United States
Israel-Palestine conflict: China calls for UN council action, slams US
The Latest on the continuing violence between Israel and Gaza’s militant Hamas rulers amid the latest escalation in the Middle East:
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BEIJING — Chinese Foreign Minister Wang Yi has called on the U.N. Security Council to seek an early de-escalation of violence between Israel and Gaza’s Hamas rulers. He also blamed the U.S. for the council’s lack of action so far.
“Regrettably, the council has so far failed to reach an agreement, with the United States standing on the opposite side of international justice,” the state-run Xinhua News Agency quoted Wang as saying in a phone conversation Saturday with Pakistani Foreign Minister Shah Mahmood Qureshi.
He expressed support for a two-state solution, and said China, which holds the Security Council presidency this month, expects all parties to speak with a unified voice when the council discusses the conflict later Sunday.
Wang said the Security Council should reconfirm a two-state solution and urge Palestinians and Israelis to resume talks on that basis as soon as possible.
Read: Israeli military says it bombed home of a top Hamas leader
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GAZA CITY, Gaza Strip — Israeli warplanes have struck several buildings and roads in a vital part of Gaza City early Sunday.
According to photos circulated by residents and journalists, the airstrikes created a crater that blocked one of the main roads leading to Shifa, the largest hospital in the strip.
The Health Ministry said the latest airstrikes left at least two dead and 25 wounded, including children and women. It said rescuers are still digging through the rubble and had so far pulled up five more wounded.
Two hours into the heavy bombardment, there has been no comment from the Israeli military.
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UNITED NATIONS -- A U.N. spokesman says Secretary-General Antonio Guterres is “deeply disturbed” by the Israeli airstrike that destroyed a high-rise building in Gaza City housing offices of several international media organizations and residential apartments, and is “dismayed” by the increasing number of civilian casualties.
“The secretary-general reminds all sides that any indiscriminate targeting of civilian and media structures violates international law and must be avoided at all costs,” spokesman Stephane Dujarric said Saturday.
Earlier Saturday, an Israeli airstrike pulverized a high-rise building that housed The Associated Press, Al Jazeera and other media after warning that it was being targeted.
Guterres singled out the death of 10 members of the same family including children as a result of an Israeli airstrike Friday in the al-Shati refugee camp in Gaza, spokesman Stephane Dujarric said Saturday.
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LOS ANGELES — Hundreds of protesters shut down traffic as they took to the streets of Los Angeles, calling for an end to Israeli airstrikes over the Gaza Strip.
The protesters waved flags and signs that said “free Palestine” and shouted “long live intifada,” or uprising. They marched from outside the federal building to the Israeli Consulate in the western part of the city on Saturday.
Police shut down traffic on Wilshire Boulevard, a major thoroughfare, and urged motorists to avoid the area. Police from multiple agencies were monitoring the ongoing demonstration.
Also on Saturday, hundreds of protesters gathered in Boston’s Copley Square and walked a short distance through the streets to the location of the Israeli Consulate for New England, blocking traffic.
Footage on social media shows protesters then unfurled a banner in the colors of the Palestinian flag with the words “Free Palestine” while standing on top of the awning of the building where the consulate is located.
Other smaller protests in support of Palestinians took place in Hartford and Pittsburgh, where footage shows one speaker at the protest called on lawmakers to put restrictions on how Israel can spend aid from the United States.
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JERUSALEM — Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu says that the ongoing campaign against Palestinian militants, now in its sixth day, will “continue as long as needed.”
The prime minister spoke on Saturday from Israel’s defense ministry headquarters in Tel Aviv and issued a warning to leaders of Gaza’s militant Hamas group after a series of airstrikes targeted high-level officials and commanders.
Netanyahu says: “You cannot hide — not above ground, and not underground. Nobody is immune.”
The Israeli leader added that there was “no more just or moral campaign” than Israel’s against Hamas in the Gaza Strip, and thanked President Joe Biden and other world leaders for their support.
Netanyahu’s remarks came at the end of a day that saw Israeli airstrikes target and destroy a high-rise building in Gaza City that housed offices of The Associated Press and other media outlets. Everyone was safely evacuated from the building before the strike hit.
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JERUSALEM — Israel’s Electric Company says that high voltage lines supplying the Gaza Strip with electricity were damaged by rocket fire by Palestinian militants.
The company released a statement on Saturday saying five of the 10 lines have been damaged, in the latest escalation of fighting and that the company cannot fix them because there is no access to the area.
Damage to the power lines came amid days of intense fighting between Palestinian militants and Israel in the Gaza Strip.
Gaza’s only other source of electricity — besides the power provided by Israel — is its single power plant, which has been working only partially due to fuel shortages. However, both sources are insufficient to cover Gazans’ needs.
Outages of at least eight hours have long been a daily occurrence in the strip and with the power plant not working at regular capacity, rolling blackouts have increased to 12-15 hours per day recently.
With the latest hits on the power line, more outages are expected.
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BEIRUT — A top Hamas leader says militant groups in the Gaza Strip will not retreat in the face of attacks by Israeli troops, warning that their fighters still haven’t used all their force at their disposal.
Ismail Haniyeh spoke during a rally attended by hundreds in the gas-rich nation of Qatar on Saturday night. He said that “resistance is the shortest road to Jerusalem” and that Palestinians will not accept anything less than a Palestinian state with Jerusalem as its capital.
He added that “the Zionist enemy struck Gaza, flattened towers and carried out massacres,” thinking that this will make militant groups retreat. He said that as the Israeli attacks escalate, “the resistance will increase (its force) to a higher level.”
Haniyeh also said that despite the fact that Gaza has been under siege for nearly 15 years, militant groups will not retreat.
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WASHINGTON — President Joe Biden has expressed “strong support” for Israel’s strikes in Gaza in retaliation for Hamas missile attacks on its territory, but raised concerns about civilian casualties and the protection of journalists on a call with Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu.
The White House says Biden on Saturday also shared his “grave concern” about intercommunal violence within Israel and escalating tensions in the West Bank. Biden and Netanyahu also discussed Jerusalem, with Biden saying it should “be a place of peaceful coexistence for people of all faiths and backgrounds.”
Biden also held his first call since taking office with Palestinian Authority President Mahmoud Abbas to discuss the violence, in which he called for Hamas, the PA’s rival, to stop firing rockets into Israel.
The White House says Biden “expressed his support for steps to enable the Palestinian people to enjoy the dignity, security, freedom, and economic opportunity that they deserve” and highlighted the resumption of U.S. aid to the Palestinians under his administration.
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RAMALLAH, West Bank — Palestinian President Mahmoud Abbas has spoken on the phone with President Joe Biden and urged the U.S. to intervene in the conflict and “put an end to Israeli attacks on Palestinians.”
The official Palestinian news agency Wafa says Abbas on Saturday updated Biden on the escalations across the Palestinian territories and said he was working to halt “the Israeli aggression against our people and to reach a cease-fire.”
The report says Abbas also told Biden that “security and stability will be achieved when the Israeli occupation ends,” adding that Palestinians are ready and willing to work toward peace with international mediators.
Biden stressed the need to achieve calm and reduce violence in the Mideast, noting intensive American diplomatic efforts to that end. That’s according to the Wafa statement.
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DUBAI, United Arab Emirates — Qatar’s foreign minister has met with a top Hamas official.
That’s according to a statement by Qatar’s Foreign Ministry on Saturday. It said Sheikh Mohammed bin Abdulrahman Al Thani met Hamas leader Ismail Haniya in the capital, Doha.
The Foreign Ministry said Sheikh Mohammed “stressed the need for the international community to act urgently to stop the repeated brutal Israeli attacks against civilians in Gaza.”
There was no mention of the Israeli strike that toppled a Gaza tower that was home to offices of both The Associated Press, Doha’s Al-Jazeera satellite news network and others.
Meanwhile, Arab League chief said Saturday that Arab states’ ambassadors to the United Nations are trying to rally international support for Palestinians amid Israeli attacks on Gaza .
Ahmed Aboul Gheit called upon the U.N. Security Council to “fulfill its responsibilities” in holding Israel accountable in a session scheduled on Sunday to discuss the violence.
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CAIRO — An Egyptian intelligence official says efforts to reach a cease-fire between Israel and the Gaza militant groups are ongoing and have gained a push with the arrival of a U.S. envoy to Tel Aviv.
The official said Saturday that Egypt and other mediators hope that the U.S. will pressure Israel to end the fighting.
The official said it’s up the U.S. “to order Israel to stop such disastrous” actions ” and added that “the situation has started to get out of control in the occupied Palestinian territories.” referring to protests in West Bank, Jerusalem and other areas.
He says the mediators do not expect a cease-fire before the U.N. Security Council meeting Sunday.
The official says Egypt is now seeking an hours-long lull to evacuate severely wounded people from Gaza. He says Egypt is pushing for such a humanitarian pause overnight as ambulances are waiting on the Egyptian side of the border.
The official spoke on condition of anonymity because he was not authorized to talk to the media. U.S. diplomat Hady Amr, the deputy assistant secretary for Israeli and Palestinian affairs. is now in the region to try resolve the escalation.
— Samy Magdy in Cairo;
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BEIRUT — Hundreds of Lebanese and Palestinians have protested along the Lebanon-Israel border, with some climbing a border wall and triggering Israeli fire that wounded one person.
The protest on Saturday evening in the Lebanese border village of Adaisseh saw hundreds marching and waving Palestinian, Lebanese and yellow flags of the militant Hezbollah group.
Some protesters climbed a high border wall where they placed Palestinian and Hezbollah flags.
Lebanon’s state-run National News Agency reported that Israeli troops fired warning shots near Adaisseh, wounding one person who was taken to a nearby hospital for treatment.
Lebanese and Palestinians from around Lebanon have been heading to the border to protest against Israeli strikes on the Gaza Strip over the past days. On Friday, Israeli troops opened fire at protesters who crossed a border fence, killing a 21-year-old Hezbollah member.
Earlier Saturday, an Israeli military spokesman warned Lebanese authorities not to allow protesters to breach the border.
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VIENNA, Austria — An international network of journalists and media executives “vehemently” condemn the Israeli airstrike on a Gaza City building housing the offices of The Associated Press and broadcaster Al-Jazeera.
Barbara Trionfi, the executive director of the International Press Institute, said after Saturday’s airstrike that “the targeting of news organizations is completely unacceptable, even during an armed conflict.”
Read:AP 'horrified' by Israeli attack on its office
She added that “it represents a gross violation of human rights and internationally agreed norms.”
Three heavy missiles struck and destroyed the 12-story building about an hour after the Israeli military telephoned the owner to warn a strike was imminent. AP staffers and other tenants safely evacuated the building, which also contained residential apartments.
AP Vice President and Editor at Large John Daniszewski, who chairs IPI’s North American Committee and is special envoy for journalist safety, said “there is no doubt that Israeli forces were aware that the media offices would be destroyed.”
The Israeli military said the militant group Hamas was operating inside the building, but it provided no evidence to back up the claim.
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TEHRAN, Iran — An Iranian state TV channel says the head of the expeditionary force of Iran’s paramilitary Revolutionary Guard has had a phone call with the head of the militant Hamas group.
Al-Alam, the Arabic-language service of the Iranian state television, reported that Hamas leader Ismail Haniyeh spoke by telephone with Quds Force commander Gen. Esmail Ghaani.
Ghaani reportedly praised Hamas as offering a “unique and successful answer” to Israel.
Hamas officials have praised Iran for providing it weapons and aid in its fighting against Israel, Tehran’s regional rival.
The report comes amid a dramatic escalation in the confrontation between Israel and Hamas this week. An Israeli airstrike on Saturday targeted and destroyed a high-rise building in Gaza City that housed offices of The Associated Press and other media outlets, including Al-Jazeera and also Kuwait’s state television.
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DUBAI, United Arab Emirates — The foreign ministers of Egypt and Saudi Arabia are calling for an immediate cease-fire in the fighting between Israel and Hamas in the Gaza Strip.
That’s according to a statement on Saturday carried by the state-run Saudi Press Agency.
It says that Saudi Foreign Minister Prince Faisal bin Farhan had spoken to Egyptian Foreign Minister Sameh Shoukry.
It said the two both agreed that an immediate cease-fire was needed. Egypt has been trying to negotiate a stop to the fighting.
The Saudi statement also said the two diplomats called on “the international community to confront the aggressive Israeli practices against the brotherly Palestinian people.”
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JERUSALEM — President Joe Biden and Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu have spoken about the situation with Gaza.
According to a statement from Netanyahu’s office, the Israeli leader updated Biden on the developments and actions that Israel has taken and intends to take. It says Netanyahu also thanked Biden for the “unreserved support of the United States for our right to defend ourselves.”
It says Netanyahu emphasized in the conversation that Israel is doing everything to avoid harming the uninvolved. The statement added “the proof of this is that in the towers where there are terrorist targets attacked by the IDF, they are evacuated from the uninvolved.”
The Biden-Netanyahu call came just hours after an Israeli airstrike on Saturday targeted and destroyed a high-rise building in Gaza City that housed offices of The Associated Press and other media outlets.
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DUBAI, United Arab Emirates — An American organization promoting literature and freedom of speech has called Israel’s airstrike that destroyed a building in Gaza that was home to the offices of The Associated Press and other media “deeply disturbing.”
PEN America said in a statement after Saturday’s strike that the only reason the world knows about the ongoing fighting between Gaza’s Hamas rulers and Israel is due to the “tireless, indefatigable work of journalists, risking their lives to inform the world.”
The organization demanded a detailed accounting of why Israel launched the strike.
PEN America added that “the resulting destruction will hobble the ability of professional journalists to do their work documenting a fraught, complex conflict at a critical time.”
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DUBAI, United Arab Emirates — Al-Jazeera has called the Israeli bombing that destroyed its office in Gaza a “clear act” to stop journalists from reporting on the conflict between it and Hamas.
Al-Jazeera issued the statement Saturday night after an Israeli strike that destroyed the building that was also home to the Gaza offices of The Associated Press.
The Doha-based broadcaster said in a statement: “Al-Jazeera calls on all media and human right institutions to join forces in denouncing these ruthless bombing and to hold the government of Israel accountable for deliberately targeting journalists and media institutions.”
Mostefa Souag, acting director-general of Al-Jazeera Media Network, called the Israeli strike a “war crime.”
“The aim of this heinous crime is to silence the media and to hide the untold carnage and suffering of the people of Gaza,” Souag said.
Al-Jazeera is a major broadcaster in the Mideast, funded by the Qatari government. It operates in both Israel and the Palestinian territories
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ISTANBUL — The communications director to Turkey’s president tweeted that Israel’s targeting of The Associated Press and Al-Jazeera offices in the Gaza Strip were a blow on the freedom of press.
The airstrike on Saturday targeted and destroyed a high-rise building in Gaza City that housed offices of The Associated Press and other media outlets.
Read:Israeli airstrike on Gaza home kills 10, mostly children
Fahrettin Altun said after the attack: “I curse these lowly attacks by Israel hitting press centers to cover up its massacres.” He also claimed that “Israel is continuing its massacres and war crimes.”
Turkey’s Foreign Minister Mevlut Cavusoglu tweeted that Turkey stands with the Palestinians, who are still facing “ethnic, religious and cultural cleansing.”
AP staffers and other tenants safely evacuated the building after the Israeli military telephoned a warning that the strike was imminent within an hour. Three heavy missiles struck the 12-story building, collapsing it in a giant cloud of dust.
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WASHINGTON — The White House says Israel has a “paramount responsibility” to ensure the safety of journalists covering the spiraling conflict.
White House press secretary Jen Psaki tweeted on Saturday that the U.S. has “communicated directly to the Israelis that ensuring the safety and security of journalists and independent media is a paramount responsibility.”
President Joe Biden has urged a de-escalation, but has publicly backed Israel’s right to self-defense from Hamas rockets fired from Gaza.
The White House statement followed an Israeli airstrike that targeted and destroyed a high-rise building in Gaza City that housed offices of The Associated Press and other media outlets. AP’s president and CEO Gary Pruitt said the agency was “shocked and horrified” at the strike.
AP staffers and other tenants safely evacuated the building after the military telephoned a warning that the strike was imminent within an hour. Three heavy missiles struck the 12-story building, collapsing it in a giant cloud of dust.
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MADRID — Thousands have marched in Spain’s capital to protest the attacks by Israel’s military on the Gaza Strip.
Many waved Palestinian flags as they marched toward Madrid’s central Puerta del Sol square on Saturday.
Protesters chanted “This is not war, this is genocide” in Spanish. Some held up homemade signs that read ““USA Terrorist State” and “Muslim Lives Matter.”
The rallies in Madrid and elsewhere in the world are taking place against the backdrop of a most serious escalation in the Mideast.
On Saturday, an Israeli airstrike targeted and destroyed a high-rise building in Gaza City that housed offices of The Associated Press and other media outlets hours after another Israeli air raid on a densely populated refugee camp killed at least 10 Palestinians from an extended family, mostly children.
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BAGHDAD — Hundreds of demonstrators have gathered in cities across Iraq to stand in solidarity with Palestinians in Gaza and Jerusalem.
The demonstrators on Saturday waved Palestinian flags and banners across five provinces in rallies called for by influential Shiite cleric Moqtada al-Sadr. Al-Sadr called on followers to take to the streets and support Palestinians in the Gaza Strip, which is under attack by the Israeli military.
Protesters gathered in the Iraqi capital of Baghdad, and the southern provinces of Babylon, Dhi Qar, Diwanieh and Basra in a show of support. In Baghdad’s central Tahrir Square, demonstrators carried a Palestinian flag several feet long. Many also held up photos of al-Sadr.
Al-Sadr is a firebrand cleric who wields significant power in the country. In the May 2018 elections his party won the most number of seats.
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BEIRUT — Hundreds of people have participated in the funeral of a Hezbollah fighter who was shot dead along the Lebanon-Israel border during a rally denouncing Israeli airstrikes on Gaza.
The funeral of Mohammed Tahhan was held in his hometown of Adloun in southern Lebanon on Saturday afternoon. The 21-year-old man died of wounds sustained on Friday, shortly after he was struck during the protest at the border.
On Saturday, scores of Palestinian and Lebanese youth gathered in the border area again to rally against the Israeli military campaign in Gaza. Lebanese troops detained several people who tried to reach the border wall.
Earlier in the day, an Israeli military spokesman warned Lebanese authorities not to allow protesters to breach the border.
A small group had breached the fence on Friday and crossed the border into Israel, triggering the shooting. The Israeli military said troops fired warning shots toward the group after they sabotaged the fence and crossed over briefly.
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BERLIN — The United Nations’ human rights chief is urging all in what has developed into a battle between Israel and Gaza’s militant Hamas rulers to lower tensions, and faulted actions by both sides.
Michelle Bachelet, the U.N. high commissioner for human rights, said in a statement issued in Geneva on Saturday that “rather than seeking to calm tensions, inflammatory rhetoric from leaders on all sides appears to be seeking to excite tensions rather than to calm them.”
Bachelet’s statement was issued on Saturday, shortly before an Israeli airstrike destroyed a high-rise building in Gaza City that housed offices of The Associated Press and other media outlets.
In the statement, Bachelet “warned that the firing of large numbers of indiscriminate rockets by Palestinian armed groups into Israel, including densely populated areas, in clear violation of international humanitarian law, amounts to war crimes.”
There also are concerns that some attacks by the Israeli military in Gaza “have targeted civilian objects that, under international humanitarian law, do not meet the requirements to be considered as military objectives.”
It added that “the failure to adhere to the principles of distinction, proportionality and precaution in the conduct of military operations amounts to a serious violation of international humanitarian law and may constitute war crimes.”
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BERLIN — Iran’s foreign minister has called off a planned visit to his Austrian counterpart in Vienna. The decision came after Austria’s chancellery and foreign ministry flew the Israeli flag as a signal of solidarity in Israel’s conflict with the militant Hamas group.
Austrian daily Die Presse reported Saturday that Iranian Foreign Minister Mohammad Javad Zarif was due to meet Austrian counterpart Alexander Schallenberg on Saturday morning. But he called off the trip over the Austrian leaders’ decision to fly the Israeli flag on Friday.
The Austria Press Agency said Schallenberg’s spokeswoman, Claudia Tuertscher, confirmed the report. She said: “We regret this.”
Read:DIARY: In Gaza, bombs drop and the conflict again hits home
Vienna has been hosting negotiations in recent weeks aimed at bringing the United States back into the 2015 nuclear deal aimed at allaying concerns about Iran’s nuclear ambitions. France, Germany, Britain, Russia and China are still parties to that agreement.
Iran’s deputy foreign minister, Abbas Araghchi, tweeted on Friday that Austria “so far been a great host for negotiations” but it was “shocking & painful to see flag of the occupying regime, that brutally killed tens of innocent civilians, inc many children in just few days, over govt offices in Vienna.”
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DUBAI, United Arab Emirates — Saudi Arabia has called for foreign ministers of the world’s largest body of Muslim nations to hold a meeting Sunday. The gathering is to discuss Israeli acts of violence against Palestinians and the Israeli police’s use of force against protesters at Al-Aqsa mosque in Jerusalem.
The kingdom will host the virtual summit, gathering ministers of the 57-nation Organization of Islamic Cooperation “to discuss the Israeli aggression in the Palestinian territory,” particularly acts of violence in the vicinity of Al-Aqsa Mosque, the body said Saturday.
The Saudi-headquartered OIC includes countries Iran, Turkey, Indonesia and a range of Muslim majority nations.
The sanctity of Al-Aqsa mosque, one of Islam’s holiest sites, is a sensitive and emotive issue for Muslims around the world. The OIC was formed 51 years ago in response to a Jewish extremist arson attack on the Al-Aqsa Mosque in east Jerusalem.
The hilltop on which the mosque stands is also sacred to Jews, who revere it as the Temple Mount because it was the site of the biblical temples. Some Jews and evangelical Christians support building a new Jewish temple on the site, an idea that Muslims find alarming because they fear it would lead to the mosque being partitioned or demolished.
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RAMALLAH, West Bank — Palestinians have begun gathering across the occupied West Bank to mark the anniversary of the displacement of hundreds of thousands of refugees from what is now Israel during the 1948 war surrounding its creation.
Nakba Day, Arabic for “catastrophe,” comes amid widespread Jewish-Arab violence in Israel and heavy fighting between Israel and the Islamic militant group Hamas, which rules Gaza. The main event Saturday was held in West Bank city of Ramallah, where the internationally-backed Palestinian Authority is headquartered.
On Friday, Palestinians in the occupied West Bank held some of the largest protests in years and clashed with Israeli forces, who shot and killed 11 people, including a Palestinian who tried to stab a soldier at a military position.
Some 700,000 Palestinians fled or were driven from their homes during the 1948 war. Today, they and their descendants number around 5.7 million and mostly reside in the West Bank, Gaza, Jordan, Lebanon and Syria.
We respect Bangladesh’s right to make foreign policy decisions for itself: US
The United States has taken note of Chinese Ambassador Li Jiming's recent remarks over "Quad" saying that the US respects Bangladesh’s right to make foreign policy decisions for itself.
"What we would say is that we respect Bangladesh’s sovereignty, and we respect Bangladesh’s right to make foreign policy decisions for itself," Spokesperson at the US Department of State Ned Price said in a regular briefing on Tuesday.
Price said they have an incredibly strong relationship with Bangladesh and work closely with their partners there on a range of issues --from economic growth to climate change to humanitarian issues.
Also read: Ambassador Li meets FS; explains his remarks
"And when it comes to the Quad, we’ve said this before, but the Quad, it’s an informal, essential, multilateral mechanism that right now conveys – convenes likeminded democracies – the United States, India, Australia, and Japan – to coordinate in the Indo-Pacific, and fundamentally, to push forward our goal of a free and open Indo-Pacific region," said the Spokesperson.
Chinese Ambassador Li Jiming on Wednesday met Foreign Secretary Masud Bin Momen and explained his remarks made during the DCAB discussions.
The meeting was held after a vaccine handover ceremony at state guesthouse Padma.
Also read: It's very regrettable, says FM on China's Quad remarks
They discussed different bilateral issues, including Covid cooperation, between the two countries, a senior official at the Ministry of Foreign Affairs told UNB.
They highlighted the importance of the growing relationship between the two countries.
On Monday, the Ambassador attended a programme hosted by Diplomatic Correspondents Association, Bangladesh (DCAB) and talked about a number of issues, including vaccine cooperation.
Also read: Beijing wants Dhaka not to join Quad
The envoy, while responding to a question, also talked about Quad, an initiative of four countries- the United States, Japan, India and Australia, that was followed by a reaction by Dhaka.
Ambassador Li said obviously it will not be a good idea for Bangladesh to participate in this small club of four countries because it will "substantially damage" the bilateral relationship between the two countries.
“So, we don’t like to see any form of participation by Bangladesh to this small group of countries,” said the envoy.
South Korea, US discuss joint responses to falling Chinese rocket debris
South Korea and the United States on Friday discussed ways to jointly respond to remnants of a Chinese rocket expected to crash into Earth this weekend, the Air Force said.
According to Yonhap news agency, the Long March 5B rocket was launched last week carrying a module of China's first permanent space station into orbit. But a large piece of debris is expected to plunge back in an uncontrolled re-entry on around Saturday (U.S. time), according to the U.S. Space Command.
To explore ways to jointly deal with the case, South Korea's Air Force and the US-led Combined Space Operations Centre (CSPOC) held a video conference and shared their surveillance data and analysis.
The conference was also attended by military members from Germany and Japan, according to the Air Force
"We cannot completely rule out the possibility of rocket pieces falling onto the Korean Peninsula," Lt Col Choi Seong Hwan of the Korea Space Operations Centre said.
"We maintain a staunch readiness by maximising our space surveillance capabilities and working closely with the SpoC and other related agencies to be fully prepared for any scenarios," he added.
The US command said that the rocket's exact point of descent cannot be pinpointed until within hours of its re-entry." Experts said debris would fall into the sea but they might reach populated areas.
Bangladesh seeks immediate delivery of 4 mn vaccine doses from US: FM
Foreign Minister Dr AK Abdul Momen on Thursday said the government has sought immediate delivery of 4 million vaccine doses from the United States (US).
The US will share up to 60 million doses of its Oxford-AstraZeneca Covid-19 vaccine with other countries as they become available.
“We’ve sought immediate release of four million doses of vaccine (in a letter sent to the US),” he told reporters, adding that he, however, sought a total of 10 to 20 million doses of vaccine from the US.
Dr Momen said the government wants to continue the vaccination programme collecting vaccines from alternative sources.
The Foreign Minister made the remarks after his meeting with US Ambassador to Bangladesh Earl Miller at his office.
Also read: Covid vaccine stock running out: DGHS
He asked the US Ambassador whether they provided any vaccine to India. In reply, Ambassador Miller said they have provided no vaccine to India yet.
The Foreign Minister said the US government needs permission from the Food and Drug Administration to export vaccines which is a time-consuming process. “But we need it immediately.”
Dr Momen said they have written to Indian External Affairs Minister Dr S Jaishankar requesting for 3 million doses of vaccine to address Bangladesh's immediate need.
"They (India) have verbally said keep your finger crossed," he said.
Chinese Vaccine Arrives May 12
The Foreign Minister said the government is not shifting its attention from India as there is an agreement with Serum Institute of India to get 3 crore doses of vaccine.
The Foreign Minister reiterated that the Chinese government is working to deliver 5 lakh doses of vaccine as a gift before Eid al-Fitr as two dates are mentioned – May 10 or 12.
Biden recognizes atrocities against Armenians as genocide
The systematic killing and deportation of more than a millions Armenians by Ottoman Empire forces in the early 20th century was “genocide,” the United States formally declared on Saturday, as President Joe Biden used that precise word after the White House had avoided it for decades for fear of alienating ally Turkey.
Turkey reacted with furor, with the foreign minister saying his country “will not be given lessons on our history from anyone.” A grateful Armenia said it appreciated Biden’s “principled position” as a step toward “the restoration of truth and historical justice.”
Biden was following through on a campaign promise he made a year ago Saturday — the annual commemoration of Armenian Genocide Remembrance Day — to recognize that the events that began in 1915 were a deliberate effort to wipe out Armenians.
While previous presidents have offered somber reflections of the dark moment in history, they have studiously avoided using the term genocide out of concern that it would complicate relations with Turkey, a NATO ally and important power in the Middle East.
But Biden campaigned on a promise to make human rights a central guidepost of his foreign policy. He argued last year that failing to call the atrocities against the Armenian people a genocide would pave the way for future mass atrocities. An estimated 2 million Armenians were deported and 1.5 million were killed in the events known as Metz Yeghern.
“The American people honor all those Armenians who perished in the genocide that began 106 years ago today,” Biden said in a statement. “We affirm the history. We do this not to cast blame but to ensure that what happened is never repeated.”
Armenian Prime Minister Nikol Pashinyan said in a letter to Biden that recognition of the genocide “is important not only in terms of respecting the memory of 1.5 million innocent victims, but also in preventing the repetition of such crimes.”
Also read: At ‘moment of peril,’ Biden opens global summit on climate
Turkish officials struck back immediately.
“We reject and denounce in the strongest terms the statement of the President of the US regarding the events of 1915 made under the pressure of radical Armenian circles and anti-Turkey groups,” the Turkish Foreign Ministry said in a statement.
Turkish Foreign Minister Mevlut Cavusoglu tweeted that “words cannot change history or rewrite it” and Turkey “completely rejected” Biden’s statement.
Minutes before Biden’s announcement, Turkish President Recep Tayyip Erdogan sent a message to the Armenian community and patriarch of the Armenian church calling for not allowing “the culture of coexistence of Turks and Armenians ... to be forgotten.” He said the issue has been “politicized by third parties and turned into a tool of intervention against our country.”
The U.S. Embassy and consulates in Turkey issued a demonstration alert, and announced their offices would be closed for routine services on Monday and Tuesday as a “precautionary measure.” They cautioned Americans to avoid areas around U.S. government buildings and exercise caution in locations where foreigners gather.
During a telephone call Friday, Biden had informed Erdogan of his plan to issue the statement, said a person familiar with the matter who was not authorized to publicly discuss the private conversation and spoke on the condition of anonymity.
The U.S. and Turkish governments, in separate statements following Biden and Erdogan’s call, made no mention of the American plan to recognize the Armenian genocide. But the White House said Biden told Erdogan he wants to improve the two countries’ relationship and find “effective management of disagreements.” The two also agreed to hold a bilateral meeting at the NATO summit in Brussels in June.
Also read: Hitting latest vaccine milestone, Biden pushes shots for all
In Armenia on Saturday, people streamed to the hilltop complex in Yerevan, the capital, that memorializes the victims. Many laid flowers around the eternal flame, creating a wall of blooms two meters (seven feet) high.
Armenian Deputy Foreign Minister Avet Adonts, speaking at the memorial before Biden issued his statement, said a U.S. president using the term genocide would “serve as an example for the rest of the civilized world.”
Biden’s call with Erdogan was his first since taking office more than three months ago. The delay had become a worrying sign in Ankara; Erdogan had good rapport with former President Donald Trump and had been hoping for a reset despite past friction with Biden.
Erdogan reiterated his long-running claims that the U.S. is supporting Kurdish fighters in Syria who are affiliated with the Iraq-based Kurdistan Workers’ Party, known as the PKK. The PKK has led an insurgency against Turkey for more than three decades. In recent years, Turkey has launched military operations against PKK enclaves in Turkey and in northern Iraq and against U.S.-allied Syrian Kurdish fighters. The State Department has designated the PKK a terrorist organization but has argued with Turkey over the group’s ties to the Syrian Kurds.
Biden, during the campaign, drew ire from Turkish officials after an interview with The New York Times in which he spoke about supporting Turkey’s opposition against “autocrat” Erdogan. In 2019, Biden accused Trump of betraying U.S. allies, following Trump’s decision to withdraw troops from northern Syria, which paved the way for a Turkish military offensive against the Syrian Kurdish group. In 2014, when he was vice president, Biden apologized to Erdogan after suggesting in a speech that Turkey helped facilitate the rise of the Islamic State group by allowing foreign fighters to cross Turkey’s border with Syria.
Lawmakers and Armenian American activists had lobbied Biden to make the genocide announcement on or before remembrance day. The closest that a U.S. president had come to recognizing the World War 1-era atrocities as genocide was in 1981 when Ronald Reagan uttered the words “Armenian genocide” during a Holocaust Remembrance Day event. But he did not make it U.S. policy.
Also read: As Biden improves with vets, Afghanistan plan a plus to some
House Speaker Nancy Pelosi, a California Democrat, lamented that “the truth of these heinous crimes has too often been denied, its monstrosity minimized.”
“History teaches us that if we ignore its darkest chapters, we are destined to witness the horrors of the past be repeated,” she added.
Rep. Adam Schiff, also a California Democrat, praised Biden for following through on the pledge.
“For Armenian-Americans and everyone who believes in human rights and the truth, today marks an historic milestone: President Biden has defied Turkish threats and recognized the slaughter of 1.5 million Armenians for what it was — the first genocide of the 20th Century,” Schiff said in a statement.
California is home to large concentrations of Armenian Americans.
Salpi Ghazarian, director of the University of Southern California’s Institute of Armenian Studies, said the recognition of genocide would resonate beyond Armenia and underscore Biden seriousness about respect for human rights as a central principle in his foreign policy.
“Within the United States and outside the United States, the American commitment to basic human values has been questioned now for decades,” she said. “It is very important for people in the world to continue to have the hope and the faith that America’s aspirational values are still relevant, and that we can in fact do several things at once. We can in fact carry on trade and other relations with countries while also calling out the fact that a government cannot get away with murdering its own citizens.”
1 verdict, then 6 police killings across America in 24 hours
Even as the Derek Chauvin case was fresh in memory — the reading of the verdict in a Minneapolis courtroom, the shackling of the former police officer, the jubilation at what many saw as justice in the death of George Floyd — even then, blood flowed on America’s streets.
And even then, some of that blood was shed at the hands of law enforcement.
At least six people were fatally shot by officers across the United States in the 24 hours after jurors reached a verdict in the murder case against Chauvin on Tuesday. The roll call of the dead is distressing:
A 16-year-old girl in Columbus, Ohio.
An oft-arrested man in Escondido, California.
A 42-year-old man in eastern North Carolina.
The deaths, in some cases, sparked new cries for justice. Some said they reflect an urgent need for radical changes to American policing — a need that the Chauvin verdict cannot paper over. For others, the shootings are a tragic reminder of the difficult and dangerous decisions law enforcement face daily.
An unidentified man in San Antonio.
Another man, killed in the same city within hours of the first.
A 31-year-old man in central Massachusetts.
The circumstances surrounding each death differ widely. Some happened while officers investigated serious crimes. Police say some of the people were armed with a gun, knife or a metal pole. One man claimed to have a bomb that he threatened to detonate. In several cases, little is known about the lives of those killed and what happened in their final moments.
The deadly encounters are only a small snapshot of the thousands of interactions between American police officers and civilians every day, most of which end safely. Uneventful encounters between the police and the populace, however, are not an issue.
It’s a very different story when a weapon is drawn and a life is ended.
As the nation watched the judge read the verdict against Chavuin on Tuesday afternoon, an officer hundreds of miles away was listening over his patrol car radio in a neighborhood in Columbus, Ohio. Minutes earlier, a colleague fatally shot a teenage girl.
Police had been called to the house after someone called 911 and reported being physically threatened. Body camera footage shows an officer approaching a group of people in the driveway as the teenager, Ma’Khia Bryant, swings a knife wildly. Moments later, the girl charges at a young woman pinned against a car.
The officer fires four shots before Bryant slumps to the ground. A black-handled blade, similar to a kitchen or steak knife, lies on the sidewalk next to her.
“You didn’t have to shoot her! She’s just a kid, man!” a man shouted at the officer.
The officer responds, “She had a knife. She just went at her.”
Later, an anguished neighbor yells at officers: “Do you see why Black lives matter? Do you get it now?”
Bryant, who was in foster care at the time, was a shy, quiet girl who liked making hair and dance videos on TikTok, her grandmother, Debra Wilcox, told The Associated Press. Her family says her actions that day were out of character.
“I don’t know what happened there unless she was fearful for her life,” Wilcox said.
Though officials have said Bryant’s death was a tragedy, they point to laws allowing police to use deadly force to protect themselves and others.
The officer’s actions were “an act of heroism” with tragic results, said the National Fraternal Order of Police president, “yet another demonstration of the impossible situations” police face.
About the same time the radio brought the news of Chauvin’s verdict to Columbus, two officers in San Antonio were confronting a man on a bus. Exactly how the encounter started remains unclear, but police say the unidentified man was armed. It ended with officers firing fatal shots.
Later that evening in the same city, authorities say a man killed a person working in a shed outside his home. As officers arrived, the suspect started shooting at police. They returned fired, killing him. Officials have not released his name.
As the nation digested the news from Minneapolis, the day wore on and daily life unspooled. In Worcester, Massachusetts, the night was punctuated by a standoff with police that ended in gunfire.
Phet Gouvonvong, 31, called 911 and claimed to have a bomb he threatened to set off, police said. Officers found him on the street. They said he was wearing body armor and had a backpack and what appeared to be a rifle.
A police SWAT team joined negotiators. One reached Gouvonvong by phone to try to calm him, officials say.
Around midnight, officials say, Gouvonvong moved toward police, and an officer opened fire.
Gouvonvong was pronounced dead at the scene. Police have not said whether he actually had an explosive device.
Gouvonvong had run-ins with police over the years, including a conviction for assault and battery with a dangerous weapon, but an aunt said he turned his life around, the Telegram & Gazette newspaper reported.
On Thursday, his mother crumpled onto the street in tears where flowers had been laid at the site of his killing. Marie Gonzalez told the newspaper she had called police Tuesday night to try to connect with her son but they wouldn’t put her through. She believed she could have prevented it.
“They had no right taking my son’s life,” she said. “They had no right.”
The next morning, as people in Minneapolis awakened to a city boarded up for unrest that never materialized, a 42-year-old Black man in eastern North Carolina was shot and killed when deputy sheriffs tried to serve drug-related search and arrest warrants.
An eyewitness has said Andrew Brown Jr. was shot dead in his car in Elizabeth City as he tried to drive away. A car authorities removed from the scene appeared to have multiple bullet holes and a shattered back window.
His slaying sparked an outcry as hundreds demanded the release of body camera footage. Seven deputies have been placed on leave.
Relatives described Brown as a doting father who always had a joke to tell. He also had a difficult life. His mother was killed when he was young, he was partially paralyzed on his right side by an accidental shooting and lost an eye in a stabbing, according to an aunt, Glenda Brown Thomas.
He also had troubles with the law, including a misdemeanor drug possession conviction and some pending felony drug charges. The day before he was killed, two arrest warrants were issued for him on drug-related charges including possession with intent to sell cocaine, court records show.
Officers have so far said little about why they fired, but his family is determined to get answers.
“The police didn’t have to shoot my baby,” said another aunt, Martha McCullen.
That same morning, police in Southern California got a call about someone hitting cars with a metal pole. The man ran off when police arrived, but another officer spotted him carrying a 2-foot metal pole in the street.
The white man charged at the officer, who ordered him to drop the pole before opening fire, police said.
Police in Escondido, near San Diego, have not released the man’s name, but did say he had been arrested nearly 200 times over the past two decades for violent assaults on police and the public, drug charges and other crimes. Efforts to get him help from mental health professionals hadn’t worked, the police chief said.
Whether any officers will face charges in these shootings remains to be seen.
Chauvin was largely convicted based on video that showed him pressing his knee into Floyd’s neck for more than nine minutes. Police shootings in a heated moment are notoriously difficult to prosecute. Juries have generally been reluctant to second-guess officers when they claim to have acted in life-or-death situations.
In the aftermath of Tuesday’s verdict, prosecutors on opposite coasts announced opposite decisions on whether to advance charges against law enforcement who killed.
A Florida prosecutor announced Wednesday he would not pursue charges against a Brevard County Sheriff’s deputy who shot and killed two Black teenagers; a California prosecutor announced manslaughter and assault charges against a deputy in the eastern San Francisco Bay area in the shooting of an unarmed Filipino man.
None of these cases has focused attention like the trial that came to a conclusion Tuesday. Some people hold out hope that the Chauvin verdict might be a crucial juncture in the national conversation about race, policing and the use of force.
“We are in a moment of reckoning,” said Rachael Rollins, district attorney for Boston and surrounding communities and the first woman of color to serve as a top county prosecutor in Massachusetts.
“If we can be strategic and come together,” she said, “we can make profound changes, profound.”
Associated Press writers Michael Kunzelman in College Park, Maryland, Jill Bleed in Little Rock, Arkansas, Julie Watson in San Diego and Juliet Williams in San Francisco contributed to this report, as did Farnoush Amiri in Columbus, Ohio. Amiri a corps member for the Associated Press/Report for America Statehouse News Initiative. Report for America is a nonprofit national service program that places journalists in local newsrooms to report on undercovered issues.
Around 6,000 Americans contracted Covid after being fully vaccinated, 74 died: CDC
US health officials have confirmed fewer than 6,000 cases of Covid-19 in fully vaccinated Americans, according to the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention (CDC) Director Dr. Rochelle Walensky. Seventy-four of them died.
The cases represent just 0.007% of the 84 million Americans who have been fully vaccinated, reports CNBC. Despite the 'breakthrough' infections, Dr Walensky this week said the vaccines are working as intended.
Read Half of US adults have received at least one COVID-19 shot
"With any vaccine, we expect such rare cases, but so far out of more than 84 million people who were fully vaccinated, we have only received reports of less than 6,000 breakthrough cases," Walensky told reporters at a press briefing on Monday. Breakthrough cases are defined as someone contracting the virus more than 14 days after their second shot of the vaccine, i.e. when they can be said to be fully vaccinated.
"Although this number is from 43 states and territories and likely an underestimate, it still makes a really important point, these vaccines are working. Of the nearly 6,000 cases, approximately 30% had no symptoms at all," Walensky said. "This is really encouraging news. It demonstrates what we’ve already discussed about these vaccines. They also help prevent you from getting seriously ill."
Also read: Oregon: CDC investigating woman’s death after J&J vaccine
Out of the 6,000 or so breakthrough infections, 396 people were hospitalized and 74 people died, according to CDC data released last week.
The breakthrough infections have been reported in people of all ages. Around 45% of the infections were in patients over 60 years old.
Some 65% of these breakthrough infections have been reported in females.
Also read: Global Covid-19 cases cross 144 million
Half of all American adults have received at least one dose of the coronavirus vaccine. Of those aged 65 and older, 81% have received one dose or more and about two-thirds are fully vaccinated.
CDC's breakthrough case investigations
According to the CDC, there will be "a small percentage of people who are fully vaccinated who still get sick, are hospitalized, or die from COVID-19." Variants will cause some of these breakthroughs.
Also read: Fully vaccinated people can travel safely again, CDC says
It adds that "[t]o date, no unexpected patterns have been identified in the case demographics or vaccine characteristics among people with reported vaccine breakthrough infections." The CDC website reiterates that the Covid-19 vaccines are effective, and recommends that all eligible people get a COVID-19 vaccine as soon as one is available to them.
Cosmos Dialogue on Dhaka-Washington ties premieres Saturday on Facebook
Experts from Bangladesh and the United States have been brought together for an online symposium hosted by the Cosmos Foundation to assess the Dhaka-Washington relationship in its present context and identify the challenges and opportunities that lie ahead in the effort to take it forward. The keynote address at the symposium titled ‘The Biden Administration in the United States: Prognosis for the Future of Bangladesh-US Relations’ will be delivered by Michael Kugelman, Deputy Director of the Asia Programme and Senior Associate for South Asia at the Wilson Centre in Washington, DC. Chairman of Cosmos Foundation Enayetullah Khan will deliver the opening remarks at the event, which is set to premiere on the Facebook page of Cosmos Foundation this Saturday, April 3, at 8PM BdST (10AM EST). Renowned scholar-diplomat and adviser on foreign affairs to the last caretaker government Dr Iftekhar Ahmed Chowdhury will chair the session.
Also read: Cosmos Dialogue on Bangladesh's relations with Nordic countries begins in city
The symposium is the latest instalment in Cosmos Foundation’s flagship ‘Dialogue’ series, in which a high-level expert panel is tasked with tackling pressing issues of the day, that has continued through the pandemic. Apart from the names mentioned above, the panel of discussants for the latest edition will comprise Ambassador Tariq Karim, Dr Nina Ahmad, Dr Ali Riaz, and Ambassador Serajul Islam. The full video of the event will be available for viewing on the Facebook page of Cosmos Foundation, and (elsewhere) from Saturday, April 3rd, 8PM BdST.
Also read: Cosmos Dialogue on Foreign Policy begins in city Before the pandemic hit, two-way trade between the United States and Bangladesh touched a record $9 billion, with the US remaining the largest single-country export destination for Bangladeshi products.
The potential of a relationship grounded in strong economic ties is proven, and the long-discussed US-Bangladesh Business Council is now very close to reality, with the US Chamber of Commerce set to host its launch in the first week of April. Bangladesh’s upcoming graduation from the list of Least Developed Countries has been well noted in the US media, and the Biden Administration’s outreach to Dhaka in Washington’s renewed commitment to fighting climate has been notable.
Also read: Cosmos dialogue on EU’s contemporary relevance begins Against this backdrop, Cosmos Foundation, the philanthropic arm of conglomerate the Cosmos Group, brings together the finest minds to arrive at a prognosis for the future of the relationship, in line with its commitment to eliciting strategic insights and policy solutions for Bangladesh as it charts its course toward a future that is ever-brighter.
Promoting respect for rights a global effort, says US
The United States has said promoting respect for human rights is not something they can do alone but is best accomplished working with their allies and partners across the globe, including Bangladesh.
The US State Department released the 2020 Country Reports on Human Rights Practices, an annual report required by U.S. law on Tuesday.
Guided by the United Nations’ Universal Declarations on Human Rights and subsequent human rights treaties, the country reports do not draw legal conclusions, rate countries, or declare whether they failed to meet standards. The United States said it is committed to a world in which human rights are protected, their defenders are celebrated, and those who commit human rights abuses are held accountable.
As the United States and Bangladesh discuss common challenges, promoting democracy, good governance, and human rights will remain paramount, as discussed by Secretary of State Blinken and Foreign Minister Dr AK Abdul Momen in their February 21 phone call.
The United States and Bangladesh remain partners in addressing these matters together, said the US Embassy in Dhaka on Wednesday.
US President Joe Biden is committed to a foreign policy that unites our democratic values with our diplomatic leadership, and one that is centered on the defense of democracy and the protection of human rights.
Biden leaves door open for Senate change to pass agenda
President Joe Biden at his first news conference Thursday left the door open to pushing for fundamental changes in Senate procedures to muscle key elements of his agenda such as immigration and voting rights past firm Republican opposition "if there's complete lockdown and chaos."
The 78-year-old president also, for the first time, said his "plan is to run for reelection, that is my expectation."
Biden at first backed a modification — but not elimination — of the filibuster. But he then suggested, at least on certain issues, he would go further. "If there's complete lockdown and chaos, as a consequence of the filibuster, then we're going to have to go beyond what I'm talking about," he said.
"I want to get things done. I want to get them done consistent with what we promised the American people," said Biden, who spent decades in the Senate. "I am going to say something outrageous: I have never been particularly poor at calculating getting things done in the United States Senate."
A pair of mass shootings, rising international tensions, early signs of intraparty divisions and increasing numbers of migrants crossing the southern border are all confronting the young Biden administration, which is also navigating the COVID-19 pandemic and its resulting economic devastation.
"I am going to deal with all of those problems," Biden pledged.
Biden opened his first formal news conference by doubling his original goal on COVID-19 vaccines by pledging that the nation will administer 200 million doses by the end of his first 100 days in office. The administration had met Biden's initial goal of 100 million doses earlier this month — before even his 60th day in office — as the president pushes to defeat a pandemic that has killed more than 545,000 Americans and devastated the nation's economy.
But while Biden had held off on holding his first news conference so he could use it to celebrate progress against the pandemic and passage of a giant COVID-19 relief package, he was quickly pressed about all sorts of other challenges that have cropped up along the way.
Also read: Biden, Harris and others to promote relief plan's benefits
While seemingly ambitious, Biden's vaccine goal amounts to a continuation of the existing pace of vaccinations through the end of next month. The U.S. is now averaging about 2.5 million doses per day and an even greater rate is possible. Over the next month, two of the bottlenecks to getting Americans vaccinated are set to ease as the U.S. supply of vaccines is on track to increase and states lift eligibility requirements to get shots.
The scene looked very different from what Americans are used to seeing for formal presidential news conferences. The president still stood behind a podium against a backdrop of flags. But due to the pandemic, the White House limited attendance and only 30 socially distanced chairs for journalists were spread out in the expansive room.
"It's an opportunity for him to speak to the American people, obviously directly through the coverage, directly through all of you," White House press secretary Jen Psaki told reporters aboard Air Force One on Tuesday. "And so I think he's thinking about what he wants to say, what he wants to convey, where he can provide updates, and, you know, looking forward to the opportunity to engage with a free press."
Biden is the first chief executive in four decades to reach this point in his term without holding a formal news conference. While he has been on pace with his predecessors in taking questions from the press in other formats, he tends to field just one or two informal inquiries at a time, usually in a hurried setting at the end of an event or in front of a whirring helicopter.
Pressure had mounted on Biden to hold a formal session, which allows reporters to have an extended back-and-forth with the president on the issues of the day. Biden's conservative critics have pointed to the delay to suggest that Biden was being shielded by his staff.
West Wing aides have dismissed the questions about a news conference as a Washington obsession, pointing to Biden's high approval ratings while suggesting that the general public is not concerned about the event. The president himself, when asked Wednesday if he were ready for the press conference, joked, "What press conference?"
Behind the scenes, though, aides have taken the event seriously enough to hold a mock session with the president earlier this week. And there is some concern that Biden, a self-proclaimed "gaffe machine," could go off message and generate a series of unflattering news cycles.
"The press conference serves an important purpose: It presents the press an extended opportunity to hold a leader accountable for decisions," said Kathleen Hall Jamieson, presidential scholar and professor of communication at the University of Pennsylvania. "A question I ask: What is the public going to learn in this venue that it couldn't learn elsewhere? And why does it matter? The answer: The president speaks for the nation."
Also read: Americans largely back Biden's virus response
Biden was expected to point to a surge in vaccine distribution, encouraging signs in the economy and the benefits Americans will receive from the sweeping stimulus package.
But plenty of challenges abound.
His appearance comes just a day after he appointed Vice President Kamala Harris to lead the government's response to the situation at the U.S.-Mexico border, where the administration faces a growing humanitarian and political challenge that threatens to overshadow Biden's legislative agenda.
In less than a week, two mass shootings have rattled the nation and pressure has mounted on the White House to back tougher gun measures. The White House has struggled to blunt a nationwide effort by Republican legislatures to tighten election laws. A pair of Democratic senators briefly threatened to hold up the confirmation of Biden appointees due to a lack of Asian American representation in the Cabinet. And both North Korea and Russia have unleashed provocative actions to test a new commander in chief.
In a sharp contrast with the previous administration, the Biden White House has exerted extreme message discipline, empowering staff to speak but doing so with caution. The new White House team has carefully managed the president's appearances, which serves Biden's purposes but denies the media opportunities to directly press him on major policy issues and to engage in the kind of back-and-forth that can draw out information and thoughts that go beyond curated talking points.
Having overcome a childhood stutter and famously long-winded, Biden has long enjoyed interplay with reporters and has defied aides' requests to ignore questions from the press. He has been prone to gaffes throughout his long political career and, as president, has occasionally struggled with off-the-cuff remarks.
Also read: Biden plans to order 100 mln more Johnson & Johnson COVID-19 vaccine doses
Those are the types of distractions his aides have tried to avoid, and, in a pandemic silver lining, were largely able to dodge during the campaign because the virus kept Biden home for months and limited the potential for public mistakes.
Firmly pledging his belief in freedom of the press, Biden has rebuked his predecessor's incendiary rhetoric toward the media, including Donald Trump's references to reporters as "the enemy of the people." Biden restored the daily press briefing, which had gone extinct under Trump, opening a window into the workings of the White House. And he sat for a national interview with ABC News last week.
Biden has also delivered a series of well-received speeches, including his inaugural address, and has shown that he can effectively communicate beyond news conferences, according to Frank Sesno, former head of George Washington University's school of media.
"His strongest communication is not extemporaneous. He can ramble or stumble into a famous Biden gaffe," said Sesno in a recent interview. "But to this point, he and his team have been very disciplined with the message of the day and in hitting the words of the day."