Biden says still optimistic US to avoid default

TALKS to avoid a US debt default were on a knife edge Saturday as President Joe Biden warned he would not accept “extreme” Republican demands but said he remained optimistic.

“I still believe we’ll be able to avoid a default and we’ll get something decent done,” he told reporters at the G7 summit in Hiroshima, Japan.

With the Treasury Department warning that the US government could run out of money as early as June 1 –triggering massive economic disruption in the world’s biggest economy and likely around the globe – the political battle in Washington has see-sawed without any clear sign of resolution. Republicans, who control the House of Representatives, are demanding steep budget cuts as a price for allowing an extension of the government’s borrowing authority. The White House is seeking to whittle down Republican demands, while arguing that the traditionally uncontroversial annual debt ceiling increase is being weaponized for political gain. AFP

Inbrief

Ukraine wins access to F-16 fighter jets

PRESIDENT Volodymyr Zelensky arrived in Hiroshima for talks with the G7 Saturday, after winning long-sought access to advanced US fighter jets to bolster Ukraine’s defence.

Zelensky’s surprise summit appearance—he had previously been expected to appear by video call—came after he welcomed a “historic” White House decision to allow Ukraine to obtain F-16 jets.

The group of seven rich democracies are meeting in Japan to discuss issues including the need for “constructive and stable” relations with China, which the bloc accused Saturday of “economic coercion”.

But it was Zelensky’s arrival, and debate about the future of Russia’s 15-month-old invasion of Ukraine, that dominated the summit. AFP

Top Aussie anchor quits over racism

ONE of Australia’s top television journalists has opened a bout of national soul-searching by quitting his show over the racist abuse he faces as an Indigenous man in the spotlight.

An award-winning journalist with the ABC, Stan Grant said the national broadcaster had lodged a complaint with Twitter about the “relentless racial filth” he endured.

But he added that the media itself “lie and distort my words” and had depicted him as “hate-filled” after he raised Britain’s colonial persecution of Indigenous Australians during the ABC’s coverage of King Charles III’s coronation.

“I pointed out that the crown represents the invasion and theft of our land,” Grant said in an article published Friday on the ABC’s website.

“Police wearing the seal of the crown took children from their families. Under the crown our people were massacred.” AFP