By Phil Stewart and Daphne Psaledakis WASHINGTON (Reuters) – The U.S. military’s cost estimate to build a pier off Gaza to deliver humanitarian aid has risen to $320 million, a U.S. defense official and a source familiar with the matter told Reuters. The figure, which has not been previously reported, illustrates the massive scale of…
By Jennifer Rigby LONDON (Reuters) – Success in the fight to wipe out polio is not guaranteed, according to tech billionaire turned philanthropist Bill Gates, whose foundation has poured billions into the effort. Gates warned against complacency in tackling the deadly viral disease as he welcomed a $500 million pledge from Saudi Arabia on Sunday…
By David Lawder WASHINGTON (Reuters) – The World Bank Group on Thursday unveiled a new goal to help countries deliver affordable healthcare to 1.5 billion people by 2030 by expanding services to remote areas, cutting fees and other financial barriers and focusing on lifetime care. The development lender said it would deploy financing, its own…
By Daphne Psaledakis WASHINGTON (Reuters) -The United States on Sunday will announce an additional $100 million in aid to respond to the conflict in Sudan, according to a statement seen by Reuters, as Washington seeks to spur international response ahead of Monday’s anniversary of the war. U.S. Agency for International Development Administrator Samantha Power in…
BEIJING (Reuters) – Floods, droughts, an earthquake and freezing conditions in China caused direct economic losses of 23.76 billion yuan ($3.28 billion) in the first quarter, the government said on Saturday. The emergency management ministry cited damage from several cold spells, a 7.1 magnitude earthquake in the northwestern region of Xinjiang, landslides in Yunnan province…
AMSTERDAM (Reuters) -The Netherlands will provide Ukraine with an additional 1 billion euros ($1.06 billion) in military support this year, and has earmarked 3 billion euros for 2025, caretaker Dutch Prime Minister Mark Rutte said on Friday. The extra support in 2024 takes the total sum for this year to 3 billion euros and will…
By Steve Holland WASHINGTON (Reuters) -U.S. President Joe Biden will speak by phone with Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu on Thursday, three days after Israel launched an attack in which seven World Central Kitchen aid workers were killed, a U.S. official said. The White House has described Biden as outraged and heartbroken by the attack…
By Sarah Morland (Reuters) – Diplomats at a regional Americas body on Wednesday urged Haitian politicians to move forward with a delayed plan to replace Prime Minister Ariel Henry with a transitional council, a move which could trigger the long-awaited deployment of an international security force. The transitional council – agreed with the mediation of…
By Harold Isaac PORT-AU-PRINCE (Reuters) -Haiti’s capital was calm on Wednesday, two days after the prime minister said he would step down, but the United States and the United Nations began to withdraw staff in a sign they fear peace might not hold. Prime Minister Ariel Henry said on Monday he would resign once a…
TEL AVIV (Reuters) – Israel will try to “flood” the Gaza Strip with humanitarian aid from a variety of entry points, the main military spokesman said on Wednesday as international pressure mounted to address the growing problem of hunger in the besieged enclave. After more than five months of war in Gaza, aid agencies have…
