President too ‘busy’ for Putin debate – follow Biden news live

Representative Alexandra Ocasio-Cortez, along with two other Democrats, on Thursday introduced a new legislation seeking to create a bigger role for citizens of Puerto Rico in determining the future status of the US territory, including statehood and independence.

New York representative Nydia Velázquez and New Jersey Senator Bob Menendez along with Ms Ocasio-Cortez re-introduced the Puerto Rico Self-Determination Act of 2020, which was first introduced on August 25, 2020.

Stuti Mishra has more here:

Turkey’s President Tayyip Erdogan said on Friday that he feels Joe Biden’s comments about Russian President Vladimir Putin are “unacceptable” and unfitting for a US president.

In an interview with ABC News, broadcast on Wednesday, Mr Biden responded “I do” when he was asked whether or not he felt Mr Putin was a killer. US-Russia relations have since sunk to a new low with Mr Putin responding to the comment with “he who said it, did it.”

Meanwhile, in Istanbul, Mr Erdogan denounced the US president’s comments, telling reporters: “Mr Biden’s statements about Mr Putin are not fitting of a president, and a president coming out and using such remarks against the president of a country like Russia is truly unacceptable, not something that can be stomached.”

He added: “In my opinion, Mr. Putin has done what is necessary by giving a very, very smart and elegant answer.”

The Turkish president had a close relationship with former US president Donald Trump, yet has not spoken to Mr Biden since he took office in January.

Turkey and Russia, on the other hand, have developed a strong relationship in recent years with Mr Erdogan frequently meeting with and having calls with Mr Putin, who he refers to as a friend.

A survey of American attitudes towards the prosecution of those Donald Trump supporters who took part in the US Capitol riot on 6 January has found that almost a quarter of Republicans think favourably of the QAnon conspiracy cult.

While 70 per cent of GOP voters polled by Pew Research took exception to the movement, which posits that a secret cabal of left-wing paedophile Satanists run world governments from the shadows, some 24 per cent said they held a favourable impression of it.

The US Secretary of State Antony Blinken will visit Brussels next week with plans to meet with European Union officials and NATO foreign ministers as the White House attempts to repair tires with Europe, the US Department of State said on Friday.

Mr Blinken will join other foreign ministers at the NATO meeting with plans to discuss concerns over China and Russia as well as proposed changes to the transatlantic organisation, climate change, cyber and energy security.

Mr Blinken is also set to meet with European Commission President Ursula von der Leyen with plans to to discuss the pandemic recovery plan and work on efforts to strengthen democracy, the US Department of State said.

The department said in a statement: “The meetings in Brussels reaffirm the United States’ commitment to our Allies and European partners on our shared agenda.”

During his presidency, Mr Trump continually said that EU members of the military alliance of did not spend enough on their own defence.

Former President George W Bush has further opened up about his reaction to the insurrection on the Capitol by pro-trump supporters this year, saying the riot left him “disgusted.”

On 6 January, rioters breached the Capitol as lawmakers were gathered to certify Joe Biden’s win in the 2020 election and they were forced to evacuate.

The Kremlin has said that Moscow hopes for the best but is prepared for the worst when asked about the possibility of a new Cold War between Russia and the United States.

Diplomatic ties between the countries reached a new low following US President Joe Biden saying he thought President Vladimir Putin was a “ killer” in an interview with ABC News.

Mr Putin suggested that he would like to talk to Mr Biden, live, about issues. This offer was declined by the White House.

On Friday, spokesman for the Kremlin, Dmitry Peskov, said that Mr Putin’s offer of talks remained open adding that the Russian president could do any time that was convenient for Mr Biden. He went on to say that this offer was not indefinite, however.

“Putin said that despite everything there’s no point in playing at megaphone diplomacy and trading barbs. There is a point in continuing relations,” Mr Peskov told reporters.

When asked about the possibility of another Cold War, Mr Peskov said: “We, of course, always hope for the best, but are always ready for the worst. As far as Russia is concerned, President Putin has clearly stated his desire to continue ties…”

He added: “But of course, we can’t not take into account Biden’s comments.”

As well as calling Mr Putin a “killer, ”Mr Biden said that the Russian leader had no soul, adding that he would pay a price for alleged meddling in the November 2020 US presidential election. The Kremlin denies this.

Asians witnessed a sharp rise in online hate and racist attacks after former president Donald Trump used the phrase “Chinese virus” to describe Covid-19 in March last year, a new study has found. 

Published in the American Journal of Public Health, the research by UC San Francisco found that days after the former president tweeted the racist rhetoric on 16 March 2020, the number of coronavirus-related tweets with anti-Asian hashtags rose precipitously.

Read Namita Singh’s report below:

The US is closing in on President Joe Biden’s target of injecting 100 million coronavirus vaccinations.

Mr Biden said on Thursday: “I’m proud to announce that tomorrow, 58 days into our administration, we will have met our goal.”

This comes weeks ahead of his target date and leaves the nation in a position to help “loan” neighbouring countries Canada and Mexico with millions of shots, the White House revealed.

The US president promised to unveil a new target for vaccinations next week. It appears that in 10 weeks now, the US should have enough of the three currently authorised vaccines to cover the whole of the country’s adult population.

Press secretary Jen Psaki said the details of the “loan” of vaccine shots to neighbouring countries were still being worked out. However, it was suggested that 2.5 million doses would go to Mexico and a further 1.5 million would go to Canada.

Ms Psaki said:“Our first priority remains vaccinating the US population.” She added “ensuring our neighbours can contain the virus is a mission critical step, is mission critical to ending the pandemic.” 

The suspect in the Atlanta spa shootings in which eight people were killed, could be facing the death penalty under Georgia’s law, according to US media reports. 

Robert Aaron Long, 21, who was charged with eight counts of murder and one count of aggravated assault, is yet to be presented in court after his Thursday hearing was cancelled. 

Stuti Mishra has more below:

President Joe Biden and Vice President Kamala Harris, the first person of South Asian descent to hold national office, will visit Atlanta on Friday, just days since a gunman killed eight people.

Most of those killed were Asia American women and come following a national surge in anti-Asian violence across the country.

Mr Biden, just five days before the attacks took place, called attacks on Asian Americans “un-American.”

This rise in violence happened as former US president Donald Trump and Republicans referred to the coronavirus as the “China virus,” due to where it is thought to have originated from.

According to activists, almost 3,800 incidents have been reported in the past year to Stop AAPI Hate, a reporting centre based in California for Asian Americans and Pacific Islanders, and its partner advocacy groups.

The trip was planned before the shooting took place with Mr Biden and Ms Harris originally set to attend a planned political event in the evening.

However, officials announced: “Given the tragedy in Georgia on Tuesday night, President Biden and Vice President Harris will postpone the evening political event in Georgia for a future date,” officials announced in a news release.” 

The pair will instead meet legislators and other community leaders to discuss racism and actions against Asian Americans and Pacific Islanders.