairs released a statement after Pelosi landed, charging that her visit “has a severe impact on the political foundation of China-U.S. relations, and seriously infringes upon China’s sovereignty and territorial integrity.”
Secretary of State Antony Blinken said Monday that the decision to visit Taiwan was the speaker’s, noting there was a past precedent of members of Congress — including previous House speakers — visiting. “Congress is an independent, coequal branch of government,” Blinken said in remarks at the United Nations. “The decision is entirely the speaker’s.”
White House officials also warned Beijing on Monday not to take any escalating actions in response to Pelosi’s trip.
“There is no reason for Beijing to turn a potential visit, consistent with long-standing US policy, into some sort of crisis or conflict, or use it as a pretext to increase aggressive military activity in or around the Taiwan Strait,” National Security Council Strategic Coordinator for CommunicationsJohn Kirby told reporters on Monday.
US President Joe Biden has said publicly that the US military did not believe it was a good time for Pelosi to visit Taiwan, but he stopped short of telling her directly not to go, two sources previously told CNN.
The issue of Taiwan remains among the most contentious in US-China relations. Biden and his Chinese counterpart, Xi Jinping, discussed it at length during a phone call last week that lasted more than two hours.
Administration officials are concerned that Pelosi’s trip comes at a particularly tense moment, as Xi is expected to seek an unprecedented third term at the upcoming Chinese Communist Party congress. Chinese party officials are expected to begin laying the groundwork for that conference in the coming weeks, putting pressure on the leadership in Beijing to show strength.
While Biden has not endorsed Pelosi’s visit, US officials believe Chinese leadership may be conflating the House speaker’s trip with an official administration visit, and they’re concerned that China doesn’t separate Pelosi from Biden, much, if at all, since both are Democrats.
Pelosi has long been a China hawk in Congress. She’s previously met with pro-democracy dissidents and the Dalai Lama — the exiled Tibetan spiritual leader who remains a thorn in the side of the Chinese government. She also helped display a black-and-white banner in Beijing’s Tiananmen Square two years after the 1989 massacre, and in recent years she’s voiced support for the pro-democracy protests in Hong Kong.
US President Joe Bidenhas revealed that Al Qaeda leader Ayman al-Zawahiri has been killed by a US airstrike in Afghanistan.
In a national address from the balcony of the White House Blue Room, Mr. Biden indicated that “justice has been delivered.” His remarks come after authorizing the strike that killed the man, one of the masterminds of the 9/11 terror attacks.
“This terrorist leader is no more,” Mr. Biden added, before expressing his hope the killing brings “one more measure of closure” to families of the nearly 3,000 people who died in the attacks on 11 September 2001.
The president added that Afghanistan will “never again become a terrorist safe haven” after the strike was carried out nearly a year after US troops withdrew from the country.
On Sunday morning the Egyptian terror leader was standing on the balcony of a safehouse in downtown Kabul when he was killed by two hellfire missiles fired from a drone.
Mr. Biden however reported that none of the 71-year-old’s family members were injured and no civilian casualties were recorded.
The US president said: “The United States continues to demonstrate our resolve and our capacity to defend the American people against those who seek to do us harm.
“We make it clear again tonight that no matter how long it takes, no matter where you hide if you are a threat to our people, the United States will find you and take you out.”
As parts of efforts to apprehend Ayman al-Zawahiri ,the FBI had been offering $25m (£20m) for “information leading to the apprehension or conviction” of the terror leader, whose death comes as a big blow to al Qaeda since the death of their founder Osama bin Laden who was killed by special forces of the US in 2011.
But it was much earlier in the year when intelligence suggested that his wife and children had relocated to Kabul. He and his family were believed until that point to have been in hiding in Pakistan.
The family was discovered in a safehouse where, according to the US official, al-Zawahiri was eventually discovered as well.
His pattern of life was recorded after several months of being watched. He never left the house but did spend time on a balcony where he was eventually killed.
On 25 July, a detailed proposal had been presented to Mr. Biden who, the administration official said, requested “granular level interest” because of the focus on taking “every step… to minimize civilian casualties”.
Intelligence allowed the Americans to study the construction of the house to ensure that civilian casualties were avoided.
The official added that al-Zawahiri’s death is “a significant blow to al Qaeda and will degrade their ability to operate”.
Richard Moore, head of the UK’s intelligence service MI6, said his thoughts were with the families of those killed by al-Zawahiri’s atrocities.
Mr. Moore tweeted: “Tough job professionally done by our US allies. The culmination of a long, shared effort since 9/11 to eliminate the threat posed by Zawahiri – a man responsible, with his toxic creed, for the death of so many these past three decades.”
Saudi Arabia also welcomed Mr. Biden’s announcement.
“Zawahiri is considered one of the leaders of terrorism that led the planning and execution of heinous terrorist operations in the United States and Saudi Arabia,” the state media reported, quoting a foreign ministry statement.
Taliban spokesman Zabihullah Mujahid confirmed that a strike took place and strongly condemned it, calling it a violation of “international principles”.
Speaking on 31 August 2021, after the last US troops left Afghanistan, Mr. Biden said the US would not let up on its fight against terrorism in that country or elsewhere.
“We will maintain the fight against terrorism in Afghanistan and other countries,” he said.
“We just don’t need to fight a ground war to do it.”
Previewing the strike that would occur 11 months later, Mr. Biden said at the time: “We have what’s called over-the-horizon capabilities, which means we can strike terrorists and targets without American boots on the ground – or very few if needed.”
Andrew Ansbro, president of the FDNY-Uniformed Firefighters Association and a 9/11 survivor, said in a statement after the drone strike: “While nearly 21 years have passed since the tragedies of that dark day, the very mention of these attacks still brings sorrow to so many, including the families of 343 New York City firefighters who were taken that day, and the families of the 290 New York City firefighters that have passed since from 9/11-related illnesses.
“This action by the United States is a reminder to each and every terrorist involved in the plotting of these attacks that the American people will never forget.”
He added: “Thank you President Joe Biden for putting these words into action, and helping to bring another level of closure to all impacted by these attacks.”
National security officials are quietly working to convince House Speaker Nancy Pelosi of the risks her potential trip to Taiwan could pose during a highly sensitive moment between the self-governing island and China.
Sources familiar with the speaker’s plans say she is planning to visit in the coming weeks as part of a broader trip to Asia and has invited both Democrats and Republicans to accompany her. If she goes, she would be the first House speaker to visit in a quarter century.
The possible trip is highlighting the concerns within President Joe Biden’s administration over China’s designs on Taiwan as Beijing has stepped up its rhetoric and aggressive actions toward the island in recent months, including sending warplanes into Taiwan’s self-declared air defense identification zone several times.
US officials have expressed concern that those moves could be precursors to even more aggressive steps by China in the coming months meant to assert its authority over the island.
The war in Ukraine has only intensified those worries, as Biden and other top officials nervously watch to see what lessons China may be taking from the Western response to Russia’s aggression.
Meanwhile, China’s President Xi Jinping — with whom Biden expects to speak this week — is believed to be laying the groundwork for an unprecedented third term as president in the fall, contributing to the tense geopolitics in the region. Biden’s call with Xi was in the works before Pelosi’s potential visit to Taiwan became public, officials noted.
Administration officials have shared their concerns not only about Pelosi’s security during the trip, but also worries about how China may respond to such a high-profile visit.
With Chinarecently reporting its worst economic performance in two years, Xi finds himself in a politically sensitive place ahead of an important meeting regarding extending his reign and could use a political win, multiple officials told CNN.
