While You Were Sleeping: 5 stories you might have missed, Sept 22
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US President Joe Biden hailed the “enormous bravery” of the Ukrainian people as he welcomed Ukrainian President Volodymyr Zelensky to the White House.
PHOTO: AFP
Zelensky wins Biden support vow but faces US sceptics
Ukrainian President Volodmyr Zelensky won pledges of unstinting support and air defence weapons from President Joe Biden on Thursday, but he warned that Russia could still defeat Kyiv if Republican lawmakers cut US military aid.
Wearing his trademark olive green military-style shirt, Mr Zelensky huddled with members of Congress before stopping at the Pentagon and the White House, where Mr Biden greeted him with an honour guard.
“We greatly appreciate the assistance provided by the United States to combat Russian terror, really terror,” Mr Zelensky told Mr Biden in the Oval Ofice.
Mr Biden hailed the “enormous bravery” of the Ukrainian people as they fight back Russia’s invasion, adding that “the American people are determined to see to it that we do all we can to ensure the world stands with you.”
Polish president says PM was misinterpreted on Ukraine arms
Polish President Andrzej Duda on Thursday claimed that the prime minister’s comments on no longer arming Ukraine had been taken the wrong way, amid a mounting row between the two countries.
Poland has been one of Ukraine’s staunchest supporters since Russia invaded in February 2022 and is one of Kyiv’s main weapons suppliers.
Prime Minister Mateusz Morawiecki had said on Wednesday: “We are no longer transferring weapons to Ukraine because we are now arming Poland with more modern weapons.”
Bus carrying high school band rolls over in New York
A bus carrying members of a high school marching band on a trip to a music camp ran off a highway and tumbled down a steep embankment in New York state on Thursday, killing two people and injuring dozens of others.
New York Governor Kathy Hochul, speaking at a news conference hours later, said it appeared that “a faulty front tire contributed to the accident,” though the cause of the wreck remained under investigation.
A deputy superintendent for the New York State Police said two adult women on the bus as passengers died in the wreck and several passengers were in critical conditions.
Azerbaijan, Karabakh separatists hold ‘constructive’ peace talks
Azerbaijan and Armenian separatists from the disputed territory of Nagorno-Karabakh held their first direct peace talks on Thursday, after Baku claimed to have regained control over the breakaway region in a lightning military operation.
The separatists agreed to lay down their arms on Wednesday as part of a Russian-brokered ceasefire plan that halted Azerbaijan’s 24-hour offensive to retake land at the centre of decades of conflict.
Azerbaijan’s presidency said the two-hour meeting had been “held in a constructive and peaceful atmosphere” in the presence of Russian peacekeepers, and both sides expressed readiness to hold more talks.
Thailand’s new PM holds talks with Tesla chief Elon Musk
Thailand’s new Prime Minister Srettha Thavisin said on Thursday he held talks with Tesla chief Elon Musk during a visit to New York and they discussed the electric vehicle industry.
Thailand, Asia’s fourth-largest automobile assembly hub, has been offering incentives to EV and battery makers, and tax cuts to local EV buyers, to remain a regional auto centre.
Mr Srettha, who is in New York to attend the United Nations General Assembly, said he spoke with Mr Musk about EV manufacturer Tesla and his rocket and satellite company SpaceX, including its Internet venture Starlink.
