William Burns nominated to lead the CIA.

Biden continues arms control efforts and seeks to engage China

Biden and First Lady Jill Biden at the Capitol.

Father

A US envoy said that President Joe Biden's administration is looking at extending the deadline of the New START treaty with Russia from the perspective that it is the beginning of its participation in strategic issues, including the limitation of multilateral arms.

Meanwhile, the US president officially nominated former Deputy Secretary of State William Burns to become the new Director of the Central Intelligence Agency (CIA).

In detail, the US ambassador to the United Nations in Geneva Robert Wood, in a speech at a disarmament conference sponsored by the organization, called for a new endeavor to control arms that "includes more weapons and, ultimately, more countries."

"The United States will also seek to engage China in reducing nuclear weapons and reducing risks," added Wood, who is also the US commissioner for the Bilateral Consultative Committee on the New START Treaty.

I hope that China will join us in this endeavor. ”

Russian Ambassador Gennady Gatilov, a former deputy foreign minister, also addressed the Geneva talks, praising the extension of the treaty.

The Israeli ambassador, Merav Elon Shahar, said that the agreement and direct dialogue between the two powers is a testament to "a common goal is to improve global security and stability."

On the other hand, US President Joe Biden formally nominated former Deputy Secretary of State William Burns to become the new Director of the Central Intelligence Agency (CIA).

The White House said the Biden administration had sent Burns' nomination to the Senate on Wednesday to confirm.

If confirmed, Burns will replace Gina Haspel, who was nominated by former President Donald Trump to lead the agency in 2018. Democrats control the Senate, the upper house of the US Congress.

Burns has more than three decades of experience in the United States' diplomatic work, and has held various national security positions for both Democratic and Republican administrations.

On the other hand, a Pentagon official said that the ministry is reviewing how to improve investigations of military recruits to eliminate extremism in their ranks, after the riots in the US Capitol were a "wake-up call", when the participation of members of the military was discovered. .

The sectors of the army conduct investigations of approximately 500,000 applicants annually seeking to join the army, of whom about 200,000 join as new recruits.

Defense Secretary Lloyd Austin ordered the review the day before yesterday, during a meeting with all the heads of military branches, to better understand how extremist views have infiltrated among the military, and to start looking for options to eradicate them.

"There have been changes in the investigation of recruits," Pentagon spokesman John Kirby said in an interview with McClatchy's office in Washington.

And each branch did it differently.

Among the things discussed were when and to what degree do we evaluate individuals, ”on the background of their links to groups with extremist ideologies.

And for the first time since President Joe Biden took office officially, a US warship crossed the Taiwan Strait yesterday, according to what the US military announced.

The destroyer, an Arle Burke, armed with guided missiles, made a routine crossing the strait separating the Chinese mainland from Taiwan, the US Seventh Fleet said in a statement.

Beijing considers the passage of ships to the strait a violation of its sovereignty, while the United States and other countries view it as an international waterway open to all.

The Seventh Fleet said in a statement, that the flight of the US destroyer John S. McCain "demonstrates the commitment of the United States to a free and open Indian Pacific Ocean."

"The US military will continue to fly, navigate and operate anywhere permitted by international law," the statement added.

The Taiwanese Defense Ministry confirmed the flight, without identifying the ship.

The crossing of the warship comes on the heels of two American reconnaissance planes and a refueling plane flying near Taiwan airspace on Monday, according to the ministry, which did not reveal the path of these aircraft.

Jill Biden wants to make her mark as First Lady, unlike Melania Trump

About two weeks after entering the White House, US First Lady Jill Biden looks close to Americans, in stark contrast to Melania Trump, a former model who has always been considered a cold and unconventional figure.

Everything points to the difference between Biden's generation and Melania Trump, when the first lady appeared, the day before yesterday, during a virtual tea party she held for military wives, from the background of flowers to the teapot and the American flag.

"It's hard for me to believe it's only been two weeks since the inauguration, and I really had a lot to do," Biden said.

The difference between Jill and Melania is clear, as is the difference between her husband, President Joe Biden, and former President Donald Trump.

"I learned my love for this country from my father," said Jill Biden, 69, recalling the tradition of accompanying her father to a memorial to the war victims.

On another occasion to support the National Cancer Institute, Biden also stressed her experience with the realities of ordinary life, when she recounted how cancer hijacked the life of her parents, then her husband's son Bo at the age of 46.

Melania Trump, who came from Slovenia to the United States as a young immigrant fashion model and met Donald Trump, may have a story of her own about her American experience, but her secretive nature prevented her from sharing with the Americans.

Melania rarely spoke for a long time at public events, and her interventions were less improvised, unlike Jill Biden, who excelled in giving speeches.

Instead, Melania Trump's lavish outfits are for the most part catching the eye.

By contrast, Jill Biden, who kept her job as an English professor at Northern Virginia University, appeared on the Zoom app on Wednesday, wearing a regular long dark jacket.

Washington - AFP

The "Pentagon" is investigating recruits to avoid extremists entering the army.

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