Former US president Jimmy Carter turns 100

Former US President Jimmy Carter. (Reuters/File)
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Updated 01 October 2024
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Former US president Jimmy Carter turns 100

  • No longer regularly appearing in public, the Democratic ex-president will spend his birthday in the home he and his late wife Rosalynn had built in Plains in the 1960s
  • President Joe Biden, in a video posted on his official X account, hailed Carter as a “beloved friend” and “one of the most influential statesmen” in US history

PLAINS, United States: Jimmy Carter celebrated his 100th birthday on Tuesday — the first ever US president to reach the century mark and another extraordinary milestone for the one-time peanut farmer who found his way to the White House.
Carter’s longevity — he began hospice care at his home in Plains, Georgia, more than 19 months ago — has defied all expectations.
No longer regularly appearing in public, the Democratic ex-president will spend his birthday in the home he and his late wife Rosalynn had built in Plains in the 1960s.
It will include a lunch with some 20 members of his extended family, according to the Atlanta Journal-Constitution.
President Joe Biden, in a video posted on his official X account, hailed Carter as a “beloved friend” and “one of the most influential statesmen” in US history.
“Your hopeful vision of our country, your commitment to a better world and your unwavering belief in the power of human goodness continues to be a guiding light for all of us,” he said.
First Lady Jill Biden’s office said a display would be set up on the White House lawn with the message “Happy Birthday President Carter.”
Beyond serving as president for a single term from 1977 to 1981, Carter worked as a global mediator, rights activist and elder statesman, founding the well-respected Carter Center in 1982 to pursue his vision of world diplomacy.
His presidency included the 1978 Camp David Accords between Israel and Egypt, establishment of diplomatic relations with China following a rapprochement initiated by president Richard Nixon, and return of control of the Panama Canal to Panama.
But his administration hit numerous snags, including the Iran hostage crisis and a renewed oil crisis in 1979-1980, which saw Ronald Regan sweep into power in a landslide.
“We are thrilled that the president from this little town is going to be the only president to ever live to be 100 years old,” Jill Stuckey, superintendent of the National Park Service’s Jimmy Carter historical site and longtime family friend, told AFP.
She spoke from Plains High School, where Carter graduated in 1941 and which now serves as the visitor center for the national park that features sites from his early life, including the nearby peanut farm where he grew up.
On Tuesday, the school will hold an evening concert and also a naturalization ceremony for 100 new US citizens.
A devout Baptist and self-described “born-again” Christian, Carter is remembered for a moralistic streak, but also his civility, admired even by detractors across the aisle.
“Healthy habits and his faith are a lot of the reasons why he is still with it today,” Stuckey said, referencing Carter’s penchant for fresh food and exercise.
According to family, Carter remains keenly interested in politics and was highly motivated to make it to 100 and to vote in the November election for fellow Democrat Kamala Harris.
“He will be voting by mail-in ballot,” Stuckey told AFP, adding “he’s always been very politically active, and nothing has changed with that respect.”
In Plains, like in many rural places with strong evangelical Christian leanings, far more yard signs support Republican Donald Trump than Harris.
But it is also not uncommon to see a sign celebrating Carter’s centennial birthday next to one supporting Trump.
Carl Lowell, who has lived in Plains since infancy, said he tries not to get involved in politics because it is “so divisive” right now.
Like most residents of Plains, the 59-year-old retired firefighter is linked to Carter in various ways — he says his grandfather helped build the Carters’ house and that he himself even went dove hunting with him once.
“Jimmy’s a good man, he’s a godly man, and that’s what people like about him,” he said.


Rubio to meet China’s Wang on sidelines of ASEAN talks

Updated 7 sec ago
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Rubio to meet China’s Wang on sidelines of ASEAN talks

  • Rubio said Thursday the United States has ‘no intention of abandoning’ the Asia-Pacific region
  • Before becoming Secretary of State, Rubio had already been one of the most vocal critics of China
KUALA LUMPUR: US Secretary of State Marco Rubio will meet his Chinese counterpart Wang Yi on Friday in Malaysia on the sidelines of ASEAN talks, where Washington’s tariffs are in sharp focus.
Rubio and Wang’s first face-to-face meeting since US President Donald Trump returned to office comes as Washington and Beijing are locked in disputes ranging from trade to Taiwan – and both powers vie for greater influence in the region.
Rubio, a longtime China hawk, and Wang are in Kuala Lumpur for a gathering of foreign ministers from the Association of Southeast Asian Nations, which Japan, South Korea and Australia and other nations are also attending.
US officials said ahead of Rubio’s first trip to the region as secretary of state that Washington was “prioritizing” its commitment to East and Southeast Asia.
Rubio said Thursday the United States has “no intention of abandoning” the Asia-Pacific region.
But US tariffs have overshadowed the conference, and Rubio has sought to placate Asian trade partners, saying talks were ongoing and might result in “better” rates than for the rest of the world.
Trump has threatened punitive tariffs ranging from 20 to 50 percent against more than 20 countries, many of them in Asia, if they do not strike deals with Washington by August 1.
This included long-time US ally Japan which faced a 25 percent across-the board levy, separate from similar charges for cars, steel and aluminum that have already been imposed. Seoul faced a similar tariff percentage.
Earlier Friday Rubio met his Japanese and South Korean counterparts, with his spokeswoman Tammy Bruce calling it an “indispensable relationship.”
Malaysian Prime Minister Anwar Ibrahim, however, said this week that tariffs were being used as “sharpened instruments of geopolitical rivalry.”
Wang on Thursday said the US tariff drive “undermines the free trade system.”
“The United States’ imposition of high tariffs on Cambodia and Southeast Asian countries is an attempt to deprive all parties of their legitimate rights to development,” Wang said.
Tensions between Washington and Beijing have ratcheted up since Trump took office in January, with both countries engaging in a tariff war that briefly sent duties on each other’s exports sky-high.
At one point the United States hit China with additional levies of 145 percent on its goods as both sides engaged in tit-for-tat escalation. China’s countermeasures on US goods reached 125 percent.
Beijing and Washington agreed in May to temporarily slash their staggeringly high tariffs — an outcome Trump dubbed a “total reset.”
Before becoming Secretary of State in January, Rubio had already been one of the most vocal critics of China on the American political stage for many years.
Rubio and Wang are also likely to discuss US concerns over China’s expansionary behavior in the South China Sea and Beijing’s growing military pressure on Taiwan.
China claims the democratic self-ruled island as part of its territory and has threatened to use force to bring it under its control.
Like most countries, Washington has no formal diplomatic relations with the island.
However, the United States is Taiwan’s biggest arms supplier and has shown increasing support for Taipei in the face of Beijing’s growing military pressure on the island in recent years.
US Defense Secretary Pete Hegseth accused China in late May of “credibly preparing to potentially use military force to alter the balance of power” in the Asia-Pacific region.
He also claimed that Beijing “trains every day” to invade Taiwan.
In response, Chinese diplomats accused the United States of using the Taiwan issue to “contain China” and called on Washington to stop “playing with fire.”

Russia and US hold ‘frank’ talks on Ukraine war

Updated 11 July 2025
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Russia and US hold ‘frank’ talks on Ukraine war

  • The US secretary of state said Moscow’s top envoy Sergei Lavrov shared new ideas on resolving the conflict
  • The Kremlin denied peace talks were stalled and said it was still open to contacts

KYIV: Russian Foreign Minister Sergei Lavrov and US top diplomat Marco Rubio held “frank” talks on the Ukraine war during a meeting Thursday, both sides said, as Washington hit out at Moscow’s lack of “flexibility.”

The US secretary of state said Lavrov shared new ideas on resolving the conflict which he promised to present to US President Donald Trump, but played down the prospect of a breakthrough.

The pair met hours after Moscow pummeled Kyiv for a second straight night and as the United Nations said the number of victims from Russian attacks was at its highest level in three years.

Trump, who forced the warring countries to open negotiations for the first time in three years, this week accused Russian President Vladimir Putin of talking “bullshit” on Ukraine.

The US leader’s efforts to secure a ceasefire have failed to extract any concessions from the Kremlin, despite multiple calls with Putin.

Rubio told reporters Lavrov had floated something “new” on the conflict, but did not give details.

“It’s not a new approach. It’s a new idea or a new concept that I’ll take back to the president to discuss,” he said.

He added that it was not something that “automatically leads to peace, but it could potentially open the door to a path.”

The US diplomat said he had also conveyed Trump’s anger that the more than three-year war, triggered by Russia’s 2022 invasion, was still ongoing, criticizing Moscow’s lack of “flexibility.”

Ukrainian President Volodymyr Zelensky said that the United States would deliver more weapons to Kyiv and that he had “specific dates” on when they would arrive, in response to an AFP question.

Zelensky said in an X post that Ukraine was “ready” for different approaches to “scale up protection,” including by “purchasing a large defense package from the United States, jointly with Europe.”

Trump seemed to back up such an agreement. In an interview with American broadcaster NBC late on Thursday, he said NATO was “paying” the United States for weapons to send to Ukraine.

“We’re sending weapons to NATO, and NATO is paying for those weapons, 100 percent... And then NATO is going to be giving those weapons (to Ukraine),” Trump said.

Trump also said he would make a “major statement... on Russia” on Monday.

NATO secretary general Mark Rutte said he had spoken with Trump and was “working closely with allies to get Ukraine the help they need.”

The leaders of Britain and France meanwhile announced they had prepared plans for a peacekeeping force to be deployed to Ukraine in the event of a ceasefire.

Ukraine said that two people – a 22-year-old policewoman on duty at a metro station and a 68-year-old woman – were killed in the latest assault on the capital.

Police described Maria Dziumaga as a “kind, cheerful, sincere, responsible, and dedicated police officer” who had joined in 2023.

AFP journalists heard loud detonations reverberating over Kyiv throughout the night and saw flashes from air defense systems illuminating the sky.

Resident Karyna Wolf said she could hear the growing buzz of a drone until a large explosion rocked the flats just two floors above in her building.

“I immediately jumped away from the wall, away from the windows and ran into the hallway, and in those seconds there was an explosion. There was a lot of glass shards flying at me,” the 25-year-old said.

As Rubio and Lavrov met in Kuala Lumpur, Zelensky was at a conference in Rome, where he called for more international political and military support.

Zelensky said Putin wanted “our people to suffer, to flee Ukraine and for homes, schools, for life itself to be destroyed,” urging Western leaders to boost defense investments.

The Kremlin denied peace talks were stalled and said it was still open to contacts.

Moscow has for months refused a ceasefire and two rounds of talks with Ukraine have produced no breakthrough.

The Ukrainian air force said Russia launched 415 drones and missiles at the country while Zelensky urged allies to quickly roll out fresh sanctions against Moscow.

The fresh onslaught came just one night after Russia fired a record 741 long-range drones and missiles.

Officials said the nighttime attack on Kyiv also wounded 22 people.

AFP reporters saw firefighters putting out flames in a damaged residential building and people emerging from shelters, carrying sleeping mats and pets after the air alert was lifted.

Russia’s defense ministry said the strike targeted “military-industrial enterprises” in Kyiv as well as air bases.

The UN announced that attacks on Ukrainian cities in June had led to a three-year high in the number of civilians killed or wounded.

It said it had verified at least 232 people killed and 1,343 wounded during the month — the highest combined toll since April 2022.


Trump says US to supply weapons to Ukraine via NATO

Updated 11 July 2025
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Trump says US to supply weapons to Ukraine via NATO

  • US leader has expressed frustration with Russian President Vladimir Putin over the lack of progress toward ending the war
  • Trump had pledged to swiftly end the war but months into his presidency, little progress has been made

WASHINGTON/KYIV/ROME: US President Donald Trump said on Thursday the United States would supply weapons to Ukraine via NATO and that he would make a “major statement” on Russia on Monday.

In recent days, Trump has expressed frustration with Russian President Vladimir Putin over the lack of progress toward ending the war sparked by Russia’s full-scale invasion of Ukraine in February 2022.

“I think I’ll have a major statement to make on Russia on Monday,” Trump told NBC News, declining to elaborate.

Trump also told NBC News about what he called a new deal between the US, NATO allies and Ukraine over weapons shipment from the United States.

“We’re sending weapons to NATO, and NATO is paying for those weapons, 100 percent. So what we’re doing is the weapons that are going out are going to NATO, and then NATO is going to be giving those weapons (to Ukraine), and NATO is paying for those weapons,” Trump said.

“We send weapons to NATO, and NATO is going to reimburse the full cost of those weapons,” he added.

For the first time since returning to office, Trump will send weapons to Kyiv under a presidential power frequently used by his predecessor, two sources familiar with the decision said on Thursday.

Trump’s team will identify arms from US stockpiles to send to Ukraine under the Presidential Drawdown Authority, which allows the president to draw from weapons stocks to help allies in an emergency, the sources said, with one saying they could be worth around $300 million.

Trump on Tuesday said the US would send more weapons to Ukraine to help the country defend itself against intensifying Russian advances.

The package could include defensive Patriot missiles and offensive medium-range rockets, but a decision on the exact equipment has not been made, the sources said. One of the people said this would happen at a meeting on Thursday.

The Trump administration has so far only sent weapons authorized by former President Joe Biden, who was a staunch supporter of Kyiv. The Pentagon and the White House did not immediately respond to a request for comment.

Trump had pledged to swiftly end the war but months into his presidency, little progress has been made. The Republican president has sometimes criticized US spending on Ukraine’s defense, spoken favorably of Russia and publicly clashed with Ukraine’s leader. However, sometimes he has also voiced support for Kyiv and expressed disappointment in the leadership of Russia.

$12 billion pledged for Ukraine

Russia unleashed heavy airstrikes on Ukraine on Thursday before a conference in Rome at which Kyiv won billions of dollars in aid pledges, and US-Russian talks at which Washington voiced frustration with Moscow over the war.

Two people were killed, 26 were wounded, according to figures from the national emergency services, and there was damage in nearly every part of Kyiv from missile and drone attacks on the capital and other parts of Ukraine.

Addressing the Rome conference on Ukraine’s reconstruction after more than three years of war, Zelensky urged allies to “more actively” use Russian assets for rebuilding and called for weapons, joint defense production and investment.

Participants pledged over 10 billion euros ($12 billion) to help rebuild Ukraine, Italian Prime Minister Giorgia Meloni said. The European Commission, the EU’s executive, announced 2.3 billion euros ($2.7 billion) in support.

At talks with Russian Foreign Minister Sergei Lavrov while in Malaysia, US Secretary of State Marco Rubio said he had reinforced the message that Moscow should show more flexibility.

“We need to see a roadmap moving forward about how this conflict can conclude,” Rubio said, adding that the Trump administration had been engaging with the US Senate on what new sanctions on Russia might look like.

“It was a frank conversation. It was an important one,” Rubio said after the 50-minute talks in Kuala Lumpur. Moscow’s foreign ministry said they had shared “a substantive and frank exchange of views.”

‘Nightly terror’

Zelensky said Thursday’s assault by Russia had involved around 400 drones and 18 missiles, primarily targeting the capital.

Explosions and anti-aircraft fire rattled the city. Windows were blown out, facades ravaged and cars burned to shells. In the city center, an apartment in an eight-story building was engulfed in flames.

“This is terror because it happens every night when people are asleep,” said Karyna Volf, a 25-year-old Kyiv resident who rushed out of her apartment moments before it was showered with shards of glass.

Air defenses stopped all but a few dozen of the drones, authorities said, a day after Russia launched a record 728 drones at Ukraine.


South Korea, Japan and US conduct air drill as defense chiefs meet

Updated 11 July 2025
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South Korea, Japan and US conduct air drill as defense chiefs meet

  • Joint air drill involves a US B-52 strategic bomber and fighter jets of the two US allies over international waters

SEOUL: South Korea, Japan and the United States conducted a joint air drill on Friday involving a US B-52 strategic bomber and fighter jets of the two US allies over international waters, Yonhap news reported, citing the South’s defense ministry.

The three countries’ defense chiefs also held an annual meeting in Seoul on Friday, where they recognized the importance of close trilateral cooperation in addressing security challenges posed by North Korea, in the Indo-pacific and beyond, the defense ministry said in a statement.

“We’re illuminating a future path together, a path where partnerships can evolve through persistent and regular engagement from building capacity to really sharing responsibility,” US Chairman of the Joint Chiefs of Staff General Dan Caine said in opening remarks before the meeting.

“(North Korea) and China are undergoing an unprecedented military build up with a clear and unambiguous intent to move forward with their own agendas. We need to be mindful of that,” Caine said.


Philippines’ president to discuss tariffs in Trump meeting this month, top diplomat says 

Updated 11 July 2025
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Philippines’ president to discuss tariffs in Trump meeting this month, top diplomat says 

  • First meeting between Trump and Marcos, whose nations have stepped up military engagements significantly of late
  • The Philippines is concerned over a 20 percent tariff rate announced this week by Donald Trump

KUALA LUMPUR: Philippine President Ferdinand Marcos Jr. will meet US President Donald Trump in Washington this month, Manila’s top diplomat said on Friday, with an increased trade tariff on one of Washington’s top defense allies set to be discussed.

Philippine foreign minister Theresa Lazaro, in an interview during a regional summit in Malaysia, confirmed the arrangement of what will be the first meeting between Trump and Marcos, whose nations have stepped up military engagements significantly of late.

“The issue of tariffs will be discussed among others…it’s also very important to us. We have already sent negotiators to discuss this issue,” Lazaro said on Friday.

A White House official earlier said the meeting was set for July 22, while the office of Marcos said he will visit the US from July 20-22. The Philippines is concerned over a 20 percent tariff rate announced this week by Trump, which was increased from 17 percent threatened in April, without explanation. The US goods trade deficit with the Philippines widened to $4.9 billion in 2024, a 21.8 percent increase from 2023.

The Philippines has said it remains committed to continue negotiations and a delegation will travel to Washington next week to pursue a trade deal. Relations between Manila and Washington have soared under Marcos, who has pivoted closer to the US and allowed American soldiers to expand their presence at Philippine facilities. The former US colony is central to Washington’s efforts to counter China’s assertiveness in the South China Sea and toward Taiwan. The United States and the Philippines have a seven-decade old mutual defense treaty and hold dozens of annual exercises, which have included testing of a US Typhon missile system, angering China.

Marcos’ overtures of to the US and defiant stand on China have riled Beijing, which has repeatedly accused Manila and Washington of trying to stoke tensions. Lazaro said negotiations on a code of conduct between the Association of Southeast Asian Nations and China were dragging out and the Philippines would push for talks to finish when it becomes ASEAN chair next year. She said the code must be legally binding. The South China Sea remains a source of friction between China and the Philippines, Vietnam and Malaysia, with ties between Beijing and Manila at their worst in years amid frequent confrontations that have sparked concerns they could spiral into conflict.

“It is our view that it should not be taking so long. It is important that we have to deliver,” she said.

“So it is incumbent upon all of us, and actually China, to... endeavor to finish the negotiations, the discussions. And that’s supposed to be in 2026.”

Lazaro also said a planned election in military-ruled Myanmar, an ASEAN member in the grips of a civil war, would only be acceptable if it were inclusive and peaceful.