Biden arrives in UK for G7 summit in Cornwall – his first official overseas trip as US president
Joe Biden has arrived in the UK on Air Force One ahead of the G7 summit in Cornwall.
His plane touched down at RAF Mildenhall in Suffolk on Wednesday evening, beginning his first overseas trip as US president.
A large crowd of US Air Force personnel and their families were waiting for him inside a hangar, where he addressed them.
Mr Biden’s first stop in the UK was RAF Mildenhall in Suffolk
Mr Biden spoke to US Air Force personnel and their families at the base
He said: “At every point along the way we are going to make it clear that the United States is back and democracies of the world are standing together to tackle the toughest challenges and the issues that matter most to our future.”
The UK and US, as founding members of NATO, were part of “the strongest military and political alliance in the history of the world”, he said.
“Now we need to modernise our alliance, investing in our critical infrastructure, our cyber capabilities and to keep us secure against every threat we’ve faced over the last decade, and the new challenges we are about to face as well.”
After his time at Mildenhall, Mr Biden flew to Newquay before travelling on to Tregenna Castle in Carbis Bay.
He will meet Prime Minister Boris Johnson tomorrow before the G7 begins in Carbis Bay on Friday.
Mr Biden told his troops that democracies were ‘standing together’
After the summit – which also includes leaders from Canada, Japan, France, Germany, and Italy – Mr Biden and the first lady, Jill Biden, will meet the Queen at Windsor Castle before the president meets NATO leaders in Belgium and then Russian President Vladimir Putin in Switzerland.
Speaking about his meeting with Mr Putin, Mr Biden said the US was not seeking conflict but would respond in a “robust and meaningful way” if Russia engaged in harmful activities.
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Mr Johnson has said he wants to discuss the COVID-19 pandemic and urge other leaders to do more to vaccinate the rest of the world, but it is likely the growing Brexit trade row and its effect on the Northern Ireland peace process will also come up.
Mr Biden’s national security adviser Jake Sullivan has warned that the president has “very deep” concerns on the issue, adding that the post-Brexit Northern Ireland Protocol is “critical” to ensuring that the Good Friday Agreement is protected.
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During Mr Biden’s flight across the Atlantic, his press secretary Jen Psaki and Mr Sullivan told reporters what else is on Mr Biden’s agenda:
• Boosting vaccine supply – the US announced on Wednesday evening that it would donate 500 million COVID-19 vaccines to poorer countries
• Following discussions about possible waivers of intellectual property laws allowing more vaccines to be produced around the world, Mr Sullivan said he does not anticipate contention but “convergence” on the issue
• Mr Sullivan said that moves to vaccinate poorer countries faster are “the right thing to do” and the smart thing to do in terms of stopping new variants of the virus. Mr Biden also wants to show that democracies can lead the fight
• Mr Biden will meet Russian president Vladimir Putin in Switzerland where he will discuss the rise in ransomware attacks that have been attributed to Russian hackers
• The conflict in Syria will be discussed, as will concerns about Russia’s new nuclear systems
• Mr Biden and Mr Johnson are expected to refresh the Atlantic Charter. The charter was first announced in 1941 by the US and UK, setting out a vision for the post-war world
Dozens of supporters were outside court as the man accused of fatally shooting the chief executive of UnitedHealthcare made his first appearance.
Luigi Mangione has pleaded not guilty to multiple counts of murder following the 4 December killing of Brian Thompson, 50, outside a midtown Manhattan hotel.
The 26-year-old is accused of ambushing and shooting the executive as he walked to an investor conference.
Luigi Mangione supporters stand outside the Supreme Court. Pic: AP Photo/Stefan Jeremiah
Dozens of people who showed up in court to support the suspect including former army intelligence analyst Chelsea Manning who was jailed for stealing classified diplomatic cables.
Dozens more queued in the hallway.
Mangione is also facing federal charges that could carry the possibility of the death penalty.
The judge set a deadline of 9 April to submit pre-trial motions.
Luigi Mangione is accused of fatally shooting Brian Thompson. Pic: Steven Hirsch/New York Post via AP
In addition to the New York cases, Mr Mangione also faces charges of forgery, carrying firearms without a licence, and other counts in Pennsylvania, where authorities arrested him at a McDonald’s.
Police say he was in possession of a gun, bullets, multiple fake IDs and a handwritten document that expressed “ill will” towards corporate America.
He is being held in a Brooklyn jail alongside several other high-profile defendants, including music mogul and rapper Sean “Diddy” Combs, and disgraced crypto entrepreneur Sam Bankman-Fried.
The killing prompted some to voice their resentment at US health insurers, with Mangione attracting a cult following.
A poll taken in the wake of the shooting showed most Americans believe health insurance profits and coverage denials were partly to blame for the incident.
Sir Keir Starmer and Emmanuel Macron have not “done anything” to end the Ukraine war, US President Donald Trump has said.
He called the French president a “friend of mine” and the UK leader a “nice guy” but said Russia had only agreed to negotiate “because of me”.
Mr Trump made the comments days before both leaders visit the White House for a meeting in which they must try to press Ukraine‘s case while keeping the US leader onside.
Sir Keir Starmer and Emmanuel Macron in Paris: Pic: Number 10/Flickr
The president also continued his criticism of Volodymyr Zelenskyy, saying he had “no cards” to play.
“I’ve been watching for years, and I’ve been watching him negotiate with no cards. He has no cards. And you get sick of it. You just get sick of it. And I’ve had it,” he told a Fox radio show.
The comments come after he recently called the Ukrainian leader a “dictator without elections” – apparently in response to Mr Zelenskyy saying his US counterpart was living in a “disinformation space” after Mr Trump claimed Ukraine had started the war.
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Ukraine was also excluded from talks between the top US and Russian diplomats in Riyadh earlier this week.
They were intended to set the stage for future negotiations on ending the war, which started when Russia launched a full-scale invasion three years ago.
Speaking on Friday evening, Mr Trump denied speculation he could visit Moscow for talks on 9 May – the day Russia celebrates its victory over the Nazis.
President Trump speaks in the Oval Office on Friday. Pic: Reuters
Mr Trump also told reporters the Russian and Ukrainian leaders needed to “work together” to end the war.
However, the US has already dealt a huge blow to Kyiv’s position in any future talks.
US defence secretary Pete Hegseth said last week that a return to pre-war borders was “unrealistic” and ruled out NATO membership as way to guarantee Kyiv’s security.
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President Zelenskyy has insisted he will not accept any deal that his country is not involved in.
Ukraine’s leader held talks with US envoy Keith Kellogg in Kyiv on Thursday, describing it later as a “good discussion”.
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Mr Kellogg struck a markedly different tone to President Trump when he called Mr Zelenskyy the “courageous leader of a nation at war”.
However, there are concerns over how much influence Mr Kellogg has, with a Ukrainian source saying there was a sense he had been sidelined.
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