- Madrid's Carvajal to miss several months after serious knee injury
- Israel pounds Lebanon ahead of Hamas attack anniversary
- Two elephants die in flash flooding in northern Thailand
- Sabalenka targets world number one and Wuhan hat-trick
- Toddler among 4 dead in migrant Channel crossings
- Tunisia votes with Saied set for re-election
- Bagnaia sets 'example' with Japan MotoGP win to cut gap on Martin
- Intense Israeli bombing rocks Beirut ahead of war anniversary
- Mozambique vote: no suspense but some disillusion
- Austrian rapper channels anti-racist rage in Romani hip-hop songs
- Ohtani magic powers Dodgers over Padres in MLB playoff thriller
- Five of the best: Pakistan-England Test thrillers
- Man sets arm on fire as marches across US mark Gaza war anniversary
- Vietnam's young coffee entrepreneurs brew up a revolution
- Trump rallies at site of failed assassination: 'Never quit'
- Too hot by day, Dubai's floodlit beaches are packed at night
- Is music finally reckoning with #MeToo?
- Fans hail Trump's 'guts' as he returns to site of rally shooting
- Lebanon state media says 'very violent' Israeli strikes hit south Beirut
- Guardians maul Tigers, miracle Mets rally in MLB series openers
- Lebanon state media says Israeli strikes hit south Beirut
- Miami on track for MLS record points after win in Toronto
- Madrid beat Villarreal but Carvajal suffers knee injury
- Madrid beat Villarreal to move level with Liga leaders Barcelona
- Monaco take top spot in Ligue 1 with win at Rennes
- French rugby player on rape charge whistled but 'serene' on return
- Madrid beat Villarreal to level Liga leaders Barca
- Thuram treble fires Inter past Torino and up to second
- 'Fight': defiant Trump jets in to site of rally shooting
- Toddler among 3 dead in migrant Channel crossings
- Mexico City's new mayor sworn in with pledges on water, housing
- Israel on alert ahead of Hamas attack anniversary
- Guardians maul Tigers in MLB playoff series opener
- Macron criticises Israel on Gaza, Lebanon operations
- French rugby player whistled but 'serene' on return amid ongoing rape case
- Kovacic stars as Man City sink Fulham to get title bid back on track
- Retegui hat-trick fires five-star Atalanta to hammering of Genoa
- Heavyweights Australia, England off to World Cup winning starts
- Visiting UN refugee agency chief decries 'terrible crisis' in Lebanon
- Spinners come to party as England defeat Bangladesh at T20 World Cup
- Search continues for missing in deadly Bosnia floods
- Man City sink Fulham to get title bid back on track
- France's Auradou whistled on Pau return in Perpignan loss amid ongoing rape case
- A 'forgotten' valley in storm-hit North Carolina, desperate for help
- Arsenal hit back in style after Southampton scare
- Thousands march for Palestinians ahead of Oct 7 anniversary
- Hezbollah heir apparent Safieddine out of contact after strikes
- Liverpool stay top of Premier League as Arsenal, Man City win
- In dank Tour of Emilia, Pogacar shines in rainbow jersey
- DR Congo launches mpox vaccination drive, hoping to curb outbreak
Biden battles accusations of 'weakness' against US rivals
Is Joe Biden "weak" in the face of Russia, Iran or North Korea? This is the accusation leveled by opponents of the US president, who is trying to balance a firm hand with pragmatism to overcome multiple international crises and focus on a rising China.
"Is it any surprise that Chinese planes are flying over Taiwan? Or that North Korea is testing missiles again? Or that Iran is ramping up its nuclear program? They all sense Biden's weakness," Nikki Haley, who served as UN ambassador under Donald Trump, tweeted this week, summing up grievances of Republican hawks.
The standoff with Russia over its buildup of troops on Ukraine's borders fanned the flames of these accusations, which broke out in earnest amid the chaotic US withdrawal from Afghanistan in late August.
The Democratic president may have adopted a martial tone, amped up warnings and even sent troops to Eastern Europe this week, but his resolve is being called into question.
The Republican opposition, including its moderate fringe, have reproached Biden for ruling out preemptive sanctions against Moscow to discourage an attack on Ukraine.
The choice is, in fact, in the hands of Biden's administration, which is betting that the threat of "devastating" punitive measures in the event of an invasion will dissuade Russian President Vladimir Putin.
- 'Minor incursion' -
Some of the most hawkish in Washington have criticized the president for ruling out the option of direct military intervention to defend Ukraine.
But criticism came from many more corners when Biden made an apparent gaffe in mid-January.
The 79-year-old leader had sowed confusion by suggesting a "minor incursion" by Russia would prompt less pushback from the West, and indicated divisions between NATO countries on the scale of response that such an invasion would warrant.
Republican lawmakers quickly blasted Biden, accusing him of having tacitly "green-lighted" an invasion and forcing the White House to backpedal.
"It's typical of Biden: he responds often more like an analyst than a president," said Celia Belin, a researcher at the Brookings Institution think tank in Washington.
She nonetheless deems the US handling of the Ukraine crisis effective so far.
But his analytical responses are "a mistake as a leader," she said, especially as "Republicans harp on the idea of weakness because it resonates with the general perception of Biden as elderly, frail and not determined enough."
However, she underscored that this "trial of weakness" is typical of America, with a "constant" push and pull between a neoconservative bent toward the use of force to re-establish order and a camp that prefers to "choose its battles."
For Kori Schake, Director of Foreign and Defense Policy Studies at the American Enterprise Institute, a right-leaning think tank, these disparities don't negate that the US government is doing a "pretty good job balancing the competing demands" in the crisis.
- Hesitation -
US intelligence agencies quickly identified the "pattern of Russian aggression," allies were consulted early enough to "come to consensus," and the Pentagon has displayed "steadiness and readiness," she told AFP.
Biden entered the White House with a promise to US allies that "America is back," indicating a willingness to seek compromise at the risk of giving an impression of hesitation.
But this re-investment in the international arena, after the unilateralism of the Trump era, does not mean that Washington intends to play policeman everywhere at all times.
Democrats want to extract the United States from protracted conflicts and concentrate on a rising China, which the Biden and Trump administrations characterized as the top challenge of the 21st century.
Though Belin warned that pulling out isn't without consequence, like the withdrawal from Afghanistan "at the cost of a debacle," which she said may have pushed "Putin to legitimately say, 'I'm taking advantage of this.'"
And there is no shortage of challenges to divert the 46th US president from this priority, both new and protracted.
Iran looms large, with Biden in need of a deal to round off long-running multilateral talks with Tehran aimed at salvaging a 2015 nuclear deal and avoiding another crisis.
Here, too, he will likely be accused of weakness, even among Democrats, over the hot-button issue of containing Iran's nuclear program.
At the same time, the United States seems for the moment to be turning a blind eye to the recent flurry of North Korean missile launches.
On China, while Biden has held up the hard line adopted by predecessor Trump, some conservatives continue to criticize the current president for his willingness to engage in dialogue on climate issues or his refusal to boycott the Beijing Olympics entirely.
But for Schake, "Biden is no weaker on China or North Korea than the prior administration."
D.Kaufman--AMWN