En fin de mandat, le président américain Joe Biden a annoncé jeudi avoir accordé 39 grâces et commué la peine de près de 1500 personnes.

“Je gracie 39 personnes qui ont fait preuve d’une réhabilitation réussie”, a indiqué le dirigeant démocrate dans un communiqué, ajoutant qu’il avait aussi commué les peines “de près de 1500 personnes purgeant de longues peines de prison”.

“L’Amérique s’est construite sur la promesse de possibilité et de secondes chances”, a déclaré Joe Biden. “En tant que président, j’ai l’immense privilège d’accorder ma clémence aux personnes qui ont fait preuve de remords et réhabilitation”.

Les présidents américains décrètent des centaines de grâces ou commutations de peine, avec une accélération notable à la fin de leur mandat de quatre ans.

Selon la Maison Blanche, il s’agit du plus grand nombre d’actes de clémence en un jour dans toute l’histoire américaine et les 1500 personnes concernées purgeaient leur peine chez elles depuis au moins un an.

Une seconde chance

Ces personnes placées en détention à domicile “pendant la pandémie de Covid ont réussi à se réinsérer dans leur famille et leur communauté et ont montré qu’ils méritaient une seconde chance”, a ajouté le président sortant.

Joe Biden a également précisé que les 39 personnes graciées pour des peines concernant des actes non violents “s’étaient engagées à rendre leur communauté plus forte et plus sûre”.

Parmi les personnes concernées jeudi par la décision, on retrouve un “ancien combattant et pilote décoré qui consacre une grande partie de son temps à aider les membres de son église”, a indiqué la Maison Blanche.

Une infirmière “qui a dirigé les interventions d’urgence lors de plusieurs catastrophes naturelles” et un conseiller en addiction “qui travaille bénévolement” figurent également sur la liste, a ajouté la même source.

Son fils gracié

Début décembre, Joe Biden était finalement revenu sur sa parole en graciant son fils Hunter, qui attendait de connaître sa peine dans des affaires de détention illégale d’arme à feu et de fraude fiscale.

Le dirigeant américain avait pourtant assuré à plusieurs reprises qu’il n’accorderait pas la grâce présidentielle à son fils. Encore en septembre, la Maison Blanche l’avait réaffirmé.

Son prédécesseur et bientôt successeur républicain Donald Trump avait également gracié en décembre 2020 le père de son gendre et conseiller Jared Kushner, Charles Kushner, condamné en 2004 à deux ans de prison pour malversations fiscales.

Il a récemment annoncé son intention de le nommer au prestigieux poste d’ambassadeur à Paris.

Bill Clinton, avait lui gracié en 2001, au dernier jour de son mandat, son demi-frère Roger Clinton, condamné pour possession de cocaïne en 1985.

Dans le cas de Roger Clinton comme de Charles Kushner, les deux hommes avaient purgé leur peine de prison au moment de la grâce présidentielle.

World Opinions + Agences

L’article Sur le départ, Joe Biden accorde 39 grâces et commue 1500 peines est apparu en premier sur زوايا ميادين | Mayadin Columns.

La Maison Blanche a annoncé mardi une augmentation des droits de douane sur les produits chinois dans plusieurs secteurs, équivalent à 18 milliards de dollars d’importations. Washington veut ainsi “protéger les entreprises et travailleurs américains” d’une concurrence jugée “déloyale”.

I just imposed a series of tariffs on goods made in China:

25% on steel and aluminum,
50% on semiconductors,
100% on EVs,
And 50% on solar panels.

China is determined to dominate these industries.

I'm determined to ensure America leads the world in them.

— President Biden (@POTUS) May 14, 2024

Après les subventions au « made in America », voici les barrières douanières anti-chinoises. Ce mardi, le président américain Joe Biden, candidat à sa réélection en novembre, devait annoncer la mise en place de surtaxes prohibitives sur certaines importations industrielles chinoises. Au total, 18 milliards de dollars de marchandises sont concernés – un chiffre à rapporter à l’enveloppe actuelle de 350 milliards de biens taxés.

Ces surtaxes à l’importation ne frappent pas indistinctement tous les secteurs ou tous les pays : elles ciblent les industries stratégiques chinoises, insiste la Maison-Blanche. Elles se concentrent notamment sur les industries « vertes », qui ont bénéficié des subventions de l’Inflation Reduction Act (IRA), et sur les semi-conducteurs, dopés par les aides du Chips Act.

Ces nouveaux droits de douane concernent près d’une dizaine de secteurs industriels considérés comme “stratégiques”, tels que les semi-conducteurs, les minéraux critiques, les produits médicaux ou les véhicules électriques, ces derniers voyant par exemple leurs droits de douane multipliés par quatre, passant de 25% à 100%.

Lundi, la secrétaire américaine au Trésor Janet Yellen avait souligné la nécessité de s’assurer que les investissements massifs, votés en 2022 dans le cadre du grand “plan vert” (Inflation Reduction Act, IRA) de la Maison Blanche pour soutenir ces industries, soient “protégés”.

Le gouvernement américain a notamment investi plusieurs centaines de milliards de dollars afin d’accélérer la production locale de voitures électriques, batteries, panneaux solaires ou éoliennes.

Des pratiques commerciales jugées “déloyales”

Washington accuse Pékin de soutenir fortement ces industries, avec d’importantes subventions qui entraînent une surproduction que les entreprises chinoises écoulent sur le marché mondial, cassant les prix et empêchant du même coup le développement d’industries concurrentes dans d’autres pays.

La directrice du Conseil national économique rattaché à la Maison Blanche a ainsi estimé que la Chine “finance sa croissance aux dépens des autres”. Une crainte partagée par l’Union européenne et d’autres pays tels que la Turquie, le Brésil ou l’Inde, a affirmé un autre responsable américain.

Ces droits de douane visent donc à “éliminer les pratiques commerciales déloyales, que ce soit concernant le transfert de technologies, la propriété intellectuelle ou l’innovation”, a justifié la Maison Blanche dans son communiqué.

Mesures essentiellement symboliques?

Au-delà du quadruplement sur les véhicules électriques, Washington fait passer les droits de douane visant l’acier et l’aluminium de 7,5% à 25%, tout comme pour les batteries, et ceux pour les semi-conducteurs de 25% à 50%, également appliqués désormais aux panneaux solaires et certains produits médicaux.

Selon certains économistes, ces hausses douanières ne devraient pas avoir un impact direct notable sur l’inflation ou le PIB américain, mais elles ont une forte portée symbolique et pourraient renforcer et accélérer les relocalisations.

L’impact principal pour les groupes américains pourrait néanmoins concerner les droits de douane appliqués aux batteries et aux chaînes d’approvisionnement, secteurs où la Chine est ultra dominante.

World Opinions – Agences

L’article Etats-Unis : Joe Biden surtaxe 18 milliards de dollars d’importations industrielles chinoises est apparu en premier sur زوايا ميادين | Mayadin Columns.

La banque a été rachetée par le géant américain JP Morgan Chase. La fédération bancaire se satisfaite de cette reprise. Certains observateurs restent inquiets.

Un peu d’air frais, oui, mais pour combien de temps de répit ? Lundi 1er mai, la banque américaine First Republic a été reprise par JP Morgan Chase. Il n’en reste pas moins que cette nouvelle faillite intervient dans un contexte où plusieurs établissements bancaires ont été en proie à de grandes difficultés ces derniers mois. Bien accueillie, cette reprise n’élimine toutefois pas complètement les risques liés à une récession ou à la montée des taux d’intérêt.

« Toute faillite d’une banque est regrettable »; mais l’accord noué lundi « renforcera la confiance dans le système bancaire du pays », a affirmé le responsable de la fédération bancaire américaine ABA, Rob Nichols. Selon lui, il montre que le secteur a des ressources et que des procédures sont en place pour protéger les clients. Le patron de JPMorgan, Jamie Dimon, l’a aussi répété plusieurs fois lors d’une conférence avec des journalistes : le rachat de First Republic « va aider à stabiliser le système ». « Il est évident que si, à l’avenir, il y a des récessions, des hausses de taux et d’autres choses de ce genre, d’autres fissures pourront apparaître dans le système », a-t-il toutefois ajouté en pointant notamment du doigt les activités liées à l’immobilier commercial.

Le monde de la finance a été fortement ébranlé en mars par les faillites rapprochées de deux banques américaines, Silicon Valley Bank et Signature Bank, suivies par la chute de Credit Suisse en Europe. La déroute des établissements américains est liée à une mauvaise gestion des risques de la part de leur direction et à des erreurs dans leur supervision, ont conclu deux rapports publiés vendredi par des régulateurs bancaires.

Les hausses des taux d’intérêt en cause ?

Autre facteur pour expliquer leur chute, la rapide hausse des taux d’intérêt engagée en 2022 par la banque centrale américaine (Fed), qui a mécaniquement abaissé la valeur de leurs actifs à taux fixe. De nombreux clients de banques régionales ont pris peur, craignant que leur établissement ne flanche pour des raisons similaires, et retiré leur argent pour le placer dans des institutions plus grosses, considérées comme trop importantes pour ne pas être sauvées en cas de troubles.

Les résultats financiers publiés depuis mi-avril par plusieurs banques régionales ont montré que la fuite des dépôts s’était stabilisée après un mouvement de panique mi-mars. « Cela ne veut pas dire que tous les problèmes sont résolus », avance Mike Mayo de Wells Fargo en énumérant les risques liés à une récession, à l’immobilier commercial ou à la nécessité pour les banques d’emprunter à des taux élevés pour se financer. Mais il ne devrait pas y avoir « de sitôt » de nouvelles faillites parmi les banques incluses dans l’indice boursier de référence S&P 500, estime-t-il.

La probabilité de voir un établissement faire face à une panique bancaire semble s’être éloignée, les plus à risques étant déjà tombés, renchérit Philipp Schnabl, professeur de finances à New York University. Par contre, le fait que la hausse des taux d’intérêt abaisse la valorisation des actifs des banques, et par ricochet affecte leurs capacités à prêter aux entreprises, « reste une source d’inquiétudes », précise-t-il.

La menace de la récession

Dans la même veine, Clifford Rossi, professeur à l’université du Maryland, estime que le plus gros risque pour le secteur bancaire est la possibilité qu’une récession conduise à des défauts de remboursement de la part des clients des banques et incite ces dernières à prêter moins. Ce resserrement du crédit est plus problématique pour l’économie en général, pas forcément pour des banques en particulier, souligne-t-il. Il ne faut pas oublier que si la banque centrale américaine lutte contre l’inflation en relevant les taux, c’est bien pour « réduire les prêts accordés à l’économie », souligne Philipp Schnabl.

Lundi à Wall Street, si la plupart des grandes banques ont fini en hausse, des banques régionales ont perdu du terrain à l’instar de PacWest (- 10,6 %), Zions (- 3,7 %) ou Western Alliance (- 1,8 %). La crise bancaire a par ailleurs ravivé les appels à un durcissement des règles.

« J’ai demandé aux régulateurs de renforcer la réglementation et la surveillance des grandes banques et des banques régionales », a rappelé lundi Joe Biden. « Nous devons faire en sorte de ne pas nous retrouver à nouveau dans cette situation. » Le responsable de la Fed, chargée de la supervision des banques, Michael Barr, a toutefois souligné vendredi dans un rapport que si des ajustements en termes de liquidités et de niveaux de capitaux étaient souhaitables, ils prendraient probablement « des années » avant d’être mis en place.

World Opinions – AFP

L’article États-Unis. First Republic : une nouvelle banque sauvée in extremis est apparu en premier sur زوايا ميادين | Mayadin Columns.

Other Democrats are younger and nimbler, but Biden has been a better president than many expected – and he could be Donald Trump’s nemesis again..

Joe Biden was in his element this week on his genial tour of Ireland, meeting the politicians, meeting the people, being Joe. But in keeping with the strange – often absurd – state of US national politics, the really big event, his amble into the 2024 race for president, took shape a few days earlier at the White House Easter egg roll.

Speaking informally to Al Roker, best known as the weather presenter for NBC News, Biden made his plans all but official. “I’m planning on running, Al,” Biden said in answer to Roker’s query about whether the president planned to take part in this springtime frivolity after next year. “But we’re not prepared to announce it yet.”

The setting, however, is far from the only absurdity about the presidential contest, still more than 18 months away. Consider the latest polls which depict essentially a dead heat between Biden – whom many (and certainly not just liberals) evaluate as a highly effective president – and Donald Trump, whose April activities include his indictment on 34 felony charges involving hush-money payments to the adult film star Stormy Daniels.

Interpreting polls, of course, is tricky, which we should have learned in 2016 when relatively few Americans believed that Trump, the reality-show star and con artist, could actually be elected president of the United States.

But it’s still startling to see how little awareness many Americans have of how hazardous the next election will be. Media coverage of election-as-horserace makes the problem worse.

“Not the odds, but the stakes” is the excellent recent advice to journalists about how to focus their politics coverage from Jay Rosen, the prominent media critic and New York University professor. That counsel, though, is widely ignored, as sensation and speculation eclipse substance nearly every time.

That’s a shame, because the stakes could hardly be higher. Trump, after all, both during and after his term in office, has chipped away at the foundations of American democracy, including doing his best to overturn the results of the 2020 election, and has steadfastly, if baselessly, denied its legitimacy.

Another Trump term – complete with appointments of Trump loyalists instead of competent experts in the courts and throughout government – would be nothing short of disastrous. It would be, quite possibly, the end of the US as we know it.

Biden, by contrast, has done a far better job than most who voted for him could have hoped or even imagined. Politico’s John Harris compared him to the less-than-stellar student who pulls an all-nighter and slips a major paper under the professor’s door at 6am. “It turns out the paper is actually pretty good,” Harris writes. “A solid B is within reach.”

And Russell Berman, senior fellow at the (mostly conservative) Hoover Institution, offered this evaluation in the Atlantic: “The signing of just three enormous bills – the $1.9tn Covid-19 relief package, the roughly $1tn bipartisan infrastructure law, and (last year’s) climate-and-health spending bill – made Biden’s first two years among the most productive of any president in the past half century.”

Biden also put the first Black woman on the supreme court, has successfully led the west’s support for Ukraine and, however chaotically, got the US out of the quagmire of Afghanistan. He also is difficult for his opponents to label as a raving radical leftist since his background simply doesn’t bear that out, and because his entire persona is that of your “aw shucks” uncle.

So why isn’t he a slam-dunk for reelection? Even for those who appreciate him most, Biden’s age is a major worry. Already 80, Biden would be 86 by the end of a second term. (Trump is just a few years younger, but somehow that rarely surfaces as a concern.)

Writing in the New York Times, the progressive columnist Michelle Goldberg summed up the disconnect in a column carrying this headline: “Biden’s a great president. He should not run again.” Like others, she argues that now is the time for Democrats to make way for the next generation of leadership.

And, to be sure, there are some impressive and capable Democrats out there. Gretchen Whitmer, the governor of Michigan, has shown her mettle and acumen. Sherrod Brown, the Ohio senator, is downright admirable. Julián Castro, the youngest member of the former president Barack Obama’s cabinet, has significant appeal, as does his brother Joaquin, the Texas congressman. The vice-president, Kamala Harris, certainly has experience and readiness. Elizabeth Warren, always articulate, is on the right side of the messiest questions, from banking improprieties to gun control. Jamie Raskin, the Maryland congressman, is inspiring. The California governor, Gavin Newsom, has brains and charisma.

To varying degrees, they all are younger, quicker on their feet, less likely to make one cringe in anticipated fear when giving off-the-cuff remarks. But what Biden has, in addition to his other accomplishments, is something that can’t be improved upon: a proven record of beating Donald Trump.

The twice-impeached Trump, of course, has declared his candidacy, used his legal troubles to raise millions, and has the enduring adoration of the Maga crowd. Because of his iron grip on those stalwarts, and thus his control – even if waning somewhat – of the benighted Republican party, it’s hard to imagine a Ron DeSantis or a Glenn Youngkin, the governors of Florida and Virginia respectively, actually wresting the Republican nomination from him. Or anyone else doing so.

Trump’s re-emergence on the rightwing propaganda network Fox News tells the story. The network’s brief, though intense, flirtation with DeSantis seems to have given way to reality – if you can call it that.

Americans’ resistance to Biden makes me think of Winston Churchill’s famous line in support of popular rule (I am condensing slightly here): democracy is the worst form of government except for all the others that have been tried.

Biden is flawed, no doubt. But could any of the aforementioned Democrats – “all the others” – have done as well? Could any of them, in 2020, have beaten Trump, the worst threat to American democracy in modern history? And do any of them stand as good a chance in 2024 against Trump?

So the answer to who should be the Democratic nominee is easy: the Trump-slayer, Joseph R Biden Jr. Yes, the very guy who’s too old and not especially popular, the one who doesn’t speak all that eloquently, and who has been kicking around American politics since his election to the Senate in 1972 when he was 29.

Thus, with a few words to a weather man at a White House Easter egg roll, the most significant presidential election of our time is shaping up a lot like the last one.

If we – and the rest of the world – are lucky, the outcome will be the same, too.

By Margaret Sullivan is a Guardian US columnist writing on media, politics and culture

L’article Biden is too old and not especially popular, but he is the Trump-slayer. That’s why he is right to run in 2024 est apparu en premier sur زوايا ميادين | Mayadin Columns.

US President Joe Biden’s State of the Union address on Tuesday night was quite upbeat. It was long on domestic affairs and short on foreign policy. It skimmed through the challenges posed by Russia and China and skipped the rest of the world altogether.

It is a first for a US president to reduce the United States’ global role to an afterthought, no less a president who considers himself an authority on foreign policy, or for a commander-in-chief, who has spent so much time, effort and political capital confronting Russia in Ukraine and containing China in Asia. This, therefore, begs the question: Why has Biden chosen to ignore entire continents and countless hot spots where America is directly involved?

According to one theory, Americans are not terribly interested in the rest of the world and foreign policy is an unaffordable luxury at a time of economic hardships and culture wars. Even the elites with greater overseas interests realise that costly investment in foreign policy is becoming a hard sell for the public in the absence of direct national security threats.

Joe Biden’s State of the Union speech skipped foreign policy for a reason.

Biden understands that, which is why when he first took office, he vowed to end the “forever wars” and promised a “foreign policy for the middle class” – one that serves Americans at large.

But that has proven easier said than done, as Washington has channelled billions of dollars to Ukraine to fight a war that may last years amid warnings from populist Republicans about high inflation, the high cost of living, and high national debt.

Hence the president, who seems keen on pursuing a second term, dialled down the costly global bravado in his speech and instead focused on “made in America” growth and prosperity. His call on Congress to tax billionaires and big corporations and lower the costs of drugs – aligning him with the “progressive left” led by Senator Bernie Sanders – may prove more popular among working and middle-class families than, say, restoring Ukraine’s territorial integrity.

According to another theory, however, there is not much to celebrate in US foreign policy, which is why the president decided to skip the subject altogether. The two theories are not mutually exclusive.

Biden may have embraced Senator Sanders’ prescriptions on the economic malaise, but do not expect him to take his approach on foreign policy, no less in the Middle East, where the US has failed miserably. And disgracefully.

The president rejects Sanders’s stance on the Israeli occupation and the racism of its prime minister, Benjamin Netanyahu. Worse, he embraces the populist right-wing premier as his best friend, and continues to support his government of fascists and fanatics.

But Israel is only one of several failures.

There has not been a single foreign policy accomplishment anywhere in the greater Middle East, unless one considers the humiliating and disastrous withdrawal from Afghanistan in favour of the Taliban a success, after 20 years of horrific war.

Truth be told, the Biden administration has helped reach ceasefires or maintain stalemates and status quos from Sudan to Syria, through Iraq, Libya, Palestine and Yemen. But that’s hardly a good thing; in fact, it’s a terrible normalisation of a dreadful situation.

Biden, who promised to put human rights at the centre of his foreign policy, has ignored US clients’ human rights violations and has been supporting strongmen who rule with an iron fist, while the region teeters under violent sectarian and authoritarian regimes.

Washington cannot in good conscience claim to confront Russia and China in the name of democracy, human rights and the preservation of sovereignty, while appeasing colonialism and dictatorship in the Middle East or elsewhere.

It is hypocritical and it is counterproductive.

Half a century after young Senator Biden first visited the Middle East in 1973, the older President Biden seems to view the region through the same prisms he did back then: Israel, oil, and the Cold War with Moscow. But as one exhausted 19th-century saying goes: history repeats itself, the first time as tragedy, the second time as farce.

It is indeed laughable that despite 50 years of costly strategic, diplomatic and military interventions, the US is back to square one, appeasing misbehaving regional clients in the name of a global democracy crusade and getting rejected and humiliated in the process.

Biden began and ended his State of the Union speech with the lofty idea that America is the land of possibilities. It is a nice and catchy slogan, one that allowed the country to dream big and to reach the moon, literally.

America is indeed a mighty nation, but it is not almighty. It must stop its evangelical approach to world affairs as if it is ordained to shape it, police it, and lead it. It is not.

By Marwan Bishara – Senior political analyst at Al Jazeera

L’article US foreign policy reduced to an afterthought est apparu en premier sur زوايا ميادين | Mayadin Columns.

En dénonçant “l’extrémisme” de Donald Trump et de ses partisans dans un discours attendu jeudi soir à Philadelphie, le président Joe Biden divise un peu plus les camps démocrate et républicain, à deux mois des élections cruciales de mi-mandat. Compte-rendu de la presse américaine.

En s’adressant aux Américains depuis l’endroit même où ont été adoptées la Déclaration de l’indépendance et la Constitution des États-Unis, à Philadelphie, “le président Biden a averti le pays que la démocratie américaine est menacée par son principal adversaire politique”, Donald Trump, relève le Washington Post.

Le leader démocrate a déclaré que Trump et les Républicains qui soutiennent son idéologie MAGA (“ Rendre sa grandeur à l’Amérique”) “ne respectent pas la Constitution. Ils ne croient pas à l’État de droit” et “menacent les fondations mêmes de notre République”.

Peu importe ce qu’a dit le président, analyse l’influent journal, “il était probablement inévitable que ce discours soit reçu comme partisan”. La protection de la démocratie est devenue un leitmotiv pour le camp démocrate.

World Opinions + Courrier International

L’article Politique. Le discours de Joe Biden contre Donald Trump polarise plus que jamais les États-Unis est apparu en premier sur زوايا ميادين | Mayadin Columns.

The US leader will visit Israel, the occupied West Bank and Saudi Arabia during July 13-16.

Joe Biden has landed in Tel Aviv in Israel on his first visit to the Middle East as president of the United States.

Biden is due to make brief remarks on Wednesday at an arrival ceremony, before receiving a briefing from Israeli defence officials on the US-supported Iron Dome system and a new laser-enabled system called Iron Beam.

He will also pay his respects at Yad Vashem, Israel’s memorial to Holocaust victims of World War II.

The US leader will spend two days in Jerusalem on talks with Israeli leaders, including interim Prime Minister Yair Lapid and former Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu, before meeting Palestinian Authority (PA) President Mahmoud Abbas on Friday in the occupied West Bank.

He will then take an unprecedented direct flight from Israel to Jeddah, Saudi Arabia – as the kingdom does not recognise Israel’s existence – for talks with Saudi officials and to attend a summit of Gulf allies.

“It’s an honour to once again to stand with friends and visit the independent state of Israel,” said Biden in his opening remarks.

“You do not need to be a Jew to be a Zionist. Every chance to visit this great country, where the ancient roots of the Jewish people date back to biblical times, is a blessing.

“The connection between the Israeli and American people is bone deep. Generation after generation our connection grows. We invest in each other. We dream together. I am proud to say that US relations with Israel are deeper and stronger than they have ever been.

“With this visit, we are strengthening our connections even further. We have reaffirmed the unshakeable commitment of the United States to Israel’s security, including partnering with Israel on the most cutting-edge technology,” said Biden.

“We will continue to advance Israel’s integration in the region. Expand emerging forms and engagement.. to deepen our economic cooperation between the Middle East and Indo-Pacific,” he added.

Reporting from West Jerusalem, Al Jazeera’s Stefanie Dekker pointed out how there was virtually no mention of the Palestinians during Biden’s address.

“I don’t think he mentioned the word Palestinian or Palestinians. It was very much addressed to an Israeli and domestic audience. It was all about Israel, his long history with Israel and how connected he is with Israel.

“He did mention that the only solution was the two-state solution but did not mention the Palestinians by name.

“Usually the narrative in the past was that there would be no normalisation with Israel until there was a Palestinian state and sovereignty but it seems we have moved way beyond that these days,” she added.

Israel, which is mired in political gridlock before a November 1 election, says it is raising 1,000 flags across Jerusalem to welcome the US leader, who has not reversed former President Donald Trump’s controversial decision to recognise the city as the capital of Israel.

Palestinians see occupied East Jerusalem as their capital and, before the visit, have accused Biden of failing to make good on his pledge to restore the US as an honest broker in the conflict.

“We only hear empty words and no results,” said Jibril Rajoub, a leader of Abbas’s Fatah movement.

Biden will meet Abbas in the occupied West Bank city of Bethlehem on Friday, but there is no expectation of bold announcements towards a fresh peace process, meaning the visit may merely deepen Palestinian frustration.

“The PA is continuing to bet on the Americans and the delusion that Biden’s visit will present something to the Palestinians,” Palestinian political and civil society leader Khalida Jarrar told Al Jazeera.

“This ensures that there is a large rift between the Palestinian people and their aspirations, and the actions of their leadership.”

The talks will mark the highest level of face-to-face contact between US and Palestinian officials since Trump adopted a number of policies in favour of Israel after taking office in 2017.

US-Palestinian ties have also been strained recently by the killing in May of Al Jazeera reporter Shireen Abu Akleh, a Palestinian American. The veteran reporter was shot by Israeli forces while reporting on Israeli raids in Jenin.

The United Nations has concluded Abu Akleh was killed by Israeli fire, something a Washington review found was likely but said there was no evidence the killing was intentional.

Abu Akleh’s family has voiced “outrage” over the Biden administration’s “abject response” to her killing and accused the US of providing impunity for Israel. They have asked to meet Biden during his trip but the White House has not commented on the request.

The White House spokesperson John Kirby said National Security Adviser Jake Sullivan misspoke on Wednesday when he told reporters that the United States wished for a Palestinian consulate in East Jerusalem.

Kirby said there was no change in US policy regarding the consulate.

The United States wants to reopen its consulate for Palestinians in Jerusalem, located in the west of the city, which was closed by former US President Donald Trump in 2019.

Meanwhile, four US Senators have sent a letter to Secretary of State Anthony Blinken, demanding answers about the review of the killing of Abu Akleh.

Democratic Senators Chris Van Hollen, Chris Murphy, Patrick Leahy and Dick Durbin said the review did not live up to Blinken’s call for an independent and credible investigation.

Reporting from West Jerusalem, Al Jazeera’s Stefanie Dekker said the Palestinian issue was “a footnote” to Biden’s trip, which appeared to be “more about the bigger geopolitics than the Palestinians”.

“He’s not coming with anything concrete when it comes to reviving long-stalled peace talks,” Dekker said.

“What he’s going to do is carry out a historic visit to a Palestinian hospital in occupied East Jerusalem. This is the first time that a US president is going to venture away from the Old City, going further into East Jerusalem.

“He’s going to be announcing about $100m in aid and is going to ask Gulf countries to match this for hospitals in occupied East Jerusalem, but Palestinians will tell you this is really just paying lip service,” she added.

“Palestinians have lost trust in the Americans, not just since the Trump administration but recently also because of the killing of Shireen Abu Akleh.”

World Opinions / AL JAZEERA AND NEWS AGENCIES

L’article Joe Biden arrives in Middle East on first trip as US president est apparu en premier sur زوايا ميادين | Mayadin Columns.

Vice-President Kamala Harris began her remarks at the White House by paying condolences to families who said goodbye to their loved ones for the last time on Tuesday morning.

“Enough is enough,” she says.

“As the president said last night we must have the courage to stand up to the gun lobby.”

President Joe Biden and Vice-President Kamala Harris are due to deliver remarks in the next few minutes on the topic of “public trust and safety” at the White House.

He is signing an executive order on police reform, an event that was scheduled before the Uvalde massacre.

According to a senior official, Biden will address the Uvalde shooting at the beginning of his remarks.

He also spoke on Tuesday about the tragedy, just after returning from a trip to Asia.

As we reported earlier, the Texas governor said earlier on Wednesday that the attacker had posted three times to Facebook before the attack.

Governor Greg Abbott said the killer wrote that he was planning to shoot his grandmother, then to say he had done it, and then again to say he would attack an elementary school – about 15 minutes before it unfolded.

Meta, Facebook’s parent company, has released a statement clarifying the gunman’s post was not public.

“The messages Gov Abbott described were private one-to-one text messages that were discovered after the terrible tragedy occurred,” the California-based company said in a statement.

Meta added that it was “closely co-operating” with investigators.

World Opinions + Agencies

L’article Texas school shooting: What, where and who? est apparu en premier sur زوايا ميادين | Mayadin Columns.

Le président américain revient sur la décision de son prédécesseur, Donald Trump, d’amputer de 85 % la superficie de ce parc au sous-sol très riche.

Dans les tribus indiennes, l’anxiété n’avait cessé de monter. Et si Joe Biden ne tenait pas ses promesses ? Huit mois après l’investiture du démocrate, les Amérindiens sont soulagés. Par un décret signé vendredi 8 octobre, le président américain a restauré la taille du monument national de Bears Ears (Utah), désigné comme tel par Barack Obama en décembre 2016 et amputé de 85 % de sa superficie un an plus tard par Donald Trump. Le parc voisin de Grand Staircase-Escalante, créé par Bill Clinton en 1996, et réduit de 45 % par le républicain, a aussi été rétabli dans sa taille originelle.

Joe Biden s’est prévalu de la loi sur les antiquités de 1906, qui donne au chef de l’exécutif le pouvoir de protéger des zones d’intérêt culturel ou archéologique exceptionnelles. La région de Bears Ears, un sommet considéré comme sacré par les Navajos, reconnaissable à ses deux buttes en forme d’oreilles d’ours (l’une à 2 721 mètres d’altitude, l’autre à 2 760 mètres), abrite des paysages spectaculaires de canyons et de roches rouges couvertes de pétroglyphes enfouis dans le sable. En 2016, le paléontologue Robert Gay y avait découvert des centaines d’os de phytosaures, ancêtres des crocodiles, datant de quelque 220 millions d’années.

Donald Trump avait, lui aussi, invoqué la loi sur les antiquités pour annuler la décision de Barack Obama. Les associations de défense de l’environnement l’avaient poursuivi en justice, arguant de ce que la loi de 1906 a été conçue pour augmenter la protection d’un site, en aucun cas pour la réduire. Le New York Times avait montré que le ministère de l’intérieur avait établi le tracé du monument en coopération avec les représentants de l’industrie pétrolière et minière, intéressés depuis longtemps par la richesse du sous-sol de la région (gaz, charbon, uranium). Après la décision de M. Trump, le nom même de Bears Ears avait disparu des cartes et le point d’information pour les visiteurs avait été éliminé. Il va réapparaître, et des rangers seront affectés au monument.

Par Corine Lesnes(San Francisco, correspondante) – Le Monde

L’article Joe Biden redonne toute sa place au monument national de Bears Ears est apparu en premier sur زوايا ميادين | Mayadin Columns.

US President Joe Biden has launched his first official overseas trip with a warning to Russia that it faces “robust and meaningful” consequences if it engages in “harmful activities”.

Mr Biden made clear his intention to strengthen ties with US allies, following strained relations under the Trump administration.

President Biden arrived in the UK on Wednesday.

He will meet PM Boris Johnson to agree a new “Atlantic Charter”.

The pact will be a modern version of the one agreed between Winston Churchill and Franklin Roosevelt in 1941, with a focus on challenges including climate change and security.

The BBC’s political editor, Laura Kuenssberg, says the two are aiming to refresh a vital relationship, after the turbulence of the Trump years and the pressures of the pandemic.

During a packed eight-day European visit Mr Biden will meet the Queen at Windsor Castle, attend a G7 leaders’ meeting, and join his first Nato summit as president.

At the end of his trip Mr Biden is due to meet Russian President Vladimir Putin in Geneva.

The White House has indicated that he intends to cover a “full range of pressing issues” with his Russian counterpart, including arms control, climate change, Russian military involvement in Ukraine, Russia’s cyber-hacking activities and the jailing of Russian dissident Alexei Navalny.

Three organisations linked to Mr Navalny were outlawed by a Moscow court on Wednesday for being “extremist”.

Addressing US troops and their families at the RAF Mildenhall airbase in Suffolk on Wednesday, where he landed before travelling on to Cornwall, Mr Biden said he would deliver a clear message to Mr Putin.

“We’re not seeking conflict with Russia,” he said. “We want a stable and predictable relationship … but I’ve been clear: The United States will respond in a robust and meaningful way if the Russian government engages in harmful activities.”

Ties between Washington and Moscow are at a low point over a variety of issues. In April, Mr Putin accused Western powers of trying to “pick on” Russia and warned them not to cross a “red line”.

Mr Biden said that “at every point” during his first overseas trip as president he wanted to make it clear that “the United States is back and democracies of the world are standing together to tackle the toughest challenges, and the issues that matter most to our future”.

Other leaders of the G7 (Group of Seven) will arrive in Cornwall, south-west England, on Friday and meetings will take place over the weekend.

The G7 is made up of the world’s seven largest so-called advanced economies – Canada, France, Germany, Italy, Japan, the UK and the US – plus the EU.

The main topic of conversation will be Covid recovery, including “a stronger global health system that can protect us all from future pandemics”.

In an article for the Times, Boris Johnson said the G7 would “begin the framing of a new global treaty on pandemic preparedness so the world is never caught out in the same way again”.

The Biden administration has said it plans to provide 500 million doses of the Pfizer Covid-19 vaccine to about 100 countries over the next two years.

The G7 agenda also includes climate change and trade.

Mr Biden is expected to warn that the UK-EU trade row could endanger peace in Northern Ireland. He will call on fellow leaders to protect the gains of the Good Friday agreement.

At the end of the summit, the UK – as the host nation – will publish a document outlining what has been agreed by the leaders.

After the G7, Mr Biden and First Lady Jill Biden will meet the Queen at Windsor Castle before flying to Brussels for talks with Nato on Monday and the EU on Tuesday.

US ties with Nato were strained under Donald Trump, but Nato Secretary General Jens Stoltenberg – visiting the White House on Monday – hailed Mr Biden’s “powerful commitment” to America’s allies.

World Opinions – bbc

L’article Analysis. Biden warns Russia against ‘harmful activities’ at start of first official trip est apparu en premier sur زوايا ميادين | Mayadin Columns.