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Kerry 'regrets' US absence from climate fight
The Hague (AFP) - New US climate envoy John Kerry said he regretted his country's absence from the fight against climate change under Donald Trump, at a online summit of world leaders on Monday. President Joe Biden's pointman on the issue committed the United States to efforts to make communities more resilient to the effects of climate change, the focus of the meeting hosted by the Netherlands. German Chancellor Angela Merkel, French President Macron and British Prime Minister Boris Johnson also pledged their support for the cause in video statements to the Climate Adaptation Summit. "Three y...
AFP
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Kushner to attend Gulf 'breakthrough' with Qatar
Washington (AFP) - Gulf Arab nations have agreed to end a three-year blockade on Qatar, with Jared Kushner to attend the signing ceremony following his shuttle diplomacy, a US official said Monday. "We've had a breakthrough in the Gulf Cooperation Council rift," the official said on condition of anonymity, confirming an announcement from Kuwait. The six-nation Gulf Cooperation Council and Egypt "will be coming together to sign an agreement that will end the blockade and put an end to the Qatari lawsuits," the official said. Kushner, President Donald Trump's son-in-law and pointman on the Middl...
AFP
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Fact-checking medical misinformation 101
Top fact-checkers from Asia share personal stories, deep insights, and practical tips to tackle the avalanche of health fake news at the Misinformation in Medicine Summit 2020. By Jisha KrishnanWhat does it take to fact-check medical misinformation? The question has been at the heart of most deliberations worldwide during the COVID-19 pandemic. At the Misinformation in Medicine Summit 2020, we got together seven experts from across Asia to weigh in on the subject with lightning talks.As the moderator for the session, I was excited to hear the eclectic group of fact-checkers – each doing amazin...
Health Analytics
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Missing links: Trump goes golfing in middle of G20 summit
Riyadh (AFP) - US President Donald Trump went golfing after making a brief online appearance at the G20 summit Saturday, an event hosted by Saudi Arabia but staged virtually because of Covid-19.Trump, who has still not accepted defeat following President-elect Joe Biden's victory in November 3 presidential polls, spoke following the opening of the two-day virtual summit.A source with access to the online sessions, which were closed to the media, reported that Trump had "said that he had done an absolutely incredible job during his term, economically and with the pandemic".It was an exercise in...
AFP
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Trump to take part in virtual G20 summit: US official
Washington (AFP) - US President Donald Trump will participate in the virtual Group of 20 summit being hosted by Saudi Arabia on Saturday, a senior US official said.Trump's participation in the two-day meeting of the world's wealthiest nations comes on the heels of his attendance at Friday's Asia-Pacific Economic Cooperation (APEC) summit via video link.Neither summit was held in person because of the coronavirus pandemic.The summit comes with Trump still refusing to accept his defeat to Democrat Joe Biden in the November 3 presidential election while issuing unfounded accusations of widespread...
AFP
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Trump joins APEC summit as China counters US protectionism
Kuala Lumpur (AFP) - US President Donald Trump on Friday made a rare appearance at a virtual Asia-Pacific summit, touting his commitment to work towards "peace and prosperity" in the region, as China's Xi Jinping used the forum to counter American protectionism.The Asia-Pacific Economic Cooperation (APEC) gathering, held virtually this year due to the Covid-19 pandemic, brings together leaders from 21 Pacific Rim economies, accounting for about 60 percent of global GDP.China -- which came into the summit days after scoring a huge trade pact victory -- has become the main driving force behind t...
AFP
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Iran pleads at UN against US wars
United Nations (United States) (AFP) - Iran's foreign minister on Monday urged action at the United Nations against US unilateralism as he denounced Washington over wars waged since 2001.Iranian Foreign Minister Mohammad Javad Zarif addressed the General Assembly for a high-level session to mark the 75th anniversary of the world body, where the United States has been seeking to raise pressure on Iran. "The eight violent wars that the United States initiated or joined since 2001, under the rubric of war on terror, have resulted in the loss of hundreds of thousands of innocent lives, countless b...
AFP
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'Enough is enough': China attacks US at Security Council
United Nations (United States) (AFP) - China on Thursday lashed out at the United States at a high-level UN meeting over its criticism on the coronavirus, with its envoy declaring, "Enough is enough!"Two days after President Donald Trump used his annual address to the General Assembly to attack China's record, the US ambassador to the United Nations also took an outraged tone -- after which her Chinese counterpart showed palpable anger."I must say, enough is enough! You have created enough troubles for the world already," Chinese envoy Zhang Jun told a Security Council meeting on global govern...
AFP
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'Enough is enough': China attacks US at Security Council
United Nations (United States) (AFP) - China on Thursday lashed out at the United States at a high-level UN meeting over its criticism on the coronavirus, with its envoy declaring, "Enough is enough!"Two days after President Donald Trump used his annual address to the General Assembly to attack China, its ambassador to the United Nations, Zhang Jun, strongly criticized the US global role."I must say, enough is enough! You have created enough troubles for the world already," he told a Security Council meeting on global governance attended through videoconference by several heads of state."The U...
AFP
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China stakes claim as climate leader while lambasting US 'obstruction'
Beijing (AFP) - The US is guilty of "obstructing" the global fight against emissions, China said Wednesday, as Beijing seized the climate agenda by vowing to go carbon neutral by 2060 -- a target welcomed by environmentalists despite its patchy detail.The goals, which include a pledge to reach peak emissions in 2030, are the most concrete yet announced by China, which is the world's biggest polluter and accounts for a quarter of the planet's greenhouse gas blamed for rising temperatures.They also open a new divergence in relations with the US, which are already pinched by squabbles over trade,...
AFP
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