Foreign News
U.S. Commits More than $55bn to Health, Climate Adaption in Africa

White House national security adviser Jake Sullivan on Tuesday said the U.S, would commit more than $55 billion dollars to support health and climate adaption in Africa.
Sullivan announced this on the sidelines of the U.S.-Africa summit in Washington D.
C.According to him, the U.
S. is committed to investing in the African continent compares favorably to other countries.The money will go to “a wide range of sectors to tackle the core challenges of our time,” and is being distributed in close partnership with Congress, Sullivan said.
According to him, the bulk of the money will be on spent health and climate adaption, noting that Biden-Harris administration will be providing nearly $20 billion in health programmes in the Africa region.
“That includes $11.5 billion dollars to address HIV/AIDS; more than $2 billion dollars to combat malaria; more than $2 billion dollars in support of family planning and reproductive health as well as maternal and child health; and more than $2 billion dollars to address the health, humanitarian, and economic impacts of COVID-19.
“The administration also plans to ask Congress for $4 billion for healthcare workers in Africa, investing $1.33 billion annually from 2022 to 2024.”
Since January 2021, the administration has invested and plans to provide at least $1.1 billion to support African-led efforts to support conservation, climate adaptation, and energy transitions.
These funds include U.S. International Development Finance Corporation investments into Malawi’s Golomoti JCM Solar Corporation, and a Climate Action Infrastructure Facility.
Sullivan also said President Joe Biden would host a dinner on Wednesday night for about 50 African leaders and announced U.S. support for the African Union to join the Group of 20 (G20) major economies.
He will also push for a permanent member from the African continent on the United Nations Security Council.
Biden has made trips to visit U.S. allies in Asia, Europe and the Middle East since taking office but has yet to visit Africa since becoming president, and the event will be his most comprehensive look at the complexities of the continent.
Part of Biden’s diplomatic efforts so far have focused on promoting Western democracies as a counterweight to China, but U.S. officials have insisted the Africa summit was not all about discussing Beijing’s influence in Africa.
Biden will also appoint a special representative for implementing ideas discussed at the summit, and the U.S. State Department plans to appoint Ambassador Johnnie Carson for this role, Sullivan said.
Over 300 U.S. and African companies will meet with heads of different delegations to discuss investments in critical sectors, he said.
Sullivan also added the United States will not be “imposing conditionality” at the Africa summit to support the Ukraine war.
Separately, U.S. Trade Representative Katherine Tai said her agency is preparing to sign a memorandum of understanding with African Continental Free Trade Area countries to explore work on the next phases of the U.S.-African trade relationship. (NAN)
Foreign News
Philippine President Calls for Resignation of All Cabinet Secretaries

Philippine President Ferdinand Marcos Jr. has asked all of his Cabinet secretaries to submit their resignations on Thursday in what he called a “bold reset” of his administration following last week’s mid-term elections.
The elections saw more opposition candidates win crucial Senate seats, signaling shifting political tides.
Marcos, the 67-year-old son of the late Philippine dictator overthrown in 1986, won the presidency in a landslide in 2022, a stunning political comeback marked by a call for national unity.
However, his vice-presidential running mate, Sara Duterte, also widely popular, later distanced herself from Marcos in a falling-out that had sparked intense political discord.
Marcos had since emerged as one of the region’s most vocal critics of China’s aggression in the disputed South China Sea, bolstered by support from the United States and other allies. Domestically, he continued to face significant challenges, including high inflation, unfulfilled promises to lower rice prices, and growing concerns over kidnappings and other crimes.
“This is not business as usual,” Marcos said in a government statement.
“The people have spoken and they expect results, not politics, not excuses. We hear them and we will act.” (AP/NAN)
Foreign News
Pakistan Blames India for School Bus Attack That Killed 5

Three children and two adults were killed in a blast on Wednesday that targeted a school bus in south-western Pakistan, with Islamabad blaming India for the attack.
Terrorists targeted the bus in the city of Khuzdar, in the restive province of Balochistan, as it took students to a military-run school, Balochistan Chief Minister Sarfraz Bugti said.
Preliminary findings suggested that it was not a suicide attack, he said at a press conference.
The dead included three young girls who were students of grades 6, 7 and 10. More than 40 students were wounded, many of them said to be suffering severe wounds.
Bugti said that his government had intelligence reports that Indian National Security Advisor Ajit Doval was planning something in Balochistan but did not expect him to target innocent children.
“After facing a humiliating defeat on the battlefield, India has resorted to despicable and cowardly acts,” the media wing of Pakistan’s military said in a statement.
“Planners, abettors and executors of this cowardly Indian sponsored attack will be hunted down and brought to justice and heinous face of India will be exposed in front of the entire world,” the statement added.
Prime Minister Shehbaz Sharif will make an emergency visit to the province where he would be briefed on the attack by terrorists, allegedly backed by India, said a statement issued by his office.
The Baloch Liberation Army (BLA), a rebel group fighting for the independence of the region from Pakistan, earlier claimed it targeted the bus, but said it was transporting the soldiers.
Islamabad claims that the BLA is backed by India.
Violence orchestrated by sub-nationalist rebels has surged in Balochistan, a region that borders both Afghanistan and Iran, and is a hub of Chinese investment and connectivity projects.
Earlier this month, India and Pakistan carried out tit-for-tat drone, missile and airstrikes targeting each other’s military installations and airbases.
The nuclear-armed rivals agreed to the ceasefire on May 10 but continue to accuse each other for terror incidents. (dpa/NAN)
Foreign News
Thousands Protest in Pakistan After Drone Strike Kills 4 Children

Thousands of people in north-west Pakistan on Tuesday blocked a highway by placing the coffins of four children who were killed by a suspected drone strike.
The protests in the Mir Ali area of North Waziristan region began earlier on Monday after a family home was hit, local resident Mohamed Jamal Dawar said.
It is not clear who was behind the incident.
Local activist Zahid Wazir said the drone was operated by the Pakistani military.
He said the home was likely mistaken as a hideout used by Islamist militants.
Pakistani intelligence officials said the explosives were fired by a quadcopter that was being operated by the Taliban militants to target a nearby military post, but that it missed the target.
An independent verification was not possible as the region is inaccessible to outsiders.
Activists of a local rights group, the Pashtun Tahafuz Movement, which is against the militarisation of the region by both the military and the Pakistani Taliban, vowed to continue the protest.
“We will continue to demand justice for our kids,” Wazir said.
The Pakistani military and Islamist militants have been fighting each other in the region for more than two decades.
More than 80,000 Pakistanis, an overwhelming majority of civilians, have lost their lives in years of violence. (dpa/NAN)