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Biden to keep Jerusalem embassy but seek Palestinian state, nominee says
Washington (AFP) - President-elect Joe Biden will not reverse Donald Trump's landmark recognition of Jerusalem as Israel's capital but will seek a state for the Palestinians, Antony Blinken, his nominee for secretary of state, said Tuesday. Asked at his confirmation hearing by Senator Ted Cruz if the United States will continue its stance on Jerusalem and maintain its embassy, Blinken said without hesitation, "Yes and yes." Trump in 2017 bucked international consensus and recognized Jerusalem as Israel's capital, despite Palestinians' claims to the holy city as part of their campaign for a sep...
AFP
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Biden State pick backs Trump's 'tougher approach' on China
Washington (AFP) - Antony Blinken, President-elect Joe Biden's nominee to be secretary of state, said Tuesday he agreed with the tougher US stance on China under Donald Trump that the outgoing leader hailed in his farewell remarks. In confirmation hearings, Biden's nominees vowed to keep up pressure on China on trade and human rights, despite previous calls to see areas of cooperation. "I also believe that President Trump was right in taking a tougher approach to China," Blinken told the Senate Foreign Relations Committee. "I disagree very much with the way he went about it in a number of area...
AFP
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Biden's top diplomat vows US will lead but restore alliances
Washington (AFP) - Antony Blinken, President-elect Joe Biden's choice to be secretary of state, will vow Tuesday that the United States will "outcompete" a rising China while reviving frayed alliances, in a sea change from Donald Trump's go-it-alone "America First" approach. On the eve of Biden's inauguration, Blinken was set to say at his confirmation hearing that the United States will seek to remain the pre-eminent global power but renew cooperation on common challenges such as Covid-19 and climate change. "America at its best still has a greater ability than any country on earth to mobiliz...
AFP
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US declares China committing 'genocide' against Uighurs
Washington (AFP) - The United States declared Tuesday that China is carrying out genocide against the Uighurs and other mostly Muslim people, with Secretary of State Mike Pompeo dramatically raising pressure over Beijing's sweeping incarceration of minorities on his last full day in office. "I believe this genocide is ongoing, and that we are witnessing the systematic attempt to destroy Uighurs by the Chinese party-state," Pompeo said in a statement. "We will not remain silent. If the Chinese Communist Party is allowed to commit genocide and crimes against humanity against its own people, imag...
AFP
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Pompeo says China carrying out 'genocide' against Uighurs
Washington (AFP) - US Secretary of State Mike Pompeo said Tuesday that China is committing genocide against the Uighurs and other mostly Muslim people, dramatically raising pressure on his last full day in office. "I believe this genocide is ongoing, and that we are witnessing the systematic attempt to destroy Uighurs by the Chinese party-state," Pompeo said in a statement. "We will not remain silent. If the Chinese Communist Party is allowed to commit genocide and crimes against humanity against its own people, imagine what it will be emboldened to do to the free world, in the not-so-distant ...
AFP
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Seven UN members lose right to vote over unpaid dues
United Nations (United States) (AFP) - Seven countries including Iran have lost their right to vote in the UN General Assembly because of upaid dues, Secretary General Antonio Guterres said Monday. The UN charter calls for such a voting rights suspension for countries whose arrears equal or surpass the amount of the contributions due from them to UN coffers in the previous two years. The other six countries are Niger, Libya, the Central African Republic, Congo Brazzaville, South Sudan and Zimbabwe, Guterres said in a letter to the president of the General Assembly, Volkan Bozkir of Turkey. The...
AFP
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US threatens to halt intel sharing in Mexican drug row
Washington (AFP) - The US Justice Department on Saturday threatened to end law enforcement cooperation with Mexico after President Andres Manuel Lopez Obrador accused American authorities of fabricating drug trafficking evidence against a former Mexican defense chief. "The United States Department of Justice fully stands by its investigation" of Salvador Cienfuegos, a department spokesperson said, saying that investigation materials released by Mexico on the case were "not fabricated." Mexico's publicizing of investigation materials, the department added, violated an agreement between the two ...
AFP
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Iran deal architect among veterans named for Biden State Department
Washington (AFP) - The lead US negotiator of the Iran nuclear accord and a battle-tested hawk on Russia were named Saturday to top posts at President-elect Joe Biden's State Department, signaling a return to normal after Donald Trump's chaotic presidency. Wendy Sherman, who brokered the Iran accord under Barack Obama and negotiated a nuclear deal with North Korea under Bill Clinton, was named as deputy secretary of state. Victoria Nuland, a former career diplomat best known for her robust support for Ukrainian protesters in the ouster of a Russian-aligned president, was nominated under secreta...
AFP
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Outgoing Trump fetes Morocco king, rallies behind claim
Washington (AFP) - US President Donald Trump, in a last-minute push to solidify Morocco's normalization with Israel, bestowed a rare award Friday on its king as his administration rallied international support in a regional dispute. Trump, who sees Arab recognition of Israel as a key overseas achievement of his presidency, last month broke decades of precedent by recognizing Morocco's full sovereignty over contested Western Sahara, with Morocco in turn saying it would normalize relations with the Jewish state. The White House said it presented King Mohammed VI with the Legion of Merit, degree ...
AFP
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US clamps down on China tech, blacklists CNOOC
Washington (AFP) - The US government on Thursday ramped up sanctions and restrictions on Chinese firms over Beijing's actions in the disputed South China Sea, and the security threat posed by technology. In a wide ranging series of steps unveiled in the waning days of President Donald Trump's administration, Washington targeted state oil giant CNOOC and announced regulations on tech firms including embattled social media favorite TikTok. It reflects flurry of last-minute pressure on Beijing, following four years of aggressive diplomatic and trade policies against the rival economic power. The ...
AFP
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