2 - White House News in Chinese (weebly.com)
Blinken heads home after Middle East tour
May 27 - US Secretary of State Antony Blinken boards his plane upon departure from Tel Aviv Ben Gurion Airport. US Secretary of State Antony Blinken headed home from Jordan Thursday after a whistlestop Middle East tour on which he called for regional cooperation to consolidate a ceasefire between Israel and Gaza militants.
Blinken met both Israeli and Palestinian leaders during two days of talks, throwing Washington’s support behind the Egyptian-brokered truce that ended 11 days of heavy Israeli bombing of Gaza and rocket fire from the impoverished coastal enclave into Israel.
For all the latest headlines follow our Google News channel online or via the app.
“Securing the ceasefire was important, particularly because of the devastating toll violence took on families on both sides,” Blinken told reporters after Wednesday talks with Jordan’s King Abdullah II in Amman, his final stop.
“We see the ceasefire not as an end, but as a beginning of something to build on.”
Following talks with Palestinian president Mahmud Abbas in the Israeli-occupied West Bank, Blinken vowed to rebuild US relations with the Palestinians by reopening a consulate in Jerusalem, as well as give millions in aid for the war-battered Gaza Strip.
The announcements signaled a break with US policy under former president Donald Trump, who had shuttered the diplomatic mission for Palestinians in 2019 and slashed aid to the Palestinian Authority.
After meeting with Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu, Blinken reiterated support for Israel’s right to defend itself against rocket attacks by Gaza’s Hamas rulers, adding that they must not benefit from reconstruction aid.
Hamas political chief Yahya Sinwar vowed not to take “a single cent” of the aid, insisting that “we have never taken a cent in the past."
Blinken also met Wednesday with Egyptian President Abdel Fattah al-Sisi in Cairo, whom he praised for helping bring an end to the intense violence “relatively quickly."
Israeli air strikes and artillery fire on Gaza killed 254 Palestinians, including 66 children, and wounded more than 1,900 people in 11 days of conflict from May 10, the health ministry in Gaza says.
Rocket and other fire from Gaza claimed 12 lives in Israel, including one child and an Arab-Israeli teenager, an Israeli soldier, one Indian national and two Thai workers, medics say. Some 357 people in Israel were wounded.
The UN Human Rights Council will hold a special session focused on Israel Thursday to consider launching a broad, international investigation into abuses during the violence.
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May 27 - US Secretary of State Antony Blinken boards his plane upon departure from Tel Aviv Ben Gurion Airport. US Secretary of State Antony Blinken headed home from Jordan Thursday after a whistlestop Middle East tour on which he called for regional cooperation to consolidate a ceasefire between Israel and Gaza militants.
Blinken met both Israeli and Palestinian leaders during two days of talks, throwing Washington’s support behind the Egyptian-brokered truce that ended 11 days of heavy Israeli bombing of Gaza and rocket fire from the impoverished coastal enclave into Israel.
For all the latest headlines follow our Google News channel online or via the app.
“Securing the ceasefire was important, particularly because of the devastating toll violence took on families on both sides,” Blinken told reporters after Wednesday talks with Jordan’s King Abdullah II in Amman, his final stop.
“We see the ceasefire not as an end, but as a beginning of something to build on.”
Following talks with Palestinian president Mahmud Abbas in the Israeli-occupied West Bank, Blinken vowed to rebuild US relations with the Palestinians by reopening a consulate in Jerusalem, as well as give millions in aid for the war-battered Gaza Strip.
The announcements signaled a break with US policy under former president Donald Trump, who had shuttered the diplomatic mission for Palestinians in 2019 and slashed aid to the Palestinian Authority.
After meeting with Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu, Blinken reiterated support for Israel’s right to defend itself against rocket attacks by Gaza’s Hamas rulers, adding that they must not benefit from reconstruction aid.
Hamas political chief Yahya Sinwar vowed not to take “a single cent” of the aid, insisting that “we have never taken a cent in the past."
Blinken also met Wednesday with Egyptian President Abdel Fattah al-Sisi in Cairo, whom he praised for helping bring an end to the intense violence “relatively quickly."
Israeli air strikes and artillery fire on Gaza killed 254 Palestinians, including 66 children, and wounded more than 1,900 people in 11 days of conflict from May 10, the health ministry in Gaza says.
Rocket and other fire from Gaza claimed 12 lives in Israel, including one child and an Arab-Israeli teenager, an Israeli soldier, one Indian national and two Thai workers, medics say. Some 357 people in Israel were wounded.
The UN Human Rights Council will hold a special session focused on Israel Thursday to consider launching a broad, international investigation into abuses during the violence.
Related Articles:
US, Egypt working to ensure Palestinians, Israelis live in ‘safety’: Blinken
Jordan’s king welcomes US move to reopen consulate in Jerusalem
Blinken discusses Iran, US relations with Israel’s defense minister
Blinken Aims To Bolster Israel-Hamas Cease-Fire | NBC Nightly News
May 27, 2021
Hundreds of Palestinians in East Jerusalem are protesting to fight evictions, as U.S. Secretary of State Blinken says Israel should stop demolishing their homes. Blinken is traveling to enlist help to reinforce the fragile cease-fire between Israel and Hamas.
May 27, 2021
Hundreds of Palestinians in East Jerusalem are protesting to fight evictions, as U.S. Secretary of State Blinken says Israel should stop demolishing their homes. Blinken is traveling to enlist help to reinforce the fragile cease-fire between Israel and Hamas.
US Secretary of State Antony Blinken speaks during a news conference in Jerusalem, on May 25, 2021.
Blinken pledges aid to Gaza, affirms importance of two-state solution
Following a meeting with Palestinian President Mahmoud Abbas in Ramallah, US Secretary of State Anthony Blinken says Washington will reopen its consulate in Jerusalem and restore ties with Palestinians.
May 27 - Secretary of State Antony Blinken has announced plans to reopen a key diplomatic outreach office to the Palestinians and pledged nearly $40 million in new aid — reversing key policies of the Trump administration as he moved to bolster the embattled Palestinian government in the occupied West Bank.
On his first official visit to the region, Blinken met with Israeli and Palestinian leaders with the immediate aim of shoring up last week's cease-fire that ended 11 days of attacks between Israel and Hamas in Gaza.
He vowed on Tuesday to “rally international support” for the effort while also promising to ensure that none of the aid would reach Hamas.
Blinken repeatedly alluded to the underlying issues of the decades-old conflict and expressed empathy for both sides, but he showed little interest in launching another US push for lasting peace, perhaps because previous efforts by past administrations have all failed.
Instead, he expressed hope for creating a “better environment” that might one day yield peace talks.
Despite these modest aims, Blinken made clear that President Joe Biden will pursue a more even-handed approach to the region than former President Donald Trump, who sided overwhelmingly with Israel in virtually every area of disagreement with the Palestinians... more details
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US offers aid, Palestine consulate but avoids engaging in peace process
Blinken backs Israeli 'right' to attack Gaza, says aid to exclude Hamas
Blinken pledges aid to Gaza, affirms importance of two-state solution
Following a meeting with Palestinian President Mahmoud Abbas in Ramallah, US Secretary of State Anthony Blinken says Washington will reopen its consulate in Jerusalem and restore ties with Palestinians.
May 27 - Secretary of State Antony Blinken has announced plans to reopen a key diplomatic outreach office to the Palestinians and pledged nearly $40 million in new aid — reversing key policies of the Trump administration as he moved to bolster the embattled Palestinian government in the occupied West Bank.
On his first official visit to the region, Blinken met with Israeli and Palestinian leaders with the immediate aim of shoring up last week's cease-fire that ended 11 days of attacks between Israel and Hamas in Gaza.
He vowed on Tuesday to “rally international support” for the effort while also promising to ensure that none of the aid would reach Hamas.
Blinken repeatedly alluded to the underlying issues of the decades-old conflict and expressed empathy for both sides, but he showed little interest in launching another US push for lasting peace, perhaps because previous efforts by past administrations have all failed.
Instead, he expressed hope for creating a “better environment” that might one day yield peace talks.
Despite these modest aims, Blinken made clear that President Joe Biden will pursue a more even-handed approach to the region than former President Donald Trump, who sided overwhelmingly with Israel in virtually every area of disagreement with the Palestinians... more details
Related Articles:
Gaza rising from the ashes: The cycle of construction and destruction
Israel stalls entry of some aid trucks into battered Gaza
Sheikh Jarrah: A new microcosm of Israeli Apartheid
What's behind Palestinian frustration with Mahmoud Abbas?
US offers aid, Palestine consulate but avoids engaging in peace process
Blinken backs Israeli 'right' to attack Gaza, says aid to exclude Hamas
巴以刚停火布林肯首访中东 以色列要抛开美国单挑伊朗？20210526 |《今日关注》CCTV中文国际
May 27, 2021
May 27, 2021
There are several ongoing efforts by scientists, governments, international organisations, and others to determine the origin of SARS-CoV-2, the virus responsible for the COVID-19 pandemic. The scientific consensus is that the virus is most likely of zoonotic origin in a natural setting, from bats or another closely-related mammal.[1][2][3][4][5][6][7]
SARS-CoV-2 has close genetic similarity to multiple previously identified bat coronaviruses, suggesting it may have crossed over into humans from bats.[8][9][10][11][5] Research is ongoing as to whether SARS-CoV-2 came directly from bats or indirectly through any intermediate hosts.[12][13] Initial genome sequences of the virus showed little genetic diversity, although subsequently a number of stable variants emerged (some spreading more vigorously), indicating that the spillover event introducing SARS-CoV-2 to humans is likely to have occurred in late 2019.[14][15]
Health authorities and scientists internationally state that efforts to trace the specific geographic and taxonomic origins of SARS-CoV-2 could take years, and the results could be inconclusive.[16] A number of conspiracy theories have been promoted about the origins of the virus.[17][18][19] Echoing the views of scientists internationally, a World Health Organization (WHO) mission said that a laboratory leak origin for the virus was "extremely unlikely",[17] supporting what most experts already expected about the likely natural origins of the virus and its early transmission.[20] The WHO director-general Tedros Adhanom Ghebreyesus said he was ready to deploy additional missions for further investigation. from Wikipedia
SARS-CoV-2 has close genetic similarity to multiple previously identified bat coronaviruses, suggesting it may have crossed over into humans from bats.[8][9][10][11][5] Research is ongoing as to whether SARS-CoV-2 came directly from bats or indirectly through any intermediate hosts.[12][13] Initial genome sequences of the virus showed little genetic diversity, although subsequently a number of stable variants emerged (some spreading more vigorously), indicating that the spillover event introducing SARS-CoV-2 to humans is likely to have occurred in late 2019.[14][15]
Health authorities and scientists internationally state that efforts to trace the specific geographic and taxonomic origins of SARS-CoV-2 could take years, and the results could be inconclusive.[16] A number of conspiracy theories have been promoted about the origins of the virus.[17][18][19] Echoing the views of scientists internationally, a World Health Organization (WHO) mission said that a laboratory leak origin for the virus was "extremely unlikely",[17] supporting what most experts already expected about the likely natural origins of the virus and its early transmission.[20] The WHO director-general Tedros Adhanom Ghebreyesus said he was ready to deploy additional missions for further investigation. from Wikipedia
Statement by President Joe Biden on the Investigation into the Origins of COVID-19
MAY 26, 2021
Back in early 2020, when COVID-19 emerged, I called for the CDC to get access to China to learn about the virus so we could fight it more effectively. The failure to get our inspectors on the ground in those early months will always hamper any investigation into the origin of COVID-19.
Nevertheless, shortly after I became President, in March, I had my National Security Advisor task the Intelligence Community to prepare a report on their most up-to-date analysis of the origins of COVID-19, including whether it emerged from human contact with an infected animal or from a laboratory accident. I received that report earlier this month, and asked for additional follow-up. As of today, the U.S. Intelligence Community has “coalesced around two likely scenarios” but has not reached a definitive conclusion on this question. Here is their current position: “while two elements in the IC leans toward the former scenario and one leans more toward the latter – each with low or moderate confidence – the majority of elements do not believe there is sufficient information to assess one to be more likely than the other.”
I have now asked the Intelligence Community to redouble their efforts to collect and analyze information that could bring us closer to a definitive conclusion, and to report back to me in 90 days. As part of that report, I have asked for areas of further inquiry that may be required, including specific questions for China. I have also asked that this effort include work by our National Labs and other agencies of our government to augment the Intelligence Community’s efforts. And I have asked the Intelligence Community to keep Congress fully apprised of its work.
The United States will also keep working with like-minded partners around the world to press China to participate in a full, transparent, evidence-based international investigation and to provide access to all relevant data and evidence. source from
MAY 26, 2021
Back in early 2020, when COVID-19 emerged, I called for the CDC to get access to China to learn about the virus so we could fight it more effectively. The failure to get our inspectors on the ground in those early months will always hamper any investigation into the origin of COVID-19.
Nevertheless, shortly after I became President, in March, I had my National Security Advisor task the Intelligence Community to prepare a report on their most up-to-date analysis of the origins of COVID-19, including whether it emerged from human contact with an infected animal or from a laboratory accident. I received that report earlier this month, and asked for additional follow-up. As of today, the U.S. Intelligence Community has “coalesced around two likely scenarios” but has not reached a definitive conclusion on this question. Here is their current position: “while two elements in the IC leans toward the former scenario and one leans more toward the latter – each with low or moderate confidence – the majority of elements do not believe there is sufficient information to assess one to be more likely than the other.”
I have now asked the Intelligence Community to redouble their efforts to collect and analyze information that could bring us closer to a definitive conclusion, and to report back to me in 90 days. As part of that report, I have asked for areas of further inquiry that may be required, including specific questions for China. I have also asked that this effort include work by our National Labs and other agencies of our government to augment the Intelligence Community’s efforts. And I have asked the Intelligence Community to keep Congress fully apprised of its work.
The United States will also keep working with like-minded partners around the world to press China to participate in a full, transparent, evidence-based international investigation and to provide access to all relevant data and evidence. source from
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