“This tuning is better for the current, unpredictable and ever-evolving threat of Covid-19. We continue to recommend that US citizens reconsider traveling abroad and postpone trips if possible, ”the ministry wrote in an email. In a media statement, the agency said the change does not “imply an assessment of the current health situation in a particular country”, but rather an advice for US citizens, in addition to information from the US Centers for Disease Control and Prevention (CDC). America warns people not to move to 80% of the countries of the world. Photo: Reuters. In addition to reflecting on travel health notices issued by the CDC, US State Department advisers are looking at logistical factors, such as travel restrictions for US citizens. If the passenger decides to go to the countries with a level 4 warning, the State Department recommends that they carefully read the information about the risks of arrival. The warning comes as the number of US passengers continues to increase and many countries around the world begin to open their borders to Americans. On April 19, Greece started to allow US citizens to re-enter if they have a negative test certificate for the virus or have been vaccinated. United Airlines has also announced new flights to Greece, Iceland and Croatia, starting in July. Earlier this month, the CDC said fully vaccinated people could move, and the risk this group poses is quite low. Even so, the agency said it still discourages movement as the number of new Covid-19 infections is still increasing in the US and globally. On its website, the agency recommends that residents postpone international trips until everyone is fully vaccinated. The agency warned: “Passengers who are fully vaccinated are less likely to become infected and spread Covid-19. However, international migration is still potentially risky and even fully immunized people are at risk of catching new virus strains and spreading them to the community ”.

Diplomat Marc Knapper is likely to replace Ambassador Daniel Kritenbrink as the new US ambassador to Vietnam. Photo: The White House

The White House announced the list quickly on April 16. Since taking office as US president, this is the first time Mr. Biden has selected an official as a representative abroad.

Notable in this list is the change in ambassador position in Vietnam. Accordingly, Mr. Knapper is expected to replace Mr. Daniel Kritenbrink after more than 3 years working in Vietnam. President Biden also nominated Mr. Kritenbrink to assume the position of assistant foreign minister in charge of East Asia and Pacific.

According to the process, after receiving the nomination of President Biden, Mr. Knapper will have a hearing before the US Senate Foreign Relations Committee, the necessary step to reach the ratification of the Senate of this country.

In the list of nine nominees, it can be seen that the Biden administration gives priority to professional diplomats. CNN assessed this as a signal that Mr. Biden wants to change the way of former President Donald Trump, who has a tendency to appoint officials (not professional diplomats) as ambassadors in many countries.

In addition to Mr. Knapper, the remaining 8 nominees include Larry André as Somalia’s ambassador, Elizabeth Moore Aubin as Algerian ambassador, Steven Bondy as Bahrain’s ambassador, Maria Brewer as ambassador of Lesotho, Christopher Lamora as Ambassador of Cameroon, Tulinabo Mushingi is ambassador to Angola and Sao Tome & Principe, Michael Raynor is ambassador for Senegal and the Republic of Guinea-Bissau, and Eugene Young as ambassador to the Republic of Congo.

Mr. Knapper is currently the deputy foreign minister in charge of Japan and Korea at the East Asia and Pacific Affairs Division of the Ministry of Foreign Affairs since September 2018.

Before in charge of Japan – Korea, Mr. Knapper was the Representative from 2017-2018 and the Deputy Head of the US diplomatic mission from 2015-2016 at the US Embassy in Seoul, Korea; Indian Affairs Director; The director is in charge of Japanese affairs and has had many other diplomatic positions in Iraq and Japan.

Candidate for the position of US Ambassador to Vietnam has worked twice in Korea. In 2017, he was the State Department representative in the Spent Fuel Team at the Yongbyon nuclear facility. In 2000, he was a member of the delegation of Foreign Minister Madeleine Albright to visit Pyongyang.

In the period 2004-2007, Mr. Knapper served as political counselor at the embassy in Hanoi. The White House website states that Mr. Knapper can speak Japanese, Korean and Vietnamese.

The nominee for the new ambassador to Vietnam received the Secretary of State for Distinguished Award, as the highest diplomatic honor of the United States.

Mr. Knapper graduated with an excellent degree from Princeton University and studied at the University of Tokyo, the intensive Japanese program of Middlebury College, the American Army War College and the XXI Thematic Research program of the Institute of Technology. Massachusetts.

Mr. Marc Evans Knapper was nominated by US President Joe Biden as Ambassador to Vietnam. Photo: US State Department.

US President Joe Biden on April 15 nominated a new ambassador to Vietnam – Mr. Marc Evans Knapper.

As a senior officer of the US State Department, who is expected to succeed Ambassador Daniel J. Kritenbrink, Mr. Knapper is currently serving as an assistant secretary to Japan and Korea in the US State Department.

Previously, Mr. Knapper worked at US embassies in Seoul, South Korea, Baghdad, Iraq and Japan, and the US State Department’s Office of Indian Affairs and Japan Affairs.

From 2004 to 2007, he was a counselor for political affairs at the US Embassy in Hanoi and is fluent in Japanese, Korean and Vietnamese. Mr. Knapper graduated from Princeton University and holds a master’s degree from the US Army War College, which offers postgraduate training for military officers and elite citizens to prepare them for duties and leadership positions. high level. He has also received many awards, such as the Foreign Minister’s Excellence Award, the Foreign Ministry’s Linguist of the Year Award, and the Presidential Distinguished Excellence Award.

The decision to officially appoint the ambassadors nominated will be effective after being approved by the US Senate.

Meanwhile, US Ambassador to Vietnam Daniel Kritenbrink will become Assistant Secretary of State in charge of East Asia and Pacific Affairs.

F-35 fighter jets. Photo: AFP / VNA

After President Biden came to power in January, the US State Department asked to reconsider the deal passed under former US President Donald Trump. Previously, there was a lawsuit asking to block the deal on the grounds that the UAE was involved in a conflict in Yemen and supported General Khalifa Haftar’s forces in Libya. In this regard, the US State Department said it planned to conduct a candid and continuous dialogue with the UAE.

In the statement, the State Department spokesperson stated that the US administration intends to launch the sale of fighter jets to the UAE, along with reviewing the details, consulting UAE officials to ensure said the two sides to understand the UAE obligations before, during and after delivery. The handover deadline will be in the next few years.

House Foreign Affairs Committee Chairman Gregory Meeks has expressed concern about the deal. According to this congressman, since the handover of the aircraft will not take place soon, the National Assembly will have plenty of time to evaluate whether to proceed with the deal, as well as whether to impose terms or arguments do not have any restrictions.

If the deal is enforced, the UAE will be the first Arab country to receive F-35 fighters, aircraft capable of gathering intelligence, attacking deep into the territory of the target and combat in the air. Under the plan, the UAE will receive 50 F-35s, equivalent to the fleet size of Israel.

Reuters on 14/4 said, a State Department spokesman revealed, the Biden administration has announced to Congress that they are promoting plans to sell more than 23 billion weapons to the Emirate United (UAE), including advanced F-35 fighter jets.

The US government will continue to promote the plan to sell weapons to the UAE, the spokesman said. “We are continuing to elaborate on the use of these weapons and have consulted with UAE officials.”

America’s state-of-the-art F-35 aircraft. Source: Sina.

According to reports, the plan to sell weapons to the Gulf nation was finalized before Mr. Trump left office. Before that, Mr. Biden suspended this plan to re-examine the agreement.

In the months leading up to the end of its term, the Trump administration approved numerous arms sales contracts worth tens of billions of dollars, including plans to sell 50 F-35 fighters to the UAE. .

The report mentions that some US lawmakers have criticized the UAE’s participation in the Yemen war, believing the Yemen conflict has become one of the most severe humanitarian disasters in the world. They fear that the arms sales may violate previous US commitments to secure Israel’s military superiority in the region.

In December 2020, the US Senate tried to prevent the US from selling F-35 fighter jets to the UAE, but ultimately failed due to differing stances between the parties. On January 20, 2021, just about an hour before Mr. Biden took office as US President, Mr. Trump quickly completed the sale of this large-scale weapon to the UAE.

However, at the end of January 2021, the Biden administration announced that it would re-evaluate the project, the UAE said it expected the results of the evaluation and welcomed the two sides to work together to alleviate tensions and re-start. phone area.

A spokesman for the US State Department on April 13 said that if the plan can be carried out on schedule, it is expected that weapons and equipment will be delivered to the UAE in 2025 or later.

It is known that the Trump administration wants to promote the plan to sell weapons to the UAE to help it deter potential threats from Iran. Trump’s real intention is to put Mr. Biden in a “difficult position” in the Middle East, because this plan will inevitably encounter a strong reaction from Israel, because the UAE’s F-35 will imbalance. balance of military power in the Middle East.

Along with that, Mr. Biden plans to return to nuclear negotiations with Iran, the fact that Mr. Trump pushed the plan to sell the F-35 to the UAE will make Tehran “angry” and difficult to accept again if the US do not cancel this plan.

However, the UAE side is showing little “interest” with the US F-35. Recently, the UAE has high expectations about the purchase of stealth fighter F-35 Lightning II, but due to strong opposition from Israel and the attitude of “considerations” of the US, Dubai has warned that it will change to buy Russian weapons if your requirements are not met.

Experts said that, if the Biden administration continues to “consider” this contract, it may bring the UAE back to negotiate with Moscow on the purchase of Russian fighters. Most likely buys 4.5 generation multi-purpose fighter Su-35.

“The UAE expressed extreme dissatisfaction with Washington’s actions and will most likely refuse to negotiate further with the US on the supply of these weapons due to Washington’s constantly changing position, buying a batch of Su. Russian -35 with the same large budget is quite obvious, even Su-57 fighter jets are considered, “the Russian press said.

It is still unclear exactly what the recent actions of US President Joe Biden are, since since after taking office, Mr. Biden’s policy in the Middle East can be said to be very fuzzy, and focused. into the Europe, Indo-Pacific region.

Some Russian experts believe that Biden’s move may be to prevent Russia from further strengthening its influence in the Middle East through arms exports to the region.

It is still too early to talk about the prospect of the UAE buying Russian weapons, as the US is still willing to impose sanctions under the CAATSA Act on the UAE, not to mention that they can offer upgraded versions. of the F-15 and the F-16 feature the Su-35 equivalent as an alternative.

The Joe Biden administration notified the US Congress of its decision to sell a $ 23.37 billion arms shipment to the United Arab Emirates (UAE), US congressional officials said on Monday. April 13.

The deal includes 50 F-35 stealth fighters, 18 MQ-9B armed drones (UAVs), and air-to-air and surface-to-surface missiles.

A State Department spokesperson said the Biden administration would execute the deal while “continuing a detailed assessment and consultation with UAE officials” on how the weapons were used.

The initial negotiated terms indicated that the UAE could receive the first F-35 by 2027.

The Biden administration in late January suspended a series of arms sales initiated under former President Donald Trump, including a contract of more than $ 23 billion with the UAE to review and demonstrate a commitment to “transparency. and good governance “.

The arms deal with the UAE has been opposed by many bipartisan lawmakers, on the grounds that they could be used in the war in Yemen, the world’s worst humanitarian crisis.

The US Senate last year tried to block the deal but failed.

The decision also made the UAE the first Arab country and the second Middle East country to own the F-35 after Israel. Israeli officials have repeatedly expressed concerns about the possibility of the US selling the F-35 stealth fighter to Arab countries, saying it would affect the balance of military power in the region.

However, Tel Aviv expressed no objection to the deal passed by the Biden administration.

The F-35 is the fifth generation stealth fighter in the United States, along with the F-22 they are the only fifth generation aircraft to enter service.

Representatives of Russia, China, and Japan are still in the experimental and final stage.

Despite its reputation, training tests show that the F-35s are formidable fighters and have excellent combat prowess.

Against famous fourth-stance fighters such as the US F-15, French Rafale and European Typhoon, the F-35 often wins overwhelming. Currently the F-35 has been produced in numbers in the thousands. with all three versions A, B, C.

The F-35 was developed from the X-35 under the Joint Attack Fighter Project (JSF), which is a single-seat fighter, capable of stealth, multipurpose, real missions include: air support, tactical bombing, and air-to-air combat.

The F-35 was designed and built by an aerospace industrial complex led by Lockheed Martin with other members BAE Systems and Northrop Grumman.

The F-35 made its maiden flight on December 15, 2006, making it the second stealth fighter in the world.

In terms of specifications, the F-35 has a length of 15.67m; wingspan 10.7m; 4.33m height; wing surface area 42.7m2; unladen weight 13,200kg; loaded weight 22,470m2; the largest take-off weight 31,800kg.

The F-35 can reach a maximum speed of 1,930 km / h; Maximum flight range of 2,200km; combat radius of 1,100km; Wing lift 526 kg / m2.

In terms of weaponry, the F-35 fighter has 1 GAU-12 / U 25mm cannon mounted in the F-35A body with 180 rounds or mounted outside the wings as on the F-35B and F-35C versions with 220 bullets.

The aircraft can carry up to 3.5 tons of weapons in stealth mode, while in “monster” mode the F-35 can carry up to 10 tons of weapons including air-to-air, land-to-air and anti-aircraft missiles. ship to bombs.

In addition, it also owns a state-of-the-art electronic warfare system, helping to gain advantage over opponents.

The F-35 has had an impressive performance in Afghanistan and Syria, the fighter’s effectiveness in combat has somewhat defeated but earlier doubts about its strength.

Currently, the US continues to increase capacity of F-35 factories to hand over to customers.