Tag Archives: United States

USA Today reports: “COVID is over” might trend within social media circles, but weekly U.S. death tolls tell a different story. The pace of COVID-19 deaths has remained relatively steady since May, despite an uptick in July to about 400 a day, according to a USA TODAY analysis of Johns Hopkins University data. In July, more than 12,500 Americans died …

Axios reports: China imposed undefined sanctions on House Speaker Nancy Pelosi (D-Calif.) and her immediate family members on Friday after she infuriated Beijing with an overnight trip to Taiwan earlier this week. Why it matters: China’s Foreign Ministry also announced it was ending talks with the U.S. on climate change, military issues, anti-drug measures and other matters in retaliation for …

The Washington Post reports: The White House summoned China’s ambassador on Thursday to condemn Beijing’s escalating actions against Taiwan and reiterate that the United States does not want a crisis in the region, after a visit to the island by House Speaker Nancy Pelosi (D-Calif.) sharply escalated tensions in the Taiwan Strait this week. “After China’s actions overnight, we summoned …

NBC News reports: China began its promised military drills in the airspace and waters around Taiwan on Thursday, as the Beijing-claimed island braces for the potential fallout of U.S. Speaker Nancy Pelosi’s visit. China’s People’s Liberation Army launched several ballistic missiles into waters off northeastern and southwestern Taiwan starting at 1:56 p.m. (1:56 a.m. ET), Taiwan’s military news agency reported, …

The New York Times reports: After weeks of silence ahead of a high-stakes visit to Taiwan, Speaker Nancy Pelosi was anything but understated on Wednesday during a day of high-profile meetings, in which she offered support for Taiwan and irked China. In a pair of morning meetings that were partly broadcast online, Ms. Pelosi met with Taiwanese lawmakers and then …

NBC News reports: Key Taiwanese websites experienced outages Tuesday due to  cyberattacks just ahead of House Speaker Nancy Pelosi’s arrival in Taiwan. The attacks hit at least four websites — those of President Tsai Ing-wen, the National Defense Ministry, the Foreign Affairs Ministry and the country’s largest airport, Taiwan Taoyuan International. It wasn’t clear where the cyberattacks came from. Their …

The Washington Examiner reports: In a statement shortly after she stepped off the plane, Pelosi said: “Our Congressional delegation’s visit to Taiwan honors America’s unwavering commitment to supporting Taiwan’s vibrant Democracy.” As Pelosi’s plane entered Taiwanese airspace, Chinese fighter jets were reported to be crossing the Taiwan strait, a body of water separating China and Taiwan. Taiwan’s largest building, Taipei …

The New York Times reports: Speaker Nancy Pelosi arrived in Taiwan on Tuesday, making the highest-level visit by a U.S. official in 25 years and setting up a tense standoff with China that could lead to more aggressive military posturing. The trip is likely to prompt a sharp response from China, which bristles at any perceived challenge to its claims …

The Washington Post reports: The Chinese and Taiwanese militaries dispatched fighter jets, ordered military exercises and bolstered combat readiness as Taiwan prepared to host House Speaker Nancy Pelosi (D-Calif.) for a visit that has triggered dire warnings from China’s leadership and sharply escalated tensions between Beijing and Washington. Pelosi is expected to arrive in Taiwan on Tuesday night local time, …

CNN reports: The United States killed al Qaeda leader Ayman al-Zawahiri in a drone strike, according to multiple sources familiar with the matter. Zawahiri, who just turned 71 years old, had remained a visible international symbol of the group, 11 years after the US killed Osama Bin Laden. At one point, he acted as bin Laden’s personal physician. The US …

The Washington Post reports: The White House warned Monday that a potential visit to Taiwan by House Speaker Nancy Pelosi (D-Calif.) could prompt China to take significant inflammatory actions in response, and urged Beijing not to take advantage of the trip or see it as a pretext for provocation. “China appears to be positioning itself to take further steps in …

CNN reports: US House Speaker Nancy Pelosi is expected to visit Taiwan as part of her tour of Asia, according to a senior Taiwanese government official and a US official, despite warnings from Biden administration officials, who are worried about China’s response to such a high-profile visit. The stop — the first for a US House speaker in 25 years …

Politico reports: House Speaker Nancy Pelosi confirmed Sunday that she will be visiting Asia but did not mention whether she will make a stop in Taiwan. “Today, our Congressional delegation travels to the Indo-Pacific to reaffirm America’s strong and unshakeable commitment to our allies and friends in the region,” the California Democrat said in a statement. “In Singapore, Malaysia, South …

Reuters reports: Prominent Chinese commentator Hu Xijin said on Saturday he deleted a tweet warning of military retaliation should U.S. fighter jets escort House Speaker Nancy Pelosi on any visit to Taiwan, after Twitter blocked his account. If Pelosi were to visit Taiwan, Hu, a nationalist firebrand with a wide Twitter following, wrote, “Our fighter jets should deploy all obstructive …

Politico reports: U.S. defense officials are increasingly concerned that China would see a congressional delegation to Taiwan, escorted by military aircraft, as an invasion. That rhetoric escalated Friday when Hu Xijin, a commentator with the Chinese-state-owned Global Times, threatened that China’s military could down the speaker’s plane. “If US fighter jets escort Pelosi’s plane into Taiwan, it is invasion,” Hu …

ABC News reports: Russian Foreign Minister Sergey Lavrov said Friday that he’s open to a call with U.S. Secretary of State Antony Blinken to discuss a possible prisoner swap involving American basketball star Brittney Griner. Blinken said Wednesday that Washington had offered Russia a deal that would bring home Griner and another jailed American, Paul Whelan. A person familiar with …

The Associated Press reports: President Joe Biden and China’s Xi Jinping spent more than two hours Thursday talking through the future of their complicated relationship, with the flashpoint of Taiwan once again emerging as a key point of tension. According to a description of the call released by Beijing, Xi emphasized China’s claim over the island, which has governed itself …

Reuters reports: China’s government warned on Tuesday it would take “forceful measures” if U.S. House of Representatives Speaker Nancy Pelosi visited Taiwan, after the Financial Times said she would go to the Chinese-claimed island next month. Pelosi and her delegation will also visit Indonesia, Japan, Malaysia and Singapore, and spend time in Hawaii at the headquarters of U.S. Indo-Pacific command, …

The New York Daily News reports: Nearly 17 million doses of monkeypox vaccine are collecting dust at a manufacturing plant in Denmark instead of being shipped to the U.S. due to a bureaucratic delay, White House officials confirmed Friday, as New Yorkers lined up in droves to get ahold of a shot from the city’s short supply. About 6,000 monkeypox …

The Hill reports: The U.K. Embassy in Washington, D.C., shared a playlist to commemorate the United States’s Independence Day on Monday, including only one song on repeat by the band Player: “Baby Come Back.” “Baby come back, any kind of fool could see/There was something in everything about you/Baby come back, you can blame it all on me/I was wrong …