White House
White House considering talks between Joe Biden and China’s Xi Jinping
The White House will consider arranging talks between President Joe Biden and his Chinese counterpart, Xi Jinping, as the two countries spar over issues including human rights, a top U.S. official said on Thursday. Biden’s national security adviser Jake Sullivan said that the two leaders are due to “take stock of where we are in the relationship.” Beijing fumed over a communique issued at Biden’s urging by the Group of Seven leaders on Sunday. It scolded the country over human rights in its Xinjiang region and Hong Kong while also demanding a full and thorough investigation of the origins of the coronavirus in China. “Soon enough we will sit down to work out the right modality for the two presidents to engage,” Sullivan told reporters on a conference call. “It could be a phone call, it cou...
US to give 500 million Pfizer coronavirus vaccines to poorer countries
The US is to distribute half a billion shots of the Pfizer vaccine to nearly 100 poorer countries. Some 200 million doses will be given out this year and 300 million in 2022. It comes as US President Joe Biden said before leaving for the G7 summit in Cornwall that he would be announcing a vaccine strategy for the world. The US would pay for the doses at a “not-for-profit” price, according to the New York Times, which said the plan could be officially announced on Thursday. The shots will go to 92 lower-income countries and the African Union, sources told the Reuters news agency. Pfizer and the White House have so far not officially commented. America is well advanced in its vaccine rollout but campaigners have called for richer countries to do more to help protect developing nations. It’s ...
Iran says nuclear talks policy won’t change after presidential vote
Iran’s policy in talks with world powers to revive the 2015 nuclear accord will remain unchanged after a June 18 presidential election because the issue is decided by its highest leadership, a government spokesman said on Tuesday. A host of barriers to the revival of the nuclear deal remain firmly in place ahead of talks due to resume this week, suggesting a return to compliance with the accord is still a way off, diplomats, Iranian officials and analysts said. “We have shown that we adhere to our international obligations under all circumstances, and this was a national decision,” cabinet spokesman Ali Rabiei told a weekly news conference. Rabiei said Iran’s nuclear policy, set by Supreme Leader Ayatollah Ali Khamenei, is not linked to internal developments and that the new government wou...
Gunman kills at least 8 in mass shooting at California rail yard
At least eight people were killed when a transit employee opened fire at his co-workers at a light rail yard in San Jose, California, on Wednesday morning, the county sheriff’s office said, in the latest in a string of mass shootings this spring. The gunman, who like the victims was an employee of the Santa Clara Valley Transportation Authority (VTA), was also dead, Santa Clara County Sheriff’s Deputy Russell Davis said at a news conference. He did not say how the gunman died or whether police officers fired their weapons at the scene. The name and age of the suspect were also not disclosed. The first emergency calls reporting the shooting at the VTA light rail yard near the city’s main airport came through shortly after 6:30 a.m. Pacific Time (1330 GMT). A bomb squad was searching the yar...
Facebook report: U.S. a top target for foreign and domestic influence operations
The United States topped a list of the countries most frequently targeted by deceptive foreign influence operations using Facebook between 2017 and 2020, the social media company said in a new report released on Wednesday. It also came second on a list of countries targeted by domestic influence operations in that same time period. Facebook Inc said one of the top sources of coordinated inauthentic behavior networks targeting the United States in the year leading up to the 2020 presidential election was domestic campaigns originating in the United States itself, as well as foreign operations from Russia and Iran. The tallies were based on the number of “coordinated inauthentic behavior” networks removed by Facebook, a term it uses for a type of influence operations that relies on fake acco...
Hamas official predicts ceasefire soon in Israel-Gaza conflict
A senior Hamas official predicted a ceasefire within days in the Israel-Gaza conflict, after U.S. President Joe Biden urged Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu to seek a “de-escalation” in the fighting. Rocket fire into Israel died down overnight, a lull that stretched into Thursday morning. Israel was launching new air strikes in Gaza after daybreak, but, Israeli media said, at a slower pace than in past days. An Egyptian security source said the sides had agreed in principle to a ceasefire after help from mediators but details were still being negotiated in secret. “I think that the ongoing efforts regarding the ceasefire will succeed,” the Hamas political official, Moussa Abu Marzouk, told Lebanon’s al-Mayadeen TV. “I expect a ceasefire to be reached within a day or two, and the c...
Washington denies Iran state media report saying prisoner swap agreed
The United States on Sunday denied a report by Iran’s state television that the arch-foes had reached a prisoner swap deal in exchange for the release of $7 billion frozen Iranian oil funds under U.S. sanctions in other countries. Iranian state television said on Sunday that Tehran would free four Americans accused of spying in exchange for four Iranians held in the United States and the release of $7 billion in frozen Iranian funds. The U.S. government denied that an exchange was in the works. The state TV, quoting an unnamed Iranian official, also said British-Iranian national Nazanin Zaghari-Ratcliffe would be released once Britain had paid off a debt on military equipment owed to Tehran. A British Foreign Office official played down that report. Iran and world powers are holding talks ...
U.S. pledges sustained help for India in tackling coronavirus crisis
Senior U.S. officials on Tuesday pledged sustained support for India in helping it deal with the world’s worst current surge of COVID-19 infections, warning the country is still at the “front end” of the crisis and overcoming it will take some time. The White House’s National Security Council coordinator for the Indo-Pacific, Kurt Campbell, told a virtual event on the U.S. assistance that President Joe Biden had told Indian Prime Minister Narendra Modi on a phone call on Monday: “You let me know what you need and we will do it.” Campbell said at the event, organized by the U.S.-India Business Council and U.S. Chamber of Commerce Foundation, that Washington was committed to helping the world’s second most populous country get to grips with the crisis. “We all have to realize that this is no...
US Supreme Court dismisses case on Donald Trump blocking Twitter critics
The U.S. Supreme Court set aside a federal appeals court ruling that former President Donald Trump violated the First Amendment when he blocked critics from following his Twitter account. The case had already lost its practical impact given Trump’s election defeat and Twitter’s Jan. 8 decision to permanently ban his @realDonaldTrump account for glorifying violence. But the two sides in the case continued to spar over the fate of the appeals court decision. Before Trump left office, the Justice Department asked the justices to wipe away the precedent, while those suing him sought to keep it intact. The appeals court said a social media account run by government officials can become a constitutionally protected “public forum” if used to conduct official business. The Supreme Court has said t...
Biden Administration Considering A National Vaccine Passport Program
HipHopWired Featured Video Source: Pool / Getty Now that President Biden’s vaccination plan will soon allow every American to receive the shot no later than May 1, businesses will soon require proof of inoculation before allowing customers into their establishments. To help Americans transition back into everyday life, the Biden administration may launch a new “vaccine passport” program. However, the rollout could potentially ostracize underserved communities that are treated at lower rates. According to New York Magazine, the program is only in the planning stages as officials in the Department of Health and Human Services coordinate between government agencies, businesses requiring vaccine passports, and companies that create the services. The Centers for Disease Control and ...
US hails Nigerian women for advancing global development
In commemoration of the 2021 Women’s History Month, the U.S. Embassy’s public affairs chief Aruna Amirthanayagam has acknowledged the importance of women in the leadership and economic growth of every country. Women’s History Month is celebrated during March in the U.S., the United Kingdom, and Australia, to mark the contributions of women to society. Mr. Amirthanayagam, in his opening remark at an event with the acting Vice-Chancellor of the University of Port Harcourt, Stephen Okodudu, and the Rivers State chapter of the United States Government Exchange Alumni Association (USGEAA), said the non-inclusion of women in science advancements would lead to an unsustainable economy, a statement seen by newsmen read. “The U.S. Mission in Nigeria recognises the importance of women’s inclusion fo...
Will Smith opens up about running for president
Will Smith has opened up about possibly running for president at some point in his career, and we wouldn’t put it past him. The 52-year-old has taken on some of the biggest roles in Hollywood, but he may be turning his attention to politics next. Appearing on the Pod Save America podcast, hosted by Jon Favreau, Jon Lovett, Dan Pfeiffer and Tommy Vietor, the Bad Boys actor teased that the Smith family could be headed for the White House. When asked what he thinks about entering politics and running for office himself, he laughed: ‘I think for now, I’ll let that office get cleaned up a little bit and then I’ll consider that at some point down the line. ‘I don’t know, it’s like, I absolutely have an opinion, I’m optimistic, I’m hopeful, I believe in understanding between people. I believe in ...
