Thursday, May 6, 2021

White House News (白宮消息) | May 6th, 2021

 2 - White House News in Chinese (weebly.com)

The waiver will allow the free flow of information with regard to COVID-19 vaccines.
India Welcomes US Decision to Waive Off Patent Rules on COVID-19 Vaccines

The Indian embassy in the US reached out to various American lawmakers to gather support for the proposal made by India and South Africa.

​May 6 - Washington: India has appreciated the Biden administration’s decision to support a proposal moved by it and South Africa to temporarily waive some Trade-Related Aspects of Intellectual Property Rights (TRIPS) rules amid the coronavirus pandemic.

For the past several weeks, India’s ambassador to the US, Taranjit Singh Sandhu, along with the diplomats from South Africa, had been meeting US lawmakers and officials regarding the proposal.

“We appreciate the US administration’s announcement today of its support for waiver of IPR for COVID-19 vaccines,” Sandhu told PTI on Wednesday.

Making the announcement, US Trade Representative Katherine Tai said this is a global health crisis and the extraordinary circumstances of the COVID-19 pandemic call for extraordinary measures.

​“The (Biden) administration believes strongly in intellectual property protections, but in service of ending this pandemic, supports the waiver of those protections for COVID-19 vaccines,” Tai said in a major policy announcement.     source from
In this April 15, 2021, file photo, Rep. Nicole Malliotakis, R-N.Y., speaks during a House Select Subcommittee on the Coronavirus Crisis hearing on Capitol Hill in Washington. Every Republican in Congress voted against the $1.9 trillion "American Rescue Plan," which President Joe Biden signed into law three months ago. But ever since, Republicans from New York and Indiana to Texas and Washington state have promoted elements of legislation that would not  exist if they had their way.
Republicans promote pandemic relief they voted against


May 6 - 
NEW YORK (AP) — Rep. Nicole Malliotakis, R-N.Y., said it pained her to vote against the $1.9 trillion “American Rescue Plan.”

But in the weeks that followed, the first-term Republican issued a news release celebrating more than $3.7 million from the package that went to community health centers in her district as one of her “achievements.” She said she prided herself on “bringing federal funding to the district and back into the pockets of taxpayers.”
Malliotakis is far from alone.

Every Republican in Congress voted against the sweeping pandemic relief bill that President Joe Biden signed into law three months ago. But since the early spring votes, Republicans from New York and Indiana to Texas and Washington state have promoted elements of the legislation they fought to defeat.

The Republicans' favorite provisions represent a tiny sliver of the massive law, which sent $1,400 checks to millions of Americans, extended unemployment benefits until September, increased the child tax credit, offered housing assistance for millions of low-income Americans and expanded health care coverage. Republicans tried to negotiate a smaller package, arguing that Biden's plan was too expensive and not focused enough on the nation’s health and economic crises.


​Democrats are promising to make the pandemic relief vote — and the Republican resistance to it — a central element in their political strategy moving into next year's midterm elections as they defend delicate House and Senate majorities. And there are early signs that Republicans may struggle to defend their opposition to the popular legislative package, which was designed to protect the nation's fragile economic recovery following the worst public health threat in a century...     more

Biden repeals Trump-era rule on gig workers

May 6, NEW YORK (AP) — The Biden administration nullified a Trump-era rule Wednesday that would have made it easier to classify workers as independent contractors, blocking a change supported by delivery and ride-hailing services.

​The Labor Department's decision came just two days before the Trump-era rule was supposed to take effect. The move means the Labor Department will continue to use existing rules under the 1938 Fair Labor Standards Act to determine whether a worker should be classified as an independent contractor.     source from
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May 5, 2021
Ukrainian Foreign Minister Dmytro Kuleba (R) and U.S. Secretary of State Antony Blinken.

Blinken in Ukraine Reaffirms U.S. Commitment to Kiev Against Russia


May 6 - ​U.S. Secretary of State Antony Blinken kicked off his visit to Ukraine on Thursday by reaffirming Washington's commitment to supporting Kiev's sovereignty and territorial integrity following a massive troop buildup by Russia. 

In the first visit to Kiev by a senior U.S. official under President Joe Biden, Blinken opened the day by meeting with Ukrainian Foreign Minister Dmytro Kuleba and underscoring the need for greater reforms, even as he showed support against Moscow. 

"I'm here really for a very simple reason, which is to, on behalf of President Biden, reaffirm — strongly — our commitment to the partnership between our countries, our commitment to Ukraine's sovereignty, territorial integrity and independence," Blinken told Kuleba.

He added that Washington will "work with you and continue to strengthen your own democracy, building institutions, advancing your reforms against corruption."

Kuleba told Blinken that Kiev "deeply appreciates" the U.S. aid Ukraine has received to support its battle in the east against pro-Russian separatists, who are widely seen as having the Kremlin's military and political backing. 

The one-day visit comes after Russia last month amassed 100,000 troops on Ukraine's borders, the biggest mobilization since Moscow seized the majority-Russian peninsula of Crimea in 2014 and war broke out in eastern Ukraine.

Clashes in the east between the government and separatists have been intensifying since January, a bloody new phase in Europe's only ongoing military conflict which has claimed more than 13,000 lives.

Russia quickly announced a pullback after the latest buildup, leading some experts to believe President Vladimir Putin was testing the will of Biden while seeking to intensify pressure on Ukraine.

'Destabilizing behavior'
Blinken arrived late Thursday from London where he joined other foreign ministers from the Group of Seven wealthy democracies in condemning Russia's "irresponsible and destabilizing behavior" in Ukraine and elsewhere...     more

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