Trump to recognise Jerusalem as Israel's Capital: White House

Agencies
December 6, 2017

Washington, Dec 6: US President Donald Trump will recognise Jerusalem as the capital of Israel and will direct the State Department to initiate the process of moving the American embassy from Tel Aviv to Jerusalem, according to senior administration officials.

According to senior administration officials, Trump is expected to make the announcement along with his policy at about 1 pm (local time) on Wednesday (11.30 pm IST).

"The President would say that the US government recognises that Jerusalem is the capital of Israel. He views this as recognition of historic reality. Jerusalem has been capital of Jewish people since ancient times and modern reality that it has been the seat of government, important ministries, its legislature, the Supreme court," a senior administration official told reporters on the eve of Trump's much anticipated announcement on Jerusalem.

In his remarks, Trump will also direct the State Department to initiate the process of moving the US Embassy from Tel Aviv to Jerusalem.

Noting that finding appropriate land and construction of a new embassy would take at least a couple of years, officials said Trump would continue to give waiver as required by the Congress -- for not moving its diplomatic mission to Jerusalem.

In taking this action, another senior administration official said, Trump will fulfill a major campaign promise that has been made by a number of previous presidential candidates.

Trump's action enjoys broad bipartisan support in the Congress.

Such a move which is being opposed by the countries in the Middle East, is unlikely to have an impact on the two- state solution to the Israel-Palestine conflict, the official said.

"Trump remains committed to achieving a lasting peace agreement between the Palestinians and Israel, and is optimistic that peace can be achieved," the official said, adding that not recognising Jerusalem as capital of Israel has done nothing to achieve peace for more than two decades.

Trump, the official said, recognises that the specific boundaries of Israeli sovereignty are subject to final status negotiations.

Responding to questions, senior administration officials said the President believes that this would have no impact on the peace process.

He believes that the deal is within reach and can be achieved.

Earlier, Trump spoke over phone with a number of world leaders in the Middle East to share his decision on Jerusalem, the White House said.

Trump spoke separately with Israel Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu, Palestine President Mahmoud Abbas, King Abdullah II of Jordan, President Abdel Fattah Al Sisi of Egypt, and King Salman Bin Abdulaziz Al Saud of Saudi Arabia.

"This announcement does not change US policy over these specific borders," the senior administration official said, while another official asserting that the President is not taking a decision that affects any of the boundaries and sovereignty.

Trump's anticipated announcement received mixed message from lawmakers.

Senator Ted Cruz described this as a "historical" announcement.

"I strongly encourage and would unequivocally support President Trump formally recognising Jerusalem as Israel's capital and beginning the important process of moving our embassy from Tel Aviv to Jerusalem," he said.

Meanwhile, Senator Bernie Sanders said he is extremely concerned by reports that Trump plans to recognise Jerusalem as the Israeli capital.

"There's a reason why all past US administrations have avoided making this move, and why leaders from all over the world, including a group of former Israeli ambassadors, have warned Trump against doing it. It would dramatically undermine the prospects for an Israeli-Palestinian peace agreement, and severely, perhaps irreparably, damage the US' ability to broker that peace," Sanders said.

"What the US should be doing now is bringing adversaries in the middle east together to seek common solutions, not exacerbating tensions in this highly volatile region," he said.
Shibley Telhami, Anwar Sadat professor for peace and development, University of Maryland told PBS newspaper that it is a historic development.

"It's huge historically, because not only has the US not recognised Jerusalem as the capital of Israel, but really historically the international community has seen Jerusalem as very different. In fact, even West Jerusalem wasn't recognised by the US, in part because there was some international status and vision for Jerusalem historically," Telhami said.

Meanwhile, the State Department warned US embassies around the world to prepare for possible protests and violence and banned travel by government employees and their families to Jerusalem's Old City and the West Bank. 

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News Network
April 24,2020

Toronto, Apr 25: Canadian Prime Minister Justin Trudeau on Thursday (local time) announced a new CAD 1.1 billion package supporting vaccine research and clinical trials as well as expanded testing capacity.

"We are putting in place an additional CAD 1.1 billion dollars for a national medical and research strategy to address COVID-19," Trudeau said during his daily novel coronavirus pandemic briefing on Thursday.

"This plan has three pillars -- research on vaccines and other treatments, support for clinical trials and expanding national testing and modelling," he added.

Trudeau pointed out that CAD 82 million of the total sum will be directed to the development of a vaccine and treatments against the virus, while CAD 471 million will go towards supporting clinical trials.

A further CAD 249 million is being allocated for expanding testing capacity and modelling, the Prime Minister added.

According to Trudeau, this funding will be allotted to a new "immunity task force" commissioned with conducting serology testing -- blood tests looking for the presence of antibodies indicative of exposure to the virus and subsequent immune response.

He said the taskforce, comprising the country's top medical experts, including Chief Public Health Officer Dr Theresa Tam, will test at least a million Canadians over the next two years.

The funding announced today comes in addition to the CAD 200 million committed for COVID-19-related research on March 11.

Trudeau has repeatedly stressed the daily constraints that much of the population is adhering to will be the new normal until a vaccine is developed.

As of Thursday, Canada has confirmed a total of 40,824 COVID-19 cases since the onset of the outbreak, out of which more than 2,000 have proven to be fatal, according to the latest figures from the country's public health agency.

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News Network
May 12,2020

London, May 12: British Prime Minister Boris Johnson has warned that a mass vaccine for the novel coronavirus may be over a year away and, in the worst-case scenario, may in fact never be found.

In his foreword to the government’s new 50-page guidance on a step by step easing of the lockdown measures in place to control the spread of the deadly virus, the UK prime minister lays out plans for businesses to gradually start reopening with “COVID-19 Secure” measures of social distancing and for the public to use “good solid British common sense” as the economy is unlocked.

“A mass vaccine or treatment may be more than a year away,” said Johnson, highlighting the work being done in the UK by scientists at Oxford University and Imperial College London towards this mission.

“Indeed, in a worst-case scenario, we may never find a vaccine. So our plan must countenance a situation where we are in this, together, for the long haul, even while doing all we can to avoid that outcome,” he said.

Admitting that a vaccine or drug-based treatment is the only “feasible long-term solution”, he said the UK has accelerated this with “promising” vaccine development programmes and a collaboration between Oxford University and pharma major AstraZeneca was a vital step that could help rapidly advance the manufacture of a Covid-19 vaccine when it is ready.

As part of global efforts, he flagged the GBP 388 million in aid funding for research into vaccines, tests and treatment, including GBP 250m to the Coalition for Epidemic Preparedness Innovations.

“But while we hope for a breakthrough, hope is not a plan,” he said, as he unveiled his plan for starting to lift lockdown restrictions from this week in phases.

Following a televised address to the nation on Sunday night and a statement in Parliament on Monday, the guidance comes into effect in public life across England from Wednesday when people will be allowed one-to-one contact with people other than those they live with, as long as they remain outside and two metres apart.

They are allowed to play sport with a friend or family member from outside their household or socialise with them in the open air for the first time in more than six weeks since the lockdown was imposed.

People are still advised to work from home where possible but start heading into work where necessary, in sectors such as construction and manufacturing, keeping the social distancing norms in place.

Under the step by step plan, by the start of next month non-essential shops will also reopen, with some hairdressers, pubs and cinemas to follow from July. However, as part of a Covid-19 Alert System, if infection rates are seen to be rising again, restrictions would be tightened “possibly at short notice”.

Fines for breaching the new rules will also be increased to GBP 100 and will double for each repeat offence, up to a maximum of GBP 3,200.

Johnson said: "I must ask the country to be patient with a continued disruption to our normal way of life, but to be relentless in pursuing our mission to build the systems we need. The worst possible outcome would be a return to the virus being out of control – with the cost to human life, and – through the inevitable re-imposition of severe restrictions – the cost to the economy. We must stay alert, control the virus, and in doing so, save lives.

“Then, as vaccines and treatment become available, we will move to another new phase, where we will learn to live with Covid-19 for the longer term without it dominating our lives.”

The devolved administrations of Scotland and Wales are putting their own measures in place and keeping the “stay at home” message in place, rather than switch to the new “stay alert” message.

The UK government’s latest messaging has come under attack from the Opposition and other sections of society over a feared lack of clarity for the general public.

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News Network
June 13,2020

Shanghai, Jun 13: Authorities in Beijing have temporarily shut a major wholesale agricultural market following a rise in locally transmitted novel coronavirus infections in China's capital city over the past two days.

The closure of the Xinfadi wholesale market at 3 a.m. local time on Saturday (1900 GMT on Friday), came after two men working at a meat research centre who had recently visited the market were reported on Friday as having been infected by the novel coronavirus. It was not immediately clear how the men had been infected.

Concern is growing of a second wave of the new virus, even in many countries that seemed to have curbed its spread. It was first reported at a seafood market in Wuhan, the capital of central China's Hubei province, in December.

Beijing authorities had earlier halted beef and mutton trading at the Xinfadi market, alongside closures at other wholesale markets around the city.

Reflecting concerns over the risk of further spread of the virus, major supermarkets in Beijing removed salmon from their shelves overnight after the virus causing COVID-19 was discovered on chopping boards used for imported salmon at the market, the state-owned Beijing Youth Daily reported.

Beijing authorities said more than 10,000 people at the market will take nucleic acid tests to detect coronavirus infections. The city government also said it had dropped plans to reopen schools on Monday for students in grades one through three because of the new cases.

Health authorities visited the home of a Reuters reporter in Beijing's Dongcheng district on Saturday to ask whether she had visited the Xinfadi market, which is 15 km (9 miles) away. They said the visit was part of patrols Dongcheng was conducting.

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China reported 11 new COVID-19 cases and seven asymptomatic cases for Friday, the national health authority said on Saturday. And all six locally transmitted cases were confirmed in Beijing.

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