Category: Foreign

United Nations Secretary-General Antonio Guterres has called for urgent steps to address the humanitarian crisis in Ethiopia’s Tigray region. A statement by his office on Tuesday evening said Guterres remained “seriously concerned” over the situation in the war-hit region. The statement said he attached strong importance to the partnership between the Ethiopian government and the UN, through its Country Team, to address the “acute humanitarian needs of all affected populations”. “He underlines the need for continued urgent steps to alleviate the humanitarian situation and extend the necessary protections to those…

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Ford Motor Co will invest $1.05bn in its South African manufacturing operations. The investment will include upgrades to expand production of its Ranger pickup truck, the U.S. automaker said on Tuesday. It aims to increase Ford’s installed capacity in South Africa from 168,000 to 200,000 vehicles, said Andrea Cavallaro, operations director of Ford’s International Market Group. “It’s the biggest investment in Ford’s 97-year history in South Africa and one of the largest ever in the local automotive industry,’’ he told an announcement event. The amount includes $683 million for technology…

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Former United States President Donald Trump has hired a new defence team shortly before his second impeachment trial is due to start. The defence will be led by David Schoen and Bruce Castor, Trump’s office said late on Sunday. Trump’s initial defence team of five lawyers would not be representing the Republican after all, citing differences over his legal strategy. Sources say Trump wanted the attorneys to pursue unsubstantiated allegations of electoral fraud instead of questioning the legitimacy of impeachment proceedings against a president who has already left office. The…

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The United Nations  and United States have condemned the coup in Burma and called for a return to constitutional and democratic order in the Southeast Asian country. UN Secretary General Antonio Guterres and US Secretary of State, Mr Anthony Blinken, reacted to the development in separate statements on Sunday night. Although both officials did not call it a coup, they urged the military to respect the will of the Burmese people as expressed through the country’s November 8, 2020  elections. Guterres and Blinken also called for the release of Burma’s…

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A Cuban military helicopter crashed in eastern Cuba on Friday, killing all five people on board, the Cuban military said. The helicopter crashed against a hill after leaving eastern Holguin province for the neighboring Guantanamo province, the Cuban Revolutionary Armed Forces said in a brief statement, cited by state media. The ministry has launched an investigation into the crash. Share on: WhatsApp

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United Nations Secretary-General Antonio Guterres has confirmed the suspension of its Envoy on Technology, Fabrizio Drummond, over allegations of harassment and other “inappropriate behaviour”. Speaking at a news conference in New York, Guterres said he placed Drummond on leave pending ongoing investigation by the organisation into the matter. The suspension of Drummond, 57, who hails from Chile, came barely six days after his appointment as the UN’s first-ever technology envoy. He was most recently the Secretary-General’s special adviser on the commemoration of the UN’s 75th anniversary. Guterres did not say…

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A Chinese court has handed down a year-long prison sentence to a woman who hid her Coronavirus symptoms before boarding a flight, state media reported on Wednesday. The 37-year-old took medication to suppress a fever before boarding a flight from the United States to China in March 2020, the Global Times reported. She only disclosed her symptoms after landing in Beijing and later tested positive for coronavirus. Some 63 close contacts then had to go into quarantine. Her actions were a violation of China’s anti-epidemic rules and posed a severe…

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A second impeachment trial of former United States President, Donald Trump is set to come a step closer. The House of Representatives prepares to forward the article of impeachment to the Senate. Carrying the charge of `incitement to sedition,’ the article is to be read before the second chamber of Congress at 7 p.m. on Monday evening (0000 GMT Tuesday). Trump is facing an unprecedented second impeachment trial based on a charge of incitement of insurrection over the deadly storming of the Capitol by pro-Trump rioters on January 6. According…

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Former President Donald Trump has hired South Carolina-based lawyer Butch Bowers to represent him in his Senate impeachment trial over a charge that he incited insurrection, a source familiar with the matter said on Thursday. Bowers did not respond to requests for comment. While relatively unknown on the national stage, Bowers has represented former Republican governors in South Carolina and served in the U.S. Justice Department under Republican former President George W. Bush, according to his website. Republican Senator Lindsey Graham of South Carolina, a Trump ally, recommended him, the source…

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Republican congresswoman Marjorie Taylor Greene has filed articles of impeachment against Joe Biden the day after he was inaugurated as president. The lawmaker, who has ties to the baseless QAnon conspiracy theory, took to Twitter to announce the move against the new president. “I’ve just filed articles of impeachment on president Joe Biden, we will see how this goes,” she said. Share on: WhatsApp

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