Biden Will Work Like the Devil to Bring Gas Prices Down

Reuters
Macron seeks to charm Xi into trade concessions in Pyrenees jaunt
French President Emmanuel Macron welcomes Chinese President Xi Jinping in the Pyrenees mountains on Tuesday, for the second day of a trip during which Xi showed little sign of being ready to offer major concessions on trade or foreign policy. Macron, who will greet Xi at the Tarbes-Lourdes Pyrenees airport at around 11:40 a.m. (0940 GMT), will take him to have lunch in the mountains dear to him as the birthplace of his maternal grandmother. Advisers to the French president described this as breaking with protocol for a chance for one-on-one direct chats with Xi, without scores of aide on either side.
Associated Press
EU Council adopts a plan worth 6 billion euros for Western Balkans to speed up enlargement process
EU countries approved a plan worth 6 billion euros ($6.45 billion) to support Western Balkan states on Tuesday aimed at accelerating reforms and economic growth in the region, as they seek future membership in the bloc. The Council of the European Union said the plan, which covers the period from 2024 to 2027, is expected to provide up to 2 billion euros in grants ($2.15 billion) and 4 billion euros ($4.3 billion) in loans. Aid is contingent on reforms that would bring Western Balkan economies in line with EU rules.
Reuters
Germany's Scholz: China must play bigger role in poorer nations' debt
German Chancellor Olaf Scholz said on Tuesday that he spoke with Chinese President Xi Jinping during his trip to Beijing about China's role in helping poor countries with their debt burdens. "It is clear that China, as one of the largest creditors, must play a greater role overall in order to reduce the debt burden of the poorest countries in the long term," said Scholz during a speech at the Global Solutions Summit in Berlin.
Reuters
Germany sends two warships to Indo-Pacific amid China and Taiwan tensions
Germany sent two warships to the Indo-Pacific region on Tuesday in a bid to strengthen its military presence in the region amid rising tensions between China and Taiwan and over the disputed South China Sea. Those tensions were putting pressure on the freedom of navigation and free passage on trade routes, Defence Minister Boris Pistorius said at the northern German navy base in Wilhelmshaven.
AFP
Lone Indian voter casts ballot in special forest booth
Deep inside a protected Indian forest, a Hindu monk cast his ballot on Tuesday, ensuring a 100 percent turnout at the polling station where he is the sole registered voter.Udaseen is the custodian of a temple dedicated to the Hindu deity Shiva, sitting deep in the Gir forest next to a stream infested with crocodiles, moving there in 2019 after the death of his predecessor.
AFP
Al Jazeera to pursue legal action 'until the end' over Israel ban
Al Jazeera will look to pursue all possible legal action "until the end" to challenge Israel's ban on its operations there, the TV network's news director told AFP in an interview.Speaking on Monday, Al Jazeera English news director Salah Nagm said the network would "follow every legal path", adding: "If there is a possibility of challenging that decision we are going to pursue it until the end."
Reuters
German far-right MEP office in Brussels searched over China spying accusations
German prosecutors ordered a search of the Brussels offices of a member of the European Parliament for the far-right Alternative for Germany (AfD) on Tuesday after an aide was arrested in Germany last month on suspicion of espionage for China. The case of the aide to Maximilian Krah has fueled concern in Europe about being a target for Chinese spying activities. Germany also last month arrested three people over funnelling sensitive technology to China for military purposes.
Reuters
Iran says talks with IAEA's Grossi have been 'positive'
Talks between Iran and the U.N. nuclear watchdog have been positive and productive, Iran's nuclear chief Mohammad Eslami said on Tuesday in a joint news conference with the IAEA chief Rafael Grossi in the Iranian city of Isfahan. Grossi flew to Iran on Monday hoping to bolster oversight by the International Atomic Energy Agency of Tehran's atomic activities after various setbacks, but analysts and diplomats say he has limited leverage and must be wary of empty promises.
USA TODAY
Biden's Holocaust memorial speech holds key to his future as protests, antisemitism rage
Biden faces commemorating the biggest massacre of Jewish people at a time when Jewish students on college campuses are feeling unsafe.
AFP
Arman and the war against journalists: A year of pain and loss
The killing of the brilliant young AFP journalist Arman Soldin on the front lines in Ukraine one year ago remains a uniquely traumatic event for all of us.The attack killed Reuters journalist Issam Abdallah and wounded six other journalists including AFP photographer Christina Assi and video journalist Dylan Collins.
Associated Press
Key events of Vladimir Putin's 24 years in power in Russia
In a surprise address to the nation, Russian President Boris Yeltsin announces his resignation and makes Putin, the prime minister he appointed four months earlier, the acting president. May 7, 2000 — After winning election with about 53% of the vote, Putin is inaugurated for his first four-year term. May 11, 2000 — Tax police raid the offices of NTV, a popular independent broadcaster noted for critical coverage of the Kremlin.
Reuters
Russia's Vladimir Putin sworn in as president for a fifth term
MOSCOW (Reuters) -President Vladimir Putin was sworn in for a new six-year term on Tuesday at a Kremlin ceremony that was boycotted by the United States and a number of other Western countries due to Russia's war in Ukraine. Putin, in power as president or prime minister since 1999, begins his new mandate more than two years after he sent tens of thousands of troops into Ukraine, where Russian forces have regained the initiative after a series of reversals and are seeking to advance further in the east. At 71, Putin dominates the domestic political landscape.
CNN
Two dead, 21 injured in hospital knife attack in China
At least two people were killed and another 21 injured in a knife attack in a hospital in China’s southwestern province of Yunnan on Tuesday, state media reported, citing official sources.
USA TODAY
As college protests over Israel-Hamas war persist, how the GOP is latching onto the moment
A timeline showcasing how presidential politics has intersected with the Middle East, from Oct. 7 through the latest bid for a ceasefire in Gaza.
Associated Press
Biden to condemn current antisemitism in Holocaust remembrance amid college protests and Gaza war
President Joe Biden is set to issue a forceful condemnation of antisemitism during a Tuesday ceremony to remember victims of the Holocaust at a time when the Hamas attack on Israel and controversy over the war in Gaza have sparked new waves of violence and hateful rhetoric toward Jews. Biden’s remarks at the Capitol will play out as pro-Palestinian protests — some of which have involved antisemitic chants and threats toward Jewish students and supporters of Israel — rock college campuses across the country. Biden has struggled to balance his support for Israel after the Oct. 7 Hamas attack — the deadliest day for Jews worldwide since the Holocaust — with his efforts to constrain its war on the militant group in Gaza.
CNN
Newly unsealed grand jury testimony from Trump’s valet helps explain FBI’s desire to search Mar-a-Lago
Donald Trump’s valet told investigators before the FBI searched Mar-a-Lago in 2022 that he randomly chose boxes of documents to return to the National Archives and Trump himself directed that dozens more boxes located at the resort wouldn’t be returned, according to recently unsealed court filings.
CNN
Biden to call for a fight against antisemitism at a precarious moment in Israel’s war in Gaza and amid protests on campus
President Joe Biden on Tuesday aims to issue a clarion call to fight a swiftly rising tide of antisemitism amid a precarious moment in Israel’s war against Hamas and as protests have swept American college campuses, laying bare Biden’s trouble with some young voters.
Associated Press
Vietnam celebrates 70 years since Dien Bien Phu battle that ended French colonial rule
Vietnam on Tuesday celebrated the 70th anniversary of the battle of Dien Bien Phu in which the French colonial army was defeated by Vietnamese troops, marking the end of the French occupation of Indochina. At Dien Bien Phu, Vietnamese troops led by General Vo Nguyen Giap, surprised French forces with heavy artillery fire at their mountainous garrison in northwestern Vietnam. When Dien Bien Phu fell in 1954, it spelled the end of almost a century of French colonial rule.
AFP
Huge crowds in Vietnam for anniversary of Dien Bien Phu victory over France
A crowd of more than 10,000 people including war veterans and dignitaries gathered Tuesday in Vietnam's Dien Bien Phu to mark the 70th anniversary of the battle that ultimately brought an end to the French empire in Indochina.In his opening speech, Prime Minister Chinh said the battle of Dien Bien Phu represented a "victory for justice", marking the collapse of colonialism.
Reuters
EBRD warns Georgia 'foreign agents' law could hit economy, investor confidence
Tensions around Georgia's controversial draft "foreign agents" law could hit the country's economy and investor confidence, the president of the European Bank for Reconstruction and Development (EBRD) warned on Tuesday. The draft legislation, which is winding its way through the Georgian parliament, would require organisations receiving more than 20% of their funding from abroad to register as agents of foreign influence, a requirement opponents attack as authoritarian and Kremlin-inspired. The draft legislation sparked protests in recent days while Brussels and Washington have urged Tbilisi to drop the legislation or risk harming its chances of European Union membership and a broader Euro-Atlantic future.

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