Biden authorizes ‘unprecedented’ new weapons aid to Ukraine

US President Joe Biden announced $1 billion in new security help and the deployment of longer-range weapons and drones to Ukraine on Wednesday -- assuring the ally of America's "unprecedented" support in its war with Russia.

The cash, approved as Russian forces close in on Ukraine's besieged capital Kyiv, includes $200 million allocated over the weekend and $800 million in new funds from an aid package approved last week by Congress.

"These are direct transfers of equipment from our Department of Defense to the Ukrainian military to help them as they fight against this invasion," said Biden, who also announced US help for Ukraine to acquire "additional longer-range anti-aircraft systems."

As expected, Biden gave no ground on the notion of a Western-imposed no-fly zone over the ex-Soviet state, which NATO has consistently rejected for fear of an escalation that could bring the alliance into direct conflict with Russian forces.

Ramping up its military assistance instead, the White House said Ukraine will receive an additional 800 Stinger anti-aircraft systems, 9,000 anti-tank weapons, 7,000 light weapons and 20 million rounds of ammunition.

And the United States will be providing Ukraine with 100 drones -- or Tactical Unmanned Aerial Systems -- which Biden said "demonstrates our commitment to sending our most cutting-edge systems to Ukraine for its defense."

Concerning the deployment of longer-range systems, Gregory Meeks, the chairman of the House Foreign Affairs Committee, indicated the weapons involved would be Soviet-made S-300 surface-to-air missile systems.

"These S-300s and longer-range artillery forces is what will help close the sky" over Ukraine, Meeks said on CNN following Biden's address.

"President Zelensky is not asking for American troops or American equipment or anything of that nature to close the skies," Meeks said. "What he's asking for is the artillery that will do that. The S-300 may be the one that does that."

Agence France-Presse

Trump unable to escape virus as term comes to a close

WASHINGTON, UNITED STATES — The COVID-19 crisis had already haunted Donald Trump's first term in office, as his scatter-gun response placed him increasingly at odds with the science. Then he tested positive, a month before the election.

The US president announced in the small hours of Friday that he and First Lady Melania Trump would be going into quarantine after they were both found to have contracted the novel coronavirus. 

Hours earlier, Hope Hicks, one of his top aides who is also close to the first lady, had received news of her own positive test.

The coronavirus, which emerged late last year in China and early 2020 in the US, has upended Donald Trump's presidency, casting him into a dangerous moment in his battle with Democratic rival Joe Biden over who will occupy the White House for the coming four years. 

Downplaying the threat 

Trump first mentioned the new coronavirus in public on January 22, 2020, during a visit to the World Economic Forum in Davos, Switzerland. 

"We have it totally under control. It's one person coming in from China. It's going to be just fine," he said at the time.

The populist Republican has consistently downplayed the threat posed by the pandemic, saying on numerous occasions that the virus would disappear as the weather warmed. 

"Typically, it will go away in April," he said in February. 

According to The Washington Post, which analyzed the president's statements, he said 34 times that the virus would disappear on its own. 

Instead, the outbreak spread rapidly, forcing state governors and local authorities across the country to impose lockdowns.

By mid-March, the US had ground to a standstill, with schools closed and links to the rest of the world drastically reduced. 

The economy soon collapsed and with it, one of the president's main arguments for re-election. 

During his first debate Tuesday with Biden, Trump maintained that he had built "the greatest economy in history." But he was harking back to pre-pandemic conditions that no longer hold.

Disorganized management 

Since the beginning of the crisis, Trump has promoted unproven remedies for Covid-19 such as hydroxychloroquine, an anti-malarial drug which doctors say has proved ineffective against the coronavirus. 

He backed the drug with the full force of the federal government, announcing on March 28 from the White House that it had been given emergency authorization. 

Trump even announced at the end of May that he himself had embarked on a preventive course of the therapeutic. 

"I'm taking it, hydroxychloroquine, right now, yeah. Couple of weeks ago, I started taking it," he declared.

The Food and Drug Administration's emergency approval would later be revoked, but Trump remained an ardent promoter of the treatment on the world stage. 

The episode was emblematic of the president's confused messaging on the outbreak. 

Amid the repeated promises of a vaccine, the far-fetched remedies and the rush to reopen the economy, Trump left the actual management of the fightback to individual states, dooming any chance of a unified national response. 

In early April, health authorities recommended that masks be worn in an announcement at the White House that Trump immediately undercut by insisting he himself would not wear one. 

The billionaire former reality TV star has even gone as far as piling mockery on those who do follow the advice to mask up, including Biden. 

Trump didn't appear masked in public until July 11 but has rarely been seen covered up since. 

He has been excoriated for his stewardship of a crisis that has so far led to almost 208,000 deaths in the United States, among 7.2 million registered cases. 

The US -- home to less than five percent of the world's population -- is the worst-hit nation, accounting for more than 20 percent of the global death toll.

Contrast with Biden 

In stark contrast to the cautious, by-the-book Biden, who has spent much of the election season at home in Delaware, Trump decided to continue actively campaigning and has basked in large crowds of devoted supporters in a series of rallies. 

He was in Minnesota on Wednesday. An event scheduled for Friday in Florida has been canceled, and appearances scheduled for Saturday in battleground state Wisconsin look likely to fall by the wayside, too. 

Tests carried out regularly on the 74-year-old president had so far come back negative. 

Until his late night tweet when he made the announcement that stunned the world: "Tonight, @FLOTUS and I tested positive for COVID-19." 

Agence France-Presse

US announces stricter gasoline standards

WASHINGTON - US regulators announced on Friday stricter rules on vehicle emissions and low-sulfur gasoline as part of President Barack Obama's efforts to reduce pollution.

The Environmental Protection Agency's new proposed rules will require ultra-low sulfur gasoline as well as stricter tailpipe emissions standards for cars and light trucks.

"The proposed standards will reduce gasoline sulfur levels by more than 60 percent -- down to 10 parts per million (ppm) in 2017," the EPA said in a statement.

"The proposal is designed to be implemented over the same timeframe as the next phase of EPA's national program to reduce greenhouse gas (GHG) emissions from cars and light trucks beginning in model year 2017."

The Obama administration has said the proposal would result in a one cent per gallon cost increase at the gas pump.

But critics say the costs will be higher, with industry estimates ranging from six to nine cents more per gallon.

"With $4 dollar a gallon gas the norm in many parts of the country, we cannot afford policies that knowingly raise gas prices," said House Energy and Commerce Committee Chairman Fred Upton, a Republican from Michigan.

A massive lobbying effort by oil and gas interests to delay the rules was unsuccessful, according to US media reports.

High sulfur content in gasoline creates more pollutants and adds to smog and soot in the air.

Supporters of the new rules hailed the move as a crucial step in Obama's second term as US president.

The new standards could be "the most significant air pollution policy President Obama will adopt in his second term," S. William Becker, executive director of the National Association of Clean Air Agencies, was quoted as telling the Washington Post.

"There is not another air pollution control strategy that we know of that will produce as substantial, cost-effective and expeditious emissions reductions."

The proposed standards are to be published in the Federal Register, after which there will be a period of public comment.

source: abs-cbnnews.com

Obama meeting with EU leaders scratched

LOS CABOS, Mexico - US President Barack Obama did not meet leaders of the European Union late Monday as planned to discuss the eurozone crisis on the sidelines of the G20 summit in Mexico, a White House official said.

"Tonight's dinner ran late, so the eurozone meeting was canceled for tonight. The president may have the opportunity for further meetings on the margins of the summit tomorrow," the official told reporters in the beach resort of Los Cabos.

The Obama-EU meeting was scheduled as the US remains worried that European leaders are not moving resolutely enough to contend with the debt crisis that is spooking global markets and paralyzing growth.

Obama fears the turmoil in Europe will drag down the broader world economy and torpedo his hopes of re-election in November.

source: interaksyon.com

Obama: bin Laden raid most important day in White House

WASHINGTON - US President Barack Obama described the lonely decision he made to kill Osama bin Laden and called the daring Navy SEAL raid a year ago the "most important single day" of his tenure.

In an interview to be broadcast later Wednesday, Obama related the anxious moments as he watched the operation, the cloak of secrecy that enveloped it and the moment he saw a photo of the dead Al-Qaeda leader.

"I did choose the risk," Obama told NBC News anchor Brian Williams, in the latest episode of a nearly week-long commemoration of the bin Laden killing, and attempts by his reelection campaign to use it to bolster his standing.

Obama spoke about how the operation was planned and conducted in utmost secrecy, and how he did not share knowledge of it with many of his staff, or even First Lady Michelle Obama.

"Even a breath of this in the press could have chased bin Laden away," Obama said. "We didn't know at that point whether there might be underground tunnels coming out of that compound that would allow him to escape," he said.

Other top officials told how Obama solicited final recommendations about the operation, before going away to make a final decision himself on whether to move on bin Laden's suspect hideout in Abbottabad, Pakistan.

"It was never contentious because I think everybody understood both the pros and cons of the action," Obama said.

"People who were advocating action understood that if this did not work, if we proved to be wrong, there would be severe geopolitical consequences.

"Most importantly, we might be putting our brave Navy SEALs in danger."

The president said he collected the conflicting recommendations of his war cabinet before going back to the White House residence to have dinner with his family and retire to his study.

"Well, there is no doubt that you don't sleep as much that evening as you do on a normal night," he said. "I stayed up late and I woke up early."

The next day, he told his subordinates that he had decided to go ahead with the raid.

"You have some serenity in knowing that you've made the best possible decision that you can and, you know, in that situation you just, you do some praying," Obama said. — Agence France Presse

source: gmanetwork.com

Global Times: China should punish Philippines over US offer

BEIJING — China should impose "sanctions" against the Philippines after it offered to allow more US troops on its soil, state media said Sunday, amid growing tensions over disputed waters in the South China Sea [West Philippine Sea].

Manila said Friday it planned to hold more joint exercises and to let more US troops rotate through the Southeast Asian country – an offer welcomed by the United States as it seeks to expand its military power in Asia.

China has not yet officially responded to the announcement, which was made during the country's week-long holiday for the Lunar New Year. The foreign ministry on Sunday did not immediately respond to AFP requests for comment.

But an editorial in the Global Times, known for its nationalistic stance, said Beijing "must respond" to the move by using its "leverage to cut economic activities" between the Philippines and other Southeast Asian countries.

China also should consider "cooling down" business links with its smaller neighbor, according to the editorial published in the Chinese and English versions of the newspaper.

"It should show China's neighboring areas that balancing China by siding with the US is not a good choice," it said.

"Well-measured sanctions against the Philippines will make it ponder the choice of losing a friend such as China and being a vain partner with the US."

China and the Philippines, along with Vietnam, have rival claims to parts of the South China Sea, home to some of the world's most important shipping lanes and believed to hold vast deposits of fossil fuels.

Taiwan, Brunei and Malaysia also have claims in the South China Sea.

Manila and Hanoi complained repeatedly last year of what they said were increasingly aggressive acts by China in the decades-long rift.

The alleged acts, which included a Chinese naval ship reportedly firing warning shots at Filipino fishermen, fueled fears among some nations in the region about China as its military and political strength grows.

The US has been looking to increase its military presence across the Asia Pacific in a strategic shift that has angered China.

US President Barack Obama said in November the United States would deploy up to 2,500 Marines to northern Australia. The following month a US admiral wrote that the US expected to station several combat ships in Singapore.

China not motivation in PHL-US strategic talks

Meanwhile, a Malacañang spokesperson on Sunday insisted a territorial dispute with China over the Spratly Islands was not the Philippines’ main motivation in its second Bilateral Strategic Dialogue with the United States over the weekend.

Deputy presidential spokesperson Abigail Valte said the Philippines needs a credible defense posture that can address terrorism and help patrol the country’s winding coastline.

She said this defensive capability includes efforts against terrorism and patrolling the long Philippine coastline.

“Our defense capability should include patrolling our seas. Our existing ships are in need of an upgrade,” she said. — AFP with a report from GMA News Online

source:gmanetwork.com

Obama demands fair economy from 'top to bottom'

WASHINGTON DC -- US President Barack Obama Tuesday vowed to build a economy that is just from "top to bottom" in which the rich pay a fair share, as he sketched a populist vision to underpin his reelection campaign.

"We can either settle for a country where a shrinking number of people do really well, while a growing number of Americans barely get by," Obama said in his State of the Union address 10 months before seeking a second term.

"Or we can restore an economy where everyone gets a fair shot, everyone does their fair share, and everyone plays by the same set of rules," he said.

The president, speaking firmly and at times in a defiant tone, said the "defining issue" of our time was how to safeguard the basic "American promise" that hard work could lead to a decent lifestyle.

He mounted a staunch defense of his efforts to revive the economy, which will form the central clash of the presidential election, as Republicans argue he delayed the recovery by wasting stimulus funds and piling up debt.

He said he had created more than three million jobs in less than two years, saved the US auto industry and said American manufacturing, the engine of the economy, was rising again.

"The state of our union is getting stronger, and we've come too far to turn back now," Obama said, delivering a sharp warning to Republicans expected to block almost all of the jobs and recovery plans contained in his speech.

"As long as I'm president, I will work with anyone in this chamber to build on this momentum," said Obama, staring into the ranks of lawmakers packed into the House of Representatives for the showpiece speech.

"But I intend to fight obstruction with action, and I will oppose any effort to return to the very same policies that brought on this economic crisis in the first place," he said to loud cheers from Democrats.

Obama stayed mostly on domestic issues, as expected in an election year, but did refer to several foreign crises -- and touched on the darkening clouds of the nuclear showdown with Iran.

"Let there be no doubt. America is determined to prevent Iran from getting a nuclear weapon, and I will take no options off the table to achieve that goal," he said.

"But a peaceful resolution of this issue is still possible, and far better, and if Iran changes course, and meets its obligations, it can rejoin the community of nations."

And Obama hailed the killing of Osama bin Laden last year by a US special forces team in a daring raid into Pakistan and his promise kept to end the Iraq war as election year proof of his credentials as commander-in-chief.

Among a sheaf of job creation and economic measures, Obama demanded millionaires pay at least 30 percent tax, tapping into public anger at low rates paid by many millionaires, including his possible Republican general election rival Mitt Romney.

The president also pledged to keep up pressure on China over intellectual property piracy and promised to new measures to combat fraud in the finance industry and the mortgage sector.

But the president's tone on taxes set up an immediate clash with Republicans, given his demand for higher taxes for the wealthy.

"Millions of Americans who work hard and play by the rules every day deserve a government and a financial system that does the same," Obama said before millions of television viewers in a speech punctured by multiple standing ovations.

"It’s time to apply the same rules from top to bottom: no bailouts, no handouts, and no copouts. An America built to last insists on responsibility from everybody."

Obama's vision ran into immediate criticism from his Republican foes, including those who seek to consign him to the ignominy of a one-term presidency in November's election.

In a new advertisement, Romney, who earlier said Obama's State of the Union must be his last, compared the hope whipped up by the president in 2008 to his actual job performance.

"Three years ago, we measured candidate Obama by his hopeful promises and his slogans. Today President Obama has amassed an actual record of debt, decline and disappointment," Romney said.

And Mitch Daniels, the Indiana governor chosen to give the official Republican response to Obama's address, accused the president of adopting divisive election year tactics.

"No feature of the Obama presidency has been sadder than its constant efforts to divide us, to curry favor with some Americans by castigating others," Daniels said, according to excerpts of his speech.

"If we fail to shift to a pro-jobs, pro-growth economic policy, there will never be enough public revenue to pay for our safety net, national security, or whatever size government we decide to have."

source: interaksyon.com

Fil-Ams hail Obama’s immigration reform speech

Filipino-American groups have hailed a major policy speech of US President Barack Obama calling for reforms on the country’s immigration laws that should include a mechanism for the legalization of undocumented immigrants.

“We support the call for a practical, common sense approach to our broken immigration system that both secures the borders and establishes a path to legalization," said Arnedo Valera of Migrant Heritage Commission.

“The Comprehensive Immigration Reform should be founded on fairness and social justice rooted on American values," he added.

The National Federation of Filipino-American Associations (NaFFAA) also said they are “heartened" by Obama’s speech, saying Filipinos will be among those who will benefit from immigration reforms.

“Filipinos have the longest waiting time for petitions to be approved and are thus adversely affected by protracted delays in visa processing," said NaFFAA national chairperson Greg Macabenta.

Illegal immigrants in the US have now reached 11 million, according to Obama.

In his speech delivered last Thursday at the American University in Washington, D.C., Obama asked Congress to improve US’ immigration system, which he described as “fundamentally broken" and “painful."

Obama acknowledged the various economic contributions of immigrants, making US the world’s “engine of global economy and a beacon of hope."

However, he described in the same speech as “unwise and unfair" the proposals of some groups to either provide immigrants with legal status or at least put a stop to deportation while waiting for a better law to be passed.

“Our nation, like all nations, has the right and obligation to control its borders and set laws for residency and citizenship. And no matter how decent they are, no matter their reasons, the 11 million who broke these laws should be held accountable," Obama said.

Critics, however, described Obama’s speech as significant but lacking in specific policy proposals.

Discrimination

Valera said the current immigration system promotes discrimination against members of ethnic groups, and leaves undocumented migrants vulnerable to illegal recruiters and unfair labor practices.

“A comprehensive immigration reform now is an effective response to the phenomenon of global migration and the current global economic crisis. Human beings are our resources to build a great nation," Valera said.

He added that undocumented immigrants seeking better lives for themselves and their children in the US likewise bear the brunt of a flawed immigration system.

Macabenta also notes that many Filipino World War II veterans who had filed petitions for their children have passed away, thus voiding their petitions and depriving their children of immigration benefits.

Proposed immigration bills include a provision exempting eligible children of Filipino veterans from such limitations and expediting their visa applications.

“We need to keep raising our voices loudly and demand moral leadership on this critical issue. We must remind America that we are a nation of immigrants, that regardless of where we came from and how we came here, our shared values strengthen and enrich America’s culture and global standing," added NaFFAA national vice chairperson Rozita Lee. - JA/KBK, GMANews.TV

Source - gmanews.tv