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Showing posts with label US. Show all posts
Showing posts with label US. Show all posts
7/8/23
Britain - US relations; The long awaited British-US trade deal has still not materialized
It was meant to be the jewel in the Brexit crown, but the United Kingdom has, so far, failed to sign a free trade agreement with the United States.
3/15/23
Ukraiine War: Russia-US relations: Russian jets shoot down fighter jet size US drone above Black sea internatipnal waters, while US sits on hands, working out appropiate response
Washington has summoned Russia's ambassador to the US to the State Department to express its "strong objection" after a Russian fighter jet struck an American surveillance drone over the Black Sea on Tuesday, causing US forces to bring the drone down in international waters.
"We will summon the Russian ambassador to the State Department," said US diplomatic spokesman, Ned Price in a press briefing, calling the incident a "brazen violation of international law."
He added that the US ambassador in Moscow had also conveyed Washington's protests in a message to the Russian Foreign Ministry.
The US military says a Russian jet Su-27 jet collided with the unmanned aerial vehicle over the Black Sea, forcing the drone down.
Read more at: https//www.euronews.com
3/2/23
German - US relations: German Chancellor goes to Washington for meeting with Biden re: China or Ukraine ?
A few days before Olaf Scholz's trip to Washington this week, an astonishing transatlantic spectacle unfolded: Joe Biden's National Security Adviser Jake Sullivan said in a TV interview that the US president had only agreed to supply American Abrams battle tanks to Ukraine at the German chancellor's urging. The US tanks are to supplement the German Leopard tanks that Germany and other European NATO countries plan to send.
In doing so, Sullivan not only contradicted earlier statements by his boss who insisted that Germany had not made him change his mind, but also the German government, whose spokesman explicitly denied the notion of "a package" of German Leopards and American Abrams.
The German denial is meant to "avoid the impression that the Americans have been put under pressure," Henning Hoff of the German Council on Foreign Relations told DW. "I think what has become clear is that Chancellor Scholz was able to make it clear to Washington: 'I need this backing, otherwise it will be very difficult for me to take this step.'"
He added that this ultimately succeeded because the chancellor and the president have a good personal connection.
Read more at: https://www.dw.com
1/1/23
EU automobile industry:European carmakers to benefit from Washington's subsidy spree for clean vehicles.
The European Commission said on Thursday it "welcomes" US guidelines that allow European carmakers to benefit from Washington's subsidy spree for clean vehicles.
With its Inflation Reduction Act (IRA), passed over the summer and coming into force on 1 January 2023, Washington plans to lavish $367 billion (€344b) in state aid to boost US manufacturing and incentives for consumers to buy American products including cars, batteries and renewable energies.
Europe has denounced parts of the bill as discriminatory, fuelling concerns that the allies could enter into a trade war and demanded to be given the same access to the American market as Canada and Mexico during negotiations held in a newly-created Task Force.
Read more at: https://www.euronews.com
12/20/22
Ukraine war: Belarus has been taken 'hostage' by Russia
The current agenda of Belarus-Russia relations appears to be dominated
by a single question: Will the Kremlin manage to drag the Belarusian
armed forces into military action against Ukraine? It would seem that
nothing less than the survival of Belarus as a sovereign state rests on
this question right now.
Read more at: https//www,carnegieendowment.org/politika/88317
12/11/22
NATO: Finland and Sweden on the verge of joining NATO says US Secretary of State Blinken
US Secretary of State, Antony Blinken, has said he’s confident that NATO candidates Sweden and Finland will become members very soon. Blinken was speaking at a joint press conference with his Swedish and Finnish Counterparts in Washington DC.
Read more at: https://www.euronews.com
11/25/22
EU and US trade relations: European trade ministers gathered in Brussels today re: "discriminatory" US Inflation Reduction A'ct,
European trade ministers gathered in Brussels on Friday to discuss the "discriminatory" US Inflation Reduction Act but with just over a month to go before the legislation comes into force, there appears to be no concrete solution on the table yet.
The main issue for Europe is to ensure it doesn't enter into a trade war with the US which could splinter western unity in the face of Russia's illegal war on Ukraine.
"The Inflation Reduction Act as it stands now is quite worrisome, very worrisome, to be honest," Liesje Schreinemacher, the Dutch Minister for Foreign Trade and Development Cooperation, said upon her arrival at the Foreign Affairs Council.
Read more at: https://www.euronews.com
Canada - US relations: Secret and classifued documents found in Trump's possession at his Florida residence, set off alarm bells in Canada
Vincent Rigby saw a lot over his 30-year career in public service, much of it working with some of the most sensitive and secret intelligence issues in Canada.
But for all that experience, the former national security adviser to the prime minister found himself in a state of disbelief in August when he saw the FBI search the home of former U.S. president Donald Trump and leave with boxes of highly sensitive, classified information.
Read more at: https://www.cbc.com
11/13/22
China and US relations: Xi and Biden meet face to face for the first time, experts say the meeting is aimed at preventing competition from spiraling out of contral
More than two years after he became president of the United States, Joe Biden will meet Chinese leader Xi Jinping for the first time in Bali on the sideline of the G20 Summit next Monday, as Beijing and Washington try to "build a floor" for their bilateral relationship amid rising tensions.
Read more at: https://www.dw.com
11/1/22
Ukraine Russian invasion:Russia recruits US trained Afghan special forces to fight in Ukraine
Russia is trying to recruit Afghan special forces to fight in Ukraine, reports AP.
Moscow wants to attract the elite Afghan soldiers, who fought alongside US troops during their 20-year occupation, to join a "foreign legion".
It is offering lucrative salaries of €1,500 a month and promises safe havens for the ex-servicemen and their families.
Most of the men fled Afghanistan to neighbouring Iran, following the US's chaotic withdrawal last year. They cannot return home as they risk death at the hands of the Taliban.
Read more at: https://www.euronews.com
5/20/22
US Economic Collapse: What Would Happen?
economy happened on September 16, 2008. This is the day the Reserve Primary Fund “broke the buck”—the value of the fund’s holdings dropped below $1 per share.1
Panicked investors withdrew billions from money market accounts where businesses keep cash to fund day-to-day operations.2 If withdrawals had gone on for even a week, and if the Fed and the U.S. government had not stepped in to shore up the financial sector, the entire economy would likely have ground to a halt. Trucks would have stopped rolling, grocery stores would have run out of food, and businesses would have been forced to shut down.
Read more at: US Economic Collapse: What Would Happen?
Panicked investors withdrew billions from money market accounts where businesses keep cash to fund day-to-day operations.2 If withdrawals had gone on for even a week, and if the Fed and the U.S. government had not stepped in to shore up the financial sector, the entire economy would likely have ground to a halt. Trucks would have stopped rolling, grocery stores would have run out of food, and businesses would have been forced to shut down.
Read more at: US Economic Collapse: What Would Happen?
5/3/22
China -US Relations: Can the US Deter a Taiwan Invasion? – by David Gitter
As the world comes to grips with Russia’s ongoing invasion of Ukraine, the questions surrounding why Western deterrence has seemingly failed to prevent such a situation will be hotly debated. But beyond the implications for the United States and Europe, perhaps the most common analysis being made, rightly or not, compares Russia President Vladimir Putin’s designs on Ukraine with Chinese leader Xi Jinping’s machinations regarding Taiwan (formally the Republic of China, or ROC), a de facto independent state that Beijing claims to be part of the People’s Republic of China (PRC).
Some observers have opined that a weak response by the United States and its allies in Europe will embolden Xi to undertake a military takeover of the island. U.S. Ambassador to the U.N. Linda Thomas-Greenfield addressed this line of thinking in an interview with CNN when she stated, “As it relates to Taiwan and China, we are committed to protecting the security and supporting the security of the people of Taiwan… if China is making efforts toward Taiwan because of what they see happening in Ukraine, these are two different types of situations.”
Briefly explained, the roots of strategic ambiguity are found in the 1979 Taiwan Relations Act (TRA), which states that the United States will maintain the capacity to defend Taiwan but does not state whether or not the United States would actually militarily intervene if the PRC attacked – ultimately this remains a U.S. presidential decision. Strategic ambiguity has allowed the United States to protect its normalized relations with China from being completely derailed by a Taiwan-U.S. alliance while still threatening to quash a Chinese cross-strait attack. It has also helped prevent Taiwan’s more independence-leaning leaders from assuming they had a blank check from Washington to declare de jure independence, which would risk provoking a China-U.S. war in the process.
Read more at:" Can the US Deter a Taiwan Invasion? – The Diplomat
Some observers have opined that a weak response by the United States and its allies in Europe will embolden Xi to undertake a military takeover of the island. U.S. Ambassador to the U.N. Linda Thomas-Greenfield addressed this line of thinking in an interview with CNN when she stated, “As it relates to Taiwan and China, we are committed to protecting the security and supporting the security of the people of Taiwan… if China is making efforts toward Taiwan because of what they see happening in Ukraine, these are two different types of situations.”
Briefly explained, the roots of strategic ambiguity are found in the 1979 Taiwan Relations Act (TRA), which states that the United States will maintain the capacity to defend Taiwan but does not state whether or not the United States would actually militarily intervene if the PRC attacked – ultimately this remains a U.S. presidential decision. Strategic ambiguity has allowed the United States to protect its normalized relations with China from being completely derailed by a Taiwan-U.S. alliance while still threatening to quash a Chinese cross-strait attack. It has also helped prevent Taiwan’s more independence-leaning leaders from assuming they had a blank check from Washington to declare de jure independence, which would risk provoking a China-U.S. war in the process.
Read more at:" Can the US Deter a Taiwan Invasion? – The Diplomat
2/6/22
Russia - Gazprom: Why the EU needs Russian energy giant Gazprom
In January, Gazprom CEO Alexey Miller said 2021 had been a record year for the Russian energy giant, both in terms of production and profits. Thanks to rising demand and the exploding cost of gas and oil, the company is raking in rubles.
It is the Russian state that controls most of the shares and decides on the company's direction. But various German firms, such as electric utility company E.ON, also own shares in Gazprom, which is the biggest producer of natural gas in the world. It has almost 500,000 employees and claims to hold the biggest gas reserves in Russia.
Miller is an old friend of Russian President Vladimir Putin, who almost always sits at the table of the supervisory board and the board of directors.
Read more at Why the EU needs Russian energy giant Gazprom | News | DW | 06.02.2022
It is the Russian state that controls most of the shares and decides on the company's direction. But various German firms, such as electric utility company E.ON, also own shares in Gazprom, which is the biggest producer of natural gas in the world. It has almost 500,000 employees and claims to hold the biggest gas reserves in Russia.
Miller is an old friend of Russian President Vladimir Putin, who almost always sits at the table of the supervisory board and the board of directors.
Read more at Why the EU needs Russian energy giant Gazprom | News | DW | 06.02.2022
1/6/22
Russia-US relations: Putin and Biden: Who Will Blink First? - by Herbert Wulf
In recent years, observers of the security situation in Europe have been reminded of the times of the Cold War. Ice age, confrontation and mutual mistrust prevail.
NATO has strengthened its military presence in the Central European and Baltic countries with modern, new weapons systems and armed forces, in close proximity to the border of Russia. Georgia and Ukraine are aiming for NATO membership.
Russia, for its part, is pushing ahead with the modernisation of its arsenal of weapons, including its nuclear warheads and missiles. It has also increased its military presence on the border with Ukraine in recent months. President Vladimir Putin has made clear: no change of the status of Crimea, which Russia occupied in 2014. The annexation of Crimea, which is controversial under international law, is a matter close to Russia's heart. Ukraine is primarily an issue of security. Escalations—verbally, militarily and through sanctions—as in the times of the Cold War!
Read more at: Putin and Biden: Who Will Blink First? - IDN-InDepthNews | Analysis That Matters
NATO has strengthened its military presence in the Central European and Baltic countries with modern, new weapons systems and armed forces, in close proximity to the border of Russia. Georgia and Ukraine are aiming for NATO membership.
Russia, for its part, is pushing ahead with the modernisation of its arsenal of weapons, including its nuclear warheads and missiles. It has also increased its military presence on the border with Ukraine in recent months. President Vladimir Putin has made clear: no change of the status of Crimea, which Russia occupied in 2014. The annexation of Crimea, which is controversial under international law, is a matter close to Russia's heart. Ukraine is primarily an issue of security. Escalations—verbally, militarily and through sanctions—as in the times of the Cold War!
Read more at: Putin and Biden: Who Will Blink First? - IDN-InDepthNews | Analysis That Matters
12/29/21
Covid Cases: U.S. Shatters Prior Record Of New Covid Cases Over Past 7 Days - by Lisa Kim
As of Wednesday morning, the seven-day average of new infections totaled 282,117, eclipsing the previous record of around 250,000 on January 11, according to Johns Hopkins University’s Covid data tracker.
Comparing the U.S. seven-day average with other countries most affected by new Covid cases, the U.K. and France set new records this week, peaking at around 115,000 and some 88,000, respectively, according to Johns Hopkins University.
Read more at: U.S. Shatters Prior Record Of New Covid Cases Over Past 7 Days
Comparing the U.S. seven-day average with other countries most affected by new Covid cases, the U.K. and France set new records this week, peaking at around 115,000 and some 88,000, respectively, according to Johns Hopkins University.
Read more at: U.S. Shatters Prior Record Of New Covid Cases Over Past 7 Days
10/23/21
Turkey to declare US, 9 other ambassadors ‘persona non grata’ after call for release of jailed opposition figure – says President ErdoganErdogan
Turkish President Recep Tayyip Erdogan said he instructed the foreign minister to declare 10 ambassadors, including Washington’s envoy, ‘persona non grata’ over a rare joint statement urging release of a jailed opposition figure.
“I gave the necessary instructions to our foreign minister, I said that you will handle the denunciation of the 10 ambassadors as soon as possible,” Erdogan said.
Read more at: Turkey to declare US, 9 other ambassadors ‘persona non grata’ after call for release of jailed opposition figure – Erdogan — RT World News
“I gave the necessary instructions to our foreign minister, I said that you will handle the denunciation of the 10 ambassadors as soon as possible,” Erdogan said.
Read more at: Turkey to declare US, 9 other ambassadors ‘persona non grata’ after call for release of jailed opposition figure – Erdogan — RT World News
9/30/21
USA: Shutdown averted; Congress approves stopgap budget plan - by Leo Shane III
Lawmakers avoided triggering a government shutdown on Friday with an emergency budget extension approved just a few hours before federal funding would have lapsed.
The move prevents worker furloughs and program shutdowns at the Departments of Defense, Veterans Affairs and other government agencies set to begin on Oct. 1, the start of fiscal 2022. Service members would have been required to keep working in the event of a shutdown, but their paychecks could have been delayed without the funding fix.
Read more at: Shutdown averted; Congress approves stopgap budget plan
The move prevents worker furloughs and program shutdowns at the Departments of Defense, Veterans Affairs and other government agencies set to begin on Oct. 1, the start of fiscal 2022. Service members would have been required to keep working in the event of a shutdown, but their paychecks could have been delayed without the funding fix.
Read more at: Shutdown averted; Congress approves stopgap budget plan
8/31/21
EU removes US from safe travel list as COVID infections rise
The European Union has recommended that the US, along with four other countries, be removed from its list of countries exempt from restrictions on non-essential travel.
"Israel, Kosovo, Lebanon, Montenegro, the Republic of North Macedonia and the United States of America were removed from the list," a statement from the European Council said.
Read more at: EU removes US from safe travel list as COVID infections rise | News | DW | 30.08.2021
"Israel, Kosovo, Lebanon, Montenegro, the Republic of North Macedonia and the United States of America were removed from the list," a statement from the European Council said.
Read more at: EU removes US from safe travel list as COVID infections rise | News | DW | 30.08.2021
8/23/21
Afghanistan: Taliban says any attempt to extend foreign troops evacuation deadline beyond August 31 is clear violation
A Taliban spokesperson has dismissed the UK’s call to extend the August 31 deadline for completing the evacuation underway at Kabul airport, saying any attempt by foreign troops to remain in the country would be a clear violation.
Speaking to British media, UK Armed Forces Minister James Heappey stated that Britain is seeking to convince America to remain on the ground longer, ensuring the security of the evacuation process, as well as calling on the Taliban to extend the initial August 31 deadline for the withdrawal of foreign forces.
Taliban spokesperson Muhammad Suhail Shaheen rejected the UK’s request for an extension on Monday, telling the BBC that foreign troops must exit the country by the originally agreed date or otherwise be in clear violation of the deal reached with the militant group.
Read more at: Taliban says any attempt to extend foreign troops evacuation deadline beyond August 31 is clear violation — RT World News
Speaking to British media, UK Armed Forces Minister James Heappey stated that Britain is seeking to convince America to remain on the ground longer, ensuring the security of the evacuation process, as well as calling on the Taliban to extend the initial August 31 deadline for the withdrawal of foreign forces.
Taliban spokesperson Muhammad Suhail Shaheen rejected the UK’s request for an extension on Monday, telling the BBC that foreign troops must exit the country by the originally agreed date or otherwise be in clear violation of the deal reached with the militant group.
Read more at: Taliban says any attempt to extend foreign troops evacuation deadline beyond August 31 is clear violation — RT World News
8/8/21
EU: Once lagging, Europe catches up to the U.S. in COVID-19 vaccinations
Despite a sluggish start, the European Union’s COVID-19 vaccination drive has caught up to that of the United States, where the slowdown of the country’s once-vaunted campaign has contributed to the virus’s deadly comeback.
Now the EU has surpassed the U.S. by that same measure, with some 60% of the bloc’s residents receiving at least one dose, versus less than 58% of Americans.
Read more at: Once lagging, Europe catches up to the U.S. in COVID-19 vaccinations
Now the EU has surpassed the U.S. by that same measure, with some 60% of the bloc’s residents receiving at least one dose, versus less than 58% of Americans.
Read more at: Once lagging, Europe catches up to the U.S. in COVID-19 vaccinations
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