NewsLast night's news: Biden tightens border as House targets ICC, Zelenskyy meeting set
Last night's news: Biden tightens border as House targets ICC, Zelenskyy meeting set
This happened while you were asleep. Here’s what the global agencies reported overnight from Tuesday to Wednesday.
- U.S. President Joe Biden announced on Tuesday that he will suspend the ability to apply for asylum to migrants who illegally crossed his country's southern border. The temporary regulation will remain in effect until the number of illegal crossings holds at 2,700. "We must face a simple truth: to protect America as a country that welcomes immigrants, we first need to secure the borders and do it now. The simple truth is that we have a global migration crisis, and if the United States does not secure the border, there is no limit to the number of people who can try to come here—because there is no better place on the planet," Biden said, announcing the changes during an address at the White House. Biden stated that he would never demonize immigrants and still believes that immigration is the "lifeblood" of America.
- The House of Representatives voted on Tuesday on a bill to impose sanctions on the International Criminal Court in connection with the ICC prosecutor's request for arrest warrants for Israel’s prime minister and defense minister. The bill still needs to be passed by the Senate, and the president has previously threatened to veto it if it reaches his desk. The bill passed with a significant majority in the House; nearly all Republicans (two abstained) were joined by 42 out of 197 voting Democrats.
- "Go home; Shame on you!; Ursula, say hello to Netanyahu at the ICC" – pro-Palestinian demonstrators shouted in downtown Helsinki, disrupting the speech of the European Commission President. Ursula von der Leyen campaigned on Tuesday for support for Finnish Prime Minister Petteri Orpo's party in the European elections. "Those who shout so loudly there can be happy that they live in a free country like Finland, a country where freedom of speech is a right, where there are no restrictions. If you were in Moscow, you’d be in jail in two minutes," the EC President responded from the stage.
- U.S. President Joe Biden will meet with Ukrainian President Volodomyr Zelensky during his visit to France—confirmed U.S. National Security Advisor Jake Sullivan on Tuesday. Sullivan announced the meeting between the U.S. and Ukrainian presidents during a briefing on board the presidential aeroplane Air Force One en route to Paris. Zelenskyy and Biden will participate on Wednesday in ceremonies commemorating the 80th anniversary of the Allied landing in Normandy. Sullivan did not disclose when and where the meeting would take place.
