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Biden, Ruto urge global lenders to ease debt burden
Deutsche Welle
23 May 2024, 17:14
Image: Susan Walsh/AP Photo/picture alliance
Kenyan President William Ruto is the first African leader to make a state visit to Washington since 2008. He and Joe Biden are set to announce a slew of new US investments in the East African country.
Kenyan President William Ruto and US President Joe Biden will call on major economies to reduce the debt burden crushing developing countries on Thursday.
Ruto's three-day trip to Washington is the first state visit to the US by an African leader in more than 15 years.
The Kenyan president said on Wednesday that his talks with Biden would focus on "how we can have a fairer international financial system where all countries are treated equally."
Leaders hail Nairobi-Washington Vision
The two leaders are set to announce a plan called the Nairobi-Washington Vision.
It calls on creditor nations to reduce financing barriers for developing countries that have high debt burdens, and to offer debt relief where necessary.
Ruto and Biden will also call on multilateral banks to offer better financing terms.
It comes as the US attempts to position itself as a more favorable economic partner to African countries than China.
"Together we will call to the international community to come together around these elements to support high-ambition countries with high-ambition financial support," the White House said in a fact sheet ahead of the announcement on Thursday.
Fresh US investment in Kenya
The White House has announced $250 million (€230.6 million) in grants for the World Bank's International Development Association to assist poorer countries facing crises.
Biden will also announce a slew of investments in Kenya specifically, including a $180 million loan to Acorn Holdings to develop affordable student housing and a $10 million loan to Kentegra Biotechnology to build a new plant for organic pesticide ingredients.
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US House committee moves quickly to approve bill limiting business with Chinese biotech firms
Bipartisan legislation that would restrict US business with world-leading Chinese biotech companies and their subsidiaries was approved by a House of Representatives committee on Wednesday (May 17).
The House Committee on Oversight and Accountability passed the bill 40-1. To become law, the bill must pass the full House and Senate, then be signed by the president.
The bill, introduced on Friday, would prevent federal agencies from contracting with five Chinese biotech companies – BGI Group, MGI, Complete Genomics, Wuxi AppTec, and Wuxi Biologics – and their clients, and establish an inter-agency process for identifying additional companies.
The legislation is intended to push US firms to decrease their reliance on Chinese manufacturing and research in light of national security concerns surrounding China’s biotech industry.
Sponsored by Representative Brad Wenstrup, Republican of Ohio, the bill is also supported by the top Republican and Democrat on the House select committee on China, John Moolenaar of Michigan and Raja Krishnamoorthi of Illinois.
“US taxpayer dollars should not be funding PRC biotech companies that are actively working with the [Chinese Communist Party] and the People’s Liberation Army to potentially collect Americans’ genomic data and intellectual property and use that data to further their authoritarian objectives,” Krishnamoorthi said on Wednesday.
Krishnamoorthi accused BGI, a genomics company, of using DNA from millions around the world without their consent on genomic projects conducted by the Chinese military. He also alleged that Wuxi AppTec, a pharmaceutical and medical device company, has both stolen US firms’ intellectual property and operated genetic testing centres in cooperation with the Chinese military.
Targeted companies say that the bill is based on misleading and false allegations and would limit competition.
The US is a substantial market for several of the companies. In 2023, Wuxi Biologics – listed as a top five global drug developer and manufacturer by revenue by data analytics company Statista – earned about 47 per cent of sales from North America, according to its annual report. And almost two-thirds of Wuxi AppTec’s revenue, per an annual report, came from the US in 2023.
Congressional scrutiny of Wuxi AppTec in particular has alarmed the US drug industry, which is already struggling with widespread shortages. The company is embedded deeply in the US drug ecosystem and biotech executives have scrambled to impress on lawmakers that a fast-paced decoupling could remove some medicines from the pipeline for years.
Wenstrup’s bill, a revised version of an earlier House bill, gives US entities until January 2032 to end work with Chinese firms with which they have existing contracts.
The Senate Homeland Security and Governmental Affairs committee approved similar legislation in March. That bill, a companion to the older House bill, would allow only 60 to 180 days for US entities to sever ties after the relevant federal agency issued guidance.
The bipartisan, bicameral support for proposals to restrict Chinese biotech firms has triggered sell-offs of Wuxi AppTec and BGI-related stocks in Hong Kong and mainland China capital markets, though news of the revised bill lifted shares of potentially affected Chinese companies in Hong Kong this week.
The new bill, similar to earlier versions, allows for waivers and exceptions, such as for the provision of necessary healthcare services to overseas Americans.
“This bill addresses … national security risks without disrupting medical supply chains,” said Representative James Comer, the Kentucky Republican who chairs the House Committee on Oversight and Accountability.
“This bill is a necessary step towards protecting America’s sensitive healthcare data from the CCP before these companies become more embedded in the US economy, university systems and federal contracting base,” he added.
Source: South China Morning Post
Israeli soldiers trodden by Hamas counter-attack
More than 35,000 people have died in the eight-month-long Israeli offensive in Gaza. Most of them are women and children. Injured exceeded 79 thousand. The Palestinian independence organization is making long-term preparations for not meeting Hamas's demands.
Al Qassam Brigades, the armed wing of the Gaza-based Palestinian resistance movement, said on Friday that Hamas was ready for a long-term war with Israel. According to brigade Abu Obaida in a video message,
'We are ready for a long battle of attrition against the enemy, despite our full commitment to stop the attacks on the people,' brigade Abu Obaida said in a video message.
Abu Obayda announced that over the past 10 days, Al-Qassam fighters have targeted 100 Israeli military vehicles in fighting across the Gaza Strip. The Israeli army does not disclose its losses in Gaza.
'We are dragging them (Israeli forces) into a quagmire where they will get nothing but the death of their soldiers and the capture of their officers,' he said.
Abu Obaidah claimed that the fighters of Al-Qassam Brigade inflicted a terrible blow on the Israeli army in the eastern city of Rafah.
Islamic Jihad commandos have joined Hamas in Gaza in the war of resistance against Israel. With that, the Lebanese military group - Hezbollah is even more angry. The Israeli army is now in a state of treachery in all their dangerous attacks. Disciples of Hassan Nasrullah are carrying out terrible attacks every day to make Israel leave Gaza to establish the rights of Palestinian brothers and sisters. An Israeli base destroyed.
The Times of Israel reported on Thursday that Gaza experienced one of its worst nightmares in recent memory. Just as the fighters of Hamas in the north of Gaza have put up a fierce resistance, Hezbollah has launched a massive attack from the Lebanese border into Israel. In the meantime, Israel has bombed its own military areas from its warplanes.
The IDF says a half-ton bomb fell from a warplane on Friday morning in an area of the Yated community on the Gaza border. But the bomb did not explode. Israeli forces described the incident as unusual. The 'Same Side' incident occurred when the warplane was returning from an attack on Rafah city. The unexploded ordnance was recovered by Israeli forces.
There have been more such incidents. An Israeli military drone crashed in the northern city of Majdal Shams early Friday morning local time, the IDF said, claiming the drone fell from the sky due to a technical malfunction. The drone was being used to monitor military movements on the ground. Hamas claims the drone, known as Sky Raider, was shot down by their rockets.
China's cyberattacks on Taiwan surge ahead of presidential inauguration
China's cyberattacks against Taiwan have increased to the extent of 2.5 million a day ahead of the presidential inauguration, the National Security Bureau (NSB) stated on Thursday, as per Taiwan News.
China's cyberattacks against Taiwan have increased to the extent of 2.5 million a day ahead of the presidential inauguration, the National Security Bureau (NSB) stated on Thursday, as per Taiwan News. Following the January 13 presidential and legislative elections, the intelligence agency found that China was launching 1 million cyberattacks daily, Taiwan News reported, citing CNA.
The surge ahead of the May 20 presidential inauguration is mostly directed against government bodies. According to Taiwan News, NSB officials responded to lawmakers' inquiries, stating that disinformation and cyberattacks were frequent. However, they affirmed that they would continue to monitor Chinese activities and identify loopholes in Taiwanese networks.
The Ministry of Foreign Affairs said the authorities were investigating allegations that confidential documents had ended up on a hacker's website. Officials emphasised that all secret documents at the ministry are marked with a watermark or password, making it unlikely that insiders leaked the information.
During a speech at the CyberSec information security conference on Wednesday, President-elect Lai Ching-te voiced his support for the development of the local cybersecurity sector. He said that as Taiwan was such a frequent target for cyberattacks and disinformation, it would emerge stronger.
Recently, on April 11, Taiwan News also reported the same suspicion that the sole ruling party of China, the Chinese Communist Party (CCP), could attempt to disrupt President-elect Lai Ching-te's May 20 inauguration by hacking into websites and electronic billboards and sabotaging the southern power grid. An official also told 'Liberty Times,' a local Taiwanese newspaper, on May 9 that Chinese hackers could target government websites and public screens on May 20, potentially inserting sarcastic congratulatory messages or pro-CCP propaganda to embarrass Lai.
China has intensified pressure on the Democratic Progressive Party (DPP) after the January elections, as per Taiwan News. An official revealed that China has been seeking information about the content of Lai's inauguration speech through academics based in Hong Kong and Macau.
Source: ANI
China presses Pakistan to address security concerns of workers, projects
China on Wednesday (May 15) hailed its "ironclad" relationship with Pakistan and vowed to further enhance economic and anti-terrorism security cooperation between the neighboring countries at a bilaterial strategic dialogue in Beijing.
Chinese Foreign Minister Wang Yi renewed the pledge at a news conference after hosting formal talks with his Pakistani counterpart, Ishaq Dar, who concurrently serves as deputy prime minister.
Broadcast live by Pakistan's state-run TV, the media talk comes just weeks after a suicide car bombing in northwestern Pakistan killed five Chinese engineers who were working on a hydropower project. Their local driver also was killed.
The Pakistani military said this month that its probe into the March 26 attack revealed that an Afghan national carried it out and terrorists based in Afghanistan had planned it.
Wang stated that the Pakistani side promised to make every effort to arrest the perpetrators and bring them to justice. Chinese state media quoted him as expressing hope that Islamabad would ensure "the safety of Chinese personnel, projects, and institutions in Pakistan, and eliminate the worries of Chinese enterprises and personnel."
Dar said that the dialogue with Wang also reviewed the Afghan situation, and both sides agreed that peace and stability in the war-ravaged neighboring country are crucial for regional development, connectivity, and prosperity.
"We are concerned about the continued presence of terrorist entities operating in Afghanistan and call upon the Afghan interim government to take credible and verifiable actions against such elements using Afghan soil to threaten the peace and security of the neighboring countries," the Pakistani foreign minister said.
Wang calls for 'united front'
Islamabad maintains that the Pakistani Taliban, formally known as Tehrik-i-Taliban Pakistan, or TTP, was behind the car bombing and other attacks in the country, alleging that the terrorist outfit is being facilitated by Taliban authorities in Afghanistan.
Afghanistan's ruling Taliban leaders reject allegations that Afghan soil was used in the attack against the Chinese workers. They reiterated that no one is permitted to threaten other countries, including Pakistan, from Afghanistan.
Wang said, without mentioning Afghanistan, that Beijing "is willing to further deepen counter-terrorism security cooperation" with Islamabad. Without elaborating further, he called on the international community to "eradicate the breeding ground for terrorism" through a "united front" against the threat.
The China-Pakistan dialogue comes one day after a new report warned that power vacuums in Afghanistan created in the wake of U.S.-led allied troop departures are fueling the resurgence of transnational terrorist groups, including TTP.
"The post-U.S. withdrawal environment in Afghanistan offers terrorist groups a range of new opportunities for regrouping, plotting, and collaborating with one another," said the study conducted by the U.S. Institute for Peace, based in Washington.
Beijing 'ready to work'
Wang said Wednesday that Beijing is ready to work with Islamabad to advance the China-Pakistan Economic Corridor or CPEC. The Chinese-funded multibillion-dollar collaboration has built roads, highways, power plants, and ports as part of President Xi Jinping's global Belt and Road Initiative (BRI).
Dar insisted the decade-long CPEC undertaking "has transformed Pakistan's economic landscape by eliminating power outages and developing a robust infrastructure network, thus laying a strong foundation for Pakistan's future development."
Pakistan's foreign minister noted that the two sides agreed to "further upgrade and expand" CPEC cooperation.
In a recent speech in Islamabad, Chinese Ambassador Jiang Zaidong referred to CPEC as a pilot project of BRI and said it had brought more than $25 billion in direct investment, created 155,000 direct job opportunities, and built 510 kilometers (316.8 miles) of expressways, 8,000 megawatts of electricity, and 886 kilometers (550.5 miles) of core transmission grids to Pakistan.
Some critics attribute cash-strapped Pakistan's deepening economic challenges to CPEC-related Chinese investments and loans. A $3 billion International Monetary Fund loan helped the South Asian nation narrowly avoid default on its foreign debt payments last year.
Source: VOA news
Taiwan detects Chinese incursion with aircraft, vessels around nation
Taiwan's Ministry of National Defence (MND), on Friday, detected eight Chinese aircraft and eight People's Liberation Army Navy (PLAN) vessels, operating around Taiwan.
The Chinese aircraft and vessels were seen until 6 am on Friday (May 17).
In a post shared on X, Taiwan's MND stated that one of the aircraft crossed the median line and entered Taiwan's northern Air Defence Identification Zone (ADIZ).
However, Taiwan's Armed forces have responded accordingly to the situation.
"8 PLA aircraft and 8 PLAN vessels operating around Taiwan were detected up until 6 a.m. (UTC+8) today. 1 of the aircraft crossed the median line and entered Taiwan's northern ADIZ. #ROCArmedForces have monitored the situation and responded accordingly," the Taiwan's MND stated.
Earlier on Thursday, Taiwan detected 27 Chinese aircraft and seven naval vessels around the strait until 6 am (local time) on Thursday.
Taiwan's Ministry of National Defence (MND) said that 19 of the aircraft crossed the median line of the Taiwan Strait and entered Taiwan's southwest sector and eastern Air Defence Identification Zone (ADIZ).
On May 15, 45 PLA aircraft and 6 PLAN vessels operating around Taiwan were detected. 26 of the aircraft crossed the median line and entered Taiwan's northern and southwestern ADIZ.
The increased activity in the Taiwan Strait region comes amid growing geopolitical tensions between Taiwan and China, as reported by Taiwan News.
Taiwan has long been a point of contention for Beijing, which considers the island a renegade province and has repeatedly expressed intentions to reunify it with the mainland, even if by force.
Taiwan's Ministry of National Defence (MND) has issued daily reports on Chinese military activities for the past few years, including identifying those Chinese aircraft, drones, and balloons that are found to have crossed the Taiwan Strait median line to the Taiwan side.
Source: Business Standard
Operation underway to find Raisi's helicopter
The shocking incident took place in Dizmar forest between the cities of Varzaqan and Jolfa in East Azarbaijan province as president Raisi was returning from an inaugurating event of a dam with Azerbaijan’s President Ilham Aliyev on Sunday (May 19).
The local residents heard "sounds" in that region, IRNA says.
About twenty fully-equipped of search and rescue teams,with drones and sniffer dogs, have been dispatched to the area.
However, commando units and Special Forces of Iranian Armed Forces have also deployed to assist in that search operation.
According to the IRNA's reporter, the search and rescue operation could take some time, due to difficult weather conditions and particularly thick fog in that area.
Iran's Emergency Services spokesperson told the news agency that eight ambulances have been dispatched to the region, adding that heavy fog has made air rescue efforts very difficult.
Dead body of Ebrahim Raisi has been recovered
The Iranian Red Crescent said Monday that the bodies of president Ebrahim Raisi, foreign minister Hossein Amir abdollahian and others who died in a helicopter crash had been recovered, and search operations had ended.
'We are in the process of transferring the bodies of the martyrs to Tabriz' in Iran's northwest, Red Crescent chief Pirhossein Koolivand told state TV, adding that 'the search operations have come to an end.'
Kolivand also said that although the rescue workers were at the spot since yesterday, the rescue operations were disrupted due to hostile weather and thick fog.
Apart from this, as this region is full of hills and mountains, rescue officials found Raisi's helicopter after a long 16-hour operation.
