Washington DC

UN launches crisis trust fund to provide money directly to Afghans

21 Oct 2021; MEMO: The United Nations said Thursday it has launched a crisis trust fund to provide money directly to Afghans to prevent a humanitarian crisis and the breakdown of the economy following the Taliban's takeover this August, Anadolu News Agency reports.

The UN Development Program (UNDP) launched a new crisis response initiative as part of an overall response to prevent a humanitarian catastrophe and the breakdown of the country's economy.

Nearly half of all Afghan refugees in US are children: report

20 Oct 2021; MEMO: Almost half of the 53,000 Afghan refugees that have arrived in the US and are living at military facilities are children, according to a report published Thursday, and as reported by Anadolu News Agency.

The disclosure was made in a letter from Defence Secretary, Lloyd Austin, to lawmakers that was obtained by the Wall Street Journal newspaper. The letter was sent in response to queries from Senator James Inhofe, the ranking Republican on the Armed Services Committee.

IMF Chief Economist Gita Gopinath to leave job and return to Harvard University

Washington, Oct 20 (PTI) IMF's Chief Economist Gita Gopinath will leave her job in January next year and return to the prestigious Harvard University, according to the global financial institution.

The 49-year-old prominent Indian-American economist had joined the International Monetary Fund (IMF) as the Chief Economist in January 2019.

She was the John Zwaanstra Professor of International Studies and Economics at Harvard University when she joined the Washington-based global lender.

Israeli foreign minister misled Blinken on US consulate in Jerusalem: Report

17 Oct 2021; MEMO: Lack of coordination between Israeli Prime Minister Naftali Bennett and Foreign Minister Yair Lapid on the issue of reopening the US Consulate in East Jerusalem was the cause of tension between Tel Aviv and Washington, according to Israeli media on Sunday, Anadolu reports.

US Congress committee says Tunisia democracy in 'danger'

15 Oct 2021; MEMO: Democracy in Tunisia is in danger following a series of executive orders issued by President Kais Saied, the Congress Foreign Affairs Subcommittee on the Middle East, North Africa and Global Counterterrorism said yesterday.

This came during a virtual hearing titled "Tunisia: Examining the State of Democracy and Next Steps for U.S. Policy" held with the participation of a number of committee members and political experts.

US condemns cross-border attack on 'NATO ally Turkey'

13 Oct 2021; MEMO: The United States yesterday condemned cross-border attacks on Turkish soil and offered condolences for the killings of two Turkish police officers in northern Syria, Anadolu reported.

"We condemn the cross-border attack against our NATO ally Turkey," State Department spokesman Ned Price said at a news conference. "We express our condolences to the families of the Turkish national police officers who were killed in Syria."

USA: 'For many of us, it is in our DNA,' US' Pelosi said of support for Israel

13 Oct 2021; MEMO: US Speaker of the Congress Nancy Pelosi said that bipartisan support for Israel in the US is a source of pride, the Jerusalem Post reported.

"It is a privilege to talk about the importance of the US-Israel bond, one based on our mutual security, mutual values, and is again something that is a source of pride to all of us in the Congress who work on this," Pelosi said in a meeting with Israeli Foreign Minister Yair Lapid.

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