International

Biden to tour New Orleans hurricane damage

AFP

President Joe Biden, who has made threats from climate change a priority, flies to New Orleans on Friday to tour damage from Hurricane Ida, which pounded the Gulf Coast before bringing havoc to New York.

This will be Biden’s first trip out of the Washington area since his administration became consumed by the crisis in Afghanistan, where a sudden Taliban victory prompted the hectic evacuation of the last US troops and more than 120,000 Afghans and foreign citizens.

Biden is scheduled to meet with local and state officials, tour damage on the ground and inspect Ida’s impact from a helicopter.

Keen to return to domestic issues, Biden will likely use his trip to highlight the links between increasing episodes of extreme weather and the broader global climate crisis.

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On Thursday, he said Hurricane Ida and uncontrollable wild fires in the US west are “yet another reminder” of the crisis.

“It’s a matter of life and death and we need to meet it together,” he said in a speech at the White House.

Hurricane Ida, a category four storm, delivered huge floods and wind damage in the south, hitting one of the epicenters of the US oil industry, as well as pounding historic New Orleans.

Alabama, Louisiana and Mississippi took hits before remnants of the storm rolled north to New York, New Jersey and Pennsylvania, inundating the New York City subway and flooding streets across the US financial capital.

In the New Orleans area alone, about a million people were left without power and swaths of the city remain without electricity or running water.

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On Thursday, Biden told Ida’s victims “we’re all in this together. The nation is ready to help.”

He said he’d ordered the use of drones and military satellites to help survey damage and speed up “complicated and really dangerous” repair work.

He also ordered use of the critical US petroleum reserve to smooth the supply disruption caused by the hurricane at oil refineries.

“My message to the people of the Gulf Coast… (is) we are here for you,” he said.

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International

U.S. Senate Rejects Budget, Bringing Government Closer to Shutdown Amid DHS Dispute

The U.S. Senate voted on Thursday against a budget proposal in a move aimed at pressuring changes at the Department of Homeland Security (DHS), following the killing of two civilians during a deployment of immigration agents in Minneapolis.

All Senate Democrats and seven Republican lawmakers voted against the bill, which requires 60 votes to advance, pushing the country closer to a partial government shutdown that would cut funding for several agencies, including the Pentagon and the Department of Health.

The rejection came as Senate leaders and the White House continue negotiations on a separate funding package for DHS that would allow reforms to the agency. Proposed measures include banning Immigration and Customs Enforcement (ICE) agents from wearing face coverings and requiring them to use body-worn cameras during operations.

The vote took place just hours after President Donald Trump said he was “close” to reaching an agreement with Democrats and did not believe the federal government would face another shutdown, following last year’s record stoppage.

“I don’t think the Democrats want a shutdown either, so we’ll work in a bipartisan way to avoid it. Hopefully, there will be no government shutdown. We’re working on that right now,” Trump said during a Cabinet meeting at the White House.

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International

Trump Says Putin Agreed to One-Week Halt in Attacks on Ukraine Amid Extreme Cold

U.S. President Donald Trump said on Thursday that he secured a commitment from Russian President Vladimir Putinto halt attacks against Ukraine for one week, citing extreme weather conditions affecting the region.

“Because of the extreme cold (…) I personally asked Putin not to attack Kyiv or other cities and towns for a week. And he agreed. He was very pleasant,” Trump said during a Cabinet meeting broadcast by the White House.

Trump acknowledged that several advisers had questioned the decision to make the call.
“A lot of people told me not to waste the call because they wouldn’t agree. And he accepted. And we’re very happy they did, because they don’t need missiles hitting their towns and cities,” the president said.

According to Trump, Ukrainian authorities reacted with surprise to the announcement but welcomed the possibility of a temporary ceasefire.
“It’s extraordinarily cold, record cold (…) They say they’ve never experienced cold like this,” he added.

Ukrainian President Volodymyr Zelensky later commented on the announcement, expressing hope that the agreement would be honored.

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International

Storm Kristin Kills Five in Portugal, Leaves Nearly 500,000 Without Power

Storm Kristin, which battered Portugal with heavy rain and strong winds early Wednesday, has left at least five people dead, while nearly half a million residents remained without electricity as of Thursday, according to updated figures from authorities.

The revised death toll was confirmed to AFP by a spokesperson for the National Emergency and Civil Protection Authority (ANPEC). On Wednesday, the agency had reported four fatalities.

Meanwhile, E-Redes, the country’s electricity distribution network operator, said that around 450,000 customers were still without power, particularly in central Portugal.

Emergency services responded to approximately 1,500 incidents between midnight and 8:00 a.m. local time on Wednesday, as the storm caused widespread disruptions.

The Portuguese government described Kristin as an “extreme weather event” that inflicted significant damage across several regions of the country. At the height of the storm, as many as 850,000 households and institutions lost electricity during the early hours of Wednesday.

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Several municipalities ordered the closure of schools, many of which remained shut on Thursday due to ongoing adverse conditions.

Ricardo Costa, regional deputy commander of the Leiria Fire Brigade, said residents continue to seek assistance as rainfall persists.
“Even though the rain is not extremely intense, it is causing extensive damage to homes,” he noted.

In Figueira da Foz, a coastal city in central Portugal, strong winds toppled a giant Ferris wheel, underscoring the severity of the storm.