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Post by Admin on May 21, 2022 17:33:11 GMT
President Biden’s first trip to Asia got off to a rocky start Friday when he called South Korean President Yoon Suk-yeol by his predecessor’s name at a Samsung microchip facility. Biden quickly corrected himself after addressing Yoon as “Moon,” an apparent reference to former Korean President Moon Jae-in, whose five-year term ended earlier this month. “Thank you all very much and President Moon — Yoon, thank you for everything you’ve done so far,” Biden said at the end of his remarks.  Yoon, standing next to Biden, did not visibly react to the gaffe, which seemed to be an ad-libbed conclusion to a speech that Biden read from a teleprompter. The American president had twice called Yoon by his correct name earlier in the speech. In an ironic twist, the slip-up came almost exactly one year after Biden mistakenly referred to Moon as South Korea’s “prime minister” rather than “president” during a White House Medal of Honor ceremony honoring Korean War veteran Ralph Puckett Jr. “The people of the Republic of Korea haven’t forgotten, as evidenced by the fact that the Prime Minister of Korea is here for this ceremony,” Biden said on March 21 of last year, referring to Moon. The president turns 80 in November and Republicans routinely accuse him of being in mental decline, but he’s also had a decades-long propensity for gaffes and has attributed some of his speaking stumbles to a stutter that he overcame in childhood. Biden struggled on multiple occasions with names this week. On Monday, he referred to Buffalo mass shooting hero Aaron Salter Jr. — the grocery store guard and ex-cop who died trying to stop the massacre — by the surname “Slater.” |
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Post by Admin on May 21, 2022 20:46:45 GMT
 President Biden signed the bill granting $40 billion in aid to Ukraine while attending a state dinner in South Korea, as Ukrainian leader Volodymyr Zelensky hinted he may be willing to cede territory to Russia to save civilian lives. The legislation, which passed Congress with bipartisan support, includes $20 billion in military assistance and intelligence support, $8 billion in general economic support, $5 billion to address global food shortages that could result from the collapse of Ukrainian agriculture, and more than $1 billion to help refugees. The bill brings to total value of US aid since Russia’s Feb 24 invasion to a staggering $54 billion. The bill was delivered to Biden under unusual circumstances: a US official carried a copy on a commercial flight to Seoul for the president to sign, after it was held up in the Senate for a week by Kentucky’s Rand Paul, according to a White House official. Defense Secretary Lloyd Austin tweeted that he will host a meeting Monday of the Ukraine Defense Contact Group, which will include defense representatives from more than 40 countries. Prior to the meeting, he had a phone call with Ukrainian counterpart Oleskii Reznikovto discuss “Ukraine’s military requirements,” the post said. The signing came a day after Russia’s most significant victory so far in the nearly four-month-old war, the capture of the port city of Mariupol, and on the day Zelensky marked the third anniversary of his inauguration. |
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Post by Admin on May 22, 2022 19:51:46 GMT
SEOUL, May 22 (Reuters) - U.S. President Joe Biden, in Seoul before heading to Japan as part of his first Asia trip as president, had a simple message for North Korea's Kim Jong Un: "Hello... period," he told reporters on the last day of his visit to South Korea on Sunday. Biden said he was "not concerned" about new North Korean nuclear tests, which would be the first in nearly five years. But his wry response when asked what message he had for Kim underscored the administration's low-key approach to the unresolved tensions with North Korea. It is a stark contrast with former President Donald Trump's showy threats, summits, and "love letters" with Kim. /cloudfront-us-east-2.images.arcpublishing.com/reuters/BTLUCGU6V5OHRLPIL3JGAYXSMM.jpg) Neither president's approach has led to a major breakthrough, however, and North Korea has resumed testing its largest intercontinental ballistic missiles (ICBMs), while intelligence reports suggest it is preparing for a new nuclear test. “We are prepared for anything North Korea does,” Biden said. A day earlier, Biden and his new South Korean counterpart, President Yoon Suk-yeol, agreed to consider bigger military exercises and potentially deploying more nuclear-capable American weapons to the region in response to the North's weapons tests. read more North Korea has not responded to U.S. overtures, including offers of COVID-19 vaccines, Biden said on Saturday, noting that he was willing to sit down with Kim if he thought it would lead to a serious breakthrough. read more COVID-19 restrictions may be playing a role in North Korea's lack of response, a senior U.S. administration official said. North Korea has said the U.S. overtures are insincere because Washington maintains "hostile policies" such as military drills and sanctions. |
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Post by Admin on May 23, 2022 0:52:30 GMT
President Biden Addresses Monkeypox Outbreak During Asia Visit 6,839 views May 23, 2022 During his visit to Asia, President Biden addressed the monkeypox outbreak in 12 countries including the U.S. Biden said his health advisers had not yet briefed him on the “level of exposure” of the disease other than to express that it spreading would be “consequential.” Biden said, “we’re working on it hard to figure out what we do and what vaccine, if any, may be available for it.” The President’s visit to South Korea and Japan highlights investments back in the U.S. Though Biden is under pressure to confront rising prices and supply chain delays, Commerce Secretary Gina Raimondo urges patience as China’s ongoing Covid crisis will bring more economic strain. » Subscribe to NBC News: nbcnews.to/SubscribeToNBC |
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Post by Admin on May 24, 2022 17:45:56 GMT
President Biden calls Ukraine war 'global issue' three months on from Russia’s invasion - BBC News
32,248 views May 25, 2022 Three months into Russia’s invasion of Ukraine, US President Biden has insisted the war is a "global issue".
He said the war "is going to affect all parts of the world" during a summit with the Quad - composed of Japan, the US, Australia and India.
It comes as Luhansk governor Serhiy Haidai has said Russian troops continue to bombard the cities of Severodonetsk and Lysychansk in Ukraine's east, as part of a bid to control the wider Donbas area.
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