US and China have exchanged strong words following the shooting down of a suspected Chinese surveillance balloon off the coast of South Carolina. Secretary of State Antony Blinken and Wang Yi, director of the People's Republic of China CCP Central Foreign Affairs office, met at the Munich Security Conference in Germany to discuss the incident. The meeting is seen as a potential step towards de-escalating tensions between the two countries.
Posts tagged as “North of the United State”
At the Munich Security Conference, Vice President Kamala Harris declared that Russia has committed crimes against humanity in Ukraine, citing “gruesome acts of murder, torture, rape, and deportation”. Wang Yi, top foreign policy adviser to Chinese President Xi Jinping, proposed that “territorial and sovereignty integrity of all countries will be respected”. Harris concluded by emphasizing the importance of justice being served to the perpetrators, saying “this warfare can not continue to rage on”.
Key takeaways: The US has officially declared that Russia committed crimes against humanity during its war in Ukraine. The US has imposed sanctions on Russia…
Mark Meadows, former Chief of Staff to Donald Trump, has been subpoenaed by the special counsel investigating the former president and his role in the January 6, 2021 insurrection. The subpoena was issued in January and seeks documents and testimony related to the attack on the Capitol and Trump's mishandling of classified documents. Pence has spoken out on the matter, saying they will take the case as far as it needs to go. This is a significant step in the investigation and shows the special counsel is taking it seriously.
On Wednesday evening, police responded to a shooting at the Cielo Vista Mall in El Paso, Texas, resulting in one death and three injuries. One suspect has been arrested and a possible second suspect is being sought. The investigation is ongoing and no further information has been released.
The Congressional Budget Office (CBO) released a report on Wednesday warning Congress to address the debt limit before the government runs out of funds, potentially between July and September. The report notes that the government’s spending has increased due to the coronavirus pandemic, resulting in a $3.3 trillion deficit for the 2021 fiscal year. Treasury Secretary Janet Yellen has said that a default would be economically calamitous.
U.S. intelligence officials have confirmed that the spy balloon shot down earlier this month was launched from the south coast of China and drifted east towards Guam and Hawaii before entering U.S. airspace. The State Department has released a statement that the balloon contained unspecified items, and the Washington Post is now examining the possibility that the People's Liberation Army simply lost control of the balloon. The incident has caused a scramble of jet fighters over Canada and the far North of the United States, and U.S. officials are continuing to investigate.