Washington, U.S. | Xinhua | The U.S. national emergency beginning almost two years ago will be extended beyond March 1 due to the COVID-19 pandemic, U.S. President Joe Biden has announced. “There remains a need to continue this national emergency. The COVID-19 pandemic continues to cause significant risk to the public …
Read More »Biden accepts “in principle” meeting with Putin: White House
Washington, U.S. | Xinhua | White House Press Secretary Jen Psaki said Sunday that President Joe Biden “accepted in principle” a meeting with Russian President Vladimir Putin. Psaki’s confirmation of a potential Biden-Putin summit followed a statement by the Elysee Palace in France saying the two presidents have “accepted in principle” …
Read More »U.S. Senate passes stopgap bill to avoid federal gov’t shutdown
Senate passes stopgap bill to avert shutdown ahead of Friday deadline Washington, U.S. | Xinhua | The U.S. Senate on Thursday passed a three-week spending bill to fund the federal government through March 11, just a few hours before the current funding expired on Friday. The bill, already approved by the …
Read More »Biden’s decision to compensate 9/11 victims with Afghan assets unfair: Taliban spokesman
Kabul, Afghanistan | Xinhua | Deputy spokesperson for the Taliban government Inamullah Samangani on Sunday criticized Washington’s “unfair” decision to compensate the victims of 9/11 terrorist attacks with Afghanistan’s assets. “The recent decision of U.S. President Joe Biden on the handling of the foreign exchange reserve of Afghanistan is a hasty, …
Read More »Putin discusses Ukraine crisis with Biden, Macron as more countries urge evacuation of nationals
Moscow, Russia | Xinhua | Russian President Vladimir Putin on Saturday discussed the Ukraine crisis with U.S. President Joe Biden and French President Emmanuel Macron respectively over the phone as tensions continue to escalate between Russia and Ukraine. During these conversations, Putin reiterated the absence of a substantive response from the …
Read More »Taliban criticizes U.S. president’s decision splitting Afghan assets
Kabul, Afghanistan | Xinhua | A Taliban political spokesman has criticized U.S. President Joe Biden’s decision on splitting the frozen Afghan assets in the United States. Mohammad Naeem, spokesman of the Taliban political office in Qatar, tweeted on Friday that “Stealing the blocked funds of Afghan nation by the United States …
Read More »Biden reaffirms Nord Stream 2 won’t advance if Russia invades Ukraine
Washington, U.S. | Xinhua | U.S. President Joe Biden reaffirmed Monday that a joint gas pipeline project between Germany and Russia won’t advance if Russia invades Ukraine, stopping short of explaining how it will be achieved if Germany has reservations for that decision as a deterrence against Moscow. With visiting German …
Read More »Biden announces new actions as gun violence surges across U.S.
Washington, U.S. | Xinhua | U.S. President Joe Biden announced on Thursday a new set of actions aimed at reducing gun violence across the country. The Biden administration will crack down illegal flow of guns, help prosecutors bring cases against those using “ghost guns” — unserialized and untraceable firearms — to …
Read More »Biden says IS leader killed in U.S. raid in Syria
Washington, U.S. | Xinhua | U.S. President Joe Biden confirmed Thursday that the leader of the extremist group Islamic State (IS) has been killed by a U.S. counterterrorism raid in Syria. In a statement released by the White House, Biden said U.S. military forces carried out a successful operation in northwest …
Read More »U.S. sees gun violence surge in Biden’s first year as president: report
Washington, U.S. | Xinhua | Gun Violence Archive (GVA), a U.S. gun violence monitoring group, said the United States saw 44,868 gun-related deaths during incumbent President Joe Biden’s first year in office. The total number of murders, justifiable self-defense homicides and accidental homicides involving firearms were 20,783 in 2021, compared to …
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