Biden to host UK PM for talks next week, says White House

Update Britain’s Prime Minister Keir Starmer speaks during an interview with the BBC during a visit to the National Crime Agency (NCA) headquarters in London, Britain, September 6, 2024. (Reuters)
Britain’s Prime Minister Keir Starmer speaks during an interview with the BBC during a visit to the National Crime Agency (NCA) headquarters in London, Britain, September 6, 2024. (Reuters)
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Updated 06 September 2024
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Biden to host UK PM for talks next week, says White House

Biden to host UK PM for talks next week, says White House
  • The visit comes after Biden’s July 21 decision to drop out of the 2024 US presidential election
  • It was not clear if Starmer would also meet Harris on his trip to Washington

WASHINGTON: US President Joe Biden will host British Prime Minister Keir Starmer for talks next week that will focus on the wars in Gaza and Ukraine, the White House said on Friday.
Starmer’s visit to the White House on September 13, his second since taking office in July, will also focus on the “special relationship” between London and Washington, Press Secretary Karine Jean-Pierre said in a statement.
The visit comes after Biden’s July 21 decision to drop out of the 2024 US presidential election and pass the mantle as Democratic candidate to Vice President Kamala Harris.
It was not clear if Starmer would also meet Harris on his trip to Washington.
Biden and Starmer will discuss “continuing robust support to Ukraine in its defense against Russian aggression” and “securing a hostage release and ceasefire deal to end the war in Gaza,” said Jean-Pierre.
The US leader has been pushing for a truce to end Israel’s war on Hamas in the Gaza Strip before he leaves office, but the talks brokered by the United States, Egypt and Qatar have failed to produce an accord.
Ukraine meanwhile has captured a swath of Russian territory, but Moscow has hit back with advances in Ukraine’s east.
Biden and Starmer will also discuss attacks on shipping by Yemen’s Iranian-backed Houthi rebels and, in a reference to countering Chinese influence, ensuring a “free and open” Asia-Pacific region.
“President Biden will underscore the importance of continuing to strengthen the special relationship between the United States and the United Kingdom,” added Jean-Pierre.
Labor leader Starmer first visited the White House on July 10, just days after his election as British Prime Minister, while attending a summit of NATO military alliance leaders in Washington.
During their meeting in the Oval Office, Biden hailed Britain as the “best of allies” while Starmer reaffirmed Britain’s support for Ukraine as it battles Russia’s invasion.


UK FM Lammy vows ‘new approach’ ahead of Africa trip

UK FM Lammy vows ‘new approach’ ahead of Africa trip
Updated 38 sec ago
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UK FM Lammy vows ‘new approach’ ahead of Africa trip

UK FM Lammy vows ‘new approach’ ahead of Africa trip
  • Lammy said that economic growth would “underpin our relationships in Nigeria, South Africa and beyond”

LONDON: UK Foreign Secretary David Lammy on Sunday vowed a “new approach” with Africa that will “listen rather than tell” as he began a visit to Nigeria and South Africa.
“Our new approach will deliver respectful partnerships that listen rather than tell, deliver long-term growth rather than short-term solutions and build a freer, safer, more prosperous continent,” he said, according to a press release from his ministry.
“I want to hear what our African partners need and foster relationships so that the UK and our friends and partners in Africa can grow together,” he added, as he set off for his first trip to the continent as foreign minister.
Lammy said that economic growth would “underpin our relationships in Nigeria, South Africa and beyond.”
In Nigeria, he will sign a “Strategic Partnership” that will cover growth, national security and climate change.
Lammy will then travel to South Africa, where he will “agree to develop a new UK-South Africa Growth Plan,” according to the Foreign Office.
He will also attend the Earthshot+ conference in Cape Town, where he will speak with innovators to find out how Britain can help channel finance to environmental solutions.
Founded by Prince William, The Earthshot Prize is a global environmental award and platform designed to develop solutions to ecological problems.


Russia, Ukraine accuse each other of obstructing prisoner of war swaps

Russia, Ukraine accuse each other of obstructing prisoner of war swaps
Updated 53 min 9 sec ago
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Russia, Ukraine accuse each other of obstructing prisoner of war swaps

Russia, Ukraine accuse each other of obstructing prisoner of war swaps
  • Kyiv and Moscow have frequently exchanged prisoners since Russia’s full-scale invasion of its smaller neighbor in 2022

MOSCOW: Kyiv called on Moscow on Sunday to provide a list of Ukrainian prisoners of war ready for a swap after Russia accused Ukraine of sabotaging the exchange process.
In requesting the list of Ukrainians from his Russian counterpart, Ukrainian human rights commissioner Dmytro Lubinets wrote on his Telegram messaging channel: “We are always ready to exchange prisoners of war!“
Kyiv and Moscow have frequently exchanged prisoners since Russia’s full-scale invasion of its smaller neighbor in 2022. The last swap took place in mid-October with each side bringing home 95 prisoners.
On Saturday, Russian Foreign Ministry spokeswoman Maria Zakharova said that Ukraine was essentially sabotaging the process and has refused to take back its own citizens.
Zakharova said Russia’s defense ministry had offered to hand over 935 Ukrainian prisoners of war but that Ukraine had taken only 279.
Lubinets, in turn, said that Ukraine was always ready to accept its citizens and accused Russia of slowing down the exchange process.
Russia’s Commissioner for Human Rights Tatyana Moskalkova said on Saturday that Ukraine has “politicized” the issue.
“We consider it necessary to return to a constructive dialogue and speed up the exchange of prisoners,” Moskalkova wrote on Telegram.


Harris, Trump nearly cross paths in North Carolina in final days of US election campaign

Harris, Trump nearly cross paths in North Carolina in final days of US election campaign
Updated 03 November 2024
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Harris, Trump nearly cross paths in North Carolina in final days of US election campaign

Harris, Trump nearly cross paths in North Carolina in final days of US election campaign
  • The close encounter was a dramatic illustration how the two candidates are focusing on a handful of states where Tuesday’s US presidential election will be won or lost

CHARLOTTE, North Carolina: Democrat Kamala Harris was greeted by an unusual sight as she arrived in North Carolina on Saturday: the red-white-and-blue airplane of Donald Trump, her Republican rival for the presidency.
As Harris descended from the vice presidential airplane Air Force Two at the Charlotte airport, Trump’s private Boeing 757 was parked on the tarmac nearby.
The close encounter was a dramatic illustration how the two candidates are focusing on a handful of states where Tuesday’s US presidential election will be won or lost.
It was the fourth day in a row that the candidates were campaigning in the same state. Only seven states, North Carolina among them, are seen as truly competitive.
Harris was arriving for a rally in Charlotte, the state’s biggest city, while Trump had campaigned in suburban Gastonia a few hours earlier.
It was not clear whether Trump was on board his plane when Harris arrived.
With the election just three days away, Trump and Harris stuck to familiar themes at their appearances.
Trump said he would deport millions of immigrants if elected and warned that if Harris were to win, “every town in America would be turned into a squalid, dangerous refugee camp.”
Campaigning in Atlanta, Harris said Trump would abuse his power if he returns to the White House.
“This is someone who is increasingly unstable, obsessed with revenge, consumed with grievance, and the man is out for unchecked power,” she said.
More than 72 million Americans have already cast ballots, according to the Election Lab at the University of Florida, short of 2020’s record early-voting pace during COVID-19, but still indicating a high level of voter enthusiasm.
Some 4 million votes have already been cast in North Carolina, and the western counties that have been devastated by Hurricane Helene appeared to be voting at roughly the same rate as the rest of the state, according to Catawba College political science professor Michael Bitzer.
Trump criticized the federal government’s response to the disaster and repeated his false claim that aid had been diverted from the state to help immigrants entering the country.
He also said that residents of US suburbs, traditionally seen as a refuge from crime and other dangers, are under threat.
“The suburbs are under attack right now. When you’re home in your house alone, and you’ve got this monster that got out of prison, you know, six charges of murdering six different people,” he said. Violent crimes dropped in the US last year. However, Trump and his allies have emphasized crime on the campaign trail and falsely suggested immigrants are responsible.
North Carolina backed Trump in 2020 by a narrow margin of less than 1.5 percentage points and elected a Democratic governor on the same day, giving hope to both parties.
Trump was due to rally in Salem, Virginia, though the state is not likely to back him for president, before returning to North Carolina for an evening rally in Greensboro.
POLICY DIFFERENCES 
Harris and Trump have very different policies on major issues including support for Ukraine and NATO, abortion rights, immigration, taxes, democratic principles and tariffs, which reflect that schisms between the Democratic and Republican parties. Republican House Speaker Mike Johnson said Friday that if Trump wins and Republicans control Congress, his party would “probably” repeal the CHIPS Act, passed under Joe Biden’s administration, which gave over $50 billion in subsidies to companies for semiconductor chip manufacturing and research in the United States. Democrats have seized on the remarks. “It is further evidence of everything I’ve actually been talking about for months now, about Trump’s intention to implement Project 2025,” Harris said Saturday, referring to a conservative blueprint to remake US government and policies that was written with the help of many of Trump’s closest advisers.
Johnson revised his remarks later on Friday, saying the act would be streamlined to eliminate regulations.


Air defense units trying to repel Russian air attack on Kyiv, mayor says

Air defense units trying to repel Russian air attack on Kyiv, mayor says
Updated 03 November 2024
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Air defense units trying to repel Russian air attack on Kyiv, mayor says

Air defense units trying to repel Russian air attack on Kyiv, mayor says

Ukraine’s air defense units were trying to repel a Russian air attack on Kyiv late on Saturday, Kyiv’s Mayor Vitali Klitschko said on his Telegram messaging channel.
“There was an explosion in the suburbs of Kyiv,” Klitschko said. “Air defense forces operating in the capital and its region. Stay in shelters!”


Busts of Israel’s first president ‘abducted’ in UK university burglary by pro-Palestine activists

Busts of Israel’s first president ‘abducted’ in UK university burglary by pro-Palestine activists
Updated 02 November 2024
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Busts of Israel’s first president ‘abducted’ in UK university burglary by pro-Palestine activists

Busts of Israel’s first president ‘abducted’ in UK university burglary by pro-Palestine activists
  • The Palestine Action group has claimed responsibility for the theft

LONDON: Police in the British city of Manchester are investigating the theft of two busts of Israel’s first president, Chaim Weizmann, from the city’s university chemistry building.

The busts were stolen in a late-night burglary on Friday, reportedly captured on a video that has been circulating online, where two masked individuals are seen smashing a glass case and removing the statues.

The Palestine Action group has claimed responsibility for the theft, saying it “abducted” the busts to mark the anniversary of the 1917 Balfour Declaration, in which the British government expressed support for a “national home for the Jewish people.”

The group alleged that Weizmann played a pivotal role in securing the declaration, which they view as a historic step in the displacement of Palestinians.

Greater Manchester Police confirmed receiving a report of a burglary shortly before midnight, though no arrests have been made.

The University of Manchester, where Weizmann taught in the early 1900s before becoming Israel’s first president in 1948, acknowledged the incident and has cooperated with police in the investigation.

This theft coincides with a series of coordinated protests by Palestine Action across the UK, which included the targeting of offices in London and spray-painting University of Cambridge buildings.