Biden urges quick Senate action on huge stimulus package
President Joe Biden on Saturday welcomed the overnight passage by the US House of Representatives of an enormous, $1.9 trillion coronavirus relief package, saying it moves the country closer to full Covid-19 vaccination and economic recovery. .....»»
US Should Back UN Security Council Action to Protect Gaza s Civilians
This week, US President Joe Biden warned Israel it was losing international support because of its "indiscriminate bombing" of Gaza, which are laws-of-war violations.The United States should now back those words by acting at the United Nations Security Council to pressure Israel, as well as Palestinian armed groups.....»»
Israel aims to crush Hamas but vague on Gaza’s post-war future
Israel is determined to crush Hamas but has said little about what would replace its rule in Gaza after the war, with observers expecting Washington will play a decisive role. "One thing is clear: the Gaza Strip will not be ruled by Hamas once this war is over," Israeli government spokesman Eylon Levy told AFP as Israel's military steps up strikes in preparation for a widely-expected ground offensive. In the wake of the 7 October attacks, when militants from the Palestinian Islamist movement began a deadly cross-border assault that has killed 1,400 people, Israel has laid out just one objective: "Destroying Hamas". Since then, it has embarked on a brutal retaliatory bombing campaign, which Gaza's Hamas-run health ministry says has now killed more than 5,000 people. Despite four previous wars with Gaza's Hamas rulers -- in 2008, 2012, 2014 and 2021 -- Israel has never before threatened to completely overthrow the movement which rules this tiny territory of 2.4 million people. The territory, which has been languishing under an Israeli and Egyptian blockade since Hamas took control in 2007, has since October 7 suffered a spiraling humanitarian crisis, largely deprived of water, food and other basic supplies and more than a million people displaced. Although Israel withdrew its soldiers and settlers from Gaza in 2005, ending an occupation that began in 1967, the international community considers it responsible for the tiny territory's primary needs -- energy, food and medicine. 'Handing over the keys' Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu has called it a "do or die" war. And his government is hoping to end all responsibility for Gaza as part of a "new regional reality" it hopes will emerge after the war. After the current air strikes and action inside Gaza, Defence Minister Yoav Gallant said a "third phase" would involve "the removal of Israel’s responsibility for life in the Gaza Strip, and the establishment of a new security reality for the citizens of Israel". But no minister talks about Gaza's future government. And nobody has raised the possibility of a new Israeli occupation of the enclave, the military and financial burden of such an eventuality being too high to bear. "We are discussing possibilities with our partners," said government spokesman Levy. Israel wants to "hand over the keys" to a third party, a foreign ministry source said, speaking on condition of anonymity. According to Eitan Shamir, a former Israeli government security specialist and now director of Jerusalem's Begin-Sadat Center for Strategic Studies, Washington will have a decisive say in Gaza's future. The US, he said, already has an "overview" role in Israel's action against Hamas. "The favourite option of the Americans and Israelis would be an international structure with Palestinian Authority, with Saudi funding, for example," Shamir told AFP, saying it could include US and European administrative help. Regional players silent US President Joe Biden has given Netanyahu strong support, visiting Israel last week and warning other regional players not to get involved while lining up almost $15 billion in military aid, even if he has warned Israel against letting its "rage" go too far. But Washington has also not been clear about how it sees Gaza's future. "Something needs to be found that ensures Hamas can't do this again but also doesn't reverse to an Israeli governance of Gaza which they do not want," US Secretary of State Antony Blinken told CBS television on Sunday. "There are different ideas out there about what could follow and all of that needs to be worked, even as Israel is dealing with the current threat." The Israeli foreign ministry source raised Egypt as a possible saviour, although Cairo has resisted decades of pressure to take a greater role. Egypt and Jordan are deeply concerned about the war unleashing a new flood of Palestinian refugees. No Arab or Muslim state has so far proposed an intervention. One option supported by Israeli opposition leader Yair Lapid is for Mahmud Abbas' Palestinian Authority to take control. The authority already cooperates with Israel in running parts of the occupied West Bank, but the ageing Palestinian leader has faced growing criticism since the war began. But a report by the International Crisis Group said there was "little hope that the already deeply unpopular PA could return to Gaza on the back of an Israeli invasion and not be treated as an enemy. "Moreover, it is not clear that Israel would want the West Bank and Gaza under a single authority," the think tank said. The post Israel aims to crush Hamas but vague on Gaza’s post-war future appeared first on Daily Tribune......»»
Pentagon amps up posture in Mideast in response to ‘escalations’
The United States warned against any "escalation" in the Middle East in the wake of Israel's war with Hamas, Defense Secretary Lloyd Austin said Sunday, hours after the Pentagon moved to step up military readiness in the region. The United States has seen a "prospect of a significant escalation of attacks on our troops" in the region, Austin said Sunday, adding that the US military was preparing for "the ability to respond." "If any group or any country is looking to widen this conflict and take advantage of this very unfortunate situation that we see, our advice is: don't," he told ABC News. "We maintain the right to defend ourselves and we won't hesitate to take the appropriate action," he added. His comments came hours after the Pentagon said it was upping readiness in the region in response to "recent escalations by Iran and its proxy forces." Austin ordered the activation of air defense systems and notified additional forces that they may be deployed soon. Austin did not say how many US troops would be added to those already in the region. The Pentagon's moves came after what Austin had earlier described in a statement as "detailed discussions" with President Joe Biden. "These steps will bolster regional deterrence efforts, increase force protection for US forces in the region, and assist in the defense of Israel," Austin said. The steps continued the Biden administration's response since Hamas militants in the Gaza Strip stormed Israel on October 7, taking more than 200 hostages and killing at least 1,400 people, according to Israeli officials. tensions rising Israel has since vowed to destroy Hamas, and says around 1,500 of the group's fighters were killed in clashes before its army regained control of the area initially under attack. Austin said he had activated deployment of a Terminal High Altitude Area Defense (THAAD) battery and additional Patriot battalions "throughout the region." "Finally, I have placed an additional number of forces on prepare-to-deploy orders as part of prudent contingency planning, to increase their readiness and ability to quickly respond as required," Austin said. Tensions are rising along Israel's northern border with Lebanon after the Israeli army traded fire with the Iran-backed militant group Hezbollah amid fears of a new front opening as Israel battles Hamas. In south Lebanon on Saturday, Hezbollah said four of its fighters were killed. Palestinian militant group Islamic Jihad said one of its fighters was also killed. Armed factions close to Iran have threatened to attack US interests in Iraq over Washington's support for Israel. Multiple Iraqi bases used by US-led coalition troops have been targeted in several attacks in recent days. Israel's military said Saturday it would intensify strikes on Hamas-controlled Gaza ahead of a planned ground invasion. The military has pounded Gaza with relentless strikes in response to Hamas's 7 October attack. The bombing campaign has killed more than 4,650 Palestinians, mainly civilians, according to the Hamas-run health ministry, and reduced swaths of the densely populated territory to ruins. A first trickle of aid entered the Palestinian enclave from Egypt on Saturday, but the 20 trucks permitted to cross have been described as a "drop in the ocean" given the needs of 2.4 million residents. The post Pentagon amps up posture in Mideast in response to ‘escalations’ appeared first on Daily Tribune......»»
First relief convoy enters Gaza devastated by ‘nightmare’ war
The first aid trucks arrived in war-torn Gaza from Egypt on Saturday, bringing urgent humanitarian relief to the Hamas-controlled Palestinian enclave suffering what the UN chief labelled a "godawful nightmare". Israel has vowed to destroy Hamas after the Islamist militant group carried out the deadliest attack in the country's history on October 7. Hamas militants killed at least 1,400 people, mostly civilians who were shot, mutilated or burnt to death, and took more than 200 hostages, according to Israeli officials. Israel has retaliated with a relentless bombing campaign on Gaza that has killed more than 4,300 Palestinians, mainly civilians, according to the Hamas-run health ministry. An Israeli siege has cut food, water, electricity and fuel supplies to the densely populated and long-blockaded territory of 2.4 million people, sparking fears of a humanitarian catastrophe. AFP journalists on Saturday saw 20 trucks from the Egyptian Red Crescent, which is responsible for delivering aid from various UN agencies, pass through the Rafah border crossing from Egypt into Gaza. The crossing -- the only one into Gaza not controlled by Israel -- closed again after the trucks passed. The lorries had been waiting for days on the Egyptian side after Israel agreed to a request from its main ally the United States to allow aid to enter. UN chief Antonio Guterres warned Friday that the relief supplies were "the difference between life and death" for many Gazans, more than one million of whom have been displaced. "Much more" aid needs to be sent, he told a peace summit in Egypt on Saturday. US Secretary of State Antony Blinken welcomed the aid and urged "all parties" to keep the Rafah crossing open. But a Hamas spokesman said "even dozens" of such convoys could not meet Gaza's needs, especially as no fuel was being allowed in to help distribute the supplies to those in need. 'Reeling in pain' Tens of thousands of Israeli troops have deployed to the Gaza border ahead of an expected ground offensive that officials have pledged will begin "soon". As international tensions soar, Egyptian President Abdel Fattah al-Sisi was hosting a peace summit in Cairo on Saturday attended by regional and some Western leaders. "The time has come for action to end this godawful nightmare," Guterres told the summit, calling for a "humanitarian ceasefire". The region "is reeling in pain and one step from the precipice", he said. Guterres said "the grievances of the Palestinian people are legitimate and long" after "56 years of occupation with no end in sight". But he stressed that "nothing can justify the reprehensible assault by Hamas that terrorised Israeli civilians". "Those abhorrent attacks can never justify the collective punishment of the Palestinian people," he added. Egypt, historically a key mediator between Hamas and Israel, has urged "restraint" and the relaunch of the long-frozen peace process. But diplomatic efforts to end the violence have made little headway, without the participation of Israel and its enemy Iran, a supporter of Hamas and other armed groups. 'Sliver of hope' A full-blown Israeli ground offensive carries many risks, including to the hostages Hamas took and whose fate is shrouded in uncertainty. So the release of two Americans among the hostages -- mother and daughter Judith and Natalie Raanan -- offered a rare "sliver of hope", said Mirjana Spoljaric, president of the International Committee of the Red Cross. US President Joe Biden thanked Qatar, which hosts Hamas's political bureau, for its mediation in securing the release. He said he was working "around the clock" to win the return of other Americans being held. Natalie Raanan's half-brother Ben told the BBC he felt an "overwhelming sense of joy" at the release after "the most horrible of ordeals". Hamas said Egypt and Qatar had negotiated the release and that it was "working with all mediators to implement the movement's decision to close the civilian (hostage) file if appropriate security conditions allow". Traumatised families with loved ones missing in Gaza demanded more action. "We ask humanity to interfere and bring back all those young boys, young girls, mothers, babies," Assaf Shem Tov, whose nephew was abducted from a music festival where Hamas killed hundreds, said Friday. Devastation Almost half of Gaza's residents have been displaced, and at least 30 percent of all housing in the territory has been destroyed or damaged, the United Nations says. Thousands have taken refuge in a camp set up in the city of Khan Yunis in southern Gaza. Fadwa al-Najjar said she and her seven children walked for 10 hours to reach the camp, at some points breaking into a run as missiles struck around them. "We saw bodies and limbs torn off and we just started praying, thinking we were going to die," she told AFP. In Al-Zahra in central Gaza, Rami Abu Wazna was struggling to take in the destruction wreaked by Israeli missile strikes. "Even in my worst nightmares, I never thought this could be possible," he said. Israel's operation will take not "a day, nor a week, nor a month" and will result in "the end of Israel's responsibilities in the Gaza Strip", Defence Minister Yoav Gallant warned on Friday. Regional tensions flare In Gaza, retired general Omar Ashour said the destruction was "part of a clear plan for people to have no place left to live". "This will cause a second Nakba," he added, referring to the 760,000 Palestinians who were expelled from or fled their homes when Israel was created in 1948. The United States has moved two aircraft carriers into the eastern Mediterranean to deter Iran or Lebanon's Hezbollah, both Hamas allies, amid fears of a wider conflagration. Fire across Israel's border with Lebanon continued overnight, with one Israeli soldier killed, Israeli public radio said. The military said it hit Hezbollah targets after rocket and missile fire. Violence has also flared in the West Bank, where 84 Palestinians have been killed since October 7, according to the Palestinian health ministry. The post First relief convoy enters Gaza devastated by ‘nightmare’ war appeared first on Daily Tribune......»»
‘Extremist’ Trump threatens U.S. democracy, Biden warns
With House Republicans launching an impeachment inquiry against him, United States President Joe Biden went into offensive on Thursday with a chilling warning to Americans planning to elect Donald Trump in next year’s presidential election. In a speech in the battleground state of Arizona Thursday, the 80-year-old Biden accused the Republican primary frontrunner and his followers of attacking the free press and the rule of law, and planning to gut US institutions if he wins a second term. “Trump says the constitution gave him ‘the right to do what he wants’,” Biden said, referring to statements by Trump about how he saw his powers in office. “I’ve never even heard a president say that in jest — not guided by the constitution or by common service and decency towards our fellow Americans, but by vengeance and vindictiveness.” The reelectionist president rallied Americans who are silent to stand up for democracy before it was too late. Biden also turned the table on Trump for the former president’s remark that US soldiers captured or killed in action as “suckers and losers.” “Was he a sucker for volunteering to serve his country?” Biden asked, referring to his son Beau, who served in Iraq and died of brain cancer in 2015 aged 46, and the late Arizona senator and Vietnam war hero John McCain. Biden and Trump were in early campaign mode this week with both men visiting the swing state of Michigan to speak to auto workers. Conservatives have accused Biden of trading on the power of his office when he was vice president under Barack Obama to help his younger son Hunter secure lucrative foreign business deals, and of benefiting personally from alleged corruption. Democrats have dismissed the hearings as a stunt but they will add to the pressure on Biden as he battles poor approval ratings and polls showing him neck-and-neck with Trump. WITH AFP The post ‘Extremist’ Trump threatens U.S. democracy, Biden warns appeared first on Daily Tribune......»»
United States auto strike expands with 7,000 more workers joining
Another 7,000 members of the biggest US automobile workers' union on Friday joined its already major strike against the country's "Big Three" Detroit car manufacturers. The latest walkouts leave a total of some 25,000 workers on strike in 21 states -- or around 17 percent of the United Auto Workers' membership. UAW president Shawn Fain said the latest members to join the strike were at two plants in Chicago and Michigan, who downed tools at 1600 GMT. "Our courageous members at these two plants are the next wave of reinforcements in our fight for record contracts," Fain said. The industrial action is the first-ever joint strike at the major automakers -- Ford, GM, and Chrysler producer Stellantis -- in a push for higher salaries and other improvements. Fain noted however that he would not call on additional members to suspend their activity at Stellantis due to "significant progress" on several points currently under discussion. Fain mentioned a mechanism for adjusting salaries to the cost of living as well as the right to strike in the event of a site closure or relocation announcement by the manufacturer. The union has asked for a 40 percent pay raise over the next four-year contract, while the three companies have been offering raises of around 20 percent. It's also been negotiating to represent workers at battery plants planned by Ford, which the auto giant has so far resisted. UAW has used the targeted strike, which began on September 15, as a bargaining chip, ramping up the pressure on the three automakers in a bid to reach a deal. holding the deal hostage Ford President Jim Farley, who has remained relatively silent until now, came out strongly Friday against Fain's negotiating tactics. "I believe we could have reached a compromise on pay and benefits, but so far the UAW is holding the deal hostage over battery plants," he told reporters. Fain later hit back. "I don’t know why Jim Farley is lying about the state of negotiations. It could be because he failed to show up for bargaining this week, as he has for most of the past ten weeks," he said. "If he were there, he’d know we gave Ford a comprehensive proposal on Monday and still haven’t heard back." Ford recently paused construction at one of its plants and warned it may have to scale back its ambitions for the project. Stellantis said in a statement it has been "intensely working with the UAW to find solutions to the issues that are of most concern to our employees while ensuring the company can remain competitive." "We have made progress in our discussions, but gaps remain," it said, adding it was committed to reaching "a fair and responsible agreement that gets everyone back to work as soon as possible." The strike gets political The strike has ramped up the significance of Michigan's swing state status in the 2024 presidential election. Earlier this week, Joe Biden became the first sitting US president to stand on a picket line, joining UAW members in Michigan in a bold pitch for blue-collar votes against likely election rival Donald Trump. Wearing a UAW baseball cap, the Democrat used a bullhorn to tell red-shirted workers they deserved "a hell of a lot more than what you're getting." Trump's Republican party is typically hostile toward unions, though is often able to pick up significant numbers of working-class votes. Trump spoke at a non-union auto facility in the Detroit suburbs saying that he wants "a future that protects American labor, not foreign labor." On Friday, Fain called Biden's visit a "historic day." "The most powerful man in the world shows up for one reason only," he said. "Because our solidarity is the most powerful force in the world." "When we stand together united in the cause of economic and social justice, there's nothing we can't do," he added. The post United States auto strike expands with 7,000 more workers joining appeared first on Daily Tribune......»»
New film on historical Native American murders reflects universal themes: Scorsese
Martin Scorsese, best known for his action-packed thrillers and gangster epics, now depicts an investigation into the murders of Native Americans in his latest film, "Killers of the Flower Moon", which previewed in New York on Wednesday. Adapted from a nonfiction book of the same name, "Killers of the Flower Moon" tells the true story of the 1920s murders and disappearances of members of Osage Nation on oil-rich lands in the central US state of Oklahoma. At a red carpet event at Manhattan's Lincoln Center, Scorsese told AFP his film about the 100-year-old crimes touched on broad themes. "It's about a clash of cultures, misunderstanding each other, the sense of entitlement -- and it could be (about) not only Americans," Scorsese told AFP about the film, which he shot on Oklahoma's prairies with around 40 Osage Native Americans included in the cast. The $200-million film stars Leonardo DiCaprio as Ernest Burkhart, a man in love with a Native American woman (played by Lily Gladstone) who finds himself embroiled in a plot hatched by oil-hungry cattle magnate William Hale, played by Robert De Niro. An FBI agent, Jesse Plemons, is assigned to solve the murders. "Killers of the Flower Moon" will be released in North American cinemas on October 20, before being made available on Apple TV+. The violence and crimes depicted in the film "could be in any part of the world," Scorsese said. "It just so happens to be a story that actually reflects through the millennia." "It's good to tell this kind of story now because people are trying to shy away from this stuff. Show it, talk about it," the "Gangs of New York" and "Taxi Driver" director added. American writer David Grann, whose book the film was based on, told AFP that the story covers "one of the most monstrous crimes and racial injustices committed by white settlers against Native Americans for their oil money." "What it is fundamentally about is what happens when greed is fused together with the dehumanization of other people," the New Yorker journalist said. "And what that led to were these genocidal crimes." Grann believes that the history of the Osage Tribe, and of many Native Americans across the United States, has been "largely erased from our conscious". "It was not taught in any of my schoolbooks. I never learned about it," he said. In 2021, President Joe Biden became the first US president to issue a proclamation for Indigenous Peoples' Day, which coincides with the increasingly controversial national holiday celebrating explorer Christopher Columbus. Principal Chief of the Osage Nation Geoffrey Standing Bear also appeared at the red carpet event. "It's not just the Osage people -- all of the Native peoples have had their hard times for 500 years," the North American leader said. "And this movie shows us it still goes on. "It wasn't that long ago. It was my grandparents' generation when this movie, the facts in it, occurred." The post New film on historical Native American murders reflects universal themes: Scorsese appeared first on Daily Tribune......»»
Biden jumps into auto strike bandwagon
The US auto workers union extended its strike against two of Detroit’s “Big Three” on Friday, and President Joe Biden signaled his intention to join the picket line in support of the workers or, some say, in aid of his reelection. At noon on Friday, 5,600 United Auto Workers union members joined the spectacular worker walkout from the previous week by leaving 38 US parts and distribution centers owned by General Motors and Stellantis. Although the UAW has portrayed its campaign as an effort to level the playing field economically for the working class, Friday’s events also highlighted the high political stakes, as Biden’s visit occurred only one day before a tour by Republican candidate Donald Trump was scheduled. UAW President Shawn Fain stated that the next action would affect 20 states and target Stellantis and General Motors facilities, with whom negotiations had broken down. In a conference, Fain stated, “We’re not going to wait around forever for fair contracts at the Big Three.” Fain said that because of advancements in the company’s negotiations, Ford will escape the most recent strike escalation. Biden was invited by Fain to join the picket line, telling him that the best way he could help was by strengthening their movement and demonstrating to the corporations that the public supports them. By dusk, the president had revealed his scheme on X, formerly known as Twitter. Tuesday, Biden said, “I’ll travel to Michigan to join the picket line and show my support for the UAW’s men and women as they struggle for a fair share of the value they helped create.” “It’s time for a win-win deal that keeps UAW jobs paying well and American auto manufacturing thriving.” Trump, too The trip will be the US president’s most recent to the heart of the car industry in America. Alongside GM CEO Mary Barra, Ford CEO Jim Farley, and other leaders, he has attended the 2022 Detroit Auto Show and significant project unveilings. In an effort to win over working-class voters, former president Trump had planned to visit Michigan the day before Biden’s trip. Fain claimed that by bringing back a cost-of-living factor that had been discontinued in 2009, Ford had enhanced earlier ideas. Additionally, the corporation provided a better profit-sharing program, the immediate promotion of temporary workers to full-time status, and the union’s right to go on strike in protest of plant closures. Fain asserted, “We’re not done at Ford,” adding that the business was “serious about reaching a deal.” With AFP The post Biden jumps into auto strike bandwagon appeared first on Daily Tribune......»»
Mexico seeks Biden meeting over migration crisis
Mexican President Andres Manuel Lopez Obrador has requested a bilateral meeting with his United States counterpart to discuss the migration crisis that has “overwhelmed” his country, his foreign minister said Friday. The meeting would occur in Washington when Lopez Obrador attends a summit of Latin American leaders, to be convened by US President Joe Biden on 3 November. Lopez Obrador wants to discuss “legal paths” to address the humanitarian situation facing hundreds of thousands of people who have recently attempted to make their way to the United States and to study the ways in which they can request asylum, as well as work visas for the agricultural sector. Mexico is being “overwhelmed” by the arrival of migrants to its territory, Mexican Foreign Minister Alicia Barcena said at a press conference during the UN General Assembly in New York. Around 9,000 arrive at the country’s southern border every day, around 3,000 of whom have traversed the Darien Gap, a dense jungle on the border between Colombia and Panama. Another 8,000 arrive at the northern border with the United States every day. “Yesterday 11,000 arrived,” Barcena said. “This exceeds any capacity, no matter how much Mexico wants to do a good job.” This year Mexico expects to process 140,000 asylum applications. “It’s overwhelming,” Barcena stated, pointing to the money she said Mexico spends to support these migrants while they apply for documents to enter the United States, find employment, or return to their countries of origin after rejection by the United States. “We need help,” she said, urging Washington to lift sanctions on Venezuela to help curb the exodus of migrants. She also called for action in the Darien Gap, because “it is where the largest flow of migrants” from Venezuela comes through, pushing for coordination with Panama and Colombia. The Mexican president wants to focus above all on “the structural causes of migration” and articulate a policy with regional states, said Barcena, who will represent Lopez Obrador at the UN General Assembly on Saturday. Most migrants come from Ecuador, Colombia, Haiti, Cuba, Venezuela, Guatemala and Honduras. Fentanyl and its cross-border transportation will also be on the agenda for talks with Biden, with the powerful opioid having caused the deaths of more than 110,000 Americans. With AFP The post Mexico seeks Biden meeting over migration crisis appeared first on Daily Tribune......»»
Climate protesters throng New York, demand end to fossil fuels
Tens of thousands of people took to the streets of New York on Sunday, calling for increased action against climate change ahead of the opening of the UN General Assembly. Taking up multiple city blocks, protesters from some 700 organizations and activist groups carried signs reading "Biden, end fossil fuels," "Fossil fuels are killing us" and "I didn't vote for fires and floods" in a demonstration that came on the heels of a summer marked by multiple climate change-linked disasters. US President Joe Biden is among the world leaders set to attend the UN General Assembly (UNGA), which is scheduled to formally open on Tuesday. "We are here to demand that the administration declare a climate emergency," said Analilia Mejia, director of the activist group Center for Popular Democracy. "We must wake up and take immediate action," she told AFP. A UN climate report released this month named 2025 as the deadline for global greenhouse gas emissions to peak -- followed by a sharp drop thereafter -- if humanity is to cap global warming in line with Paris Agreement targets. The 2015 Paris Treaty has successfully driven climate action, but "much more is needed now on all fronts," said the report, which will underpin a crucial climate summit in Dubai at the end of the year. Achieving net zero carbon emissions by 2050 -- another Paris goal -- will also require phasing out the burning of all fossil fuels whose emissions cannot be captured or compensated. Mejia, 46, pointed to recent extreme weather events -- from fires in Canada, Hawaii, and Greece to flooding in Libya -- as demonstrating the seriousness of the "existential crisis" posed by climate change. Another activist, Nalleli Cobo, 22, told AFP she'd like to see political leaders "come to my house" in the western US state of California and "spend the night living next to an oil and gas well." Cobo, who has worked with Sweden's Greta Thunberg on climate campaigns, blames the "toxic air" she has been exposed to at her home for the ovarian cancer she contracted at 19. "Our lives are on the line," she said. Biden has made a historic push for green manufacturing, offering billions of dollars for clean energy projects, but some young activists say he has not acted forcefully enough to lead the United States off dependence on fossil fuels. California filed a lawsuit Friday against five global oil majors, alleging the firms caused billions of dollars in damages and misled the public by minimizing the risks from fossil fuels. Top world scientists warn that the world is likely to experience new record heat in the next five years and that global temperatures are more likely than not to breach a crucial threshold of an average 1.5 degrees Celsius rise. UN Secretary-General Antonio Guterres has organized a Climate Ambition summit for Wednesday, during the General Assembly, at which he hopes to accelerate the ongoing work to counter climate change by governments as well as private sector organizations and financial institutions. "History will remember their action, or inaction," said Mejia. "And if we're lucky, human beings will be around to remember what (world leaders) did in this summit." The post Climate protesters throng New York, demand end to fossil fuels appeared first on Daily Tribune......»»
DACA: Congress should finally start dreamin’
On Sept. 13, 2023, a federal judge once again declared that the Deferred Action for Childhood Arrivals program is unlawful, but thankfully did not order immigration officials to start deporting DACA recipients or terminate their work permits. The Biden administration has vowed to appeal this ruling......»»
US auto talks at ‘critical phase’ as political pressure grows
High-wire talks between striking US workers and automotive giants are in a "critical phase," Jeep-maker Stellantis said Saturday, as politicians staked out positions on a labor issue that could have national impact. Stellantis, together with fellow "Big Three" automakers General Motors and Ford, was hit Friday by a limited strike -- but one the United Auto Workers (UAW) warns could spread. Both sides issued cautious statements Saturday. "Our bargaining team continues to work days, nights and weekends" in pursuit of a "reasonable" solution, said the statement from Stellantis, which was formed by the merger of Fiat Chrysler and the French PSA Group. But the automaker warned that if talks took a bad turn, the outcome "will take us backward and endanger the long-term competitiveness of our Company, negatively impacting our workers and our communities." There was no immediate formal response from the union, but a UAW source told AFP, "we had reasonably productive conversations with Ford today." Only about 12,700 of the UAW's 150,000 members are currently on strike. But with workers at all of the Big Three coordinating strike action for the first time -- including a demand for pay increases of 40 percent over a four-year contract -- the automakers could face a far more disruptive stoppage. Underscoring the political stakes of the moment, President Joe Biden quickly lent his support to the strikers Friday, saying he understood their "frustration." Political lines And on Saturday, former president Barack Obama lent his backing, with a reference to the 2008-09 financial crisis. "When the big three automakers were struggling to stay afloat, my administration and the American people stepped in to support them," he said on social media. "So did the auto workers in the UAW who sacrificed pay and benefits to help get the companies back on their feet. "Now that our carmakers are enjoying robust profits, it’s time to do right by those same workers." But former president Donald Trump, who hopes to face Biden in next year's US presidential election, lashed out at the UAW as over-reaching. "The auto workers will not have any jobs... because all of these cars are going to be made in China -- the electric cars, automatically, are going to be made in China," he said in an interview to be aired Sunday on NBC's "Meet the Press." In its statement, Stellantis said the UAW was misrepresenting its proposals. It said its current offer would give employees a 21 percent pay raise over the term of the contract, with 10 percent coming upon ratification. General Motors upped its offer Thursday, lifting a proposed wage increase from 18 to 20 percent, according to the UAW. But hourly workers say the auto giants must produce significantly better packages to make up for what they call meager wages and benefit cuts after the 2008 financial crisis, when both GM and Chrysler, now part of Stellantis, underwent bankruptcy reorganizations. They also want pay boosts for lower-paid temporary workers. The post US auto talks at ‘critical phase’ as political pressure grows appeared first on Daily Tribune......»»
Biden leads US tech push in Vietnam
President Joe Biden and senior executives from top US tech firms including Google and Intel met Vietnamese business leaders Monday after the two countries agreed to deepen cooperation as Washington seeks to counter China's growing clout. Biden and Vietnam's ruling Communist Party chief -- the country's paramount leader -- struck a "comprehensive strategic partnership" as Washington pushes to boost its network of allies around Asia and the Pacific. The United States sees manufacturing dynamo Vietnam as an important part of its plan to decrease reliance on China for supplies of strategic resources, and the new pact includes agreements on semiconductors and rare earths. Executives from tech behemoth Google, chip makers Intel and GlobalFoundries, and aviation giant Boeing joined Biden and Secretary of State Antony Blinken for an "innovation and investment summit". They held talks with senior figures from a host of leading Vietnamese tech and manufacturing companies including electric car maker VinFast, internet firm VNG and digital wallet Momo. At the talks, Biden announced that flag-carrier Vietnam Airlines had agreed a $7.8-billion deal with Boeing to buy 50 medium-haul 737 airliners. Other deals announced include Microsoft developing a "generative AI-based solution tailored for Vietnam" and NVIDIA teaming up with local companies to deploy artificial intelligence in the cloud, automotive and healthcare sectors. Semiconductor security The new partnership includes an agreement on semiconductors, with the United States committing to help Vietnam develop its capabilities and expand production, including by funding workforce training. Tiny semiconductors are vital to modern life, found in every electronic device from children's toys and smartphones to electric cars and sophisticated weapon systems. Biden moved last month to restrict US investment in Chinese technology in sensitive areas including semiconductors, quantum computing and AI. With Washington looking to diversify and strengthen its supply chains after a series of shocks hit the global economy, it is increasingly looking to Vietnam, which has the world's second-largest deposits of rare earths -- another strategically vital resource -- after China. The White House highlighted US investment in chipmaking in Vietnam, pointing to a new $1.6 billion factory near Hanoi due to start operations soon. China difficulties Biden insisted Sunday that he did not want to "contain" China, but accused Beijing of seeking to change the rules of the international order. And in their joint statement, Biden and Trong launched a fresh broadside at Beijing in the sprawling, multi-state territorial row over the South China Sea. They warned against "threat or the use of force", days after the latest clash involving Chinese vessels, and insisted the competing claims to the strategic waterway must be settled under international norms. Beijing claims almost the entire sea, through which trillions of dollars in trade passes annually, and has ignored an international court ruling that its assertion has no legal basis. The president met Chinese Premier Li Qiang -- the country's number two leader -- on the sidelines of the G20 summit in Delhi on Sunday. Biden said the major economic problems Beijing was wrestling with would limit its scope for action, particularly on Taiwan -- which China regards as a renegade province. "China has a difficult economic problem right now for a whole range of reasons that relate to the international growth and lack thereof and the policies that China has followed," he said, pointing to high youth unemployment and real estate issues. "I don't think it's going to cause China to invade Taiwan. As a matter of fact, the opposite -- it probably doesn't have the same capacity that it had before." Vietnam has its own squabbles with Beijing, notably over the contested South China Sea. Hanoi's state media on Monday hailed the deal with former war foe the United States as "historic". Biden will end his visit by paying his respects at a memorial to his friend John McCain, the former US Senator shot down in Hanoi as a pilot during the Vietnam War. The post Biden leads US tech push in Vietnam 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......»»
Biden salutes ‘new era’ of united Japan, S.Korea in face of China
US President Joe Biden and the leaders of Japan and South Korea said Friday they saw a "new chapter" of close three-way security cooperation as the Asian allies joined a first-of-a-kind summit that has already rattled China. Going tieless at the bucolic Camp David presidential retreat, Biden praised the "political courage" of South Korean President Yoon Suk Yeol and Japanese Prime Minister Fumio Kishida in turning the page on historical animosity. "Your leadership, with the full support of the United States, has brought us here because each of you understands that our world stands at an inflection point," Biden told a joint news conference in the wooded hills outside Washington. Biden insisted the summit was not about China, which has been flexing its muscle both at home and in Asia under President Xi Jinping, including with major exercises around self-ruling Taiwan. But in a joint statement, the three leaders said they opposed the "dangerous and aggressive behavior" of China in maritime disputes in the East and South China Sea. "We strongly oppose any unilateral attempts to change the status quo in the waters of the Indo-Pacific," it said. The two US allies largely see eye to eye on the world -- and together are the base for some 84,500 US troops -- but such a summit would have been unthinkable until recently due to the legacy of Japan's harsh 1910-1945 occupation of the Korean peninsula. But Yoon, taking political risks at home, has turned the page by resolving a dispute over wartime forced labor, and is now calling Japan a partner at a time of high tensions with both China and North Korea. Yoon said he hoped to be "forward-looking" and called the summit a "historic day" in bringing a "firm institutional basis" to the three nations' joint relationship. The three leaders also agreed to a multi-year plan of regular exercises in all domains, going beyond one-off drills in response to North Korea, and made a formal "commitment to consult" during crises, with Biden saying they would open a hotline. The leaders also agreed to share real-time data on North Korea and to hold summits every year. Camp David marks the first time the three countries' leaders have met for a standalone summit, not on the sidelines of a larger event, and is the first diplomatic event since 2015 at the resort, which is synonymous with Middle East peacemaking. 'You can never become a Westerner' Even if Biden said the summit did not target China, Rahm Emanuel, the blunt-speaking US ambassador to Japan, took another tone when he previewed the meeting, saying the three nations were defying China with the United States showing, "We are the rising power; they are declining." Chinese Foreign Minister Wang Yi urged the two economically developed Northeast Asian democracies instead to work with Beijing to "revitalize East Asia." "No matter how blond you dye your hair or how sharp you shape your nose, you can never become a European or American, you can never become a Westerner," he said in a video shared on official media. "We must know where our roots lie," he said. But China's pressure tactics have led to a sharp deterioration in its favorability in Japan and South Korea, which have traditionally been more discreet than the United States in their comments. Tensions have also risen with North Korea, which has launched a volley of missiles in recent months and is feared to respond to the summit with new action. The leaders' joint statement renewed a call on North Korea to give up its nuclear weapons and urged all nations to enforce sanctions. As the Camp David summit opened, North Korea said it had scrambled jets in response to what it called a US spy plane's incursion. Global allies The summit also set its focus beyond North Korea and even Asia. Tokyo and Seoul have offered a major boost to Ukraine as major non-Western powers joining pressure against Russia's invasion. Kishida said greater cooperation with South Korea was "almost inevitable" in light of the "crisis" in the world order. "Due to Russia's aggression of Ukraine, the international order is shaken from its foundation. The unilateral attempt to change the status quo by force in the East and South China Seas are continuing and the nuclear and missile threats of North Korea are only becoming even greater," Kishida said. The summit aims to institutionalize three-way cooperation to make it difficult for any reversal by a future leader -- a South Korean president who again seizes on hostility with Japan or, potentially, a return of Donald Trump, who has disparaged US troop commitments overseas as wasteful. To the surprise of many observers, Yoon's embrace of Japan has drawn relatively muted protests at home. Yoon, a conservative, has quickly become a close US ally, with Biden welcoming him for a rare state visit in which the South Korean leader regaled the audience by singing "American Pie." But Yoon is constitutionally prohibited from serving more than a single term, which ends in 2027. The post Biden salutes ‘new era’ of united Japan, S.Korea in face of China appeared first on Daily Tribune......»»
Biden salutes ‘new era’ of united Japan, S. Korea in face of China
US President Joe Biden on Friday hailed a "new era" of unity with the leaders of South Korea and Japan as the allies unveiled new three-way security cooperation at a first-of-a-kind summit that has already rattled China. Going tieless in the Camp David presidential retreat, Biden praised the "political courage" of South Korean President Yoon Suk Yeol and Japanese Prime Minister Fumio Kishida in turning the page on historical animosity. "Our countries are stronger -- and the world will be safer -- as we stand together. I know that's a belief that we all three share," he told them as he opened the talks in the mountains west of Washington. Biden said the three would pursue "this new era of cooperation and renew our resolve to serve as a force of good across the Indo-Pacific and, quite frankly, around the world." The two treaty-bound US allies largely see eye to eye on the world -- and together are the base for some 84,500 US troops -- but such a summit would have been unthinkable until recently due to the legacy of Japan's harsh 1910-1945 occupation of the Korean peninsula. But Yoon, taking political risks at home, has turned the page by resolving a dispute over wartime forced labor, and now calling Japan a partner at a time of high tensions with both China and North Korea. "Today will be remembered as a historic day, where we established a firm institutional basis and commitments to the trilateral partnership," Yoon said. The three leaders will agree to a multi-year plan of regular exercises in all domains, going beyond one-off drills in response to North Korea, and will announce a "commitment to consult" during crises, said Jake Sullivan, Biden's national security advisor. The leaders will also agree to share real-time data on North Korea and to hold summits every year, officials said. Camp David marks the first time the three countries' leaders have met for a standalone summit, not on the sidelines of a larger event, and is the first diplomatic event since 2015 at the resort, which is synonymous with Middle East peacemaking. You can never become Westerner Jake Sullivan, Biden's national security advisor, said the summit would have an "affirmative vision" on how the countries can deliver together and was "not taking aim at a country." But Rahm Emanuel, the blunt-speaking US ambassador to Japan, took another tone when he previewed the summit, saying that the three powers "created something that is exactly what China was hoping would never happen." For Emanuel, the former congressman turned ambassador, China should understand one thing: "We are the rising power; they are declining." China has flexed its muscle both at home and in Asia under President Xi Jinping, exerting disputed maritime claims and carrying out major exercises near Taiwan, the self-ruling democracy claimed by Beijing. Chinese Foreign Minister Wang Yi urged the two economically developed Northeast Asian democracies instead to work with Beijing to "revitalize East Asia." "No matter how blond you dye your hair or how sharp you shape your nose, you can never become a European or American, you can never become a Westerner," he said in a video shared on official media. "We must know where our roots lie," he said. But China's pressure tactics have led to a sharp deterioration in its favorability in Japan and South Korea, which have traditionally been more discreet than the United States in their comments. Tensions have also risen with North Korea, which has launched a volley of missiles in recent months and is feared to respond with new action in response to the summit. As the Camp David summit opened, North Korea said it had scrambled jets in response to what it called a US spy plane's incursion. Global allies But the summit hopes to move beyond a focus on North Korea or even just Asia. Tokyo and Seoul have offered a major boost to Ukraine as major non-Western powers join pressure against Russia's invasion. The summit aims to institutionalize three-way cooperation to make it difficult for any reversal by a future leader -- a South Korean president who again seizes on hostility with Japan or, potentially, a return of Donald Trump, who has disparaged US troop commitments overseas as wasteful. To the surprise of many observers, Yoon's embrace of Japan has drawn relatively muted protests at home. Both Japanese and South Koreans feel that there are "a number of fundamentally aligned values and interests that should bring them together," said Mira Rapp-Hooper, senior director for East Asia and Oceania on the National Security Council. Yoon, a conservative, has quickly become a close US ally, with Biden welcoming him for a rare state visit in which the South Korean leader regaled the audience by singing "American Pie." But Yoon is constitutionally prohibited from serving more than a single term, which ends in 2027. The post Biden salutes ‘new era’ of united Japan, S. Korea in face of China appeared first on Daily Tribune......»»
US Justice Dept names special counsel to probe Biden’s son
The US Justice Department on Friday escalated its investigation into President Joe Biden's son Hunter, naming a special counsel amid allegations he engaged in illicit business deals overseas. Attorney General Merrick Garland appointed Delaware federal prosecutor David Weiss, who recently investigated Hunter Biden on tax and gun charges in a case that remains open. Weiss, who opened his probe in 2019, recently revealed that he was investigating Biden along other lines, and Garland said Weiss had requested special counsel status to be able to pursue his probe more widely. "Upon considering his request, as well as the extraordinary circumstances relating to this matter, I have concluded that it is in the public interest to appoint him as special counsel," Garland said. Deals in China, Ukraine Hunter Biden has come under investigation in Congress over business deals he did in China, Ukraine, and elsewhere during and after his father's 2009-2017 term as vice president. A former business associate told Congress recently that Hunter had gotten his father involved in telephone calls with his foreign partners several times. Republicans allege Joe Biden used his political position to help his son -- a claim the president denies. The move comes as Joe Biden is running for reelection, possibly in a rematch with former president Donald Trump, himself accused of felony crimes in the investigation by another Justice Department special counsel, Jack Smith. Garland gave no hint on the subject matter of Weiss' expanded probe, saying his elevation to the special counsel "reaffirms" the independence and authority of his investigation. Last month, the 53-year-old Hunter aborted a plea deal with Weiss over gun and tax charges after a judge pointed out inconsistencies in the agreement. The deal would have seen Biden avoid prison: he would have been sentenced to probation on two tax avoidance counts, and be forced into a counseling and rehabilitation program for the firearms charge. But the deal fell apart after Judge Maryellen Noreika queried why the gun charge was included in a tax case, and whether the agreement protected Biden from charges that might arise from a wider investigation of his business dealings. Biden then entered a not-guilty plea, and the two sides were expected to work out a new agreement. But in a filing in Delaware court on Friday, Weiss said those talks had reached an impasse and withdrew the offer of a plea deal. Instead, he indicated that the tax charges could be expanded to other venues. Republicans say DOJ protecting Biden There was no comment from the White House on Weiss's elevation to special counsel. In a social media post, a Trump spokesperson alleged that the Biden family had been "protected by the Justice Department for decades." "There is overwhelming evidence and credible testimony detailing their wrongdoing of lying to the American people and selling out the country to foreign enemies for the Biden Cartel's own financial gain," the spokesperson said, without offering evidence. Republican House Speaker Kevin McCarthy indicated that the Congressional probe of Hunter Biden will continue. "This action by Biden's DOJ cannot be used to obstruct congressional investigations or whitewash the Biden family corruption," he said on social media. The post US Justice Dept names special counsel to probe Biden’s son appeared first on Daily Tribune......»»
Hawaii fire death toll hits 55, expected to rise
A terrifying wildfire that left a historic Hawaiian town in charred ruins has killed at least 55 people, authorities said Thursday, making it one of the deadliest disasters in the US state's history. Brushfires on the west coast of Hawaii's Maui island -- fueled by high winds from a nearby hurricane -- broke out Tuesday and rapidly engulfed the seaside town of Lahaina. The flames moved so quickly that many were caught off-guard, trapped in the streets or jumping into the ocean in a desperate bid to escape. "It really looks like somebody came along and just bombed the whole town. It's completely devastated," said Canadian Brandon Wilson, who had traveled to Hawaii with his wife to celebrate their 25th anniversary, but was at the airport trying to get them a flight out. "It was really hard to see," he said, teary-eyed. "You feel so bad for people. They lost their homes, their lives, their livelihoods." The fires follow other extreme weather events in North America this summer, with record-breaking wildfires still burning across Canada and a major heat wave baking the US southwest. Europe and parts of Asia have also endured soaring temperatures, with major fires and floods wreaking havoc. "What we've seen today has been catastrophic... likely the largest natural disaster in Hawaii state history," Governor Josh Green said. "In 1960 we had 61 fatalities when a large wave came through Big Island," he said earlier in the day, referring to a tragedy that struck a year after Hawaii became the 50th US state. "This time, it's very likely that our death totals will significantly exceed that." Maui County officials said just after 9:00 pm Thursday (0700 GMT Friday) that fatalities stood at 55, and firefighters were still battling the blaze in the town that served as the Hawaiian kingdom's capital in the early 19th century. Pictures taken by an AFP photographer who flew over Lahaina showed it had been reduced to blackened, smoking ruins. The burned skeletons of trees still stand, rising above the ashes of the buildings to which they once offered shelter. Green said 80 percent of the town was gone. "Buildings that we've all enjoyed and celebrated together for decades, for generations, are completely destroyed," he said. Thousands have been left homeless and Green said a massive operation was swinging into action to find accommodation. "We are going to need to house thousands of people," he told a press conference. "That will mean reaching out to all of our hotels and those in the community to ask people to rent extra rooms at their property." President Joe Biden on Thursday declared the fires a "major disaster" and unblocked federal aid for relief efforts, with rebuilding expected to take years. 'Bodies in the water' US Coast Guard commander Aja Kirksey told CNN around 100 people were believed to have jumped into the water in a desperate effort to flee the fast-moving flames as they tore through Lahaina. Kirksey said helicopter pilots struggled to see because of dense smoke, but that a Coast Guard vessel had been able to rescue more than 50 people from the water. "It was a really rapidly developing scene and pretty harrowing for the victims that had to jump into the water," she added. For resident Kekoa Lansford, the horror was far from over. "We still get dead bodies in the water floating and on the seawall," Lansford told CBS. "We have been pulling people out... We're trying to save people's lives, and I feel like we are not getting the help we need." Green said around 1,700 buildings were believed to have been affected by the blaze. "With lives lost and properties decimated, we are grieving with each other during this inconsolable time," Maui Mayor Richard Bissen said. "In the days ahead, we will be stronger as a... community," he added, "as we rebuild with resilience and aloha." Evacuations Thousands of people have already been evacuated from Maui, with 1,400 people waiting at the main airport in Kahului overnight, hoping to get out. Maui County has asked visitors to leave "as soon as possible," and organized buses to move evacuees from shelters to the airport. The island hosts around a third of all the visitors who holiday in the state, and their dollars are vital for the local economy. At the airport in Kahului, Lorraina Peterson said she had been stuck for days without food or power, and was now looking at a lengthy wait for a flight. "I don't know if we'll be able to get a hotel room, or we'll have to sleep here on the floor," she said. With a hurricane passing to the south of Hawaii, high winds fueled flames that consumed dry vegetation. Thomas Smith, a professor with the London School of Economics, said that while wildfires are not uncommon in Hawaii, the blazes this year "are burning a greater area than usual, and the fire behavior is extreme, with fast spread rates and large flames." As global temperatures rise over time, heat waves are projected to become more frequent, with increased dryness due to changing rainfall patterns creating ideal conditions for bush or forest fires. The post Hawaii fire death toll hits 55, expected to rise appeared first on Daily Tribune......»»
US-ASEAN Business Council: US companies eager to foster Phl business connections
President Ferdinand Marcos Jr. on Wednesday acknowledged the US-ASEAN council's crucial role in the Philippine development. During the courtesy call of the American business leaders at the Malacañang Palace, Marcos hoped that alliances, partnerships, and arrangements with its members would be sustained. "I recognize the critical role that the United States and American businesses have played in advancing a robust and inclusive economic growth in the Philippines, not only in this period but for a very long time now," Marcos said. Marcos also acknowledged that the US-ASEAN Business Council is significant in discussing concrete steps in upholding socioeconomic cooperation. These steps include agriculture, clean energy, infrastructure, climate change, digital connectivity, and post-pandemic recovery. Marcos also assured the Council of concrete steps that he and US President Joe Biden have identified to make the two countries' alliance and partnership "relevant and responsive to the current emerging challenges in the defense, security, and economic spheres." "I invite the members of the esteemed Council to continue being valuable partners of the Philippines. Let us push for greater economic engagement between our two countries for our mutual benefit and the prosperity of the region," he added. Ted Osius, a former US ambassador and current President of the Council, mentioned that US companies are eager to strengthen their collaborations with the Philippine government and foster additional connections with businesses in the nation. Osius also stressed the importance of the country's participation in the Indo-Pacific Economic Framework and the Asia-Pacific Economic Cooperation (APEC). "We're very much focused, and you highlight these themes on sustainable development, transformative digitalization, innovative healthcare solutions, supply chain resilience, and ease of doing business," Osius said. "We are determined that we come here not just to talk but also bring a lot of action to create real partnerships and to show our commitment in the form of investments," he added. Established in 1984, the US-ASEAN Business Council is a nonprofit entity dedicated to researching and analyzing economic, financial, political, social, and environmental conditions within the ASEAN member states. Globally, the Council's membership exceeds 175 companies, collectively generating nearly USD 7 trillion in revenue and providing employment for over 14.5 million individuals. This Council holds the unique distinction of being the sole American organization formally acknowledged within the ASEAN Charter. Annually, it engages with the Finance, Trade, and Energy Ministers during their respective meetings. The organization's roster comprises the largest American corporations conducting operations within ASEAN. These companies range from newcomers in the region to those with a century-long history of business in Southeast Asia. The post US-ASEAN Business Council: US companies eager to foster Phl business connections appeared first on Daily Tribune......»»
US economy adds 209,000 new jobs as hiring slows
Hiring in the United States slowed in June, the Labor Department said Friday, providing a much-needed signal that the American economy is cooling ahead of another interest rate decision later this month. The figures came in below analysts' expectations, providing some respite for the US Federal Reserve as it mulls a return to interest rate hikes later this month to tackle inflation still well above its long-term target of two percent. The world's biggest economy added 209,000 jobs last month, down from a revised figure of 306,000 in May, the Labor Department said. Meanwhile, the unemployment rate edged down to 3.6 percent, remaining close to historic lows, underscoring the enduring strength of the labor market. The hiring figure came in below the median expectation of 240,000 new jobs in a survey of economists conducted by MarketWatch, while the unemployment rate was in line with predictions. All three major US stock indexes on Wall Street finished the day in the red amid growing expectations of additional interest rate hikes this year "It's a step in the right direction, but we're not near the level that we would need to see to be convinced that the labor market is significantly cooling down," Oxford Economics' lead US economist Oren Klachkin told AFP. Even with job growth easing, average hourly earnings ticked up by 0.4 percent month-over-month, rising by 4.4 percent on an annual basis. "The labor market is still very strong, wages are still rising at a very strong pace, unemployment is still very low, and nonfarm payrolls rose at a pace that is way above what the Fed wants," Klachkin said. Bidenomics in action US President Joe Biden hailed Friday's jobs report as evidence of "Bidenomics in action." "Our economy added more than 200,000 jobs last month -- for a total of 13.2 million jobs since I took office," he said in a White House statement. "That's more jobs added in two and a half years than any president has ever created in a four-year term," he added. June's new jobs came mainly from increases in employment in government, health care, social assistance, and construction, the Labor Department said. "The economy has proven remarkably resilient, with smaller businesses absorbing layoffs at larger firms," KPMG chief economist Diane Swonk wrote in a note to clients. July hike pretty certain Minutes published earlier this week of the Fed's last meeting showed that several members of its rate-setting committee supported another hike in June to tackle high inflation. Ultimately, the Federal Open Market Committee voted to pause the Fed's campaign of 10 consecutive rate increases, indicating that two additional increases would likely be needed before the end of the year to bring inflation back down. Speaking shortly after the jobs report was released on Friday morning, Chicago Fed president Austan Goolsbee suggested the US central bank had more work to do to tame inflation. "Overall the job market is outstanding, and is getting back to a well-balanced, sustainable level," he told CNBC. "The consensus of almost all the FOMC in the statement of projections is that, over this year, we will have one or two more hikes. I haven't seen anything that says that's wrong," he said. Friday's labor data underscores the likelihood the Fed will return to its campaign of interest rate hikes later this month, according to Oxford Economics' Klachkin. "Given where the data stand right now I think that a hike this month is pretty certain, and I would say that there are even risks of more hikes in the second half," he said. "The Fed is expected to raise rates at least another half percent before it pauses," KPMG's Swonk said, adding that a hike in July was "all but a done deal" at this point. Futures traders now assign a probability of more than 90 percent that the Fed will raise its base rate by a quarter percentage point at its next meeting on July 25-26, according to data from CME Group. The post US economy adds 209,000 new jobs as hiring slows appeared first on Daily Tribune......»»