Biden says U.S. has "commitment" to defend Taiwan if China attacks
CBSN
Hong Kong — President Joe Biden said on Thursday that the United States would defend Taiwan if China ever attacked the democratically governed island. The White House quickly walked back his remark as analysts tried to discern whether Mr. Biden might have been signalling a change in Washington's long-held policy of "strategic ambiguity" over the role the U.S. would play in the event of a military conflict between China and Taiwan.
"Yes, we have a commitment," the president declared after being asked during a CNN Town Hall in Baltimore, Maryland whether the U.S. would defend Taiwan in the face of an attack by China.
Noumea — France's president held a flurry of meetings with local representatives in the restive Pacific territory of New Caledonia on Thursday, urging calm after deadly rioting, and vowing thousands of military reinforcements will stay in place to quell what he called an "unprecedented insurrection."
Kathmandu — Nepali climber Phunjo Lama on Thursday reached Mount Everest's summit in 14 hours and 31 minutes, smashing the record for the world's fastest ascent of the mountain by a woman. Climbers usually take days to reach the top of the 29,032-foot mountain, spending nights on its different camps to rest and acclimatize.