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‘A fight between good and evil’: The Klitschko brothers on the battle for Ukraine

Published

2 years ago

March 24, 2022

Press Room

‘A fight between good and evil’: The Klitschko brothers on the battle for Ukraine

A firefighter sprays water inside a home that was destroyed by shelling in Kyiv, Ukraine, on Wednesday, March 23.

Photos lie amid the rubble of a home in Kyiv on March 23.

Svetlana Ilyuhina appears to be like on the wreckage of her dwelling in Kyiv following a Russian rocket assault on March 23. “First there was smoke, after which the whole lot went black,” she stated.

Folks conceal in an underground shelter in Lviv, Ukraine, on Tuesday, March 22.

Medical employees are likely to kids in a room protected by sandbags at a kids’s hospital in Zaporizhzhia, Ukraine, on March 22.

Civilian volunteers attend a coaching camp for the Territorial Protection Forces in Brovary, Ukraine, on Monday, March 21.

A lady cleans up a room March 21 in a constructing that was broken by bombing in Kyiv.

The Retroville shopping center is seen in Kyiv after Russian shelling on March 21.

Folks share dinner and sing “Completely satisfied Birthday” throughout a celebration in Kyiv on Sunday, March 20. This studio area has changed into a bomb shelter for roughly 25 artists who’re volunteering to assist the warfare effort.

Former Ukrainian Parliament member Tetiana Chornovol, now a service member and operator of an anti-tank guided missile system, examines a Russian tank she destroyed in a current battle within the Kyiv area.

Folks collect in a basement throughout an air raid in Lviv on Saturday, March 19.

A Ukrainian serviceman stands amongst particles after shelling in a residential space in Kyiv on Friday, March 18.

Employees members attend to a toddler at a kids’s hospital in Zaporizhzhia on March 18.

A lady reacts whereas talking outdoors a destroyed residence block in Mariupol, Ukraine, on Thursday, March 17.

An aged girl is helped by law enforcement officials after she was rescued from an residence that was hit by shelling in Kyiv on March 15.

Firefighters work to extinguish flames at an residence constructing in Kyiv on March 15.

A lady walks previous a broken window to put flowers at a makeshift memorial for victims in Donetsk, Ukraine, on March 15.

Firefighters search a constructing for survivors after an assault in Kharkiv, Ukraine, on March 14. Not less than one lifeless physique was pulled from the rubble after hours of digging.

Ukrainian troopers take cowl from incoming artillery fireplace in Irpin, Ukraine, on March 13.

A Ukrainian soldier surveys a destroyed authorities constructing in Kharkiv on March 13.

A mom and son relaxation in Lviv, Ukraine, whereas ready to board a prepare to Poland on March 12.

Ukrainian servicemen work contained in the broken maternity hospital in Mariupol on March 9. “The destruction is gigantic,” town council stated. “The constructing of the medical facility the place the youngsters had been handled just lately is totally destroyed.”

A displaced Ukrainian mom embraces her youngster whereas ready on the Przemysl railway station in Poland on March 8.

A Ukrainian serviceman walks previous the stays of a Russian plane mendacity in a broken constructing in Kharkiv on March 8.

A firefighter works to extinguish flames after a chemical warehouse was reportedly hit by Russian shelling close to Kalynivka, Ukraine, on March 8.

Alexandra, 12, holds her 6-year-old sister, Esyea, who cries as she waves at her mom, Irina, on March 7. The kids had been leaving Odesa, Ukraine.

Members of the Purple Cross assist individuals fleeing the Kyiv suburb of Irpin on March 7.

Civilians search safety in a basement bomb shelter in Kyiv on March 6.

Native residents assist clear the rubble of a house that was destroyed by a suspected Russian airstrike in Markhalivka, Ukraine, on March 5.

George Keburia says goodbye to his spouse and kids as they board a prepare in Odesa on March 5. They had been heading to Lviv.

Ukrainians crowd underneath a destroyed bridge as they attempt to flee throughout the Irpin River on the outskirts of Kyiv on March 5.

Folks take away private belongings from a burning home after shelling in Irpin on March 4.

Folks crowd on a platform as they attempt to board a westbound prepare in Kyiv on March 4.

A bullet-ridden bus is seen after an ambush in Kyiv on March 4.

Folks take shelter on the ground of a hospital throughout shelling in Mariupol on March 4.

A member of the Ukrainian navy provides directions to civilians in Irpin on March 4. They had been about to board an evacuation prepare headed to Kyiv.

A Ukrainian youngster rests on a mattress at a brief refugee middle in Záhony, Hungary, on March 4.

A Ukrainian soldier carries a child throughout a destroyed bridge on the outskirts of Kyiv on March 3.

Residents react in entrance of a burning constructing after shelling in Kharkiv on March 3.

A Ukrainian soldier who says he was shot thrice within the opening days of the invasion sits on a hospital mattress in Kyiv on March 3.

Folks kind a human chain to switch provides into Kyiv on March 3.

A cemetery employee digs graves for Ukrainian troopers in Kyiv on March 3.

A mom cares for her two toddler sons within the underground shelter of a maternity hospital in Kyiv on March 3. She gave delivery a day earlier, and he or she and her husband have not but selected names for the twins.

A member of Ukraine’s Territorial Protection Forces sits with a weapon in Kyiv on March 2.

Paramedics deal with an aged girl wounded by shelling earlier than transferring her to a hospital in Mariupol on March 2.

Residents of Zhytomyr, Ukraine, work within the stays of a residential constructing on March 2. The constructing was destroyed by shelling.

A member of Ukraine’s Territorial Protection Forces inspects injury within the yard of a home in Gorenka on March 2.

A Ukrainian girl takes her kids over the border in Siret, Romania, on March 2. Many Ukrainians are fleeing the nation at a tempo that might flip into “Europe’s largest refugee disaster this century,” the United Nations Refugee Company stated.

Militia members arrange anti-tank barricades in Kyiv on March 2.

Folks wait at a prepare station in Kyiv on March 2.

Folks shelter in a subway station in Kyiv on March 2.

Ukrainian troopers attend Mass at an Orthodox monastery in Kyiv on March 1.

Medical staff present a mom her new child after she gave delivery at a maternity hospital in Mariupol on March 1. The hospital is now additionally used as a medical ward and bomb shelter.

An administrative constructing is seen in Kharkiv after Russian shelling on March 1. Russian forces have scaled up their bombardment of Kharkiv, Ukraine’s second-largest metropolis.

Ukrainian emergency staff carry a physique of a sufferer following shelling that hit the Metropolis Corridor constructing in Kharkiv on March 1.

A lady named Helen comforts her 8-year-old daughter, Polina, within the bomb shelter of a Kyiv kids’s hospital on March 1. The woman was on the hospital being handled for encephalitis, or irritation of the mind.

Ukrainian refugees attempt to keep heat on the Medyka border crossing in Poland on March 1.

Volunteers in Kyiv signal as much as be part of Ukraine’s Territorial Protection Forces on February 28.

A member of the Territorial Protection Forces masses rifle magazines in Kyiv on February 28.

Ukrainian forces order a person to the bottom on February 28 as they elevated safety measures amid Russian assaults in Kyiv.

A displaced Ukrainian cradles her youngster at a brief shelter arrange inside a gymnasium in Beregsurány, Hungary, on February 28.

Smoke billows over the Ukrainian metropolis of Vasylkiv, simply outdoors Kyiv on February 27. A fireplace at an oil storage space was seen raging on the Vasylkiv Air Base.

Folks wait on a platform contained in the railway station in Lviv on February 27. 1000’s of individuals at Lviv’s primary prepare station tried to board trains that will take them out of Ukraine.

A Russian armored car burns after preventing in Kharkiv on February 27. Avenue preventing broke out as Russian troops entered Ukraine’s second-largest metropolis, and residents had been urged to remain in shelters and never journey.

Native residents put together Molotov cocktails in Uzhhorod, Ukraine, on February 27.

Vehicles line up on the highway outdoors Mostyska, Ukraine, as individuals try and flee to Poland on February 27.

Ukrainian troops in Kyiv escort a prisoner February 27 who they suspected of being a Russian agent.

Ukrainian service members take place on the Vasylkiv Air Base close to Kyiv on February 27.

A lady sleeps on chairs February 27 within the underground car parking zone of a Kyiv resort that has been changed into a bomb shelter.

A broken residential constructing is seen in Kyiv on February 26.

Folks in Kyiv run for canopy throughout shelling on February 26.

An residence constructing in Kyiv is seen after it was broken by shelling on February 26. The outer partitions of a number of residence items gave the impression to be blown out fully, with the interiors blackened and particles hanging free.

A police car patrols the streets of Kyiv on February 26.

Ukrainian troops examine a web site following a Russian airstrike in Kyiv on February 26.

Following a nationwide directive to assist complicate the invading Russian Military’s makes an attempt to navigate, a highway employee removes indicators close to Pisarivka, Ukraine, on February 26.

Ukrainian service members search for and gather unexploded shells after preventing in Kyiv on February 26.

The physique of a Russian soldier lies subsequent to a Russian car outdoors Kharkiv on February 25.

A lady weeps in her automobile after crossing the border from Ukraine into Sighetu Marmatiei, Romania, on February 25.

A Ukrainian soldier sits injured from crossfire inside Kyiv on February 25.

A toddler from Ukraine sleeps in a tent at a humanitarian middle in Palanca, Moldova, on February 25.

A firefighter walks between the ruins of a downed plane in Kyiv on February 25.

Members of the Ukrainian Nationwide Guard take positions in central Kyiv on February 25.

Folks stroll previous a residential constructing in Kyiv that was hit in an alleged Russian airstrike on February 25.

The physique of a college worker, who based on locals was killed in current shelling, lies within the separatist-controlled city of Horlivka in Ukraine’s Donetsk area on February 25.

Kyiv residents take shelter in an underground parking storage on February 25.

A wounded girl stands outdoors a hospital after an assault on the jap Ukrainian city of Chuhuiv, outdoors of Kharkiv, on February 24.

The physique of a rocket stays in an residence after shelling on the northern outskirts of Kharkiv on February 24.

A boy performs together with his pill in a public basement used as a bomb shelter in Kyiv on February 24.

A person mourns after an airstrike reportedly hit an residence advanced in Chuhuiv on February 24.

Ukrainian service members sit atop armored automobiles driving in jap Ukraine’s Donetsk area on February 24.

Folks in Kyiv attempt to board a bus to journey west towards Poland on February 24.

Folks search shelter inside a subway station in Kharkiv on February 24.

Folks wait after boarding a bus to go away Kyiv on February 24.

Cops examine the stays of a missile that landed in Kyiv on February 24.

A employees member of a Kyiv resort talks on the telephone on February 24.

Folks wait in line to purchase prepare tickets on the central station in Kyiv on February 24.

A photograph offered by the Ukrainian President’s workplace seems to point out an explosion in Kyiv early on February 24.

A convoy of Russian navy automobiles is seen February 23 within the Rostov area of Russia, which runs alongside Ukraine’s jap border.

Ukrainian troopers discuss in a shelter on the entrance line close to Svitlodarsk, Ukraine, on February 23.

Smoke rises from a broken energy plant in Shchastya that Ukrainian authorities say was hit by shelling on February 22.

A broken home is labored on after shelling close to the Ukrainian front-line metropolis of Novoluhanske on February 22.

Ukrainian troopers pay their respects throughout Sydorov’s funeral in Kyiv on February 22.

Russian howitzers are loaded onto prepare automobiles close to Taganrog, Russia, on February 22.

Protesters demanding financial sanctions towards Russia stand outdoors the Ministry of International Affairs in Kyiv on February 21. Solely a small variety of protesters confirmed as much as exhibit.

Activists maintain a efficiency in entrance of the Russian embassy in Kyiv on February 21 in help of prisoners who had been arrested in Crimea. They are saying the crimson doorways are an emblem of the doorways that had been kicked in to go looking and arrest Crimean Tatars, a Muslim ethnic minority.

Ukrainian servicemen store within the front-line city of Avdiivka, Ukraine, on February 21.

Folks lay flowers on the Motherland Monument in Kyiv on February 21.

A neighborhood resident reveals the depth of a crater from shelling in a subject behind his home within the village of Tamarchuk, Ukraine, on February 20.

Ukrainian service members are seen alongside the entrance line outdoors of Popasna, Ukraine, on February 20.

Folks evacuated from the pro-Russian separatist areas of Ukraine are seen at a brief shelter in Taganrog, Russia, on February 20.

Anastasia Manha lulls her 2-month-old son Mykyta after alleged shelling by separatists forces in Novohnativka, Ukraine, on February 20.

A Ukrainian soldier stays on place on the entrance line close to Novohnativka on February 20.

A pair arrives on the metropolis council to get married in Odesa on February 20. As Ukrainian authorities reported additional ceasefire violations and high Western officers warned about an impending battle, life went on in different elements of the nation.

A lady rests in a automobile close to a border checkpoint in Avilo-Uspenka, Russia, on February 19.

A Ukrainian service member walks by a constructing on February 19 that was hit by mortar fireplace within the front-line village of Krymske, Ukraine.

Fighter jets fly over Belarus throughout a joint navy train the nation held with Russia on February 19.

Ukrainian troopers stand guard at a navy command middle in Novoluhanske on February 19.

Folks sit on a bus in Donetsk on February 18 after they had been ordered to evacuate to Russia by pro-Russian separatists.

Kids play on outdated Soviet tanks in entrance of the Motherland Monument in Kyiv on February 16.

Ambassadors of European international locations lay roses on the Wall of Remembrance in Kyiv on February 16. The wall incorporates the names and pictures of navy members who’ve died because the battle with Russian-backed separatists started in 2014.

US troops stroll on the tarmac on the Rzeszów-Jasionka Airport in southeastern Poland on February 16. US paratroopers landed in Poland as a part of a deployment of a number of thousand despatched to bolster NATO’s jap flank in response to tensions with Russia.

A 200-meter-long Ukrainian flag is unfolded on the Olympic Stadium in Kyiv on February 16 to mark a “Day of Unity,” an impromptu celebration declared by President Volodymyr Zelensky.

A lady and youngster stroll beneath a navy monument in Senkivka, Ukraine, on February 14. It is on the outskirts of the Three Sisters border crossing between Ukraine, Russia and Belarus.

Ukrainian service members discuss at a front-line place in jap Ukraine on February 14.

Members of Ukraine’s Nationwide Guard look out a window as they journey a bus by means of the capital of Kyiv on February 14.

Satellite tv for pc photos taken on February 13 by Maxar Applied sciences revealed that dozens of helicopters had appeared at a beforehand vacant airbase in Russian-occupied Crimea.

Professional-Russian separatists observe the motion of Ukrainian troops from trenches in Ukraine’s Donbas space on February 11.

Ukrainian service members unpack Javelin anti-tank missiles that had been delivered to Kyiv on February 10 as a part of a US navy help bundle for Ukraine.

Ukrainian service members stroll on an armored preventing car throughout a coaching train in jap Ukraine’s Donetsk area on February 10.

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China’s exports miss target in warning signal for Beijing

Published

6 hours ago

August 7, 2024

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China’s exports miss target in warning signal for Beijing

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China’s export growth missed expectations last month in dollar terms, in what analysts said was a signal to policymakers that their heavy dependence on trade to overcome a weak domestic economy may be facing growing risks.

In contrast to exports, imports rose sharply, reversing previous falls as industry procured machinery and capital goods to sustain rising investment.

Exports rose 7 per cent year on year in dollar terms in July, according to official data released by China’s General Administration of Customs on Wednesday, lower than an 8.6 per cent rise in June. A Reuters poll of analysts had forecast growth of 9.7 per cent.

Imports rose 7.2 per cent, far outpacing the 3.5 per cent growth predicted by the Reuters poll and up from a decline of 2.3 per cent year on year in June.

“[Chinese policymakers] will probably look at this and think the export engine is probably going to slow down sooner than they thought,” said Louise Loo, lead economist at Oxford Economics.

China’s economy has depended on trade and industrial output to offset a prolonged real estate downturn and souring local government finances, which have knocked consumer confidence and household spending.

Investor confidence has also been hit by government crackdowns and Beijing’s insistence on providing only an incremental stimulus, rather than a big bang, to reach its official economic growth target of 5 per cent.

President Xi Jinping has set out a vision of lifting productivity through investment in advanced technology, manufacturing and innovation, with state banks pumping lending into industry rather than stimulating domestic demand.

This has led to disinflationary pressures in the economy, with lower prices supercharging the competitiveness of China’s exports at a time when developed markets are wrestling with higher inflation.

Loo said Chinese industry had probably front-loaded exports in the first part of the year in anticipation of possible tariffs and uncertainty about the US presidential election, as well as weaker external demand as the American economy softens.

“The problem is that the external demand story has never been, in our view, a permanent driver, it was always going to fade,” she said. “It’s just about timing the end of that boom.”

Heron Lim, an economist with Moody’s Analytics, said July’s weaker than expected export figure could be partly down to rising trade protectionism hitting Chinese products, including automobiles.

This was happening not only in developed markets such as the US and the EU, which have increased tariffs on electric vehicles, but also across different products and developing countries.

“We are definitely expecting more to come in terms of stimulus,” he said, pointing to expectations of monetary easing and other measures in the second half of the year.

However, Lynn Song, chief economist for greater China at ING, noted that exports increased in volume terms, particularly in areas such as automobiles, while prices were lower.

“I think the disappointing export data is actually more tied to price competition,” he said, adding that some areas showed stronger activity, such as household electronics and semiconductor exports.

“It’s not a broad-based, big external demand slowdown,” he said, adding “export value has slumped and that’s probably dragging on the numbers a bit.”

Song also pointed out that imports were being driven by demand for auto parts from electric vehicle industries, as well as by China’s drives to upgrade industry and achieve technological self-sufficiency.

“There’s quite a lot of demand for high tech imports, semiconductors as well as automatic data processing equipment,” he said.

“I think one mistake would be to attribute [the import rebound] to a really strong recovery of household demand, because you can see that overall other imports are still quite weak.”

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A federal appeals court has upheld Maryland's ban on assault-style weapons

Published

6 hours ago

August 7, 2024

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A federal appeals court has upheld Maryland's ban on assault-style weapons

Three variations of the AR-15 assault rifle are displayed at the California Department of Justice in 2012. A federal appeals court on Tuesday upheld Maryland’s decade-old ban on military-style firearms commonly referred to as assault weapons.

Rich Pedroncelli/AP

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Rich Pedroncelli/AP

SILVER SPRING, Md. — A federal appeals court on Tuesday upheld Maryland’s decade-old ban on military-style firearms commonly referred to as assault weapons.

A majority of 4th U.S. Circuit Court of Appeals judges rejected gun rights groups’ arguments that Maryland’s 2013 law is unconstitutional under the Second Amendment.

The U.S. Supreme Court declined to review this case in May, when the full 4th Circuit was still considering it. Maryland officials argued the Supreme Court should defer to the lower court before taking any action, but the plaintiffs said the appeals court was taking too long to rule.

Maryland passed the sweeping gun-control measure after a 20-year-old gunman killed 20 children and six adults at Sandy Hook Elementary School in Connecticut in 2012. It bans dozens of firearms — including the AR-15, the AK-47 and the Barrett .50-caliber sniper rifle — and puts a 10-round limit on gun magazines.

California's ban on assault weapons will remain in effect after judges grant a stay

The Firearms Policy Coalition Inc., one of the plaintiffs challenging Maryland’s law, said it would again ask the Supreme Court to review the case.

“Our objective is simple: End all bans on so-called ‘assault weapons’ nationwide. And we look forward to doing just that,” coalition president Brandon Combs said in a statement.

The 4th Circuit’s full roster of judges agreed to consider the case after a three-judge panel heard oral arguments but hadn’t yet issued a ruling.

The weapons banned by Maryland’s law fall outside Second Amendment protection because they are essentially military-style weapons “designed for sustained combat operations that are ill-suited and disproportionate to the need for self-defense,” Judge J. Harvie Wilkinson III wrote in the court’s majority opinion.

“Moreover, the Maryland law fits comfortably within our nation’s tradition of firearms regulation,” Wilkinson wrote. “It is but another example of a state regulating excessively dangerous weapons once their incompatibility with a lawful and safe society becomes apparent, while nonetheless preserving avenues for armed self-defense.”

The U.S. Once Had A Ban On Assault Weapons — Why Did It Expire?

Eight other 4th Circuit judges joined Wilkinson’s majority opinion. Five other judges from the Virginia-based appeals court joined in a dissenting opinion.

The law’s opponents argue it’s unconstitutional because such weapons are already in common use. In his dissenting opinion, Judge Julius Richardson said the court’s majority “misconstrues the nature of the banned weapons to demean their lawful functions and exaggerate their unlawful uses.”

“The Second Amendment is not a second-class right subject to the whimsical discretion of federal judges. Its mandate is absolute and, applied here, unequivocal,” Richardson wrote.

Wilkinson said the dissenting judges are in favor of “creating a near absolute Second Amendment right in a near vacuum,” striking “a profound blow to the basic obligation of government to ensure the safety of the governed.

“Arms upon arms would be permitted in what can only be described as a stampede toward the disablement of our democracy in these most dangerous of times,” Wilkinson wrote.

Maryland Attorney General Anthony Brown praised the court’s decision.

“The Court’s decision today will save lives,” Brown said in a statement. “Access to weapons of war that have no place in our communities causes senseless and preventable deaths.”

The latest challenge to the assault weapons ban comes under consideration following a 2022 U.S. Supreme Court decision that “effected a sea change in Second Amendment law.” That 6-3 decision signified a major expansion of gun rights following a series of mass shootings.

Surgeon General Dr. Vivek Murthy speaks during an event on the White House.

With its conservative justices in the majority and liberals in dissent, the court struck down a New York law and said Americans have a right to carry firearms in public for self-defense. It also required gun policies to fall in line with the country’s “historical tradition of firearm regulation.”

The 4th Circuit previously declared the ban constitutional in a 2017 ruling, saying the guns banned under Maryland’s law aren’t protected by the Second Amendment.

“Put simply, we have no power to extend Second Amendment protections to weapons of war,” Judge Robert King wrote for the court in that majority opinion, calling the law “precisely the type of judgment that legislatures are allowed to make without second-guessing by a court.”

The court heard oral arguments in the latest challenge in March. It’s one of two cases on gun rights out of Maryland that the federal appeals court took up around the same time. The other is a challenge to Maryland’s handgun licensing requirements.

Separately, a federal judge last week ruled that a 2023 Maryland law can’t prohibit licensed gun owners from carrying firearms in bars and restaurants and in private buildings without the owner’s permission. However, Chief U.S. District Judge George Russell upheld other gun restrictions in the state law. Those include bans on carrying firearms in health care facilities, schools, government buildings, amusement parks, mass transit facilities, race tracks, casinos, museums, state parks and stadiums.

Maryland lawmakers approved the law last year in response to the U.S. Supreme Court decision that struck down a New York law that was very similar to Maryland’s “good and substantial reason” standard for permits to carry concealed handguns.

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China imposes restrictions on fentanyl chemicals after pressure from US

Published

13 hours ago

August 6, 2024

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China imposes restrictions on fentanyl chemicals after pressure from US

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China is to impose controls on the production of critical chemicals for the manufacture of fentanyl, in a sign of rising co-operation between Beijing and Washington over efforts to crack down on the deadly synthetic opioid.

The Biden administration on Tuesday said China would impose regulations and controls on three essential chemicals used in fentanyl from September.

The move — a process known as “scheduling” — marks the first time China will impose restrictions on the production of ingredients for the drug in six years.

The White House said it was a “valuable step forward” that followed a meeting between senior US and Chinese officials in Washington last week.

Washington has been pressing Beijing for several years to crack down on the production of ingredients used in fentanyl, which it estimates claimed the lives of almost 75,000 Americans in 2023.

US officials say the illicit drug has become the leading cause of death for Americans between the ages of 18 and 45.

The enhanced US-China co-operation stems from an agreement reached between President Joe Biden and President Xi Jinping at a summit in San Francisco in November 2023.

The two leaders agreed to create a working group to tackle the fentanyl issue as part of an effort to stabilise turbulent relations between the two powers.

In 2019, China took measures to stem exports of fentanyl to the US, causing Chinese groups to shift their focus to making the chemicals needed to produce the drug. They have been sending the chemicals to cartels in Mexico which produce fentanyl for distribution in the US market.

In a statement, the Chinese government said it would subject three chemical ingredients — 4-AP, 1-boc-4-AP, and Norfentanyl — to controls from September 1.

“China has always attached great importance to international counter-narcotics co-operation and is willing to co-operate with countries worldwide including the United States,” said Liu Pengyu, the Chinese embassy spokesperson in Washington. “We hope that the US side can work with China in the same direction, and continue our co-operation based on mutual respect, managing differences, and mutual benefits.”

UN member states in 2022 agreed to impose international controls on the same chemicals, but China had until now not subject them to corresponding domestic controls.

Congress has become increasingly vocal in its criticism of China over the fentanyl crisis.

In a report in April, the House China committee blamed Beijing for the fentanyl epidemic and accused it of creating programmes to reward companies for exporting fentanyl and other illegal drugs to the US. The Chinese government has rejected the accusation.

Fentanyl is expected to be a significant election issue as vice-president Kamala Harris and former president Donald Trump battle for the White House.

According to a Morning Consult/Bloomberg poll earlier this year, 44 per cent of respondents said the approach to the drug was a “very important” in deciding who they would vote for in November.

The Biden administration last week urged Congress to pass legislation that would designate fentanyl-related substances as “Schedule I” drugs — which have no accepted medical use and a high potential for abuse — that would lead to higher penalties for distribution and possession.