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Papua New Guinea is fifth nation to open Jerusalem embassy
Pacific island nation Papua New Guinea opened its embassy to Israel in Jerusalem on Tuesday, becoming only the fifth country to have its mission in the holy city. The status of Jerusalem is the most sensitive issue of the Israeli-Palestinian conflict. Papua New Guinea's Prime Minister James Marape inaugurated the embassy in the presence of his Israeli counterpart Benjamin Netanyahu at a function in Jerusalem. "Many nations choose not to open their embassies in Jerusalem, but we made the conscious choice," said Marape, whose country previously had no embassy in Israel. "For us to call ourselves Christian, paying respect to God will not be complete without recognizing that Jerusalem is the universal capital of the people and nation of Israel," he said, inviting Netanyahu to open Israel's embassy in Papua New Guinea. Netanyahu welcomed the opening of the mission in Jerusalem, making Papua New Guinea the first Asia-Pacific country to do so. "We are very proud and very appreciative of that fact," he said, adding that the new link between the two countries "will not only enable us to cherish the past, but seize the future". Most of the countries that have a formal diplomatic presence in Israel have their embassies in Tel Aviv, the country's commercial center. Only a handful of countries have their missions in Jerusalem -- the United States, Kosovo, Guatemala, and Honduras. Papua New Guinea's decision follows a landmark security pact, tabled in the country's parliament in June and obtained by AFP, which allows the US military to develop and operate out of bases in Papua New Guinea. The pact underpins Washington's effort to outflank China in the Pacific. After capturing it in 1967, Israel annexed east Jerusalem, including the Old City, in a move never recognized by the international community. Israel views the whole city as its capital, a stance backed by former US president Donald Trump, who moved Washington's embassy there. About 230,000 Israelis live in annexed east Jerusalem, along with at least 360,000 Palestinians who want to make the sector the capital of their future independent state. Peace talks have been moribund since 2014, and violence in the Israeli-Palestinian conflict has intensified since last year. The post Papua New Guinea is fifth nation to open Jerusalem embassy appeared first on Daily Tribune......»»
With eye on 2024, Biden takes shot at high US drug prices
US President Joe Biden, who is campaigning for reelection with a heavy focus on easing voters' financial woes, on Tuesday launched a bid to lower the cost of certain prescription drugs -- a move Big Pharma pledged to continue battling in court. "Millions of Americans are forced to choose between paying for medications they need to live or paying for food, rent, and other basic necessities. Those days are ending," the Democratic president pledged in a statement. Later, in a White House speech, Biden said pharmaceutical giants were "hoping the courts will do what Democrats in Congress wouldn't do: protect their exorbitant profits and keep negotiations from happening." Using new powers under last year's Inflation Reduction Act, a major legislative package of energy transition policy and social reforms, the US government has chosen 10 drugs for which Medicare, the health insurance scheme for people over 65, will be able to negotiate the price. Medicare has previously not been able to negotiate drug prices, which has resulted in US drug costs being higher than "any other major economy in the world," Biden said. The United States pays on average 2.5 times more for prescription drugs than countries such as France, according to a study by the Rand Corporation. According to the US government, senior citizens last year had to spend a total of $3.4 billion out of their own pockets to buy the 10 drugs targeted in the list, which include treatments for blood clots, diabetes, heart problems, psoriasis, and blood cancers. White House officials would not specify how much cost-cutting they were expecting to see from the negotiations, but Biden cited the government's ability to get drug prices for veterans that were "50 percent less than Medicare." Under the IRA, the federal government can continue to add more drugs each year to its negotiating list. The pharmaceutical industry has opposed Medicare price negotiations for decades, and several companies have already announced lawsuits against the action. One of the treatments on the initial list, the anticoagulant Eliquis (apixaban), is used by more than 3.7 million Medicare beneficiaries. The laboratory that manufactures it, Bristol Myers Squibb, says that Medicare beneficiaries who are prescribed this drug "are currently able to get it with relatively low out-of-pocket costs at an average of $55 per month," and claims that Biden's initiative puts that "at risk." The Johnson & Johnson group, which produces two of the drugs on the list, said that the reform would "constrain medical innovation, limit patient access and choice, and negatively impact the overall quality of care." 2024 in view With the change in prices not set to take place until January 2026, the immediate political benefit for Biden is uncertain. The 80-year-old president, whose reelection bid has struggled to find much enthusiasm, is counting on announcements like the one made Tuesday, as well as a measure to freeze the price of insulin at $35 a month for many Americans, to bolster his campaign. Biden often touts his relentless optimism, and on Tuesday again criticized talk by Republican White House candidates -- especially former president Donald Trump -- of US "decline." "Better days are coming," he promised. The post With eye on 2024, Biden takes shot at high US drug prices appeared first on Daily Tribune......»»
Disney to turn updated ‘Little Mermaid’ into TV series
Disney on Tuesday announced a new animated children's series inspired by its 1989 film "The Little Mermaid," which like the live-action adaptation released last month will feature a black Ariel. "Disney Junior's Ariel", a musical series for toddlers, is currently in production and is due for release next year. It depicts the underwater adventures of Ariel, the eight-year-old mermaid princess, and her friends including Flounder in the fairytale Caribbean-inspired kingdom of Atlantica. "I'm super excited about Ariel, I certainly didn't think we would have an iconic character like Ariel in a pre-school play world," said Ayo Davis, president of Disney Branded Television, a subsidiary dedicated to television content. "I'm also very excited to have a character that my daughter can sort of identify and see herself in." The plan is not a minor consideration for Disney. It faced a racist backlash online after it awarded the role of Ariel to pop singer Halle Bailey for the recently released remake, as opposed to a white actress as in the original. The house of mouse, which in recent years stepped up its diversity advocacy, is locked in a standoff with Florida Governor Ron DeSantis, who is seen as a rival to Donald Trump for the 2024 Republican presidential primary. Disney's first black princess appeared only in 2009 as Tiana in the animated feature "The Princess and the Frog." The post Disney to turn updated ‘Little Mermaid’ into TV series appeared first on Daily Tribune......»»
Disney to turn updated ‘Little Mermaid’ into TV series
Disney on Tuesday announced a new animated children's series inspired by its 1989 film "The Little Mermaid," which like the live-action adaptation released last month will feature a black Ariel. "Disney Junior's Ariel", a musical series for toddlers, is currently in production and is due for release next year. It depicts the underwater adventures of Ariel, the eight-year-old mermaid princess, and her friends including Flounder in the fairytale Caribbean-inspired kingdom of Atlantica. Ayo Davis, president of Disney Branded Television, a subsidiary dedicated to television content, said she was excited to have a character her daughter could relate to. The plan is not a minor consideration for Disney. It faced a racist backlash online after it awarded the role of Ariel to pop singer Halle Bailey for the recently released remake, as opposed to a white actress as in the original. The House of Mouse, which in recent years stepped up its diversity advocacy, is locked in a standoff with Florida Governor Ron DeSantis, who is seen as a rival to Donald Trump for the 2024 Republican presidential primary. Disney's first black princess appeared only in 2009 as Tiana in the animated feature "The Princess and the Frog." The post Disney to turn updated ‘Little Mermaid’ into TV series appeared first on Daily Tribune......»»
DeSantis set to enter 2024 race, teeing up bitter face-off with Trump
Florida Governor Ron DeSantis is set to launch his 2024 presidential campaign Wednesday, signaling 18 months of acrimony ahead as he and Donald Trump lock horns in what is expected to be an attritional contest for the Republican nomination. DeSantis was considered a rising Republican star, but has been caught flat-footed by months of relentless attacks from the former president, who has surged into a commanding lead despite being engulfed in a firestorm of criminal investigations. The 44-year-old governor will make his announcement in a livestreamed chat with billionaire Twitter owner Elon Musk on the network's audio platform as he bids to co-opt some of the tech mogul's star power to upstage Trump. "I'm endorsing governor DeSantis -- he doesn't hold back and he's trying to make changes," one backer said in a video compilation of messages of support posted on Twitter by the Never Back Down political organization. Musk teased the 6:00 pm (2200 GMT) Twitter Spaces event in remarks to a conference hosted by the Wall Street Journal, promising it would be live and unscripted, with "real time questions and answers." The announcement will come with a campaign launch video and the start of a three-day retreat in Miami for some of DeSantis's wealthiest donors, who will be briefed on the campaign before the governor hits several early voting states next week. National profile Long viewed as the most viable challenger to twice-impeached Trump, DeSantis is better known than most of the hopefuls in the chasing pack for the Republican nomination -- but still lacks the frontrunner's national profile. The launch format offers him a dual advantage -- giving him precious access to Musk's 140 million followers, many of whom are in Trump's base, and, if he wins the nomination, the attention of a chunk of younger, less conservative voters he will likely need for a shot at the White House. DeSantis has used his platform as Florida's chief executive to burnish his conservative credentials, signing off on some 80 new state laws this spring, many targeting "woke indoctrination" in schools and other public institutions. They include a ban on the discussion of gender identity and sexual orientation in schools, a block on funding for efforts to promote diversity at public universities and one of the most restrictive abortion laws in the country. Never Back Down, which has been acting as the governor's de facto campaign arm, has a ground operation in most of the early nominating states and is making plans to expand. But the launch comes with DeSantis's ratings in decline as a number of policy missteps have prompted disquiet about his readiness to take on Trump. He faces the daunting task of closing an enormous polling gap, with Trump posting leads of close to 40 percentage points, despite being indicted on felony financial charges and being found liable for sexual abuse in a New York civil trial. Jockeying for endorsements Behind the scenes, the Trump and DeSantis camps have been jostling to secure political endorsements from state lawmakers while, at the national level, Florida's congressional delegation has broken heavily for Trump. Musk is a well-known DeSantis admirer, although he was clear that Twitter would remain neutral on the nomination and that his hosting of the campaign launch should not be taken as an endorsement. "I've said publicly that my preference, and I think the preference of most Americans, is... to have someone fairly normal in office," he said, without making any explicit criticism of Trump. The former reality TV star was banned from Twitter after the 2021 assault on the US Capitol by his supporters and has not posted since being reinstated in November. He has been attacking DeSantis almost daily on his record, character and fitness for office, but responded to Wednesday's announcement with relative restraint -- simply posting favorable polling on his own online platform, Truth Social. "Announcing on Twitter is perfect for Ron DeSantis. This way he doesn't have to interact with people and the media can't ask him any questions," a Trump aide said. The post DeSantis set to enter 2024 race, teeing up bitter face-off with Trump appeared first on Daily Tribune......»»
Trump denies rape after jury findings
Former United States president Donald Trump denied raping a former magazine columnist he was found liable of sexually abusing and defaming during a rare live appearance on longtime adversary CNN on Wednesday. Trump’s denial came a little more than 24 hours after the jury announced their finding and awarded the plaintiff, writer E. Jean Carroll, $5 million in damages. “This woman, I don't know her. I never met her. I have no idea who she is,” Trump said in the CNN “town hall” broadcasted from New Hampshire. The jury found that Trump sexually abused Carroll, sufficient to hold him liable for battery, but they did not find that Carroll proved he raped her — a distinction Trump was quick to point out. Carroll accused Trump of raping her in a Manhattan department store changing room in 1996. Trump vehemently repeated his denials and called Carroll a “wack job.” Trump dismissed other legal challenges he is facing as the work of Democrats out to torpedo his bid to be the Republican standard-bearer in 2024. Trump’s appearance on CNN comes as a defamation lawsuit filed by the former president against the news outlet winds its way through the courts. Trump sued CNN in October, accusing the network of waging a campaign of “libel and slander” against him and seeking $475 million in punitive damages. The post Trump denies rape after jury findings appeared first on Daily Tribune......»»
Tearful Biden ends Ireland trip with nod at re-election
US President Joe Biden ended an emotional visit to Ireland on Friday with a campaign-style exhortation for hope, as he inched closer to formally launching his 2024 bid. The 80-year-old Democrat, who has Catholic Irish roots, had a tearful encounter with a priest before a concluding speech that coincided with an angry address back home by Donald Trump, his potential Republican rival for next year's White House battle. "I told you my plan is to run again," Biden told reporters before flying to the United States. "I've already made that calculus. We'll announce it relatively soon. But the trip here just reinforced my sense of optimism about what can be done." Biden was feted by an estimated 27,000 people as he spoke in front of the floodlit St Muredach's Cathedral in Ballina, one of his family's ancestral hometowns, in northwest Ireland. In 1828, Biden's forebear Edward Blewitt sold the bricks that went into the construction of the Roman Catholic cathedral, using the money to fund his famine-stricken family's later emigration to the United States. The Irish and Americans were united by an optimistic vision, Biden said in the speech. "More than anything, hope is what beats in the hearts of all our people," he said, reprising the core message of his and Barack Obama's historic campaign in 2008. "Even during times of darkness and despair, hope has kept us marching forward toward a better future, one of a greater liberty, greater dignity and greater possibilities." Biden was in a more sorrowful mood earlier on a visit to the celebrated Roman Catholic pilgrimage shrine at Knock, near Ballina. Organizers made the last-minute discovery of a link between the Biden family and one of their priests, Father Frank O'Grady, who returned to Ireland after years serving as a chaplain in the US army. The president's son Beau Biden died of brain cancer aged 46 in 2015. Father O'Grady administered the last rites at the Walter Reed Army Medical Center outside Washington. O'Grady was not on the official guest list but was given hurried security clearance. Biden said it was "incredible" to meet by chance with the priest. "It seemed like a sign," he said of the 10-minute meeting, which was joined by his remaining son Hunter and the president's sister, Valerie Biden Owens. O'Grady told Irish broadcaster RTE that Biden "certainly misses his son" but that the president said his Catholic faith had "sustained him". "He has been grieving a lot, but I think the grief is kind of going down a bit," the priest said. Knock Shrine parish priest Richard Gibbons told the BBC that Biden "got the shock of his life" at discovering O'Grady's presence in Knock. "He was crying, it really affected him and then we said a prayer, said a decade of the rosary for his family. "He lit a candle and then he took a moment or two of private (reflection) for prayer." The US president went on to visit the Mayo Roscommon Hospice nearby with his son, sister, and Irish cousin Laurita Blewitt. In 2017, he came for the building's groundbreaking, and a plaque there commemorates Beau Biden. Biden then headed to the picturesque riverside town of Ballina, which was proudly displaying US flags and red, white and blue bunting as locals thronged the streets in anticipation. Ballina commissioned a five-meter-high (16-foot-high) mural of Biden when he won the 2020 presidential vote. Blewitt descendants still live in the town, where the Mocha Beans cafe changed its shop sign to read "Mocha Biden" for the occasion. "That buzz is incredible around Ballina today," the cafe's owner Trevor Mangan told AFP. As a baby, Flori Garvin was given a cuddly toy donkey by Biden when the Democrat visited Ballina as vice president. Now aged seven, she was back with her grandmother, Elizabeth Robinson, 63. "She hasn't stopped talking about it," Robinson said. "She thinks she's going to see him herself." The surrounding county of Mayo was the ancestral homeland of one branch of the Biden family, and the president also toured a genealogy center to find out more about his origins. Biden had declared in a speech Thursday to the Irish parliament: "I'm home." Ahead of a potential rematch against Trump, the president dwelt both at the parliament and the cathedral on the success of Irish emigres in carving out a new life far from home. "We Irish," he said on Friday, "we always believe in a better tomorrow because no matter what, we've always carried hope in our hearts." The post Tearful Biden ends Ireland trip with nod at re-election appeared first on Daily Tribune......»»
Trump bows out in campaign style, vows to be & lsquo;back in some form& rsquo;
Donald Trump left the White House for the last time Wednesday with a vow to stay in the spotlight and an extraordinary snub of Joe Biden, skipping his inauguration as the 46th president of the United States......»»
Biden team lays out plans as inauguration, impeachment loom
President-elect Joe Biden's top advisors on Sunday outlined his plans to tackle the nation's multiple crises while balancing the impeachment trial of Donald Trump, as an historic inauguration week opens in the United States......»»
Biden team lays plans as inauguration, impeachment loom
President-elect Joe Biden’s top advisors on Sunday outlined his plans to tackle the nation’s multiple crises while balancing the impeachment trial of Donald Trump, as a historic inauguration week opens in the United States. Washington was under the watch of thousands of National Guard troops and ringed with security barriers ahead of Biden’s swearing-in Wednesday, […] The post Biden team lays plans as inauguration, impeachment loom appeared first on Daily Tribune......»»
Trump will leave Washington next Wednesday
President Donald Trump will leave Washington next Wednesday morning, shortly before the inauguration of President-elect Joe Biden, to begin his life after the presidency in.....»»
Biden to sign executive orders on Day 1, amid high alert for inauguration
Joe Biden’s top aide said Saturday the incoming president would sign about a dozen executive orders on his first day in office, as police fearing violence from Trump supporters staged a nationwide security operation ahead of the inauguration. Authorities in Washington, where Wednesday’s inauguration will take place, said they arrested a man with a loaded handgun and more than 500 rounds of ammunition at a security checkpoint, underscoring the tension in the US capital which is resembling a war zone. However, the man’s family told US media he was a security guard, rejecting the idea he was intent on causing harm. Incoming Biden chief of staff Ron Klain said in a memo to new White House senior staff that the executive orders would address the pandemic, the ailing US economy, climate change and racial injustice in America. “All of these crises demand urgent action,” Klain said in the memo. “In his first ten days in office, President-elect Biden will take decisive action to address these four crises, prevent other urgent and irreversible harms, and restore America’s place in the world,” Klain added. As he inherits the White House from Donald Trump, Biden’s plate is overflowing with acute challenges. The US is fast approaching 400,000 dead from the Covid-19 crisis and logging well over a million new cases a week as the coronavirus spreads out of control. The economy is ailing, with 10 million fewer jobs available compared to the start of the pandemic. Biden this week unveiled plans to seek $1.9 trillion to revive the economy through new stimulus payments and other aid, and plans a blitz to accelerate America’s stumbling Covid vaccine rollout effort. On Inauguration Day Biden, as previously promised, will sign orders including ones for the US to rejoin the Paris climate accord and reverse Trump’s ban on entry of people from certain Muslim majority countries, Klain said. “President-elect Biden will take action — not just to reverse the gravest damages of the Trump administration — but also to start moving our country forward,” Klain said. – 500 rounds of ammunition – Meanwhile, Washington was under a state of high alert after a mob of President Donald Trump’s supporters stormed the Capitol on January 6. The assault left five people dead, including a police officer. Security officials have warned that armed pro-Trump extremists, possibly carrying explosives, pose a threat to Washington as well as state capitals over the coming week. Thousands of National Guard troops have been deployed in Washington and streets have been blocked off downtown with concrete barriers. On Friday night, police arrested a Virginia man at a security checkpoint where he tried to use an “unauthorized” credential to access the restricted area where Biden will be inaugurated. As officers checked the credential against the authorized access list, one noticed decals on the back of Wesley Beeler’s pick-up truck that said “Assault Life,” with an image of a rifle, and another with the message: “If they come for your guns, give ’em your bullets first,” according to a document filed in Washington, DC Superior Court. Under questioning, Beeler told officers he had a Glock handgun in the vehicle. A search uncovered a loaded handgun, more than 500 rounds of ammunition, shotgun shells and a magazine for the gun, the court document said. Beeler was arrested on charges including possession of an unregistered firearm and unlawful possession of ammunition. But Beeler’s father Paul told The New York Times his son had been working as a security guard on the Capitol grounds. Asked if the younger Beeler supported a peaceful transition of power, Paul Beeler told the newspaper, “That’s the reason he’s there.” In addition to the heavy security presence in Washington, law enforcement was out in force in state capitals around the country to ward off potential political violence. Mass protests that had been planned for the weekend did not materialize on Saturday, with security far outnumbering Trump supporters at several fortified statehouses, US media reported. In St Paul, Minnesota, for example, hundreds of law enforcement officers, some armed with long guns, ringed the Capitol with National Guard troops providing backup. The number of protesters totaled about 50......»»
Alec Baldwin should play himself in an ‘SNL’ sketch about the wife’s inheritance dispute: Trump Jr.
Donald trump jr Suggested to actor on wednesday Alec Baldwin To play myself in one “Shanivari Night Live“Sketch of his wife Hilaria about the........»»
US TV networks stop live coverage of Trump address due to ‘lies’
WASHINGTON–Several US TV networks late Thursday halted live coverage of Donald Trump’s first public appearance since election night after concluding that the president was spreading disinformation. Trump unleashed a flood of incendiary and unsubstantiated claims in a 17-minute address, insisting that Democrats were using “illegal votes” to “steal the election from us.” The president spoke […] The post US TV networks stop live coverage of Trump address due to ‘lies’ appeared first on Cebu Daily News......»»
US networks break from live Trump address due to lies
Several US TV networks late Thursday halted live coverage of Donald Trump's first public appearance since election night after concluding that the president was spreading disinformation......»»
U.S. decision to quit WHO sparks outrage among experts worldwide
Photo taken on May 29, 2020 shows the live broadcast of U.S. President Donald Trump speaking at a press conference at the White House in Washington D.C., the United States. (Xinhua/Liu Jie).....»»
Trump predicts the end of U.S. democracy if he loses 2024 election
WASHINGTON (Reuters) – Donald Trump said on Saturday if he does not win November’s presidential election it will mean the likely end of American democracy. The Republican presidential candidate, speaking to supporters in Ohio, made the claim after repeating his baseless assertion that his 2020 election defeat to Democratic President Joe Biden was the result.....»»
Trump wins South Carolina, swamping Nikki Haley in her home state
The lopsided outcome will bolster calls from Donald Trump's allies that Nikki Haley, Trump's last remaining challenger, should drop out of the race.....»»
Attorney General says she’ll seize Donald Trump’s property if he can’t pay $454 million civil fraud debt
Attorney General says she’ll seize Donald Trump’s property if he can’t pay $454 million civil fraud debt.....»»
Republican rival questions Trump s mental fitness
Nikki Haley expressed doubt about the GOP frontrunner's state of mind after he confused her with Democrat Nancy Pelosi Republican presidential hopeful Nikki Haley has questioned rival candidate Donald Trump's mental fitness after he appeared to confuse her with former US House Speaker Nancy Pelosi in a campaign.....»»