International

Biden makes late-night TV debut as president

AFP

Joe Biden on Friday used his first late-night television talk show appearance as US president to highlight his infrastructure bill — and laugh off his flagging approval ratings.

Biden’s appearance on NBC’s “The Tonight Show Starring Jimmy Fallon” is the first by a sitting president since Barack Obama, and comes as the White House seeks to highlight the recently passed bill for upgrading the nation’s tattered transport networks.

Despite its passage, Biden’s approval ratings have sunk to the low 40 percent area, in part due to the spike in inflation.

Asked by host Jimmy Fallon if he pays attention to approval ratings, Biden dead-panned: “Well, not anymore.”

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“I’m joking. I was paying attention when it was in the mid-60s, but when it’s in the mid-40s I don’t pay attention,” said the president, to laughter from the studio audience.

Biden’s appearance by remote video comes after his predecessor President Donald Trump declined invitations for any late-night talk shows as president.

Obama frequently used programs hosted by Fallon and rivals such as Jimmy Kimmel and Stephen Colbert to speak to the wider US public.

Fallon opened the show by joking the pair would “discuss the economy, the infrastructure bill, and break down the first two episodes of the ‘Sex and the City’ reboot.”

Fallon managed one barb about inflation figures, claiming he had earlier asked the president how excited he was to appear on the show on a scale of one to ten.

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“He said ten. But six without inflation.”

But during the interview, Fallon allowed Biden to set out policies including his landmark $1.8 trillion Build Back Better plan to improve social services and fight climate change, which faces a tough road in Congress.

Wearing a suit and tie, and seated in front of a festively decorated mantlepiece, Biden also urged Americans to get booster shots and highlighted steady declines in the unemployment rate.

“We do have inflation on things that in fact matter in people’s lives” such as gas prices, said Biden.

“It’s going to come down,” he promised.

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The interview — in which Fallon praised Biden for “bringing class back to the office” of the president and asked “does anyone really understand how hard your job is?” — ended with the talk host being invited over to the White House for dinner.

International

Two killed in shooting at restaurant near Frankfurt Airport

Two people were shot dead early Tuesday at a restaurant in Raunheim, near Frankfurt Airport, according to local police.

Preliminary findings indicate that an armed individual entered the establishment at around 03:45 local time (02:45 GMT) and opened fire on the victims, who died at the scene from their injuries.

The suspect fled and remains at large, while the motive behind the shooting is still unclear, German media reported. Authorities have launched a large-scale search operation.

International

U.S. counterterrorism chief resigns over opposition to war in Iran

Joe Kent, director of the National Counterterrorism Center, announced Tuesday that he has resigned from his post, citing his opposition to the ongoing war in Iran.

In a post on X, Kent said he could not, “in good conscience,” support the conflict, arguing that Iran did not pose an imminent threat to the United States. He also claimed that the war was driven by pressure from Israel and its lobbying influence in Washington.

In a resignation letter addressed to Donald Trump, Kent alleged that at the start of the current administration, senior Israeli officials and influential figures in U.S. media carried out a disinformation campaign that undermined the “America First” platform and fostered pro-war sentiment aimed at triggering a conflict with Iran.

Kent further stated that he could not support sending a new generation of Americans to “fight and die in a war that provides no benefit to the American people and does not justify the cost in American lives.”

Since the United States and Israel launched attacks against Iran on February 28, at least 13 U.S. service members have been killed, while 10 others have been seriously wounded and around 200 have sustained minor injuries, according to a report published by The Wall Street Journal.

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International

German president warns Iran war could spread and disrupt Strait of Hormuz

The president of Germany, Frank-Walter Steinmeier, warned Monday that the war involving Iran could expand and further disrupt shipping through the strategic Strait of Hormuz. He urged a swift end to hostilities between Iran, United States and Israel.

Speaking in Panama City during a joint appearance with Panamanian President José Raúl Mulino, Steinmeier said available information suggests Iran has significant capacity to disrupt maritime traffic through the key oil route.

“Iran has considerable potential to interfere with shipping through the Strait of Hormuz,” Steinmeier said through an interpreter. “We should therefore reach an end to the hostilities as soon as possible and call on all parties involved to make that happen.”

The remarks came during Steinmeier’s visit to Panama, the first by a German president to the Central American nation.

The German leader described the possibility of the conflict spreading as “very dangerous,” saying recent developments indicate that such a scenario cannot be ruled out.

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Over the weekend, U.S. President Donald Trump urged allied nations to help ensure safe passage for ships through the Strait of Hormuz after Iran moved to block the waterway in response to U.S. strikes. However, several allies—particularly in Europe—have shown little support for the proposal.

“Some are very enthusiastic, others are not, and some are countries we have helped for many years,” Trump told reporters at the White House. “We have protected them from terrible external threats, and they’re not that enthusiastic. And the level of enthusiasm is important to me.”

Meanwhile, Kaja Kallas, the European Union’s top diplomat, said the Strait of Hormuz falls “outside NATO’s scope” and stressed that “the war involving Iran is not Europe’s war.”