WASHINGTON: The United States seeks a five-year extension of the New START treaty, the White House has said, asserting that President Joe Biden has long been clear that this is in the national security interest of the US.“The United States intends to seek a five-year extension of New START as the treaty permits. The president has long been clear that the New START treaty is in the national security interest of the United States,” White House Press Secretary Jen Psaki told reporters at her daily news conference.This extension makes even more sense when the relationship with Russia is adversarial as it is at this time. New START is the only remaining treaty constraining Russian nuclear forces and is an anchor of strategic stability between the two countries, she said.“Even as we work with Russia to advance US interests, so too we work to hold Russia to account for its reckless and adversarial actions,” she said.And to this end, the president is also issuing a tasking to the intelligence community for its full assessment of the Solar Winds cyber breach, Russian interference in the 2020 election, its use of chemical weapons against opposition leader Alexei Navalny, and the alleged bounties on
WASHINGTON (BLOOMBERG) - US President Joe Biden says he anticipates that coronavirus vaccines will be available to anyone in the nation by spring – an ambitious target that can only be met with sharp increases in the current pace of inoculations. The US is currently administering about 1.2 million shots per day, data compiled by Bloomberg show, and Biden said Monday (Jan 25) he expects that will soon reach 1.5 million doses. He said the administration has “commitments from some of the producers that they will in fact produce more vaccine,” though didn’t say which companies. While increasing, the current pace threatens to stretch vaccinations into 2022, because the first two approved vaccines require two doses. Biden, asked when anyone who wants the shot will be able to get it, said he thinks that’s possible by spring, while “increasing the access” through summer. “It’s going to be a logistical challenge that exceeds anything we have ever tried in this country, but I think we can do that,” Biden said Monday, speaking to reporters after an announcement in a building adjacent to the White House. “I feel confident that by summer we’re going to be well on
SEATTLE • Boeing said it will begin delivering commercial planes capable of flying on 100 per cent biofuel by the end of the decade, calling reducing environmental damage from fossil fuels the "challenge of our lifetime". Boeing's goal - which requires advances to jet systems, raising fuel-blending requirements, and safety certification by global regulators - is central to a broader industry target of slashing carbon emissions in half by 2050, the US planemaker said. "It's a tremendous challenge, it's the challenge of our lifetime," Boeing director of Sustainability Strategy Sean Newsum told Reuters. "Aviation is committed to doing its part to reduce its carbon footprint." Commercial flying currently accounts for about 2 per cent of global carbon emissions and about 12 per cent of transport emissions, according to data cited by the Air Transport Action Group. Boeing essentially has just a decade to reach its target because jetliners that enter service in 2030 will typically stay in service through 2050. The company must also confront the task hobbled by the coronavirus pandemic and the 20-month grounding of its best-selling jetliner after fatal crashes. Boeing is not starting from scratch. In
