International

Biden tells NATO allies in Brussels to ‘stay unified’ as he backs booting Russia from G-20

Published

2 years ago

March 25, 2022

U.S. President Joe Biden

President Joe Biden marked one month since the war began in Ukraine by hitting Russia with more economic sanctions Thursday and backing its expulsion from the Group of 20 world leaders, a move that would further isolate the Kremlin and restrict its role in the global economy.

Biden said at a news conference in Brussels that he supports calls to boot Russia from the G-20, which is made up of leaders from the world’s major economies. He noted the final decision rests with the group’s membership.

“The single most important thing is for us to stay unified,” Biden said after a trio of summits in which European allies asserted they would help Ukraine and punish Russia for as long as it takes.

In addition to new sanctions, the United States and its allies announced more humanitarian assistance for Ukrainians and discussed beefing up forces in Eastern Europe in the near and longer term.

Russian President Vladimir Putin, Biden said, can take anything thrown at him for another month, so the alliance must not crack. Biden said that’s why he asked for an emergency meeting of NATO Thursday, which was followed by a meeting with the leaders of the other G-7 countries and another with all 27 leaders of European Union countries.

Trans-Atlantic “solidarity remains vital,” NATO Secretary General Jens Stoltenberg tweeted.

Here are highlights from the first full day of Biden’s four-day trip to Europe:

More sanctions against Russia

Biden and U.S. allies slapped Russia with more sanctions, even as Putin’s economy is shrinking to half the size it was before the invasion.

Leaders of the Group of Seven, or G-7, which is made up of the world’s leading economies, said they would restrict the Russian Central Bank’s use of gold in transactions. Western leaders kicked Russia out of the group in 2014 after its annexation of Crimea.

READ ALSO:

The United States announced a new round of sanctions targeting defense companies, the head of Russia’s largest bank and more than 300 members of the Russian State Duma.

If the G-20 lets Russia stay in the group, Ukraine should be allowed to attend its meetings, Biden said.

Russia, which had the world’s 11th-largest economy before the invasion of Ukraine, will fall out of the top 20 because of the sanctions imposed by NATO allies, a senior administration official said.

More humanitarian assistance

The United States will accept 100,000 Ukrainian refugees and others fleeing Russia’s invasion and provide more than $1 billion in humanitarian assistance, the administration announced.

The funding will pay for food, shelter, clean water, medical supplies and other forms of assistance.

Although many Ukrainian refugees prefer to remain in Europe where they will be closer to family and their homes, the Biden administration is working to expand and develop programs with a focus on welcoming Ukrainians who have family members in the USA.

Food shortages worldwide have been a major concern as Russia and Ukraine are top producers of wheat.

“It’s going to be real,” Biden said of food disruptions.

Canada and the United States – also top producers of the crop – discussed how production could be increased.

Zelenskyy seeks 1% military solution

Addressing leaders by video, Ukrainian President Volodymyr Zelenskyy urged NATO to provide Ukraine with “1% of all your planes, 1% of all your tanks.”

“When we will have all this, it will give us, just like you, 100% security,” he said.

He did not repeat his request for a “no-fly” zone.

U.S. and NATO officials have dismissed Zelenskyy’s frequent no-fly requests over concerns that defending Ukrainian skies would risk an escalation of the war.

“We have a responsibility to prevent this conflict from becoming a full-fledged war in Europe,” Stoltenberg said.

Zelenskyy did not ask for Ukraine to become a member of the alliance. Russia is opposed to Ukraine joining NATO, one of the conditions Moscow set in the failed negotiations before troops invaded Ukraine.

Biden warns Russia not to use chemical weapons

Biden said the United States and NATO allies would “respond” if Russia used chemical weapons.

“The nature of the responses depend on the nature of the use,” he said.

Biden would not expand on whether the United States has gathered specific intelligence that show if Putin is using chemical weapons.

Calling out China

NATO leaders called on China and other countries “to abstain from supporting Russia’s war effort in any way and to refrain from any action that helps Russia circumvent sanctions.”

Biden said he is “hopeful” that Chinese President Xi Jinping will not assist Russia in its war against Ukraine but declined to say whether he’s seen any indications that China will intervene.

“China understands that its economic future is much more closely tied to the West than it is to Russia,” Biden said. “And so I’m hopeful that he does not get engaged.”

Biden said he “made no threats” to Xi last week when the presidents held a virtual meeting but pointed out the number of American companies that have pulled out of Russia as a result of Putin’s “barbaric behavior.”

What’s next?

Biden heads to Warsaw, Poland, on Friday for a meeting with President Andrzej Duda and a possible meeting with Ukrainian refugees. The two leaders are likely to discuss how allies are responding to the humanitarian crisis sparked by the war.

The White House did not respond to questions about whether Biden would interact with refugees in Europe. Biden hinted at his news conference Thursday that such a meeting would take place.

“I plan on attempting to see those folks as well as, I hope, I’m going to be able to see – guess I’m not supposed to say where I’m going, am I?” Biden said. “But anyway, I hope I get to see a lot of people.”

Saturday, Biden will deliver remarks on the efforts to hold Russia accountable for the war before returning to Washington.

USA TODAY

Related Topics:Biden Brussels Featured G-20 NATO allies Russia

Up Next

U.S. imposes sanctions targeting North Korea’s missile program

Don't Miss

Johnson calls on China to speak out over Ukraine war

International

Scammers steal over $3.4bn from older Americans – FBI report

Published

1 day ago

May 1, 2024

Trends Admin

Scammers steal over $3.4bn from older Americans – FBI report

Scammers stole more than $3.4 billion from older Americans last year, according to an FBI analysis issued Tuesday, indicating a spike in losses caused by increasingly sophisticated criminal tactics used to deceive the vulnerable into giving up their life savings.

Losses from scams reported by Americans over the age of 60 increased 11% last year compared to the previous year, according to the FBI.

Investigators are warning of an increase in brazen bank account-draining operations that entail deploying couriers in person to collect cash or gold from victims.

“It can have a devastating impact on older Americans who lack the ability to go out and make money,” said Deputy Assistant Director James Barnacle of the FBI’s Criminal Investigative Division. “People lose all their money. Some people become destitute.”

Last year, the FBI received more than 100,000 complaints from victims of scammers over the age of 60, with over 6,000 individuals losing more than $100,000.

It comes after a significant increase in reported losses by older Americans in the two years following the 2020 coronavirus epidemic, when people were confined to their homes and easier to reach over the phone.

Barnacle stated that investigators are finding organised, transnational criminal enterprises targeting older Americans through a variety of schemes, such as romance scams and investment frauds.

READ ALSO:

Last year, the most common type of fraud reported by older individuals was tech support scams, in which scammers impersonate technical or customer care staff over the phone.

In one such scam, which authorities say is becoming more popular, criminals impersonate technology, banking, and government officials to convince victims that foreign hackers have infiltrated their bank accounts and that they should transfer their funds to a new account that the scammers secretly control.

According to the FBI, between May and December, there was an increase in scammers utilising live couriers to steal money from victims who were fooled into believing their accounts had been hijacked.

In those circumstances, scammers inform victims that their bank accounts have been compromised and that they must sell their possessions for cash or purchase gold or other precious metals to secure their savings. The fraudsters then arrange for a courier to collect it in person.

“A lot of the fraud schemes ask victims to send money via a wire transfer or a cryptocurrency transfer. When the victim is reluctant to do that, they’re given an alternative,” Barnacle said. “And so the bad guy will use courier services.”

According to prosecutors, an 81-year-old Ohio man shot and killed an Uber driver who he believed was attempting to rob him after receiving fraudulent phone calls earlier this month.

The man had been receiving calls from someone claiming to be an officer from the local court and demanding money.

The Uber driver had been instructed to get a package from the man’s residence, a request that officials believe was made by the same hoax caller or an accomplice.

The enormous losses to older Americans are most likely an underestimate. Only roughly half of the more than 880,000 complaints submitted to the FBI’s Internet Crime Complaint Centre last year included information about the victim’s age.

Scammers steal over $3.4bn from older Americans – FBI report

International

Gaza: Protesters clash at UCLA, police arrest pro-Palestine demonstrators at Columbia University

Published

1 day ago

May 1, 2024

Trends Admin

Gaza: Protesters clash at UCLA, police arrest pro-Palestine demonstrators at Columbia University

Violent skirmishes broke out on Wednesday on the campus of the University of California, Los Angeles (UCLA) between pro-Palestinian protesters and a group of counter-demonstrators, a live video coverage by a US broadcaster revealed.

According to the UCLA student publication Daily Bruin, supporters of Israel attempted to knock down a pro-Palestinian protest campsite on campus.

Police were responding to UCLA Chancellor Gene Block’s call for assistance, said Zach Seidl, Los Angeles Deputy Mayor of Communications, on X.

READ ALSO:

The October 7 attack on southern Israel by Hamas terrorists from Gaza, followed by an Israeli offensive on the Palestinian territory, has sparked the largest outpouring of US student action since the 2020 anti-racism rallies.

Aerial footage from KABC, an ABC affiliate, showed people using sticks or poles attacking wooden planks set up as a temporary barricade to defend pro-Palestinian protesters, some of whom held placards or umbrellas.

Late on Tuesday, New York City police detained scores of pro-Palestinian activists holed up in an academic building on Columbia University’s campus in New York and dismantled a protest encampment that the Ivy League school had attempted to destroy for nearly two weeks.

Gaza: Protesters clash at UCLA, police arrest pro-Palestine demonstrators at Columbia University

Reuters

International

UN warns Israel assault on Gaza’s Rafah on ‘immediate horizon’

Published

1 day ago

May 1, 2024

Trends Admin

United Nations Secretary-General, António Guterres

UN warns Israel assault on Gaza’s Rafah on ‘immediate horizon’

UNITED NATIONS, April 30 (Reuters) – The United Nations on Tuesday warned that an Israeli assault on Rafah in the Gaza Strip was “on the immediate horizon” and that “incremental” progress by Israel on aid access to the enclave could not be used to prepare for or justify an operation.

U.N. Secretary-General Antonio Guterres appealed for states with influence over Israel “to do everything in their power” to prevent an Israeli assault on Rafah in southern Gaza, where more than 1.2 million displaced Gaza Palestinians are sheltering.

Israel’s Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu vowed on Tuesday to go ahead with a long-promised assault, whatever the response by Hamas to latest proposals for a halt to fighting in the nearly seven-month-long war and a return of Israeli hostages.

“The world has been appealing to the Israeli authorities for weeks to spare Rafah, but a ground operation there is on the immediate horizon,” said U.N. aid chief Martin Griffiths in a statement. “The simplest truth is that a ground operation in Rafah will be nothing short of a tragedy beyond words.”

Israel pledged nearly a month ago to improve aid access to the enclave of 2.3 million people after U.S. President Joe Biden demanded steps to alleviate the humanitarian crisis, saying the U.S. could place conditions on support if Israel did not act.

Guterres told reporters that there had been “incremental progress” toward averting “an entirely preventable, human-made famine” in northern Gaza, but much more was urgently needed.

READ ALSO:

“These improvements in bringing more aid into Gaza cannot be used to prepare for or justify a full-blown military assault on Rafah,” Griffiths said.

Guterres specifically called on Israel to follow through on its promise to open two crossings to the north.

“A major obstacle to distributing aid across Gaza is the lack of security for humanitarians and the people we serve. Humanitarian convoys, facilities and personnel, and the people in need must not be targets,” Guterres told reporters.

NO ALTERNATIVE TO LAND

A U.N.-backed report in March said famine was imminent and likely by May in northern Gaza, and could spread across the enclave by July. Guterres said the most vulnerable in the north “are already dying of hunger and disease.”

When asked what leverage the U.S. could use over its ally Israel to boost aid access and avert a Rafah assault, Guterres said: “It is very important to put all possible pressure in order to avoid what would be an absolutely devastating tragedy.”

U.S. Secretary of State Antony Blinken has said he will discuss with Netanyahu on Wednesday measures that Israel still needs to take to increase the flow of aid into Gaza.

“I strongly encourage the government of Israel and the Hamas leadership to reach now an agreement,” Guterres said. “Without that, I fear the war, with all its consequences both in Gaza and across the region, will worsen exponentially.”

The U.N. is in talks with the U.S. about a floating pier it is constructing to allow maritime aid deliveries to Gaza from Cyprus. Guterres said: “We welcome aid delivery by air and sea, but there is no alternative to the massive use of land routes.”

Israel’s Deputy U.N. Ambassador Jonathan Miller said last week that Israel continued “to elevate and step up” its aid support and that there had been substantial results with a “dramatic increase” in the volume of aid over the past several months.

Israel is retaliating against Hamas in Gaza over an Oct. 7 surprise attack on southern Israel led by the militant group.

Israel says about 1,200 people were killed and more than 250 people were taken hostage in the assault. Gaza health authorities say Israel has killed more than 34,000 people in its offensive in Hamas-run Gaza since then.