US Senate Confirms Nikki Haley For US Ambassador To The UN With Huge Margin

January 25, 2017

Washington, Jan 25: The Senate confirmed President Donald Trump's pick for US ambassador to the United Nations by a decisive margin on Tuesday as Republican-led committees paved the way for three more of his Cabinet nominees to be approved just days into the new administration. South Carolina Governor Nikki Haley won strong support for the UN post despite her lack of foreign policy experience. Senators voted 96-4 on Ms Haley's nomination. Senator Bob Corker of Tennessee, the Republican chairman of the Foreign Relations Committee, said Ms Haley is a proven leader who will be a "fierce advocate" at the UN for American interests.

nikkihaley

But not everyone was sold. Senator Chris Coons, D-Del., said Ms Haley didn't convince him that she'll serve effectively. The US ambassador to the international body should be an expert on international affairs, Mr Coons said, "not someone who will be learning on the job."

A Senate vote is expected soon on Mr Trump's choice for secretary of state, former Exxon Mobil CEO Rex Tillerson. The Foreign Relations Committee narrowly approved his nomination Monday, 11-10. No Democrats on the panel voted for Mr Tillerson.

Mr Tillerson's bid got a key boost when Senator Joe Manchin, D-W.Va, announced his support Tuesday. Mr Manchin, who faces re-election in 2018 in a state that backed Mr Trump heavily in the presidential election, said Mr Tillerson's extensive business career "will bring a unique perspective to the State Department."

The vote on Ms Haley capped a day when the GOP-led panels endorsed Mr Trump's choices to lead the Transportation, Housing, and Commerce departments. Yet congressional Republicans criticized Democrats for not moving quickly enough on all of the president's selections.

Senator Dianne Feinstein of California, the top Democrat on the Senate Judiciary Committee, forced a one-week delay - until January 31 - of the committee's vote on Mr Trump's attorney general nominee, Senator Jeff Sessions.

Ms Feinstein said senators "owe it" to the more than 1 million women who marched in Washington and other locations on Saturday to be careful in considering Sessions' nomination and his willingness to protect equal rights. She also said the committee received 188 pages of new material that needs to be reviewed. Committee rules allow any member of the panel to delay a vote.

Deliberations over two of Mr Trump's picks turned testy as both nominees faced questions from Democrats over their personal finances. Rep. Tom Price, R-Ga., the president's choice for health secretary, defended his decision to invest in health care companies as he testified before the Senate Finance Committee.

Panel staffers found Mr Price undervalued around 400,000 shares of stock in Australian drug company Innate Immunotherapeutics that he purchased last August. He reported the shares were valued at $50,000 to $100,000, but those shares were worth up to $250,000. Mr Price blamed a "clerical error" and answered "no" when Sen. Ron Wyden, D-Ore., asked if he'd used poor judgment.

Senator Bernie Sanders, I-Vt., said Mr Trump's nominee for budget director, South Carolina Rep. Mick Mulvaney, should be disqualified because he failed to pay more than $15,000 in payroll taxes for a babysitter more than a decade ago. Mr Mulvaney said he discovered the unpaid taxes while preparing for the nominating process. He has since paid the taxes.

Mr Trump's choice for education secretary, Betsy DeVos, is also being scrutinised by Democrats about her qualifications, political donations and longtime work advocating for charter schools and school choice in her home state of Michigan.

Sen. Gary Peters, D-Mich., delivered a withering critique of DeVos on Tuesday, saying he has no confidence she will fully support traditional public schools and students.

The Senate Commerce Committee approved by voice votes Mr Trump's choices of conservative billionaire investor Wilbur Ross to run the Commerce Department and Elaine Chao to lead the Transportation Department.

Mr Ross has specialized in buying distressed companies that still have a potential for delivering profits. He has known Mr Trump for more than 20 years, was an early supporter of his presidential campaign and served as an economic policy adviser to Mr Trump's team.

Ms Chao, an experienced Washington hand, was labor secretary in President George W Bush's administration and deputy transportation secretary under President George HW Bush. She is also the wife of Senate Majority Leader Mitch McConnell of Kentucky.

Ms Chao is expected to play a major role in Mr Trump's effort to fulfill his campaign promise to generate $1 trillion in infrastructure investment.

Ben Carson, nominated to lead the Department of Housing and Urban Development, won unanimous approval from the Senate Banking, Housing and Urban Affairs Committee. The former Republican presidential candidate and celebrated neurosurgeon would lead a sprawling agency with 8,300 employees and a budget of about $47 billion.

Senator Michael Crapo of Idaho, the committee's Republican chairman, praised Carson and said the department "will benefit from having a secretary with a different perspective and a diverse background." Sen. Sherrod Brown of Ohio, the panel's top Democrat, said he had reservations but welcomed Carson's promises to address lead hazards in public housing.

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Agencies
January 12,2020

Washington, Jan 12: The US State Department has described the recent visit of envoys of 15 countries to Jammu and Kashmir as an "important step" but expressed concern over the continued detention of political leaders and restrictions on internet in the region.

Alice Wells, the Acting Assistant Secretary of State for South Asia, tweeted on Saturday that she was "closely following" the visit of the envoys to Kashmir, describing it an "important step".

Wells, who will be visiting India this week, added: "We remain concerned by detention of political leaders and residents and Internet restrictions. We look forward to a return to normalcy."

The group of diplomats made a two-day visit to the Union Territory on Thursday and Friday to see the conditions thereafter Jammu and Kashmir's special constitutional status was removed last August.

While some US politicians and media have criticised the action by Prime Minister Narendra Modi's government, the US has officially appeared to support the abrogation of the Constitution's Article 370 on the special status.

Last October, Wells told the House of Representatives Subcommittee on Asia and the Pacific that the State Department supported the objectives behind it, while not directly mentioning the abrogation.

"The Indian government has argued that its decision on Article 370 was driven by a desire to increase economic development, reduce corruption, and uniformly apply all national laws in Jammu and Kashmir, particularly in regard to women and minorities.

"While we support these objectives, the Department remains concerned about the situation in the Kashmir Valley, where daily life for the nearly eight million residents has been severely impacted since August 5," she had said.

Washington has banked on India's democratic institutions - the judiciary and public debates - being able to steer the country.

Bearing this out, the Supreme Court last week ordered the government to review its decision to shut down the internet in Kashmir, which it declared was a fundamental right, thus taking a step to address Wells's concern.

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News Network
June 6,2020

Islamabad, Jun 6: Pakistan has reported a record 97 COVID-19 deaths in a single day, taking the total number of fatalities to 1,935, while the number of confirmed cases in the country approached 94,000 after over 4,700 infections were detected, the health ministry said on Saturday.

Punjab registered 35,308 COVID-19 cases, Sindh 34,889, Khyber-Pakhtunkhwa 12,459, Balochistan 5,776 Islamabad 4,323, Gilgit-Baltistan 897 and Pakistan-occupied Kashmir 331 cases, the Ministry of National Health Services said.

The total number of COVID-19 cases reached 93,983 after 4,734 new infections were detected across the country, it said.

With a record 97 fatalities in one day, the death toll in the country has reached 1,935, while 32,581 people have recovered from the disease.

The ministry said that the total number of active COVID-19 cases in Pakistan are 59,467, out of which 1,265 patients are in critical condition.

More than 100 labs in the country have so far conducted 660,508 tests, including 22,185 in the last 24 hours.

There are 747 hospitals across the country with COVID-19 treatment facilities where 5,060 patients are being treated. Others have been asked to self-isolate at home.

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Agencies
February 10,2020

Hubei, Feb 10: The death toll in the deadly coronavirus outbreak in China and other parts of the world has reached 904, CNN reported citing Chinese authorities on Monday.

The number of infected people globally has now hit the 40,000 mark.

According to the country's health officials, the number of people, who died from coronavirus in the Hubei Province, has risen to 871.

"As of 24:00 on February 9, Hubei Province reported a total of 29,631 cases of new coronavirus pneumonia, including 16,902 cases in Wuhan. 22,160 patients are still being treated in hospitals. 73,127 people remain under medical observation," read the statement from the Chinese Regional Health Committee.

The novel coronavirus was first detected in China's Wuhan city in late December and has since spread to more than 25 countries.

On Sunday, the new coronavirus even surpassed the fatalities caused by the SARS epidemic in 2003.

The World Health Organisation (WHO) has declared a global health emergency in the wake of the outbreak.

Meanwhile, WHO's international expert mission led by Dr Bruce Aylward embarked for China.

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