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President Weah steps in to reverse Liberia’s U.N. vote against Gaza ceasefire

President Weah steps in to reverse Liberia’s U.N. vote against Gaza ceasefire

LIBERIAN President George Weah has intervened to reverse his country's vote against a U.N. resolution calling for a ceasefire in the Gaza Strip, the West African nation's information ministry said. Liberia was the only African state and one of only ten countries of the 193-member U.N. General Assembly to reject the United Nation's December 12 call for an immediate humanitarian ceasefire between Israel and Hamas militants that was backed by 153 countries. The ministry said the Liberian diplomats responsible for voting did so without the backing of Weah, who as president has the final say over Liberia's foreign policy. Weah "has…
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Niger junta orders top UN official to leave the country

Niger junta orders top UN official to leave the country

NIGER'S junta has demanded that the head of the United Nations diplomatic mission there leave the country within 72 hours, accusing the U.N. of excluding Niger from its General Assembly last month. The army officers who seized power in a coup in July did not have a representative at the meeting of world leaders in New York. A U.N. spokesperson in Niamey said she had no immediate comment. In a statement dated October 10, Niger's foreign ministry accused the U.N. of using "underhanded manoeuvres" instigated by France to prevent its full participation in the U.N. General Assembly and in subsequent…
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China, U.S. climate pledges give COP26 boost but ‘extra mile’ sought

China, U.S. climate pledges give COP26 boost but ‘extra mile’ sought

BEN LIH YI CHINA and the United States have this week boosted momentum ahead of November's COP26 key climate summit with new energy and funding pledges to tackle planetary warming, but analysts said they lacked detail and far more was needed to meet global goals. Leaders of the world's two largest economies announced separate measures at the U.N. General Assembly (UNGA) Tuesday, with China pledging to end overseas coal financing and the U.S. saying it would double climate funding for developing countries. The announcements were hailed as important ahead of the COP26 U.N. climate talks in Glasgow, but green groups…
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Developing nations’ plea to world’s wealthy at U.N.: stop vaccine hoarding

Developing nations’ plea to world’s wealthy at U.N.: stop vaccine hoarding

DAPHNE PSALEDAKIS LEADERS from developing nations warned the U.N. General Assembly this week that COVID-19 vaccine hoarding by wealthy countries left the door open for the emergence of new coronavirus variants even as infections already increase in many places. The Philippines warned of a "man-made drought" of vaccines in poor countries, Peru said international solidarity had failed and Ghana lamented vaccine nationalism. The United Nations chief described the inequitable distribution of COVID-19 vaccines as an "obscenity." "Rich countries hoard life-saving vaccines, while poor nations wait for trickles," Philippines President Rodrigo Duterte told the high-level gathering on Tuesday. "They now talk…
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Ethiopia tells U.N. ‘no intention’ of using dam to harm Egypt, Sudan

Ethiopia tells U.N. ‘no intention’ of using dam to harm Egypt, Sudan

ETHIOPIAN Prime Minister Abiy Ahmed has the United Nations that his country has "no intention" of harming Sudan and Egypt with a giant hydropower dam on the Blue Nile that has caused a bitter water dispute between the three countries. Ethiopia, Egypt and Sudan failed to strike a deal on the operation of the Grand Ethiopian Renaissance Dam before Ethiopia began filling the reservoir behind the dam in July. But the three states have returned to African Union-led mediation. "I want to make it abundantly clear that we have no intention to harm these countries," he told the 193-member U.N.…
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At U.N., Trump demands action against China over virus, Xi urges cooperation

At U.N., Trump demands action against China over virus, Xi urges cooperation

MICHELLE NICHOLS and STEVE HOLLAND  U.S. President Donald Trump has used the U.N. General Assembly to attack China's handling of the coronavirus pandemic, saying it must be held accountable for having "unleashed this plague onto the world." By contrast, China's President Xi Jinping struck a conciliatory tone in his pre-recorded virtual address to the General Assembly, calling for enhanced cooperation over the pandemic and stressing that China had no intention of fighting "either a Cold War or a hot war with any country." The leaders of the world's two largest economies laid out their competing visions as relations have plunged…
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Russia’s Putin wants stronger WHO, proposes conference on coronavirus vaccine

Russia’s Putin wants stronger WHO, proposes conference on coronavirus vaccine

RUSSIAN President Vladimir Putin has told the U.N. General Assembly that the World Health Organization should be strengthened to coordinate the global response to the coronavirus pandemic and proposed a high-level conference on vaccine cooperation. "We are proposing to hold an online high-level conference shortly for countries interested in cooperation in the development of anti-coronavirus vaccines," Putin said. "We are ready to share experience and continue cooperating with all states and international entities, including in supplying the Russian vaccine which has proved reliable, safe, and effective, to other countries," he said. Russia was the first country to grant regulatory approval…
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Rouhani says U.S. can impose neither negotiations nor war on Iran

Rouhani says U.S. can impose neither negotiations nor war on Iran

PARISA HAFEZI IRAN’S president has told the U.N. General Assembly that the United States could impose "neither negotiations nor war" on the Islamic Republic amid heightened tension between the longtime foes over Tehran's 2015 nuclear deal with major powers. "Iran is not a bargaining chip in U.S. elections and domestic policy ... Any U.S. administration after the upcoming (U.S.) elections will have no choice but to surrender to the resilience of the Iranian nation," Hassan Rouhani told the annual U.N. gathering in a video message. The U.S.-Iranian confrontation has intensified since 2018 when President Donald Trump withdrew the United States…
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