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“I’ve met him. In the areas we don't agree to make it clear where the red lines are. I’ve met him. He is bright. He is tough. And he is what they call a worthy adversary,” Biden said at
a press conference.
China overshadows summit
But the Russia problem has been thrown into the shadow of the China difficulties as Biden seems to be refocusing US policy to counter China’s rise rather than grapple with the Kremlin. Biden urged his fellow Nato leaders to stand up to China's authoritarianism and growing military might.
Nato Secretary-General Jens Stoltenberg also met with Biden and took up the baton. He said China's growing military presence from the Baltics to Africa meant nuclear-armed Nato had to be prepared.
Stoltenberg said that the meeting would be a pivotal moment for the Alliance and a time to “open a new chapter in our transatlantic relations.” Stoltenberg laid out a full agenda for the meeting, including Nato’s relations with Russia, which he said were “at [their] lowest point since the Cold
War because of Russia’s pattern of aggressive behaviour”, as well as China, which offers opportunities but “also poses some challenges to our security”.
"China is coming closer to us. We see them in cyberspace, we see China
in Africa, but we also see China investing heavily in our own critical infrastructure," he said, in a reference to ports and telecoms networks. "We need to respond together as an alliance."
China was not happy about being the focus of the summit, although Putin was probably somewhat relieved that the opprobrium has shifted from Moscow to Beijing somewhat.
China's embassy in London said it was resolutely opposed to mentions of Xinjiang, Hong Kong and Taiwan that it said distorted the facts and exposed the "sinister intentions of a few countries such as the United States".
Albanian judge who appeared in designer clothes on TikTok suspended
bne IntelliNews
A high-ranking Albanian judge who appeared in videos posted on TikTok wearing designer clothes was suspended from her post by the High Judicial Council on June 7.
Albania has been carrying out reforms to the justice system, including the vetting of hundreds of judges and prosecutors, dozens of whom have already been dismissed from their posts for offences such as failure to accurately declare their assets and abuse of office.
A media storm erupted in Albania when the videos on the Chinese video- sharing social network showed Enkeleda Kapedani, chief justice in the city of Elbasan, posing in designer clothes in her office and driving a BMW.
Kapedani said when the videos emerged that they had been stolen from her phone and she didn’t have a TikTok account. However, they inevitably raised questions about her personal wealth.
Albania’s Minister of Justice Etilda Gjonaj called for the videos to be investigated, saying that she had been urging the High Judicial Council to check up on Kapedani, as she considered her to be responsible for the early release of gang member Viktor Ymeri from prison.
"Now I wish that not only the appropriate measure be taken, but also that the financial situation of this judge be thoroughly investigated. Typical for some who have not yet passed the Vetting and continue to erode justice from within!” Gjonaj wrote on Twitter on May 31.
Meanwhile, Albania’s high justice inspector Artur Metani asked the High Judicial Council to suspend Kapedani. “In this case, there are legal conditions for imposing on ... Enkeleda Kapedani the provisional measure of suspension from acting until the end of disciplinary proceedings, because the continuation of the magistrate in office seriously discredits the figure and position of the magistrate,” Metani told the council, as reported by local broadcaster Top News.
The council decided at its plenary session on June 7 to suspend Kapedani until the case is investigated and disciplinary proceedings are completed.
Kapedani is a former Miss Albania, who won the title in 2003 before going
on to study law between 2005 and 2009. She was appointed a judge in 2013, initially working in Tirana, before moving to Elbasan. She was elected head of the Elbasan court in 2020.
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