BRUSSELS: US President Joe Biden will seek the EU’s backing on Tuesday to face the rise of China, but Brussels wants a swift end to lingering trade rows and a clean break from Donald Trump.
After the European enthusiasm that followed Biden’s election, the president of the European Council Charles Michel, representing the 27 EU leaders, and the head of the European Commission, Ursula von der Leyen, will sound out Biden for more detail on his “America is back” pledge.
Biden’s two-hour stopover at EU headquarters, tucked between a NATO summit and his sitdown with Russian President Vladimir Putin in Geneva, “is not going to settle everything but diplomacy is back,” a senior EU official said on Monday.
After the crisis in the transatlantic relationship under Trump, who considered the EU a bitter economic rival, Biden wants to “defuse the disputes ... in order to focus on his priority, China,” said Eric Maurice of the Schuman Foundation.
A senior US official traveling with Biden told reporters: “This speaks to President Biden’s fundamental strategy of managing competition with China by coordinating closely with and developing common approaches with like-minded democratic partners and allies.”
The Europeans will be trying to clear the slate of trade disputes in order to enter a more friendly phase and jointly tackle other issues, which also include curbing big tech and handling Russia.
The European official said both sides had been “sweating” to find common ground on trade ahead of the meeting and give a clear sign that Trump-era battles will soon be behind them.
A row over Airbus and Boeing goes back 17 years, with each side accusing the other of illegally subsidising their domestic champions. A deal is hoped for next month.
The more difficult bone of contention is a tariff of 25 percent on steel and 10 percent on aluminum that Trump slapped on Europe and other close partners in 2018.
Brussels hit back with counter-tariffs on 2.8 billion euros worth of iconic US products, including bourbon whiskey, jeans, and Harley-Davidson motorbikes.
The final statement will attempt to offer a clear timeline for resolving the dispute, but US diplomats have been reluctant to write an actual end date on paper.
Trump and Brussels also quarrelled over taxing big tech platforms after France led a group of several EU states by hitting Google, Facebook and others with a special levy.
Washington fought back with a wave of counter-tariffs that Biden has frozen, as both sides await a worldwide deal on how to better tax big tech companies.
A final statement from the meeting in Brussels will allude to these battles, with diplomats behind the scenes trying to find the right language to display good intentions, but without giving too much ground.
Washington will also express concern over the controversial agreement reached in December between the EU and China that would open the Chinese market to European companies.
The implementation of the deal, however, is currently frozen following EU sanctions over Uyghur rights violations and counter-sanctions from Beijing.
Biden and the EU chiefs will also agree to cooperate in something called a Trade and Technology Council that will attempt to write joint rules for artificial intelligence and other innovations over the coming years.
The senior US administration official described the council as an important initiative that would serve as a platform for cooperation for years ahead.
“The notion here is that the United States and Europe laid the foundation for the world economy after World War II and now have to work together to write the rules of the road for the next generation, particularly in the areas of economics and emerging technologies,” the official said.
Though unnamed, China is the important backdrop for the idea, which will set the ground for “new technologies based on our shared democratic values, including respect for human rights,” the draft communique says.Both sides will also set up an EU-Russia forum in order to exchange ideas on facing increasingly disruptive moves by Moscow, with a special focus on fighting disinformation and other flagrant misuses of technology.
Brussels and Washington will also set up a joint forum about Russia in order to exchange ideas on facing increasingly disruptive moves by Moscow, with a special focus on fighting disinformation and other flagrant misuses of technology.
The model is based on an existing forum on China that meets to find ways to more closely align the EU-US stance toward Beijing’s growing global influence.
“Transatlantic unity is essential for maximum pressure” on Moscow, a European official acknowledged.
“This is just the beginning of a conversation — it’s the beginning of a process, a first reset of the relationship,” said Ricardo Borges de Castro of the European Policy Center.
Biden seeks EU support on China, but trade battles persist
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Biden seeks EU support on China, but trade battles persist
- Senior US official: ‘This speaks to President Biden’s fundamental strategy of managing competition with China’
Sean ‘Diddy’ Combs jury to be seated in hip-hop mogul’s sex trafficking trial
- Combs pleads not guilty to racketeering, sex trafficking
- Twelve jurors and six alternates to be chosen
NEW YORK: A jury of 12 New Yorkers is due to be chosen on Friday in the racketeering and sex trafficking trial of hip-hop mogul Sean “Diddy” Combs, who could face decades or even life in prison if convicted.
The rapper has pleaded not guilty to one count of racketeering conspiracy, two counts of sex trafficking and two counts of transportation for prostitution — all felonies.
Over three days this week, the judge overseeing the case questioned nearly 100 prospective jurors on subjects including what they had heard about Combs’ case and any experiences they had had with sexual assault.
With input from defense lawyers and prosecutors, US District Judge Arun Subramanian in Manhattan dismissed the jurors he deemed unfit to serve and settled on 45 candidates qualified to serve fairly and impartially.
On Friday, lawyers for each side will take turns striking candidates until a panel of 12 jurors and six alternates is chosen — a chess match with potentially decisive implications in the outcome of the trial.
Combs, a Harlem native who founded the pioneering record label Bad Boy Records and discovered iconic rappers including the Notorious B.I.G., was arrested last September and has been held in a Brooklyn federal lockup since then.
The charges marked the stunning downfall of a titan of the music industry who once held a ceremonial key to the city of New York and was known for throwing lavish parties for A-list celebrities.
Prosecutors with the Manhattan US Attorney’s office say that for two decades Combs used his business empire to lure women into his orbit with promises of romantic relationships or financial support, then violently coerced them to take part in days-long, drug-fueled sexual performances known as “Freak Offs.”
In court papers, prosecutors allege Combs kept his victims obedient by drugging and blackmailing them. He is accused of kidnapping a person at gunpoint, dropping a Molotov cocktail into a car and hitting, choking and dragging victims in acts of violence dating back to the 1990s.
Combs’ lawyers have said prosecutors are improperly seeking to criminalize Combs’ “swinger lifestyle.” They have signaled they plan to attack the credibility of the alleged victims who will testify by seeking to show they had financial incentives to accuse Combs. They have said the women gave inconsistent accounts of the alleged assaults to investigators.
Subramanian has said the trial will last around eight weeks, with the alternate jurors serving as backups in case jurors are unable to finish. Any verdict must be unanimous.
The trial is expected to feature testimony from three, or possibly four, accusers including Combs’ ex-girlfriend Casandra Ventura, a rhythm and blues singer known professionally as Cassie.
Combs faces more than 50 civil lawsuits accusing him of sexual assault, including one by a plaintiff who says he was 10 years old at the time of the alleged attack.
Combs has denied wrongdoing in those cases and claimed his accusers are seeking a payday.
Ukraine says it uncovered a Hungarian espionage network, two suspects arrested
- The activities of the suspected spies were focused on the western Ukraine region of Zakarpattia
- The Hungarian government, led by Prime Minister Viktor Orbán, has also threatened to bloc EU financial assistance to Ukraine
KYIV, Ukraine: Ukraine’s main security agency said Friday it had arrested two people on suspicion of spying for Hungary by gathering intelligence on Ukraine’s military in the west of the country.
In a statement, the Security Service of Ukraine (SBU) said that two suspects, both former members of the Ukrainian military, had been detained and face charges of treason, which is punishable by life imprisonment. It was the first time in Ukraine’s history that a Hungarian espionage operation had been discovered, the statement said.
The activities of the suspected spies were focused on the western Ukraine region of Zakarpattia, which borders Hungary and is home to a sizeable Hungarian ethnic minority. Budapest and Kyiv have clashed over the rights of Hungarians in Zakarpattia, most of which was part of Hungary until the end of World War I.
Hungarian Foreign Minister Péter Szijjártó did not directly deny the allegations of a Hungarian espionage cell operating in Ukraine, but suggested that the SBU’s claims could be classified as “anti-Hungarian propaganda.”
“I urge everyone to exercise caution against any news that appears in Ukrainian propaganda,” Szijjártó told a news conference on Friday. “If we get any details or official information, then we can deal with it.”
Hungary, a member of NATO and the European Union, has taken an adversarial approach to Ukraine since Russia’s full-scale invasion in 2022, refusing to supply Kyiv with weaponry or to allow its transfer across Hungarian territory.
The Hungarian government, led by Prime Minister Viktor Orbán, has also threatened to bloc EU financial assistance to Ukraine, argued against sanctions on Russia and opposed Ukraine’s eventual membership in the EU.
Orbán is widely seen as having the warmest relations with Russian President Vladimir Putin among EU leaders, though he has acknowledged that the war was a result of Russian aggression.
The SBU said both suspected spies were overseen by a career officer of Hungary’s military intelligence, whose identity had also been established. That officer supplied the network with cash and a special device for covert communication to support the operation, and had attempted to recruit other individuals into the network, the SBU said.
The Hungarian Defense Ministry and Military National Security Service did not immediately respond to requests for comment.
Sri Lanka helicopter crash kills six military personnel
- The crash took place halfway through the ceremony in Maduru Oya, nearly 300 kilometers (187 miles) east of Colombo
- Friday’s tragedy is the worst for the Air Force since a Chinese-built Y-12 aircraft crashed at Haputale in January 2020
COLOMBO: A Sri Lankan Air Force helicopter crashed during a graduation ceremony on Friday, plunging into a reservoir and killing six of the 12 people on board, a military official said.
The personnel were preparing for a grappling demonstration when their Bell 212 careened into the reservoir at the Maduru Oya national park, the official told AFP.
“There were 12 people on board, and six of them survived with minor injuries,” said the official, who declined to be named.
Those killed included four special forces commandos and two Air Force gunners.
The survivors were admitted to hospital.
The crash took place halfway through the ceremony in Maduru Oya, nearly 300 kilometers (187 miles) east of Colombo.
After a slew of parades, the chopper crew were expected to perform a “fast-roping” maneuver, showcasing their skills in descending from the helicopter while it hovered just above roof height.
After the crash, the graduation ceremony was called off and an investigation into the cause of the incident was launched.
“The Commander of the Air Force has appointed a special nine-member committee to conduct a detailed investigation,” the military said in a statement.
The Air Force operates a small fleet of Bell, Mi-17, and Mi-24 helicopters. Much of the Mi-24 attack helicopter fleet has been grounded since the end of the country’s protracted Tamil separatist war in May 2009.
Friday’s tragedy is the worst for the Air Force since a Chinese-built Y-12 aircraft crashed at Haputale in January 2020, killing all four crew members on board.
In September 2000, an Mi-17 helicopter crashed in central Sri Lanka, killing all 15 people on board — including the country’s then top Muslim political leader — making it the worst helicopter crash in the island’s history.
First mass celebrated by new Pope Leo XIV begins
VATICAN CITY: New Pope Leo XIV began celebrating his first mass as head of the Catholic Church on Friday, a private gathering for cardinals in the Sistine Chapel, according to video footage broadcast by the Vatican.
US-born Robert Francis Prevost will deliver his much-anticipated first homily as pontiff.
China, Russia vow to strengthen cooperation on international law matters, state media reports
- China, Russia vow to strengthen cooperation on international law matters, state media reports
BEIJING: China and Russia have agreed to strengthen cooperation in matters of international law, according to a joint statement released on Friday following Chinese President Xi Jinping’s meeting with Russia’s Vladimir Putin.
The two countries both stated their opposition to unilateral sanctions and long-arm jurisdiction, Chinese state news agency Xinhua reported the statement as saying, and will work together to defend the United Nations’ central role in international affairs.
