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Added on the 29/01/2024 22:36:26 - Copyright : AFPTV - First images
US Secretary of State Antony Blinken in calls Monday urged all sides in the Middle East to avoid "escalation," his spokesman says, as fears grew of an imminent Iranian counterattack on Israel. "It's important that all parties take steps over the coming days to refrain from escalation and calm tensions," State Department spokesman Matthew Miller tells reporters, describing Blinken's telephone calls in the region. SOUNDBITE
US Secretary of State Antony Blinken calls for China to step up prosecutions over fentanyl as he praises recent measures to curb precursor chemicals to the painkiller behind a deadly US addiction epidemic. SOUNDBITE
'UNRWA is irreplaceable and indispensable' says former French Minister of Foreign Affairs Catherine Colonna at the United Nations. Catherine Colonna lead an independent review group created following allegations made by Israel in January that 12 UNRWA staff may have participated in the October 7, 2023, Hamas attacks. SOUNDBITE
Vedant Patel, the US Department of State deputy spokesperson, says that Israel should let the head of the UN agency for Palestinian refugees UNRWA into Gaza, after he was denied entry. SOUNDBITE
The European Commission announces it is clearing a 50-million-euro payment to the Palestinian refugee agency UNRWA, which was under review following Israeli claims its staff participated in Hamas's October 7 attack. Commission spokesman Eric Mamer tells reporters the funds would be "implemented through international partners, such as, for example, the Red Cross and the Red Crescent." SOUNDBITE