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Trump trumps Biden as president-elect overshadows White House incumbent on world stage

Trump trumps Biden as president-elect overshadows White House incumbent on world stage

President Biden is returning to the White House after a history-making trip to Angola this week, as Biden became the first American president to visit the sub-Saharan African nation. But Biden, likely on his last overseas trip before President-elect Donald Trump takes over in the White House next month, is already being overshadowed on the world stage by his predecessor and successor. “While President-elect is still weeks away from taking the oath of office, loyalties and the attention of world leaders has shifted to the incoming President and from Washington to Mar-a-lago with breathtaking speed,” Wayne Lesperance, a veteran political scientist and president of New England College, told Fox News. Matt Mowers, a veteran GOP national public affairs strategist and former diplomat at the State Department during Trump’s first administration, made the case that “Joe Biden’s essentially been a lame duck” for months and that “world leaders have been shifting their gaze to the next administration.” WHAT TRUMP TOLD CANADA’S LEADER BEHIND CLOSED DOORS  While members of the Biden White House would likely disagree with such sentiments – especially after the current administration played a large role in hammering out the cease-fire that halted fighting in Lebanon between Israel and Hezbollah – it is undeniable that world leaders have already started to engage directly with the incoming president and administration. TRUMP GETS READY TO MAKE A SPLASH ON THE WORLD STAGE Trump will meet with French President Emmanuel Macron after the French president invited him to attend Saturday’s star-studded VIP event for the official reopening of the newly restored Notre Dame Cathedral, five years after a devastating fire wrecked the Paris landmark. The president-elect’s appearance will serve as Trump’s unofficial return to the global stage, and it is another reminder that he is quickly becoming the center of the world’s attention. The trip to Paris comes a week after Canadian Prime Minister Justin Trudeau hastily made an unannounced stop in Mar-a-Lago to dine with Trump after the president-elect threatened a trade war with Canada and Mexico.  Trump argued that Canada had failed to prevent large amounts of drugs and undocumented people from crossing the northern border into the U.S. and also pointed to America’s massive trade deficit with Canada. According to reporting from Fox News’ Bret Baier, Trump suggested to Trudeau that Canada could become the 51st state. Trump also weighed in this week in the volatile Middle East, warning in a social media post that there would be “ALL HELL TO PAY” if Hamas does not release all the hostages held in Gaza before he is inaugurated on Jan. 20. Hours later, Trump pledged to block the purchase of U.S. Steel – a top American manufacturer – by the Japanese company Nippon Steel. “I am totally against the once great and powerful U.S. Steel being bought by a foreign company, in this case Nippon Steel of Japan,” Trump said on social media. “As President, I will block this deal from happening.” Trump, who reiterated comments he made earlier this year on the presidential campaign trail, is on the same page as Biden, who has vowed that U.S. Steel will remain American-owned. Biden’s trip to Africa is putting a spotlight on his administration’s commitment to the continent, which has increasingly been courted by massive investments from China. Biden is also highlighting America’s wide-ranging effort to combat HIV/AIDS in Africa, a continent Trump never visited during his first term in the White House. However, the president’s trip was overshadowed by Trump’s upcoming stop in France, as the president-elect is increasingly courted by world leaders. While the spotlight traditionally shifts from the outgoing to the incoming president, Mowers argued that “it is more pronounced this time because the difference in the Biden and Trump approach to foreign policy is so different.” Mowers emphasized that Trump is already aiming “to shape world events” by “being bold, not timid, in the statements he’s putting out, and the world is already reacting to that kind of American strength.” “World leaders that want to get something done… have to engage with Trump,” he added. Matthew Bartlett, a Republican strategist who served at the State Department during Trump’s first term, told Fox News that “the world is demanding leadership” and that “the Oval Office has been replaced by Mar-a-Lago.” Lesperance, pointing to Biden’s swing through Africa, noted that lame duck presidents’ final weeks are “usually filled with celebratory moments and efforts to cement one’s legacy. Often the focus is on their role on the world stage on behalf of America and its allies.’ However, he argued that “Biden’s pronouncements on Ukraine, Gaza and the importance of climate change go largely ignored by world leaders. Instead, they focus on Trump’s picks for his foreign policy team and pronouncements about changes in U.S. foreign policy position. It’s pretty evident that while Biden attempts a victory tour, the world has turned the page.”

US says ‘Salt Typhoon’ Chinese hacking group behind major metadata theft

US says ‘Salt Typhoon’ Chinese hacking group behind major metadata theft

Senior US official says that dozens of telecoms providers around the world have been targeted as China slams cybersecurity ‘slander’. Chinese hackers have stolen the metadata of a large number of Americans in a wide-ranging cyber-espionage campaign that has targeted at least eight United States telecom firms, as well as dozens of other countries, officials say. Deputy national security adviser Anne Neuberger said on Wednesday that the hacking group, dubbed Salt Typhoon, gained access to communications of senior US government officials and political figures, but that “classified communications” had not been compromised. A senior official, speaking while US government agencies gave senators a closed-door briefing on the matter on Wednesday, said “the Chinese government” had focused on “a large number of individuals” in the ongoing campaign, which has targeted dozens of telecommunications and telecom infrastructure companies around the world, including “at least” eight US providers. This is not the first alleged Chinese breach of US data. In October, federal authorities confirmed hackers linked to China targeted then-presidential candidate Donald Trump and running mate JD Vance, along with people associated with Vice President Kamala Harris. Advertisement US officials have previously alleged Chinese hackers hacked Verizon, AT&T, T-Mobile, Lumen and others. T-Mobile said it does not believe hackers got access to its customer information. Lumen said there is no evidence customer data was accessed on its network. On Tuesday, the Chinese embassy in Washington rejected accusations that it was responsible for the hack after US federal authorities issued new guidance for telecom companies on areas like encryption and monitoring. “The US needs to stop its own cyberattacks against other countries and refrain from using cybersecurity to smear and slander China,” embassy spokesperson Liu Pengyu said. Call record metadata does not include the content of a call but can include who a call was placed to, how long it lasted, and where it was made from. Even without the content, call record metadata – especially when captured in bulk – can reveal extraordinarily granular details about a person’s life, work and intimate relationships. A Senate commerce subcommittee will hold a hearing on December 11 on Salt Typhoon and security threats to communications networks. Adblock test (Why?)

Weapon contamination in Ethiopia wrecks limbs and dreams

Weapon contamination in Ethiopia wrecks limbs and dreams

On his way home from the market, Birhane noticed a group of younger kids kicking a piece of scrap metal. He recognised them from when they had gone to school together before COVID-19. That was also before the devastating armed conflict between the Ethiopian defence forces and the Tigray People’s Liberation Front shattered his hopes of getting a complete education. Overcoming the disappointment of quitting school early, the 16-year-old turned to helping his father run the family’s farm and sell produce at the market. He was still determined to realise his ambition of “improving himself and supporting his family” despite the violence and hardship that have racked his community. Coming closer to the children, Birhane realised with a flash of horror that the object they were playing with was not a simple piece of scrap metal, but an explosive. He yelled at the children, telling them to stop. When they did not listen, Birhane pushed several of them to the ground and grabbed the object to throw it away. It exploded in his hands. Advertisement Birhane lost a leg and the fingers on both hands in the explosion. Two years after the peace agreement was reached, towns in Tigray are brimming with hope for lasting stability and economic renewal. Despite the heavy damage the armed conflict caused to the economy, the streets of cities like Mekelle, Shire and Axum, lined with traditional coffee shops, bristle with traffic and revived commerce. But the scars of violence remain visible in rural areas, where metal carcasses of burned vehicles are slowly rusting away on the roadsides, and unexploded remnants of war continue to kill and maim civilians – mostly children. “Since the beginning of last year, we treated 243 people injured by unexploded ordnance,” said Venkatakannan Packirisamy, who runs the physical rehabilitation project for the International Committee of the Red Cross (ICRC) in Ethiopia. “But people we receive make just a fraction of all victims.” Some are killed, and others may not reach ICRC facilities. Still others have injuries that ICRC services simply cannot treat. Eighty percent of the victims the project has received are children. Tucked in the mountains, Birhane’s village has one main street populated by stone houses and shops of corrugated metal. Piles of rusting munitions are scattered throughout, some marked with stones painted red and others swallowed from view by lush vegetation. Until they explode – often taking lives with them. Adblock test (Why?)

Cricket Australia defends Afghanistan boycott after hypocrisy accusation

Cricket Australia defends Afghanistan boycott after hypocrisy accusation

Cricket Australia chief says he is ‘proud’ of the decision to cancel bilateral series against Afghanistan after outgoing ICC chair questions Australia’s ‘principles’. Australia’s top cricket official has defended his country’s decision to play against Afghanistan at the International Cricket Council (ICC) World Cups while cancelling all bilateral series against the South Asian side due to the Taliban’s crackdown on women’s sport. Cricket Australia (CA) chairman Mike Baird said on Thursday he was “very proud of the position we’ve taken” after the departing boss of the ICC accused them of hypocrisy. “We’ve taken a position, and we’re proudly standing up where we think we should,” Baird said. “There’s all types of lines you can draw. We’ve drawn a line.” Former ICC chairman Greg Barclay said Australia should have walked away from World Cup games against Afghanistan if they wanted to take a stand against the Taliban’s clampdown on women’s rights. “If you want to make a political statement, don’t play them in a World Cup,” Barclay told the United Kingdom’s Daily Telegraph newspaper. “Sure, it might cost you a semifinal place, but principles are principles. It’s not about having half a principle,” he added. Advertisement Australia have in recent years refused to play bilateral series against Afghanistan, citing discomfort at the ongoing Taliban’s policies on women’s participation in sport. But they continue to face Afghanistan in major tournaments and have played them at both the ICC’s one-day international World Cup in November 2023 in India and the ICC T20 World Cup in the United States and the Caribbean in June. CA indefinitely postponed a bilateral men’s T20 series against Afghanistan in March citing “deteriorating human rights for women and girls in the country under Taliban rule”. The Afghanistan Cricket Board, in reply, urged CA to “respect and understand its position and look for alternative solutions rather than succumbing to external pressures and/or political influences”. It was the third time since 2021 that Australia refused to play Afghanistan outside of international tournaments. Australia had previously cancelled a one-off Test match and an ODI series for the same reason, but had then said it kept “the door ajar for future bilateral series on the proviso of improved conditions for women and girls in the country”. Before the return of the Taliban, Afghanistan’s cricket board was slowly making progress in growing the game among women, contracting a small number of semi-professional players in 2020. Many of those players eventually fled to Australia when the Taliban took over in 2021. The teams’ last meeting came at the ICC Men’s T20 World Cup on June 22 and ended in a historic triumph for Afghanistan as they beat the then-defending champions by 21 runs in the Super Eight clash. Advertisement The result prompted wild celebrations, both in the Afghanistan camp at the ground and among fans back home. “We have waited for this moment for a long time – at last, we beat Australia,” Gulbadin Naib, Afghanistan’s hero with the ball in the match, exclaimed after the win. Afghanistan had come close to beating Australia at the 50-over World Cup in India on November 7, only for Glenn Maxwell to pull off a stunning heist with a double century and deny the men in blue. Australia went on to win the World Cup by beating India in the final on November 19. The teams could come face-to-face in two months at the ICC Champions Trophy 2025, due to be hosted in Pakistan in February and March. Adblock test (Why?)