Blinkon praised the team of the US Embassy in Bangkok and said that he was grateful for their outstanding work each and every day to advance the priorities of the US in Thailand and the region…reports Asian Lite News
Thailand’s Foreign Minister Don Pramudwinai and visiting US Secretary of State Antony Blinken signed two agreements on Sunday to enhance cooperation in tackling bilateral, regional and international challenges.
“Good meeting with Thai Foreign Minister @PramudwinaiDon. The US-Thailand Communique on Strategic Alliance and Partnership we signed reflects the deep and broad nature of our relationship and our ongoing desire to increase cooperation for greater prosperity for both our nations,” Blinken tweeted.
The Memorandum of Understanding on Promoting Supply Chain Resilience allows the two parties to enhance information sharing and consultation to reduce supply chain vulnerabilities, minimise disruptions in production and transportation, and ensure accessibility to critical goods to both countries and the global market.
The other agreement is about cooperation in renewable energy, including promoting clean and renewable technologies, such as electric vehicles and carbon capture technology, Xinhua news agency reported.
Blinkon praised the team of the US Embassy in Bangkok and said that he was grateful for their outstanding work each and every day to advance the priorities of the US in Thailand and the region.
While interacting with the exchange alumni in Thailand, US Secretary said that they have contributed to improving the communities and opened doors to create links between the two countries.
“We will keep opening doors for our alumni because it’s not just an investment in their future, but the future of the US-Thailand partnership,” he said.
“Khop khun khrap, Thailand! I enjoyed my first visit to Bangkok as Secretary of State and am grateful for the opportunity to expand upon our decades-long partnership to advance our shared prosperity, security, and values in the #IndoPacific region,” Blinkon tweeted as he concluded his visit to Thailand.
US Secretary left Bali, Indonesia after attending the G20 Foreign Ministers Meeting. During the G20 meeting, Blinken reinforced US’ commitment to working with international partners to confront global challenges, including food and energy insecurity and the threat Russia’s continued war against Ukraine presents to the international order.
Biden spoke passionately about the case of a 10-year-old Ohio girl who was forced to leave the state to get an abortion after being impregnated during rape…reports Asian Lite News
US President Joe Biden said Friday that federal legislation offered the fastest route to restoring US abortion rights and urged voters to elect pro-choice legislators in upcoming elections in defiance of an “out of control” Supreme Court, media reported.
Biden recently signed an executive order aimed at shoring up access to abortion after what he described as the court’s “terrible, extreme” decision to remove the constitutional right to terminate a pregnancy, the AFP reported.
The executive order pledges to ensure the safety of abortion patients and providers, including setting up mobile clinics near the borders of states restricting abortion access. It also seeks to convene private, pro bono lawyers to offer support to people crossing state lines to get an abortion.
Another part of the order directs the secretary of Health and Human Services to issue a report in the next 30 days outlining additional actions to protect medication abortion, expand access to emergency contraception and IUDs, and increase public education around reproductive rights.
Biden spoke passionately about the case of a 10-year-old Ohio girl who was forced to leave the state to get an abortion after being impregnated during rape.
“Imagine being that little girl,” Biden said, “A 10-year-old girl should be forced to give birth to a rapist’s child? I can’t think of anything more extreme.”
At least nine states have banned abortion so far including Alabama, Arkansas, Mississippi, Missouri, Oklahoma, South Dakota, Texas, West Virginia and Wisconsin. A dozen more states are expected to prohibit or restrict the procedure in the coming weeks.
“I’m asking the Justice Department that, much like they did in the Civil Rights era, to do everything in their power to protect these women seeking to invoke their rights,” Biden said at the White House on Friday.
Biden has been under pressure to protect abortion rights since the Supreme Court’s ruling two weeks ago.
“The practice of medicine … should not be frozen in the 19th century,” Biden said in the White House Roosevelt Room. Vice President Kamala Harris and Xavier Becerra, Secretary of Health and Human Services, also accompanied him to the briefing.
Decrying a “huge step” backwards by an “out-of-control” conservative court, Biden urged voters to take up the court’s challenge to pass legislation to protect abortion rights.
“The only way to restore that right to choose is at the ballot box,” he said.
Biden urged women to turn out in November to give him stronger Democratic majorities in Congress to act on abortion and protect the rights to contraception and same-sex marriage too.
Biden called the ruling “outrageous” and “destabilizing” and said last week that Congress must overturn it by writing Roe vs Wade into federal law. He also said he supports changing filibuster rules in the Senate to make it easier to codify the right to abortion and privacy into federal law.
Sixty votes are needed in the Senate to pass most legislation because of the filibuster. Changing the rules would allow senators to write Roe vs Wade into law with a simple majority. But getting rid of the filibuster is up to the Senate, and right now there aren’t enough votes to make that happen. (with inputs from Reena Bhardwaj)
The Amazon, the world’s largest rainforest, contains vast amounts of carbon (that is why it is called “carbon sink”), which is released as trees are destroyed, warming the atmosphere and driving climate change….reports Asian Lite News
Deforestation of the Amazon rainforest hit a new record in the first six months of this year, Brazil’s space agency Inpe reported on Friday. This has deepened concerns among the environmentalists that the damage sustained by the rainforest, which plays a crucial role in maintain the planet’s oxygen and carbon dioxide cycles, is irreparable. The satellite data shows that the Amazon rainforest has lost an area five times the size of New York City. This is the highest figure since 2016, the Brazil government said.
Satellite data showed that from January to June this year, 3,988 square km were cleared in the region. That’s an increase of 10.6% from the same months last year and the highest level for that period since the agency began compiling its current DETER-B data series in mid-2015.
Last year, 3,088 square kilometres of the rainforest were destroyed during the same period.
In June alone, destruction rose 5.5 per cent to 1,120 square km, also a record for that month of the year.
The Amazon, the world’s largest rainforest, contains vast amounts of carbon (that is why it is called “carbon sink”), which is released as trees are destroyed, warming the atmosphere and driving climate change.
In the last few decades, the existence of the rainforest has come under intense threat as the land is cleared and converted, largely for cattle ranching and farming. Various studies have pointed out that the Amazon has lost at least 17 per cent of its forest in the last five decades.
Some environmentalists also slam Brazil President Jair Bolsonaro claiming that he is doing very little to stop the deforestation of such an important part of Earth’s atmosphere. They say Mr Bolsonaro has rolled back environmental protections emboldening loggers, ranchers and land speculators who clear public land for profit.
The report further said that deforestation is creeping deeper into the forest. In the first six months of the year, Amazonas state in the heart of the rainforest recorded more destruction than any other state for the first time.
Investigators believe Bannon and other Trump advisors could have information on links between the White House and the mob that invaded the Capitol on the day it was due to certify Biden as winner….reports Asian Lite News
Former Trump advisor Steve Bannon has agreed to testify in the Capitol riot hearings, days before he was to face trial for defying a subpoena from the committee investigating the attack on Congress, US media reported.
” Bannon is willing to, and indeed prefers, to testify at your public hearing,” his lawyer Robert Costello wrote in a letter to the House Select Committee on Saturday, which was initially reported by The Guardian and cited by US media.
Bannon was among dozens of people called to testify on last year’s assault on the Capitol aimed at shutting down Congress over former president Donald Trump’s baseless claims that Joe Biden won the 2020 election due to voter fraud.
Investigators believe Bannon and other Trump advisors could have information on links between the White House and the mob that invaded the Capitol on the day it was due to certify Biden as winner.
Although he was not a White House employee or official Trump aide, Bannon’s attorneys had previously claimed he was protected by presidential executive privilege and did not have to cooperate with the committee.
According to the letter explaining his about-face, Bannon told the House Select Committee that “circumstances have now changed.”
“President Trump has decided that it would be in the best interests of the American people to waive executive privilege for Stephen K. Bannon, to allow Bannon to comply with the subpoena issued by your Committee.”
In November last year, Bannon turned himself in to the FBI to face charges of contempt of Congress after refusing to testify on the January 6 Capitol assault.
“I’m never going to back down,” he told reporters at the time after appearing before a judge to hear the charges. We’re going on the offense on this. And stand by,” he said, repeating the phrase Trump used during the election in 2020 to encourage supporters of a far-right militia group.
Bannon, 68, was indicted by a grand jury with two misdemeanor counts of contempt, each one carrying a penalty of one month to one year in jail, and a fine of up to $100,000.
The attack, which left five people dead, succeeded in delaying the joint House-Senate election certification session for several hours.
As Biden prepares for a diplomatically sensitive trip, he has signaled that he is looking to reset strained relations with Saudi Arabia at a time when he wants increased Gulf oil supplies along with closer Arab security ties with Israel to counter Iran…reports Asian Lite News
The Biden administration is discussing the possible lifting of its ban on US sales of offensive weapons to Saudi Arabia, but any final decision is expected to hinge on whether Riyadh makes progress toward ending the war in neighboring Yemen, according to four people familiar with the matter.
Senior Saudi officials pressed their US counterparts to scrap a policy of selling only defensive arms to its top Gulf partner in several meetings in Riyadh and Washington in recent months, three of the sources said ahead of President Joe Biden’s visit to the kingdom this week.
The internal US deliberations are informal and at an early stage, with no decision imminent, two sources said, and a US official told Reuters there were no discussions on offensive weapons under way with the Saudis “at this time.”
As Biden prepares for a diplomatically sensitive trip, he has signaled that he is looking to reset strained relations with Saudi Arabia at a time when he wants increased Gulf oil supplies along with closer Arab security ties with Israel to counter Iran.
At home, any move to rescind restrictions on offensive weapons is sure to draw opposition in Congress, including from Biden’s fellow Democrats and opposition Republicans who have been vocal critics of Saudi Arabia, congressional aides say.
Soon after taking office early last year, Biden adopted a tougher stance over Saudi Arabia’s campaign against the Iran-aligned Houthis in Yemen, which has inflicted heavy civilian casualties, and Riyadh’s human rights record, in particular the 2018 killing of Washington Post journalist and political opponent Jamal Khashoggi.
Biden, who as a presidential candidate denounced Saudi Arabia as a “pariah,” declared in February 2021 a halt to US support for offensive operations in Yemen, including “relevant arms sales.”
Saudi Arabia, the biggest US arms customer, has chafed under those restrictions, which froze the kind of weapons sales that previous US administrations had provided for decades.
Biden’s approach has softened since Russia’s invasion of Ukraine in March, which has prompted the United States and other Western countries to appeal to Saudi Arabia, the world’s top oil exporter, to pump more oil to offset loss of Russian supplies.
Saudi Arabia also won White House praise for agreeing in early June on a two-month extension of a UN-brokered truce in Yemen, scene of the world’s worst humanitarian crisis.
Saudi Arabia’s Crown Prince
Washington would now like to see it turned into a permanent ceasefire.
A person in Washington familiar with the matter said the administration had begun internal discussions about the possibility of removing Saudi weapons restrictions but indicated they had not reached a decision-making stage.
Among the times when Saudi officials raised the request was during Deputy Minister of Defense Khalid bin Salman’s visit to Washington in May, according to a second source.
The Saudi government did not respond to a request for comment.
The sources stressed, however, that no announcement was expected around Biden’s July 13-16 trip, which will include stops in Israel and the West Bank.
Any decision, they said, is expected to depend heavily on whether Riyadh is deemed to have done enough to find a political settlement to the Yemen conflict.
Among the biggest-ticket items the Saudis would likely seek are precision-guided munitions (PGM) such as those approved under former President Donald Trump in the face of objections from members of Congress.
The Biden administration is expected to move cautiously as it discusses which systems might be offered, two sources said. Amnesty International said US-made precision-guided bombs were used in a Saudi-led coalition air strike on a detention center in Yemen in January that killed scores.
If Washington eases the ban, it may be easier to push through sales of less-lethal equipment such as armored personnel carriers or replenish stocks of less-sophisticated ground-to-ground and air-to-ground weaponry.
Even under existing restrictions, the United States began stepping up its military support for Saudi Arabia earlier this year following Houthi missile strikes on the kingdom.
Washington approved missiles and an anti-ballistic defense system sales to Saudi Arabia, the Pentagon said in November, and the United States sent Patriot missiles this year as well – all deemed by US officials to be defensive in nature.
The Biden administration has also maintained backing for the Saudis to receive a Terminal High Altitude Area Defense (THAAD) system first approved in 2017 to counter ballistic missile threats.
While lawmakers have mostly acquiesced to such sales, Biden could face fallout on Capitol Hill if he decides to sell Riyadh offensive weapons again.
Among the likely opponents would be Democratic Senator Chris Murphy, a staunch critic of the Saudi campaign in Yemen who praised Biden when he froze offensive arms sales.
An aide said Murphy does not believe now is the time to resume such supplies.
But Jones is confident in his team’s ability, with USA having displayed their abilities with impressive performances during two warm-up wins against Jersey earlier this month…reports Asian Lite News
United States cricket team vice-captain Aaron Jones believes qualifying for the ICC T20 World Cup in Australia later this year will open a whole lot of avenues for the game in the country, not only for the current lot but also for the future generations.
In order to make it to the 20-over showcase in October-November this year, the USA must first negotiate a tough qualifying tournament in Zimbabwe and finish in the top two at the Qualifier B event that commences on Monday.
It won’t be easy, with USA taking on Jersey, Singapore and the hosts in the group stage of the eight-team tournament before a possible semifinal clash against a different opponent from the opposing group.
But Jones is confident in his team’s ability, with USA having displayed their abilities with impressive performances during two warm-up wins against Jersey earlier this month.
Qualifying for the T20 World Cup for USA would be huge, given that they will feature in the 2024 event as tournament hosts.
“If we could get to World Cup so you get to the highest level of cricket, to compete with the West Indies, Australia, India, all the teams that are playing full member cricket for sure, it would open a lot of doors,” Jones was quoted as saying by ICC ahead of the opening game. “Not only for us but definitely the youngsters coming up in the USA. We know for sure that the USA is a big, big market in terms of fans that watch and support cricket.
“So we really, truly, want to get to the next level for them and for the youngsters coming up behind us as well. It would definitely be a dream come true, I mean, the World Cup is the highest stage. I don’t think you can get any bigger than a World Cup as a professional cricketer.
“So I definitely want to play in the next World Cup for sure, as long as we get through these qualifiers, it’s going to be a dream come true,” he added.
While Jones was born in New York, he moved to the Caribbean at the age of four and has many friends and former team-mates that play with Barbados domestically and West Indies at international level. The 27-year-old said that is giving him further incentive to perform well during the upcoming qualifier event as he knows he will have plenty of people he knows watching on.
“I also have some friends playing in the World Cup as well. Obviously, I’ve grown up in the Caribbean so if we played against the West Indies, then I would be playing against some of my friends so that would be a good experience as well,” he said.
“I played with some of them at school. The guys that are from Barbados, I played with them at youth levels and stuff like that. And some of them I played against them in first-class cricket back home in the Caribbean and List A cricket and stuff like that too.”
Jones is the second leading run-scorer for the USA in both T20Is and ODIs and knows the pressure will be on him to perform well in Zimbabwe. “I would say that I like to put a bit of pressure on myself as well,” Jones said.
“I think that brings out the best in me, so me being the vice-captain, I want to be the leading batsman in the team. I always tend to tell myself that I need to do the job for the team. I just like to keep it as simple as possible.”
USA squad: Monank Patel (c), Aaron Jones, Ali Khan, Cameron Stevenson, Gajanand Singh, Jaskaran Malhotra, Marty Kain, Nisarg Patel, Rusty Theron, Saurabh Netravalkar, Steven Taylor, Sushant Modani, Yasir Mohammed, Vatsal Vaghela.
For his part, Biden is expected to reaffirm his long adherence to a two-state solution and to a peaceful settlement of the Palestinian problem that could ensure the freedom, security and prosperity …reports Asian Lite News
US President Joe Biden’s first official visit to the Middle East this week clearly shows that, in the wake of the Russian invasion of Ukraine and the big energy crisis created for European countries, he has realized that he must reverse the US strategy of withdrawal from the Middle East and try to recalibrate his relations with Middle East leaders.
From July 13-16, Biden will visit Israel, the occupied West Bank and Saudi Arabia and will have talks with Israeli caretaker Prime Minister Yair Lapid, Palestinian President Mahmud Abbas and Saudi Crown Prince Mohammed Bin Salman.
President Bident will try to convince his interlocutors that the United States, although it gives emphasis to its rivalry with China, does not intend to disengage from the Middle East and will not abandon its allies. After all, the US has succeeded in reviving NATO and may do the same in its relations with its Mideast allies.
Saudi Arabia’s Crown Prince
In an op-ed piece in the Washington Post published on Saturday, President Biden reminded readers that his administration helped end the 2021 War in Gaza between Israel and Hamas, which could have lasted months, in just 11 days. “We have worked with Israel, Egypt, Qatar and Jordan to maintain peace without permitting terrorists to rearm,” he wrote.
Biden also underlined the fact that he has rebuilt relations with Palestinians, restoring USD 500 million of aid to the Palestinian Authority, which had been blocked for years, while also passing a USD 4 billion support for Israel, the largest US aid ever given to the Jewish state.
In Israel, the US President will have talks with caretaker Prime Minister Yair Lapid with the stated US aim of “deepening Israel’s integration in the region, that will be good for peace and good for Israel’s security. This will not present any problems, as the two leaders are like-minded and are facing similar challenges from populist predecessors: Biden from Donald Trump and Lapid from Netanyahu.
The two issues where Biden and Lapid have different views are the issue of the Iran nuclear deal – as Iran is now close to producing enriched uranium to near military-grade- the expansion of Israeli settlements and the reopening of the US consulate in Jerusalem.
In the West Bank where Biden will have talks with Palestinian President Mahmoud Abbas, the latter is expected to raise the issue of Israel’s military operations and particularly the Israeli raids in the Jenin area, in which dozens of Palestinians were killed, as well as the death of Al Jazeera reporter Shireen Abu Akleh.
For his part, Biden is expected to reaffirm his long adherence to a two-state solution and to a peaceful settlement of the Palestinian problem that could ensure the freedom, security, prosperity and dignity of both Palestinians and Israelis.
Nahal Toosi, the foreign affairs correspondent at Politico, points out: “The Biden administration has restored much of the funding for the Palestinian people. It has re-established a direct diplomatic channel to deal with Palestinians. But Biden hasn’t reopened the consulate, returned the U.S. embassy to Tel Aviv, rescinded the recognition of Jerusalem as the capital, or reversed the settlements decision — although the Biden administration has spoken out against settlement expansion. Biden also wants to build on the Abraham Accords, while giving verbal support — but little diplomatic effort — to the idea of a future Palestinian state alongside Israel.”
While many people believe that the motive behind the US President’s visit to Saudi Arabia is to convince the Saudis to increase substantially oil production and thus stop the skyrocketing prices – for the first time ever oil prices in the United States have topped USD 5 a gallon- Biden denied this, and he was evidently telling the truth.
Apparently, Saudi Arabia does not have enough capacity to increase oil production in quantities sufficient to offset the Russian-generated oil shortage. Theoretically, Saudi Arabia can increase its current production capacity of 10.3 million barrels per day (B/D) by up to 600,000 B/D, but realistically this number is closer to 150,000 B/D, which cannot possibly cover the shortfall created because of the oil embargo imposed by the EU on Russian oil.
In a reversal of his previous policy and his pre-election declarations that he will make Saudi Arabia “a pariah state” following the murder of Washington Post journalist Jamal Khashoggi, Biden has recently been full of praise for Riyadh for extending a cease-fire in the war in Yemen.
Biden will try to change his frosty relations with the Saudis, who with amazement and anger had watched the US remove the air defence batteries from their country, rescind the official designation of the Houthis (the Saudi enemies in Yemen) as terrorists and restart nuclear talks with the Iranian regime, Saudi’s archenemy in the region.
At the invitation of King Salman, Joe Biden will visit Saudi Arabia on the first-ever direct flight between Israel and the Kingdom. With the Saudi King, Crown Prince Mohammed bin Salman and other officials, Biden will discuss bilateral and regional issues, and the war in Yemen and will try to push the Saudis to normalize relations with Israel.
The US President will also participate in a summit conference with the GCC+3 (Saudi Arabia, the UAE, Bahrain, Kuwait, Oman and Qatar) plus Egypt, Jordan and Iraq and will discuss with them ways of expanding security cooperation to counter the Iranian involvement in the region as well as energy security, the climate, infrastructure and human rights.
Although it is unlikely that Biden will achieve some of these difficult aims, he should be satisfied if he convinces his interlocutors that the US remains committed in the region and that it has absolutely no intention of leaving the Middle East and wishes to put the US relationship with these Middle East countries on a sound footing. (ANI)
The federal government controls about 63 per cent of the land in the state of Utah, which is a well-established Republican stronghold…reports ASHOK NILAKANTAN
US President Joe Biden signed off on an executive order to protect abortion rights throughout the United States to safeguard access to reproductive healthcare services, which targets states that have banned or severely restricted abortion in the wake of the recent Supreme Court decision that overturned the landmark Roe vs Wade verdict.
According to the White House, Biden’s executive order aims to safeguard access to reproductive healthcare services nationwide, including access to surgical and medication abortion and contraception; protecting patient privacy and access to accurate information; promoting the safety of patients, providers and facilities, and coordinating federal efforts to protect reproductive rights and access to healthcare.
The executive order (EO) also states that the Biden administration will convene private pro bono attorneys, bar associations and public interest organisations to help provide legal representation to patients, providers and third parties “lawfully seeking or offering reproductive health care services throughout the country”, according to a statement issued by the White House.
The EO, however, dismissed a proposal by leading Democrats in the Senate and House who urged Biden to permit abortion services on federal land in states where the procedure is banned. The federal government controls about 63 per cent of the land in the state of Utah, which is a well-established Republican stronghold.
Utah’s ‘trigger law’, which bans most abortions, is temporarily on hold after 3rd District Court Judge Andrew Stone issued a temporary restraining order to prevent the Utah law from going into effect for two weeks, according to Desert News from Utah.
A hearing on a request for a preliminary injunction is scheduled on Monday.
The state’s memorandum opposes the Planned Parenthood Association of Utah’s motion for preliminary injunction released on Friday, teeing up some of the state’s arguments against the civil rights complaint, primarily that the Utah Constitution does not expressly protect a right to abortion, nor does it protect an implied right to abortion.
Moreover, the state’s response cites criminal statutes outlawing abortion that date back to the 1890s, which were in effect until the Supreme Court’s landmark ruling in 1973 that recognized women’s constitutional right to abortion, the memo states.
The Utah Legislature’s passed SB174 in 2020, which once again made abortion a crime in Utah after the Supreme Court ruled to overturn Roe in a 5-4 decision and uphold Mississippi’s restrictive abortion law in a 6-3 decision.
SB174 bans abortion on demand but permits these exceptions: “If the mother’s life is at risk; if the pregnancy was a result of rape or incest; or if two maternal-fetal medicine physicians both determine that a fetus “has a defect that is uniformly diagnosable and uniformly lethal or … has a severe brain abnormality that is uniformly diagnosable.”
Meanwhile. CNN TV Network reported that using federal lands for abortion services would have “dangerous ramifications”, quoting White House press secretary Karine Jean-Pierre.
The White House fact-sheet reaffirms the President’s earlier statements that “Americans must remain free to travel safely to another state to seek the care they need” and “his commitment to fighting any attack by a state or local official who attempts to interfere with women exercising this right”.
Abortion providers in states in which access to abortion services is ensured under their state laws have reported they have been planning for increased numbers of patients from states that have imposed bans, but the waiting period for availing such services is a cause for major concern.
According to The Denver Post, abortion providers in Colorado say they’ve been inundated with requests for abortion appointments and are also seeing an increase in appointments for birth control strategies such as vasectomies or intrauterine devices.
According to the White House, the Department of Health and Human Services will consider additional federal medical privacy laws “to better protect sensitive information related to reproductive healthcare”. Measures are in place to issue a how-to guide for consumers to protect their personal data on mobile apps.
Jacqueline Ayers, the senior vice-president of policy, organising and campaigns at Planned Parenthood Federation of America, responded to the executive order in a statement thus: “We’re in a national health care crisis and need officials at every level of government to do everything within their authority to fight for access to abortion. Amid the Supreme Court stripping Americans of their constitutional right to abortion after nearly 50 years, we need an urgent and robust response to ensure people get the essential health care they need.”
Biden is currently speaking on the rollback of federal abortion protections, two weeks after the Supreme Court voted to overturn Roe v Wade, the landmark case that protected abortion rights nationwide as pronounced in 1973 but Supreme Court overturned it in July 2022.
“This was not a decision driven by the constitution. This was not a decision driven by history,” said Biden of the Supreme Court overturning the Roe vs Wade verdict.
Discussing the conservative majority in the court, Biden said: “Today’s supreme court majority is playing fast and loose with the facts.”
Later on in his remarks, Biden called on Americans to use their electoral power to elect senators who would help codify Roe vs Wade, saying that it was the “fastest route” to solidifying federal abortion rights.
“Your votes can make that a reality.”
Biden’s statement reflects his increasing frustration that his administration faces amid urging people to vote.
“You, the women of America, can determine the outcome of this issue,” he said, emphasizing that the courts did not have a “clue about the power of American women.” “For God’s sake, there’s an election in November. Vote, vote, vote,” said Biden.
His remarks come on the back of his signing off on an executive order protecting access to abortion and other reproductive healthcare nationwide.
Several Democrats have responded positively to Biden’s executive order, calling it a good first step but urging him to do more to protect abortion rights federally, reports Politico.
Bidens EO found its echo in the UK, a predominantly protestant country. Leading British newspaper The Guardian reported that the day Biden signed an executive order safeguarding access to abortions, ironically, Louisiana was able to enforce a near-total ban of abortions in the state under a judge’s order issued on Friday.
With abortion access threatened across the country, those seeking out abortion services and other reproductive healthcare options will be forced to travel if their states do not provide it.
The Guardian’s staffers Alvin Chang, Andrew Witherspoon and Jessica Glenza explored how the creation of abortion “deserts” throughout the country will change who can access care — and how far they will be forced to travel.
During the briefing, White house press secretary Karine Jean-Pierre got into a back-and-forth discussion with a reporter on whether or not people can peacefully protest against Supreme court justices, even in settings like restaurants. The question was prompted after Justice Brett Kavanaugh reportedly had to leave a steakhouse when protesters confronted him for voting to overturn the Roe vs wade verdict.
Jean-Pierre replied to a question on if protesters could confront justices at a restaurant they’re eating at, saying that the Biden administration is against the intimidation of Supreme Court justices and using violence against them.
Jean-Pierre also cited recent legislation passed to protect the safety of justices. Later on in her response, Jean-Pierre clarified, saying the Biden administration supports the right to peaceful protest, even outside of a restaurant.
Mexican President Andres Manuel Lopez Obrador speaks at a press conference in Mexico City, Mexico, Dec. 8, 2020. (Photo by Francisco Canedo/Xinhua/IANS)
Texas Governor Greg Abbott issued the executive order on Thursday authorising state forces to apprehend migrants and return them to the US-Mexico border.
Mexican President Andres Manuel Lopez Obrador has described as “vulgar” and “backward” a new immigration order issued by Texas Governor Greg Abbott.
“It is an aberration, we do not agree with it. It is extremely vulgar and has no legal basis,” Xinhua news agency quoted Lopez Obrador as saying on Friday.
Abbott issued the executive order on Thursday authorising state forces to apprehend migrants and return them to the US-Mexico border.
Lopez Obrador said the Governor “is not legally allowed to make that decision” because “it has to do with the US federal government”.
He added that Abbott’s statements and actions are framed within the political campaign for state elections in November.
Photo taken on June 27, 2022 shows the scene of an alleged human smuggling mass casualty event in San Antonio, Texas, the United States. (Photo by Nick Wagner/Xinhua/IANS)
“They are looking for sensationalism and yellow journalism, they think that way they will gain sympathy,” the President said.
He also criticised the existence of “anti-migrant campaigns with electoral purposes” in the US, which he described as “immoral” and “politicking”.
Abbott’s authorization followed other decisions he’s made on immigration that have generated controversy between Mexico and the US.
Photo taken on July 5, 2022 shows a white band of dried rocks around Lake Mead near Echo Bay in Nevada, the United States. (Photo by Zeng Hui/Xinhua/IANS)
Lots of things underneath Lake Mead have resurfaced in recent weeks, including formerly sunken boats, as the lake’s water level is continuing to decline, reports Asian Lite News
Surrounded by a white band of dried rocks, the vast drop in water levels was visible this week at Lake Mead, the biggest reservoir in the US, which has been shrinking amid a two-decade-long megadrought.
The “bathtub ring” around the drought-stricken lake, on the Arizona-Nevada border and over 40 km east of Las Vegas, is made of minerals deposited on the rock walls when the lake’s water level was higher, reports Xinhua news agency.
Some boat launching ramps along the lake were closed due to the low water levels.
Lots of things underneath Lake Mead have resurfaced in recent weeks, including formerly sunken boats, as the lake’s water level is continuing to decline.
Lake Mead’s water levels have dropped to historic lows since it was filled in the 1930s.
As of Friday, the water in the lake, formed by the Hoover Dam on the Colorado River, was around 1,042.3 feet above sea level, a decline of more than 43 feet from 1,085.95 feet by the end of January 2021, according to data from the US Bureau of Reclamation.
The highest recorded level of the lake was in 1983 when it was 1,225 feet above sea level.
The Bureau of Reclamation’s 24-month outlook released last month said it was forecasting the most probable lake level would be 1,014.86 feet by September 2023.
Lake Mead currently provides municipal water for the cities of Las Vegas, Henderson, North Las Vegas, and Boulder City, as well as municipal and industrial water and irrigation water for downstream users, according to the US National Park Service.
“Altogether, about 25,000,000 people rely on water from Lake Mead, and it is unlikely that the Southwest could have developed as it has without it,” said the agency in an overview of the lake on its official website.
Lake Mead and Lake Powell, two of the largest reservoirs in US, hit lowest water levels amid megadrought. (Pic credit: https://utah.com/ ; https://www.nps.gov/lake)
If the reservoir drops below 895 feet, a possibility still years away, the lake would reach dead pool status, with potentially catastrophic consequences for millions of people across Arizona, California and Nevada, and parts of Mexico.
If the lake’s surface drops another 150 feet, there will not be enough water flowing through Hoover Dam to supply large metropolitan centres downstream, including Las Vegas, Phoenix, Los Angeles and San Diego.
The megadrought is draining Lake Mead faster than anticipated.
Water shortages and demand on the Colorado River Basin will require reductions in water use of 2 million to 4 million acre-feet in 2023 to preserve “critical levels”.
Last August, the federal government declared a shortage on the Colorado River for the first time, triggering substantial cutbacks in water deliveries to Arizona and Nevada, as well as Mexico.
Many Arizona farmers have left some fields dry and unplanted, and have turned to more groundwater pumping.
The megadrought that has gripped the southwestern US for the past 22 years is the worst in at least 1,200 years, according to a research published in the journal Nature Climate Change.
Jason Smerdon, one of the study’s authors and a climate scientist at Columbia University’s Lamont-Doherty Earth Observatory, was quoted as saying that global warming has made the megadrought more extreme because it creates a “thirstier” atmosphere that is better able to pull moisture out of forests, vegetation and soil.
While the Colorado River has been affected by previous droughts, a warming climate is predicted to alter the water cycle in new ways.
File photo of Glen Canyon Dam on Lake Powell in northern Arizona, the United States. ( Photo credit: The U.S. Bureau of Reclamation official website/Xinhua/IANS)
Long range climate predictions are for warmer winter temperatures in the Southwest, less snowpack in the Rocky Mountains, and less melted snow able to find its way into the Colorado River, the National Park Service noted.
Droughts in US West have also led water levels in many other major lakes to drop dramatically.
Shasta Lake, the largest reservoir in California, is reportedly at less than half of where it usually should be in early May.
Water level of the Great Salt Lake in Utah hit historic low earlier this month for the second time in less than a year.
