Biden joins battle for US Senate as top Trump ally finally accepts win

 

 President-elect Joe Biden threw his weight into the Democratic battle for control of the US Senate on Tuesday, as his White House win was finally acknowledged by top Republicans and holdout foreign leaders.
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Biden flew into Georgia -- a southern state he won in an upset against President Donald Trump -- to host a rally for two Democratic candidates in runoff races that will determine the Senate's balance of power.

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"Honk for your next United States senators Jon Ossoff and Rev. Raphael Warnock," Biden told the crowd at the drive-in event in Atlanta -- urging voters to turn out in force on January 5.

"Send me these two men, and we will control the Senate!"

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Buttigieg named secretary of transport

One day after the Electoral College affirmed Biden's victory, attention shifted to the looming Senate battle -- and to the shape of the incoming administration, as Biden also announced he had nominated Pete Buttigieg, a former Indiana mayor and presidential rival, as secretary of transportation.

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Buttigieg would be the first openly gay person confirmed by the Senate to a presidential cabinet post -- in sync with Biden's pledge to usher in the most diverse cabinet ever when he takes office on January 20.

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And while Trump still refuses to concede -- continuing to tweet baseless allegations of mass fraud that have been rejected in dozens of lawsuits -- top Senate Republican Mitch McConnell finally broke his silence with a message to the president: it's over.

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"The Electoral College has spoken. So today I want to congratulate President-elect Joe Biden," McConnell said on the Senate floor, adding that Americans can also "take pride" that they will have their first female vice president in Kamala Harris.

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Biden told reporters before flying to Georgia that he had a "good" phone conversation with McConnell, a longtime Senate colleague.

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"I told him that while we disagree on a lot of things, there are things we can work together on," Biden said.

The Electoral College confirmation triggered an acknowledgement of Biden's win from Russian President Vladimir Putin, who said he was "ready for collaboration" with the Democrat.

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Brazilian President Jair Bolsonaro and Mexico's Andres Manuel Lopez Obrador -- who had both waited until now to recognize the president-elect -- also sent their congratulations.

'Turn the page' 

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Trump, in unprecedented fashion, has yet to acknowledge his defeat in the chaotic election that will see him exit the White House after a single four-year term.

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But Biden urged the divided country to "turn the page" as he welcomed the Electoral College vote on Monday, saying US democracy proved "resilient" against Trump's "abuse of power."

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He praised voters for casting ballots in record numbers despite fears of Covid-19 and "enormous political pressure, verbal abuse and even threats of physical violence." 

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The White House transition is occurring with the coronavirus pandemic surging, pushing US Covid-19 deaths above 300,000.

While critical winter months lie ahead, a bright spot has emerged with health care workers receiving the first doses of the coronavirus vaccine distributed in the nation.

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And with top infectious disease expert Anthony Fauci recommending Biden and Harris quickly take the vaccine, the president-elect said they would receive the shot in public view.

Minds on Georgia 

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Although the door has all but shut on his efforts to overturn the vote results, Trump has remained defiant, insisting in a series of tweets that he won a "landslide victory" and that there were still "tremendous problems" with the vote.

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In a threatening move against Republican leaders in Georgia, where he has made baseless claims of massive voter fraud, he retweeted a pro-Trump lawyer who posted a picture of Georgia's governor and secretary of state, saying "they will soon be going to jail."

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Democrats, who control the House of Representatives, need to flip both Georgia Senate seats in order to seize control of the upper chamber, while Republicans must hold just one to maintain their majority.

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Republicans have framed Georgia as must-win races, with the state forming the last line of defense against what they describe as radical "socialism."

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If Republicans do, McConnell remains majority leader, and his relationship with Biden will quickly become the most closely watched in Washington.

The pair were known for striking deals during crunch periods when Biden was Barack Obama's vice president.

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But McConnell gave Obama no quarter, repeatedly stymying him on judicial nominations and forcing the president to curtail his legislative agenda.

The United States has issued an export permit for a digital sonar system critical to Taiwan's indigenous submarine project, a top defence official said Wednesday.

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Taipei was notified by Washington on Tuesday that the permit has been granted, vice defence minister Chang Che-ping said during a parliament session.

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The digital sonar system and an integrated combat system are two key components Taiwan needs to build its own modern submarines. Chang did not elaborate on the status of the combat system.

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Taiwan began construction on a fleet of indigenous submarines last month, the latest move by the out-gunned island to bolster its defences against an increasingly bellicose Beijing.

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The long-mooted project aims to deliver eight new submarines, with the first expected by 2025, according to officials.

Taiwan's navy currently has four submarines, including two built by the United States in the 1940s.

Democratic Taiwan lives under the constant threat of invasion by communist China, which views the self-ruled island as part of its territory to bring back into the fold, by force if necessary.

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Beijing has ratcheted up pressure on the island since the election of President Tsai Ing-wen in 2016, in part due to her refusal to acknowledge its stance that Taiwan is part of "one China".

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In recent decades, Taiwan has had to ramp up its own defence industry as China pressured other countries against selling major weapon platforms to the island.

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In a separate announcement on Wednesday, Taiwan's navy said it planned to build six upgraded missile corvettes -- dubbed "aircraft carrier killers" -- by 2023 to counter "rapidly increasing threats from the enemy".

The navy's previous plan was to have three corvettes ready by 2025.

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Washington initially approved an offer back in 2001 to supply eight conventional submarines, but the sale never came to fruition.

However, outgoing US President Donald Trump was far more willing to sign off on advanced weapon systems to Taiwan, approving some $18 billion worth of sales, including new-generation fighter jets.

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In 2018, the US State Department approved a license necessary for defence contractors to sell Taiwan the technology needed for its submarine project.