7/07/2021

Covid fight | July 7, 2021

 White House News in Chinese - About (weebly.com)

1 - White House News in Chinese (weebly.com)

'One of the greatest American success stories': Dr. Reiner on Covid fight
Biden predicts US to reach 160 million fully vaccinated Americans by the end of this week


Jul.7 - President Joe Biden announced on Tuesday that the United States is projected to reach the mark of 160 million fully vaccinated Americans by the end of this week and that his administration will engage in targeted outreach to get more people vaccinated, after the nation fell short of his initial July Fourth goals.

Just over 67% of American adults have had at least one Covid-19 vaccine and more than 157 million Americans are fully vaccinated as of Tuesday morning, according to the US Centers for Disease Control and Prevention. Biden's goal was to have 70% of Americans with at least one shot and 160 million Americans fully vaccinated by July Fourth.
During remarks at the White House on Tuesday afternoon, the President reiterated his plea for Americans to get vaccinated."The best thing you can do to protect yourself and your family and the people you care about the most is get vaccinated," Biden said. "The best things a community can do to protect themselves is to increase vaccination rates. You can do this"...     more

JULY 6, 2021
​President Biden Remarks on COVID-19 and Delta Variant
President Biden delivered remarks on the COVID-19 pandemic federal response. He said that for the remainder of the summer, vaccination efforts would focus on community engagement. He also announced a five-step plan, which includes ramping up vaccine availability at family medical practices and sending out more mobile units in hard-to-reach areas. The president addressed the dangers with the Delta variant and urged people to get vaccinated. He also answered a question about a new ransomware attack. 

Remarks by President Biden on the COVID-19 Response and the Vaccination Program

JULY 06, 2021•SPEECHES AND REMARKSSouth Court Auditorium


THE PRESIDENT:  Good afternoon, everyone.  I hope everyone had a safe and enjoyable Fourth of July weekend. 
As I said in my Independence Day address to the nation, we’re closer than ever to declaring our independence from this deadly virus.

Today, after receiving a briefing from my entire COVID-19 team, I’m proud to announce that we’re getting even closer, because of our wartime effort, to administer thr- — to administer 300 million shots in arms in just 150 days.
More than 182 million Americans have received at least one shot, including nearly 90 percent of seniors and 70 percent of adults over the age of 27. 

By the end of this week, we’ll have reached the mark of 160 million fully vaccinated Americans.  And that’s a goal I set in March that I’m thrilled we’re going to hit just a few days after July the Fourth.


So, we will have 160 million fully vaccinated Americans — up from roughly 3 million when we took office five months ago.
We see why it matters.  COVID-19 cases and deaths are down by 90 percent since January.  Millions of fully vaccinated Americans are getting back to — they’re living their lives as they did before.  Businesses are reopening and hiring and rehiring.  And projected economic growth is the highest it’s been — projected growth is the highest it’s been in four decades...     more 


JULY 6, 2021
White House Daily Briefing
​White House Press Secretary Jen Psaki held a briefing on the Biden administration’s policy agenda. A variety of topics were discussed, including the supply chain, U.S. troop withdrawal from Afghanistan, COVID-19 vaccination efforts, gas prices and affordable energy, civil rights protections, and infrastructure. Ms. Psaki also answered several questions on cybersecurity and ransomware payments, saying the recent attack on Kaseya, a Florida-based IT company, has not yet been attributed to anyone, specifically the Russian government.

Press Briefing by Press Secretary Jen Psaki, July 6, 2021

JULY 06, 2021SPEECHES AND REMARKS

​James S. Brady Press Briefing Room

MS. PSAKI:  Hi, everyone.  Happy Tuesday.  Happy July Fourth week.  Okay, a couple of updates for you all at the top here. 
After the President is briefed by his COVID-19 Response Team this afternoon, he will speak to the American people about the strong progress that the country has made in recovery because of its robust vaccination campaign, as well as the importance of every eligible American getting vaccinated, especially as the Delta variant continues to grow among unvaccinated people across the country.
By the end of the week, the United States will be nearing 160 million people fully vaccinated — which the President will touch on today as well — which is critically important, as fully vaccinated people are protected against the Delta variant...     more
The U.S. exit from Afghanistan is 90 percent complete, Pentagon says. Here's why the last 10 percent are still there.

Jul. 7 - The Pentagon announced Tuesday that the U.S. military has completed 90 percent of its withdrawal from Afghanistan, and the remaining 10 percent will be completed by the end of August, soon before President Biden's Sept. 11 deadline. The U.S. departure after nearly 20 years in Afghanistan has been swift and quiet, as epitomized by the unheralded handover of Bagram Air Base to Afghan forces last week. 

So "why is the last 10 percent going to take until the end of August?" Politico's Lara Seligman asked on Twitter. By Tuesday evening, she had some answers for Politico's Nightly newsletter. 

​First, Seligman reports, U.S. military leaders "don't want to announce that the withdrawal has already effectively been completed for fear that the Taliban will use that news as an excuse to launch an even stronger offensive," and "they want to keep some contractors around as long as possible to help out the Afghans" protecting Kabul, its airport, and the crew maintaining the country's air force. Having the U.S. commander in country gives "at least the illusion of a U.S. military presence," and might help keep up the morale of the Afghan National Security Forces, the only thing that will prevent Kabul falling to the Taliban, Seligman adds...     more

Statement by President Joe Biden on the Six-Month Anniversary of the January 6th Insurrection on the Capitol

JULY 06, 2021•STATEMENTS AND RELEASES

Not even during the Civil War did insurrectionists breach our Capitol, the citadel of our democracy. But six months ago today, insurrectionists did. They launched a violent and deadly assault on the people’s house, on the people’s representatives, and on the Capitol police sworn to protect them, as our duly elected Congress carried out the sacred ritual of our republic and certified the Electoral College vote.

This was not dissent. It was disorder. It posed an existential crisis and a test of whether our democracy could survive—a sad reminder that there is nothing guaranteed about our democracy.
But while it shocked and saddened the nation and the world, six months later, we can say unequivocally that democracy did prevail—and that we must all continue the work to protect and preserve it. That requires people of goodwill and courage to stand up to the hate, the lies, and the extremism that led to this vicious attack, including determining what happened so that we can remember it and not bury it hoping we forget...     more

The US involvement in Afghanistan intially began as an attempt to seek justice for the September 11 attacks.
The US war in Afghanistan is over. This is how it began and what it left behind

​Jul. 7 - ...In 2018, with no let-up in the insurgency and the war becoming increasing unpopular domestically, the Trump administration opened discreet negotiations with the Taliban, offering to withdraw troops in exchange for Taliban promises not to let Afghanistan be used as a haven for jihadist groups like Al Qaeda.

By 2020, a historic deal between the two was signed, paving the way for a troop pullout by May 2021 in exchange for security guarantees from the Taliban and an agreement to hold peace talks with the Afghan government, which the Taliban has long labelled "illegitimate" and a stooge of Western powers.

​The peace talks began in September but stalled after a wave of high-profile Taliban attacks against working Afghan women, activists and journalists...     quoted from


The talks were adjourned on 20 June
Nuclear talks in jeopardy as Iran starts enriching uranium metal

​Iran has begun the process of producing enriched uranium metal, which could help it develop a nuclear weapon, the UN's atomic watchdog has said.


Jul 7 - Tehran informed the International Atomic Energy Agency (IAEA), and said the process was to develop fuel for a research reactor.


British, French and German officials said the move could threaten talks to revive the abandoned 2015 nuclear deal.

The US called it an "unfortunate step backwards".

The deal, known formally as the Joint Comprehensive Plan of Action (JCPOA), imposed restrictions on Iran's nuclear programme to make it harder for them to develop nuclear weapons.

In return, the US and European signatories agreed to lift economic sanctions that were in place.
Former President Donald Trump pulled the US out of the deal in 2018 and reinstated sanctions against Iran, after which Tehran began violating many of its restrictions.

Current US President Joe Biden's administration has so far retained Mr Trump's sanctions against Iran.

Now, negotiators from the US and Europe have been holding talks in Vienna to try and restore the agreement.


The talks began in April and were adjourned on 20 June, with no date set for the next round.

​Iran's President-elect Ibrahim Raisi wants the US to lift sanctions on his country in exchange for complying with the deal.

In a statement on Tuesday, the IAEA said: "Today, Iran informed the Agency that UO2 (uranium oxide) enriched up to 20% U-235 would be shipped to the R&D (research and development) laboratory at the Fuel Fabrication Plant in Esfahan, where it would be converted to UF4 (uranium tetrafluoride) and then to uranium metal enriched to 20% U-235, before using it to manufacture the fuel."

 Officials from the UK, France and Germany said that they had "grave concerns" about Iran's decision...     quoted from

Related Articles: 


Iran: Israel is behind attack on atomic facility
Iran blames Israel for drone attack on Iranian facility used to manufacture uranium centrifuges.

Jul 6 - The Iranian government has accused Israel of carrying out the drone attack on an Iranian nuclear facility last month.

Ali Rabiei, a spokesman for the Iranian government, said Tuesday afternoon that Israel was behind the June 23rd drone attack on an Atomic Energy Organization of Iran building in the city of Karaj.

​“The Zionist regime carried out this action in order to signal that it is capable of stopping Iran and to say that there is no need to speak with Iran, but every time we’ve been attacked, our strength has only increased,” Rabiei said...     quoted from


NBC Nightly News Broadcast (Full) - July 6th, 2021
Jul 7, 2021
Tropical Storm Elsa strengthens as it moves toward Florida, Afghan army fights back against Taliban’s rapid advances, and delta variant fuels rise in new Covid cases.

7/06/2021

supporting Israel | July 6, 2021

 White House News in Chinese - About (weebly.com)

US teachers union urges Biden to stop supporting Israel

The largest teachers union in the United States has called on the United States government to stop arming and supporting the Israeli regime.

Jul. 6 - The largest teachers union in the United States has called on the United States government to stop arming and supporting the Israeli regime.


The resolution, introduced ahead of the National Education Association's (NEA) annual convention last week, also condemned Israel for its "ethnic cleansing" of Palestinians and sought to garner support for Palestinian rights among educators in the country.


"The Arab population of Palestine has again risen up in a heroic struggle against military repression and 'ethnic cleansing' by the Israeli state and extreme nationalist forces in Israeli society," the measure said.

"The NEA will publicize its support for the Palestinian struggle for justice and call on the United States government to stop arming and supporting Israel and Saudi Arabia"...     more
Collective Punishment and Humanitarian Aid!
Bouthaina Shaaban explains that the West's strategy of pretending to care for Syrians in the North while collectively punishing all of Syria through sanctions is hypocrisy.

Jul 6 - For the past two months, western media and research centers have been focused on just one topic about Syria: the need to open what they describe as “cross border aid corridors.” These commentators lament those who will be hungry and poor if the noble hands of the West are stopped from reaching out to save their lives.

Western media and research centers have believed their own lie and rejoiced in their delusion because it gave them false satisfaction that they have acted according to principles of morality, of which they always speak. Strangely, however, all these Western media outlets are directed to talk about three million people living in northwest and northeast Syria; yet they have never mentioned the 20 million Syrians who are being collectively punished, in an immoral and illegal manner.


In fact, [the Western-led] sanctions amount to a crime of genocide, as they are responsible for the poverty, hunger, and rising living expenses affecting millions of Syrians. The sanctions effectively prevent Syrians from accessing food, medicine, and electricity; they also punish any party that tries to sell these necessities, or tries to help Syrian people, or violates the sanctions by any means...     more

Related Articles: 
Moscow Opposes Draft Resolution on Second Aid Corridor
Over a Million People Risk Starvation if Cross-Border Aid Resolution is not Renewed

Missile attack on US military base as Syria accuses occupying forces of stealing oil

Jul. 6 - MISSILES were fired at a United States military base at the al-Omar oil field in Deir Ezzor, eastern Syria, on Sunday evening, the second such attack in less than a week.

A number of rockets targeted the occupying forces at the base. No casualties were reported.

The attacks took place in the wake of US drone strikes in Syria and Iraq last week, which Washington claimed was an act of self-defence.

A child was killed in that attack along with four members of the Popular Mobilisation Forces, an Iranian-backed militia that has been carrying out joint anti-Isis operations with the Iraqi military.

Damascus has accused the US of continuing to steal Syrian resources, particularly oil and wheat, while subjecting the people to crippling sanctions as part of the Caesar Act introduced last year.

Local sources said that a column of 45 trucks loaded with wheat and oil left Ramlan in Syria’s north-eastern Hasakah province via an illegal crossing into northern Iraq on Sunday evening. It followed some 37 trucks also alleged to be shipping stolen oil making the same journey the previous day.


The Syrian government said that it had taken extra measures to provide water to the people of Hasakah province after Turkey cut off supply from the Alouk plant for an eighth consecutive day.

Ankara, whose forces occupy whole swathes of north-eastern Syria along with its jihadist allies, regularly cuts off water in the region, using it as a weapon in its war on the country’s Kurdish population.

Hassan al-Shamhoud, chairman of the newly formed Special Committee for Drinking Water in Hasakah province, said that tanks are now supplying water in people’s homes and also providing drinking water on a daily basis.     source from
Russia invites Lukashenko to visit Crimea

Jul 6 - “Crimea is ready to welcome the President of Belarus Alexander Lukashenko”, said the head of Crimea, Sergey Aksyonov, on his VKontakte page.

"When our president and foreign ministry agree on the visit of the Belarusian leader, we will be happy to welcome Alexander Grigoryevich in Crimea," Aksyonov wrote.

Aksyonov called Belarus the "closest" and "brotherly" country. The head of annexed Crimea expressed confidence that Lukashenko, as well as all other Belarusian citizens, will feel at home in Crimea.

Russian Presidential Spokesman Dmitry Peskov said on July 3 that the Russian authorities are waiting for the self-proclaimed president of Belarus to visit Crimea.

Earlier, on June 1, Lukashenko said that the country's authorities will work out the possibility of beginning regular flights to Crimea. He noted that Belarusians like to visit the resort town of Mishor in Crimea...     more

July 5, 2021
U.S. Senate
Senate Pro Forma Session
The Senate met for a pro forma session.

7/05/2021

Remarks on July 4th | July 5th 202

White House News in Chinese - About (weebly.com)

Watch President Biden's Full July 4th Remarks
Jul 5, 2021
President Joe Biden celebrated the 4th of July with remarks on the White House lawn and marked the progress the country has made in the fight against Covid-19.
President Joseph R. Biden, Jr. Approves Florida Emergency Declaration

July 04, 2021 • Statements and Releases
Today, President Joseph R. Biden, Jr. declared that an emergency exists in the State of Florida and ordered Federal assistance to supplement State, tribal, and local response efforts due to the emergency conditions resulting from Tropical Storm Elsa beginning on July 4, 2021, and continuing.

The President’s action authorizes the Department of Homeland Security, Federal Emergency Management Agency (FEMA), to coordinate all disaster relief efforts which have the purpose of alleviating the hardship and suffering caused by the emergency on the local population, and to provide appropriate assistance for required emergency measures, authorized under Title V of the Stafford Act, to save lives and to protect property and public health and safety, and to lessen or avert the threat of a catastrophe in the counties of Charlotte, Citrus, Collier, DeSoto, Hardee, Hernando, Hillsborough, Lee, Levy, Manatee, Miami-Dade, Monroe, Pasco, Pinellas, and Sarasota.


Specifically, FEMA is authorized to identify, mobilize, and provide at its discretion, equipment and resources necessary to alleviate the impacts of the emergency.  Emergency protective measures, limited to direct federal assistance and reimbursement for mass care including evacuation and shelter support will be provided at 75 percent Federal funding. 

Deanne Criswell, Administrator, Federal Emergency Management Agency (FEMA), Department of Homeland Security, named Kevin A. Wallace as the Federal Coordinating Officer for Federal recovery operations in the affected areas.     source from
THE GOVERNOR AND DEPUTY GOVERNOR OF SUMBAR RECEIVE THEIR SECOND VACCINE DOSE

Frontline women: unrecognised leadership in Indonesia’s COVID-19 response

Jul 5 - Local government and civil society responses to the Covid-19 pandemic in Indonesia have been widely lauded in academic and popular media since the first Covid-19 case was confirmed in March 2020. Indeed local mitigation and healthcare responses have proven critical in the face of central government failures in many aspects of pandemic responses. What early studies have not shown however, has been the role that women have played in leading these local responses.

My new study uncovered a disjuncture between men’s high representation in formal Covid-19 leadership and decision-making bodies, and women’s overwhelming domination of the daily work of pandemic leadership in both infectious disease mitigation and healthcare responses. While I focused on just one city in Central Java, we can assume that this division is mirrored in other parts of Indonesia and, indeed, in many parts of the world.


The results of research published in my new report sheds light on why women are minimally represented in official Covid-19 taskforce structures while having overwhelming majority representation in the frontlines of emergency and long-term pandemic responses...     more

July 4, 2021
President Biden Speaks at White House Fourth of July
Biden spoke at a White House Fourth of July celebration. In his remarks he reflected on the more than 600,000 Americans who had died from COVID-19 since March 2020.

Reports say the United States’ biggest military base in Syria has been hit by a number of “massive” explosions.
Biggest US base in Syria hit by ‘massive’ explosions


Jul 5 - ...In Syria, the United States has been trying to keep a tight control over certain strategic areas, including the eastern oilfield, where it is engaged in large-scale theft of the country’s crude.

The Iraqi parliament and Damascus have both ruled the US-led coalition’s operation in the countries as illegal.

This is not the first time the American forces come under attack in either country.

The latest of the attacks to target the foreign forces in Syria came on June 28 after US President Joe Biden ordered airstrikes along Iraq and Syria’s common border.

During the incident, American warplanes struck one location in Iraq and two in Syria, with the Pentagon alleging the targets to be “facilities” used by Iraqi resistance groups to stage drone attacks on American interests.

According to Iraq’s Sabereen News, four Iraqi fighters were killed in the attack on the headquarters of the 14th Brigade of Iraq’s Popular Mobilization Units of Hashd al-Sha'abi anti-terror umbrella organization, which features some resistance groups. A reporter with the official Syrian Arab News Agency also said the offensive had killed one child and injured three others.

The Iraqi groups vowed to retaliate for the atrocity following the aerial attacks.      quoted from

7/03/2021

Naturalization | July 3rd 2021

 White House News in Chinese - About (weebly.com)


Jul. 3 - The United States will ship 4 million doses of Moderna's COVID-19 vaccine to Indonesia as it battles a coronavirus outbreak, the US national security adviser told the Indonesian foreign minister on Friday (Jul 2).
In a call with Retno Marsudi, Jake Sullivan said the doses would be shipped via the COVAX global vaccine sharing program "as soon as possible", a White House statement said.


Sullivan said the donation "underscored the United States’ support for the people of Indonesia as they fight a surge in COVID-19 cases".

The two officials also discussed US plans to increase assistance for Indonesia’s broader COVID-19 response efforts, the statement said...     more

Related Articles:
Indonesia to boost social, health spending amid COVID-19 battle
Indonesia 'emergency' COVID-19 curbs to take effect on Jul 3
Our comprehensive coverage of the COVID-19 pandemic and its developments

July 2, 2021
President Biden Holds Naturalization Ceremony at White House
President Biden held a naturalization ceremony in the White House East Room. Joining the president was Homeland Security Secretary Alejandro Mayorkas and U.S. Citizenship and Immigration Services (USCIS) Acting Director Tracy Renaud. During the ceremony, Secretary Mayorkas administered the oath of allegiance to 21 candidates representing 16 countries who applied to become U.S. citizens.

Remarks by President Biden in a Naturalization Ceremony with Essential Workers and Military Service Members

July 02, 2021 • Speeches and Remarks

East Room

THE PRESIDENT:  Thank you, Mr. Secretary.  (Applause.)  Please, please be seated.
 
Before I begin, any family of the people who just got sworn in here today?  If you are, stand up.  Congratulations to you all as well.  Congratulations.  Congratulations.  It’s a good day, isn’t it?
 
All right.  You get to — and, by the way, if you’re around on Sunday, we’re going to — you’ll see the fireworks — Fourth of July, our Independence Day.  (Laughter.)
 
Mr. Secretary, thank you for administering the oath.  I know how meaningful this event is to you personally and professionally.  And I thank you and the Director of U.S. Citizenship and Immigration Services, Tracy — where is Tracy?  She — there you go, Tracy.  Thank you very much — appreciate it — for joining us in this service.
 
Look, today — today’s special guests — to all of you: It is my honor to congratulate the 21 of you for — who earned the title of — that our democracy, in every — is equal to being President — it’s of the same consequence: citizen — citizen of the United States of America.
 
You have each come to America from different circumstances and different reasons and 16 different nationalities.
 
But like previous generations of immigrants, there is one trait you all share in common: courage.  It takes courage to get up and leave everything you know and go to another place, no matter where it is.  You know, the only homes you’ve ever known, the lives, the loved ones who weren’t able to come — for a new start in the United States of America...     more


July 2, 2021
White House Daily Briefing
White House Press Secretary Jen Psaki held a briefing on the Biden administration’s policy agenda. A variety of topics were discussed including the supply chain, troop withdraw from Afghanistan, vaccine hesitancy, sexual assault in the military, defunding the police, and voting rights. Joining the press secretary was White House National Economic Council Director Brian Deese, who addressed the June jobs report, calling it “strong and encouraging.”

Press Briefing by Press Secretary Jen Psaki and Director of the National Economic Council Brian Deese, July 2, 2021

July 02, 2021 • Press BriefingsJames S. Brady Press Briefing Room


MS. PSAKI:  Hi, everyone.  Happy Friday.  All right.  So, today, it’s Jobs Day.  We have our special guest, NEC Director Brian Deese, joining us, who will give us an overview and then take some of your questions.
 
With that, I’ll turn it over to Brian.

 
MR. DEESE:  Well, I was going to say it’s a sign of the progress that we’re making that the last time that I came here the briefing room was significantly less full than it is right now.  (Laughter.) 
 
So, we are making — making progress across the board in all ways, except I guess now you guys are significantly more squished. 
 
So — so, yeah, happy to spend a couple of minutes with you guys to just provide a little bit more context.  You all heard the President discussing the employment report that we got today, so I just wanted to provide a little bit of additional context on how we are looking at that data in the context of what we’ve seen over the course of the last couple of weeks and the last week in particular...     more

U.S. and Russia Refuse to Back Down as Black Sea Tensions Rise

Jul. 3 - NATO and Russian forces are both refusing to change course in the Black Sea, where recent military confrontations have raised fears of a sudden violent escalation dragging in the U.S., Russia, the European Union and Ukraine.

In recent weeks, Russian forces have confronted British and Dutch ships sailing close to Crimean territorial waters, a region annexed by Moscow in 2014, and considered Russian by Moscow. However, NATO allies have never accepted the annexation, while also condemning the Kremlin's 2014 invasion of Ukraine.

Russia claimed to have fired warning shots at the British destroyer HMS Defender—a claim denied by British defense officials—and Russian jets reportedly conducted mock attack runs against Dutch frigate HNLMS Evertsen...     more

Related Articles: