DIRS.INFO The most relevant business & tech news

CNN —US troops in Niger have been restricted to the American military base in Agadez, Niger, as the Biden administration works to restore democratically-elected President Mohamed Bazoum to power. A US military official said the approximately 1,000 troops were “retrograded” back to the base last week, shortly after Bazoum was seized by members of the presidential guard on Wednesday. “We’re working really, really hard to see if we can turn this around,” said a senior State Department official on Monday. But the Pentagon is engaging in “strategic patience as we monitor the situation and see how it resolves itself,” the military official said. The US has had troops in Niger for around a decade, mostly advising and training Nigerien forces on counterterrorism efforts.

Persons: Biden, Mohamed Bazoum, Bazoum, ”, Mark Milley, Dave Butler, “ There’s, Abdourahamane Tiani, they’ve, “, Wagner, Yevgeny, Prigozhin Organizations: CNN, Nigerien, State Department, US Joint Chiefs, Staff Locations: Niger, Agadez, ”, Bazoum

☆ Niger response: 'Washington has to thread a very difficult needle'
▼ + stars: | 2023-07-28 | by ( Jennifer Hansler | ) edition.cnn.com time to read: +9 min

CNN —The United States and its Western allies are faced with a difficult conundrum as they navigate potential responses to the military takeover in Niger if democratic rule is not restored. Experts told CNN that punitive measures could push Niger toward Russian mercenary groups like Wagner and away from its partners in the West. US officials have said there are no indications that the organization was involved in the military takeover. We don’t really know who this new general is” who has seized power, she told CNN. Felbab-Brown told CNN that Prigozhin is trying to “personally” take advantage, given his “precarious” place following his failed revolt.

Persons: Biden, Vedant Patel, John Kirby, Wagner, Yevgeny Prigozhin, ”, Cameron Hudson, ‘, Antony Blinken, Vanda Felbab, Brown, Bob Menendez, Jim Risch, Kirby, Mohamed Bazoum, Gen, Abdourahamane Tiani, Bazoum, “, ” Hudson, Kamissa Camara, Camara, Ibrahim Boubacar Keïta, We’re, ” Prigozhin, Vladimir Putin, “ It’s, Prigozhin, Putin, shouldn’t, ” Kirby, Blinken, United Nations Linda Thomas, Greenfield, Kamala Harris, Bola Tinubu, African Affairs Molly Phee, Hassoumi Massoudou, Mahamadou Issoufou “, Patel Organizations: CNN, US State Department, Nigerien, State Department, National Security Council, Experts, Center for Strategic, International Studies, Central African, West, Brookings, Senate Foreign Relations, Democratic, US Institute of Peace, Russian Foreign Ministry, African Union, Economic, West African States, United Nations, African Affairs, Nigerien Foreign, ” State Department Locations: United States, Niger, Russian, Africa, “ Washington, Sahel, Mali, Burkina Faso, Central African Republic, Niamey, “, Hudson, Russia, St . Petersburg, Moscow, Sudan, New Zealand, Nigeria

And earlier this week, Russia targeted a Ukrainian port on the Danube River near NATO ally Romania. Now, Russia’s defense ministry has warned that ships sailing to Ukraine’s Black Sea ports will be viewed as military targets. Two thirds of the wheat that left Ukraine via the Black Sea ports went to developing countries, said Power. Russian drones attacked Ukraine's port infrastructure on the Danube river, targeting Ukrainian grain stocks and destroying storage hangars, the Ukrainian Army said. “We believe its targeting might also include attacks against civilian shipping in the Black Sea.

Persons: Barbara Woodward, Moscow’s, United Nations Linda, Thomas Greenfield, “, ”, Samantha Power, Antony Blinken, António Guterres, Bulgaria –, Power, Kees Huizinga, Huizinga, ” Katherine Brucker Organizations: CNN, United Nations, NATO, European, US Agency for International Development, UN, Romania, European Commission, Aspen Security, AP, U.S . Agency for International, Biden, Ukrainian Army, Ukraine Operational Command, European Union, Organization for Security, Cooperation Locations: Ukraine, United, Russia, Odesa, Ukrainian, Turkey, Kerch, Poland, Slovakia, Hungary, Romania, Bulgaria, West, United States, Europe

CNN —President Joe Biden has decided to allow the US to cooperate with the International Criminal Court’s investigation of Russian war crimes in Ukraine, two US officials and a source familiar with the matter told CNN. The decision comes after months of internal debate and marks a historic shift, as it would be the first time the US has agreed to share evidence with the court as part of a criminal probe into a country that is not a member of the ICC. “It could be deeply consequential,” one of the sources said, adding that the US government now has “a clear green light” to share information and evidence with the ICC. Over the course of the war, Biden administration officials have obtained evidence of alleged Russian war crimes in Ukraine, through intelligence gathering mechanisms among other channels, officials told CNN. The Pentagon was the most concerned about cooperating with the court, officials said, and worried that doing so might set a precedent for the ICC to investigate alleged war crimes carried out by Americans in Iraq.

Persons: Joe Biden, Biden “, ”, Biden, Defense Lloyd Austin, CNN’s Wolf Organizations: CNN, ICC, National Security, Joint, Eurojust, United Nations Human Rights, Criminal Court, The New York Times, Pentagon, Defense, Defense Department, Ukraine’s, Department of Justice Locations: Ukraine, Russia, Moscow, United States, Iraq

☆ Trevor Reed: Former US Marine who was released by Russia in prisoner swap injured while fighting in Ukraine, source says
▼ + stars: | 2023-07-25 | by ( Jennifer Hansler | ) edition.cnn.com time to read: +3 min

CNN —Trevor Reed, the former US Marine who was wrongfully detained in Russia for nearly three years before being released in a prisoner swap, was injured while fighting in Ukraine, a source familiar with the matter told CNN Tuesday. Reed, who was freed in a prisoner swap in April 2022, was transported to a hospital in Kyiv and was evacuated to Germany for medical care, the source said. A US official told CNN that Reed is being treated at Landstuhl Regional Medical Center, a US military hospital near Ramstein Air Base. Reed and his family denied the charges against him, and he was designated as wrongfully detained by the US State Department. It was ultimately secured through a prisoner swap for Russian citizen Konstantin Yaroshenko, a Russian smuggler convicted of conspiring to import cocaine.

Persons: Trevor Reed, Reed, Vedant Patel, Patel, Reed “, ”, ” Patel, Jonathan Franks, Paul Whelan, Evan Gershkovich, Matt, Carstens, ” “ You’ve, Konstantin Yaroshenko Organizations: CNN, US Marine, ”, Department, Landstuhl Regional Medical, Ramstein Air Base, Russian Federation, US State Department Locations: Russia, Ukraine, Kyiv, Germany, Ramstein, Moscow

The US began ramping up ammunition production last year when it became clear that the war would drag on far longer than anticipated. But the ammunition will still take “years” to mass produce to acceptable levels, National Security adviser Jake Sullivan told CNN Sunday. Ukrainian troops now typically fire between 2,000 and 3,000 artillery shells per day at Russian forces, a US defense official told CNN. It was necessary, though, because of how low US stockpiles are, Sullivan told CNN Sunday. “All of us have had to struggle stimulating our supply chains, some of which went to sleep,” he told CNN.

Persons: Ben Wallace, that’s, Jake Sullivan, haven’t, –, Defense Lloyd Austin, John Kirchhofer, Mark Milley, Joe Biden, Sullivan, Biden, “, ”, ” Sullivan, ” Nebraska Republican Sen, Deb Fischer, Lockheed Martin, Fischer, ” Fischer, I’m, ‘, Ellen Lovett, ” Lovett, ” Wallace, ” Said, Volodymyr Zelenskyy, Recep Tayyip Erdogan, Rishi Sunak, Murat Kula, Charles Q, Brown, Jr Organizations: Washington CNN, NATO, CNN, US, National, CNN Sunday, Pentagon, The Defense Department, EyePress, Reuters, Defense, Defense Intelligence Agency’s, Joint Chiefs, Staff, National Press Club, ” Nebraska Republican, Senate’s Armed Services, Lockheed, “, Britain's, Anadolu Agency, Getty, European Union, EU, DoD, US Air Force, Joint Chiefs of Staff, Defense Industrial Base Locations: Europe, Ukraine, Russia, Berlin, Swiss, Germany, Switzerland, Ukrainian, Kreminna, Luhansk, “, United States, Vilnius

CNN —Former US Secretary of State Henry Kissinger met in Beijing with Chinese Defense Minister Li Shangfu, according to the Chinese Ministry of Defense. Kissinger met with Li, who is under US sanction, in his capacity as a private citizen, State Department spokesperson Matthew Miller said. Kissinger played a key role in the US rapprochement with China while serving as national security adviser under the Nixon administration. Miller, the State Department spokesperson, indicated that Secretary of State Antony Blinken found out about the meeting from his own meetings with Chinese officials in Beijing last month. “We were aware that Henry Kissinger was traveling to China,” Miller said at a State Department briefing.

Persons: Henry Kissinger, Li Shangfu, Kissinger, Li, Matthew Miller, Nixon, Lloyd Austin, Miller, Antony Blinken, ” Miller, Blinken, ”, “, it’s Organizations: CNN, Former, Chinese Defense, Chinese Ministry of Defense, State, US, Beijing “, State Department Locations: Beijing, China, United States, Singapore

CNN —US Secretary of State Antony Blinken is due to meet with top Chinese diplomat Wang Yi on Thursday – the latest in a series of increased high-level interactions between Washington and Beijing. Their meeting on the sidelines of the ASEAN Foreign Ministers’ Meeting in Jakarta comes less than a month after the two met in Beijing, holding what the top US diplomat called a “candid and constructive” conversation. The Biden administration feels that the US and China are “getting back to normal in the sense of pace of diplomacy,” a senior administration official told CNN this week. Both Blinken and Yellen claimed they had made some progress in efforts to re-establish bilateral communications aimed at responsibly managing the relationship. But right now that is “not being actively considered,” the senior administration official said.

Persons: Antony Blinken, Wang Yi, Qin Gang, Biden, ”, Janet Yellen, John Kerry, Yellen, ” Blinken, “ We’re, –, ” Yellen, they’ve, Blinken’s, Matthew Miller, Miller Organizations: CNN, Chinese Communist Party, China’s, Qin, Reuters, ASEAN, Microsoft, State Department Locations: Washington, Beijing, Jakarta, United States, China, Fiji, Mexico

Beijing/Hong Kong CNN —The world is big enough for both the United States and China to thrive, US Treasury Secretary Janet Yellen said Sunday as she wrapped up a visit to Beijing aimed at stablizing the relationship between the world’s two largest economies. But I expect that this trip will help build a resilient and productive channel of communication,” Yellen told a news conference in Beijing. “China believes that generalizing national security is not conducive to normal economic and trade exchanges,” it said. Yellen said she discussed with Chinese officials areas of cooperation on global challenges, including working together to mobilize multilateral financing for climate action. US climate envoy John Kerry is expected to visit China next, according to US Ambassador to China Nicholas Burns, though he did not provide a timetable for the trip.

Persons: Janet Yellen, Yellen, Li Qiang, Pan Gongsheng, ” Yellen, —, Thomas Peter, ”, “, Biden, That’s, John Kerry, China Nicholas Burns Organizations: Hong Kong CNN, Communist Party, Washington, Sunday, Reuters, US, China’s, Xinhua, China, Bain & Company, Group, Street, Politico, Ukraine Locations: Beijing, Hong Kong, United States, China, “, Japan, Netherlands, decouple, Shanghai, American, ”

Beijing/Hong Kong CNN —US Treasury Secretary Janet Yellen urged China on Saturday to combat the “existential threat” of climate change by supporting international funds intended to help developing countries confront the crisis. On the second full day of her visit to Beijing, Yellen said the United States and China should work together to tackle global challenges despite differences over a range of issues. Yellen said China’s support for existing multilateral climate institutions like the Green Climate Fund (GCF) and the Climate Investment Funds, alongside the United States and other partners, could improve their impact. The GCF is the main climate financing mechanism of the United Nations and helps developing countries to tackle climate change. Kerry would be the third Cabinet official from the Biden administration to travel to China, after Yellen and Secretary of State Antony Blinken, who visited in June.

Persons: Janet Yellen, Yellen, —, ”, Joe Biden, Nancy Pelosi’s, China Nicholas Burns, John Kerry, Kerry, Biden, Antony Blinken Organizations: Hong Kong CNN, Climate, United Nations, Amazon Fund, US, Yellen Locations: Beijing, Hong Kong, China, United States, Taiwan

On Monday, China imposed curbs on overseas sales of gallium and germanium, elements essential to making semiconductors, which have become a growing source of friction between the world’s top two economies. The move was widely seen as a response to the Biden administration’s ban on advanced chip sales to China, which was announced last October. “I am … concerned about new export controls recently announced by China on two critical minerals used in technologies like semiconductors,” Yellen told a meeting of business people hosted by the American Chamber of Commerce in Beijing. “I’ve been particularly troubled by punitive actions that have been taken against US firms in recent months,” Yellen added. Along with other US officials, Yellen has long signaled the Biden administration’s desire to deepen communication and lower the temperature between the world’s top two economies.

Persons: Hong Kong CNN —, Janet Yellen, Biden, “, Yellen, ”, “ I’ve, ” Yellen, Capvision, Liu He, Yi Gang, Joe Biden’s, Xi Jiping Organizations: Hong Kong CNN, American Chamber of Commerce, Bain & Company, Group, US Treasury, Treasury Department, Biden Locations: Beijing, Hong Kong, China, Shanghai, New York, China’s, United States

CNN —US Treasury Secretary Janet Yellen arrived in Beijing Thursday ahead of high-stakes meetings with senior Chinese officials. The treasury secretary intends “to talk about the bilateral economic relationship, raise issues of concern, and discuss ways we can work together on global challenges” during her meeting with Li, a senior Treasury official told reporters traveling with Yellen. On Friday, Yellen will also meet with her former counterpart, Liu He, in what the Treasury official said could be “seen as a meeting of old friends.”“They were former counterparts. I will say that definitively,” the official told reporters. Yellen will be in China until July 9, according to the Department of the Treasury.

Persons: Janet Yellen, Yellen, China’s Premier Li Qiang, Xi Jinping, “, ”, Li, Liu He, They’ve, Zhou Xiaochuan, Joe Biden’s “, Xi Organizations: CNN, China’s Premier, Treasury, Yellen, People’s Bank of China, Treasury Department, Department of, Biden Locations: Beijing, China, PRC

☆ 4 things making it harder for Janet Yellen to repair the US-China relationship
▼ + stars: | 2023-07-06 | by ( Laura He | ) edition.cnn.com time to read: +9 min

The global economy stands to gain if Washington and Beijing can mend fences, but analysts say this appears unlikely. Here are four things likely to make it harder for Yellen to repair US-China ties, and one thing keeping the relationship going. Sequoia’s executives said in a statement that it has become “increasingly complex” to run a decentralized global investment business. On Wednesday, US pharmaceutical firm Moderna (MRNA)signed a deal to make its first major investment in China. “Both sides are ramping up commercial restrictions in the name of national security and national interests,” she said.

Persons: Janet Yellen, China, ” Wei Jianguo, ”, Anna Ashton, Biden, Beijing’s, Wei, Capvision, Xi Jinping’s, “, Li Qiang, Xi, Alex Capri, ” Ashton, —, Jennifer Hansler, Wayne Chang, Bryan Mena Organizations: Hong Kong CNN, Eurasia Group, Micron Technology, China Daily, Analysts, China, Capvision, Bain & Company, Group, Forrester Research, Ontario, Republicans, Hawks, Shanghai Cooperation Organization, Xinhua, US Commerce Department, “, National University of Singapore Business School, Moderna Locations: Hong Kong, Beijing, United States, China, Chinese, Washington, Japan, Europe, Shanghai, New York, decouple, Moscow, Ukraine, Russia, Taiwan, Tianjin

CNN —The US State Department on Friday released its long-awaited Afghanistan After Action Review report, which found that both the Trump and Biden administrations’ decisions to pull all US troops from Afghanistan had detrimental consequences, and details damning shortcomings by the current administration that led to the deadly and chaotic US withdrawal from that country after nearly two decades on the ground. Sharper criticism of Biden admin actions than earlier White House documentThe State Department’s report contains much sharper criticism around the Biden administration’s actions than the White House summary document released in April. That added significantly to the challenges the Department and DoD faced during the evacuation,” the report said. The report noted that in the chaos, the State Department received an “overwhelming volume of incoming calls and messages to the Department from other government agencies, Congress, and the public inquiring about individual cases mostly with regard to at-risk Afghans,” which created an immense challenge. The report detailed 11 recommendations, mostly related to the Department’s crisis response and preparedness.

Persons: Donald, Trump, Joe, Biden, ”, Afghanistan “, “, Hamid, State Department “, ” “, Antony Blinken, I’ll, ” Blinken Organizations: CNN, US State Department, Trump, Biden, State Department, White, Department, Bagram Air Base, Hamid Karzai International Airport, US, “, DoD, United States, Task Force Locations: Afghanistan, United, United States, Kabul, Washington

☆ Wagner chief Prigozhin is in Belarus following armed rebellion, Lukashenko says
▼ + stars: | 2023-06-28 | by ( Katharina Krebs Paul P. Murphy Natasha Bertrand Jennifer Hansler Helen Regan | Katharina Krebs | Paul P. Murphy | ) edition.cnn.com time to read: +7 min

“I want everyone to know about this: the maintenance of the entire Wagner group was fully provided for by the state,” Putin claimed. “In terms of nuclear weapons, most of them were already brought to Belarus, I won’t say how many. It’s surprising that they didn’t trace it,” Lukashenko said, according to Belarus state media. “Russians and Belarusians are guarding it… No Wagner fighters will guard nuclear weapons. This is our task.”If Lukashenko’s remarks are correct, it would be the first time Belarus has had nuclear weapons on its territory since the early 1990s.

Persons: CNN — Wagner, Yevgeny Prigozhin, Alexander Lukashenko, “, ” Lukashenko, hasn’t, Wagner, Vladimir Putin, Putin, ”, BlackSky, ” Putin, Putin’s, ” “, Brian Nelson, ’ Wagner, Lukashenko, CNN Lukashenko –, –, ” Wagner, Prigozhin Organizations: CNN, Kremlin, Federal Security Service, Defense Ministry, Prigozhin, European Union, Wagner, US Treasury Department, Wagner Group, Central African, Treasury, Belarus ‘ Locations: Belarus, Rostov, Belarusian, Minsk, Moscow, Russian, Concord, Africa, Sudan, Ukraine, Central African Republic, Mali, United States, Luhansk, Russia

CNN —At least two people died in a shooting incident near the United States consulate in Jeddah, Saudi Arabia on Wednesday, according to local police and a spokesperson for the consulate. One of those killed was a consulate security guard. That person was killed in an exchange of fire with security forces, it said. “There were two fatalities, including a member of the Consulate’s local guard force as well as the assailant, who was killed by Saudi security forces,” they said. “We offer our sincere condolences to the family and loved ones of the deceased local guards member,” the spokesperson said.

Persons: “, ” Organizations: CNN, United, Saudi Locations: United States, Jeddah, Saudi Arabia, Jeddah Governorate, Saudi, Mecca

☆ Chinese ambassador to US makes ‘strong protests’ to White House over Biden comments
▼ + stars: | 2023-06-22 | by ( Jennifer Hansler | ) edition.cnn.com time to read: +4 min

That’s what’s a great embarrassment for dictators, when they didn’t know what happened,” Biden said. The US President’s comments came mere days after US Secretary of State Antony Blinken was in Beijing for meetings with key officials, including Xi. “The nature and impact are very negative,” the Chinese Embassy statement said. On Wednesday, the US State Department sought to downplay the potential impact of Biden’s comments, with State Department deputy spokesperson Vedant Patel saying the remarks had “absolutely not at all” diminished the progress. And all of this is in our interests to do that,” Patel said at a State Department briefing.

Persons: Xie Feng “, Joe Biden’s, Xi Jinping, Biden, “, Xi, ”, what’s, ” Biden, Antony Blinken, Blinken, ” Blinken, “ We’re, Vedant Patel, ” Patel Organizations: CNN, White, US Department of State, Embassy, US State Department, State Department Locations: United States, California, Beijing, China

CNN —Welcoming Indian Prime Minister Narendra Modi to the White House this week for a state visit – the most elevated form of American diplomacy – will require President Joe Biden to make certain trade-offs. Yet Modi and India, the world’s largest democracy, also represent a lynchpin in Biden’s strategy in Asia. That, according to officials, was the rationale behind inviting Modi for a state visit, only the third of Biden’s presidency so far. The two leaders will hold a joint news conference – something virtually every state visit over the past two decades has featured – but that was only agreed upon after lengthy, delicate negotiations between the two sides. “We’re just grateful that Prime Minister Modi is going to be participating in a press event at the end of the visit.

Persons: Narendra Modi, Joe Biden, Modi, He’s, India’s, Biden, “ We’re, John Kirby, Jake Sullivan, New Delhi’s, ” Sullivan, “, Barack Obama, Xi Jinping, Donald Trump, Howdy Modi, Emmanuel Macron, Rahul Gandhi, Modi’s, he’s, Pramila, Sen, Chris Van Hollen, Jayapal, ” Modi, Rashida, Ilhan Omar, Alexandria Ocasio, Sullivan, ”, It’s, Russia can’t, Xi, ” Biden Organizations: CNN, Indian, White, Office, National Security, Indian Embassy, White House, Trump, Bharatiya Janata Party, BJP, Rep, Democrat, Maryland Democrat, Reps, State Department Locations: India, Asia, China, Beijing, Ukraine, New, United States, America, Houston, Ahmedabad, Gujarat, Washington, Maryland, Alexandria, Cortez, Russia

☆ US hostage envoy Roger Carstens quietly traveled to Venezuela this week
▼ + stars: | 2023-06-21 | by ( Jennifer Hansler | ) edition.cnn.com time to read: +3 min

CNN —US Special Presidential Envoy for Hostage Affairs Roger Carstens quietly traveled to Venezuela this week, a State Department spokesperson confirmed to CNN Wednesday. Carstens traveled to the capital city of Caracas for “discussions about the welfare and safety of US nationals wrongfully detained in Venezuela,” the spokesperson said. “We continue to advocate for the immediate and unconditional release of all wrongfully detained US nationals in Venezuela at every opportunity,” they said. ‘Signing his death warrant’The family members of the detained Americans, all of whom have been detained more than a year, are increasingly worried about their loved ones. Tillery told CNN that the US is “signing his death warrant” by not securing Kenemore’s release.

Persons: Hostage Affairs Roger Carstens, Carstens, ”, “, Eyvin Hernandez, Jerrel Kenemore, Luke Denman, Airan Berry, Nicolas Maduro, Jeana, Tillery, Gustavo Cárdenas –, Jorge Alberto Fernandez, – Jose Pereira, Jorge Toledo, Tomeu, Alirio Zambrano, Jose Luis Zambrano, Matthew Heath, Osman Khan –, Biden Organizations: CNN, Hostage Affairs, State Department, United Locations: Venezuela, Caracas, United States, Venezuelan

CNN —It appears increasingly likely that the 31 NATO members will be unable to coalesce around a candidate to be the alliance’s next secretary general and Jens Stoltenberg will be asked to remain in the job for an additional year, multiple sources told CNN. Biden and Stoltenberg met in the Oval Office last week, where the topic of his succession was expected to arise. White House officials have declined to say whether the president asked Stoltenberg to remain in job. “The current Secretary General Jens Stoltenberg has been, in President Biden’s eyes, a remarkable leader,” Blinken said. “There are also some rather extraordinary people now who people were talking about as the next secretary general.

Persons: Jens Stoltenberg, Mette Frederiksen, Ben Wallace, Joe Biden, Stoltenberg, “, ”, Antony Blinken, Biden, I’ve, Blinken, ” “, General Jens Stoltenberg, Biden’s, ” Blinken Organizations: CNN, NATO, Danish, British, United Locations: Ukraine, United States, Norwegian, London

I think neither side wants to look as if they’re accepting or acquiescing to the other’s actions,” she said. But hope might not turn into reality, and relations might become worse after the visit,” he added. “We prepare for the worst and hope for the best.”Blinken would not predict whether his visit would pave the way for continued high-level engagements between the US and China. “As to what comes next, let’s see how the visit goes,” the top US diplomat said Friday, referencing comments from his Singaporean counterpart. “This is an important but, in a sense, insufficient step because there’s a lot of work to be done.”

Persons: Antony Blinken, Joe, Biden, Xi, ” Blinken, Vivian Balakrishnan, Blinken, “, Daniel Kritenbrink, “ we’re, ” Patricia Kim, ”, ’ Blinken, Kai Li, Mark Swidan, David Lin, Jake Sullivan, Wang Yi, Shen Dingli, Defense Lloyd Austin, Li Shangfu, Shen, ” Shen Organizations: CNN, senior State Department, Singaporean, State, East Asian, Pacific Affairs, Brookings Institution, Saturday, Defense, Chinese Defense, Asia Pacific Economic Cooperation Locations: Beijing, United States, China, Bali, Taiwan, Ukraine, Vienna, Washington, Shanghai, Singapore

☆ Blinken to travel to China this weekend as US looks to reset relations after spy balloon incident
▼ + stars: | 2023-06-14 | by ( Jennifer Hansler | ) edition.cnn.com time to read: +5 min

CNN —US Secretary of State Antony Blinken will travel to Beijing this weekend, the State Department announced on Wednesday – a significant trip that comes as the Biden administration navigates its complicated relationship with China. Blinken was originally set to travel to Beijing in early February, but postponed his trip due to a Chinese spy balloon transiting the US. Blinken will be the first Cabinet official to travel to China under the Biden administration, and the first since 2019. Blinken will ‘advocate strongly’ for military to military communicationsPrior to the public announcement of the trip, Blinken spoke by phone with Chinese Foreign Minister Qin Gang. Campbell told reporters that Blinken will “advocate strongly” for the need for appropriate military to military communications.

Persons: Antony Blinken, Biden, Blinken, “, Pacific Affairs Daniel Kritenbrink, ”, Jake Sullivan, Kritenbrink, Kurt Campbell, Matthew Miller, Xi Jinping, Campbell, Qin Gang, Qin, ” Kritenbrink, ” Campbell, National Defense Li Shangfu, Defense Lloyd Austin, “ We’ve, Mark Swidan, Kai Li, David Lin Organizations: CNN, State Department, State, East Asian, Pacific Affairs, National, “, Foreign, Ministry, China’s, National Defense, Defense Locations: Beijing, China, United States, Taiwan, Ukraine, Russia, Singapore

CNN —US and western officials see signs that Ukraine’s long-awaited counteroffensive against Russia is beginning and have noted a “substantial increase in fighting” in the east of the country over the last 48 hours as Ukrainian troops probe for weaknesses in Russian defensive lines, a senior NATO official said on Tuesday. The destruction of a sprawling dam in Ukraine’s Russian-occupied Kherson region, which triggered a wave of evacuations on Tuesday as floods of water spilled from the Nova Kakhovka hydro-electric plant, could complicate some of Ukraine’s plans, officials told CNN. The dam’s destruction could now make it more difficult for Ukrainian troops to cross the Dnipro River and attack Russian positions there, said two western officials. Ukrainian forces are also conducting operations south of Donetsk city in eastern Ukraine, which appears to be a new effort, the western official said. The counteroffensive is expected to be carried out on multiple fronts, a senior US military official said.

Persons: “, ’, Hanna Maliar, Volodymyr Zelensky, ” Zelensky, Mark Milley Organizations: CNN, NATO, Nova, Wall, Joint Chiefs, Staff Locations: Russia, Kherson, Dnipro, Ukrainian, ”, European, Washington, Zaporizhzhia, Donetsk, Ukraine, Europe

CNN —CIA Director Bill Burns secretly traveled to China last month, a US official told CNN Friday, amid efforts by the United States to reset relations with Beijing after a year of extremely heightened tensions. The specific intelligence matter that Burns discussed in Beijing is unclear. “Our assessment at CIA is that I wouldn’t underestimate President Xi’s ambitions with regard to Taiwan,” Burns said earlier this year. National security adviser Jake Sullivan met with top Chinese official Wang Yi in Vienna for “candid” and “constructive” talks in mid-May. A US senior administration official said the meeting was an attempt to put communications back on track after the spy balloon incident.

Persons: Bill Burns, Burns “, Burns, Antony Blinken, Biden, Burns –, Xi’s, ” Burns, Defense Lloyd Austin, Li Shangfu “, Austin, of National Defense Li Shangfu, Pat Ryder, “, ”, Tan Kefei, John Aquilino, Jake Sullivan, Wang Yi, We’re, we’ve, Gina Raimondo, Katherine Tai, Wang Wentao, Wang, ” Raimondo Organizations: CNN, CIA, Financial Times, Taiwan, Defense, Pentagon, “, of National Defense, PRC, China’s Defense Ministry, Pacific Command, People’s Liberation Army, US Trade, Chinese Commerce, D.C Locations: China, United States, Beijing, Ukraine, Taiwan, Singapore, Japan, Vienna, Sweden

☆ Sudan: Biden administration imposes sanctions and visa restrictions in response to ongoing violence
▼ + stars: | 2023-06-01 | by ( Jennifer Hansler | ) edition.cnn.com time to read: +5 min

CNN —The Biden administration on Thursday imposed financial sanctions and visa restrictions in response to the ongoing violence in Sudan. The announcement of the sanctions comes a day after the Sudanese Armed Forces (SAF) announced it was walking away from talks with the rival Rapid Support Forces (RSF) following numerous ceasefire violations by both sides and as the conflict in Sudan – which has killed hundreds, injured thousands, and triggered a humanitarian catastrophe – continues. “It’s important, in our view, to hold people accountable and to recognize that until the calculus of both parties change they will continue to fight each other and destroy this country,” a senior administration official told reporters Thursday. In addition to the financial sanctions, the US State Department imposed visa restrictions “on specific individuals in Sudan, including officials from the SAF, RSF, and leaders from the former Omar al-Bashir regime, responsible for, or complicit in, undermining Sudan’s democratic transition,” US Secretary of State Antony Blinken said in a statement. The State Department did not specify who the individuals are.

Persons: CNN —, Biden, ”, Joe Biden, Omar al, Bashir, Antony Blinken, “, –, Mohamed Hamdan Dagalo, Abdel Fattah al, Burhan –, Al Junaid, Hemedti, Abdul Rahim Dagalo, Major Algoney Hamdan Dagalo Organizations: CNN, Sudanese Armed Forces, SAF, Rapid Support Forces, US Treasury Department, US State Department, State Department, Treasury Department, Al, Co, Major Algoney Hamdan Dagalo . Defense Industries, Technology, Defense Industries System, Department, Sudan “ Locations: Sudan, ”, Saudi, Jeddah, “, United States, Kingdom of Saudi Arabia

Search resuls for: "Jennifer Hansler"

25 mentions found