North America

14 Feb 2023; MEMO: UN Secretary-General Antonio Guterres reiterated last night that, "All of Israel's settlements are illegal under international law and a substantial obstacle to peace."

Guterres made his comment as he expressed his deep concern about the Israeli government's announcement that it is "legalising" nine settlement outposts in the occupied West Bank. Such outposts are illegal under international and even Israeli law.

15 Feb 2023; MEMO: The twin earthquakes that devastated south-central Turkiye and northern Syria on 6 February is one of the greatest disasters of the 21st century, according to the UN.

Reuters reported United Nations relief coordinator Martin Griffiths saying that the reported death toll is likely to "double or more."

Nearly 26 million people have been directly impacted by the quake, and many of these will face the threat of hunger, disease and physical and psychological trauma, the report added.

PANAMA CITY, Feb 14 (NNN-PRENSA LATINA) — Panamanian authorities have so far reported 10,031 irregular migrants crossing through the Darien Gap jungle in February on their way to the United States, an official communiqué stated on Monday.    

According to the report from the National Migration Service (SNM, in Spanish), until Feb 11, 2,080 of that total were children.

The SNM showed that the passage of irregular migrants would be significant in 2023, keeping in mind that the figure reached 24,634 in January.

WASHINGTON, Feb 14 (NNN-MERCOPRESS) — The Government of the United States has taken temporary control of the premises where the Venezuelan Embassy in Washington DC used to function following the dissolution of the so-called interim government of Juan Guaidó, it was reported during the weekend citing State Department sources admitting that the premises had been seized on Feb 6.

President Joseph Biden’s Administration made this decision under the Foreign Missions Act and the Vienna Convention, in order to respect and protect the facilities of suspended diplomatic missions.

UNITED NATIONS, Feb 14 (NNN-XINHUA) – UN Secretary-General, Antonio Guterres, was deeply concerned by Israeli security cabinet’s announcement that, it decided to authorise nine settlement outposts in the occupied West Bank, his spokesman said, yesterday.

“If these measures are implemented, they would further undermine prospects for a viable two-state solution,” Stephane Dujarric, the spokesman, told a regular press briefing.

NEW YORK, Feb 14 (Reuters) - The dollar fell to a roughly two-week low on Tuesday after data showed consumer prices rose in January but posted their smallest annual rise since October 2021, affirming expectations the Federal Reserve may be nearing the end of its monetary policy tightening cycle.

The U.S. currency briefly rose after the release of the data, but fell across the board a few minutes later.

Feb 13 (Reuters) - Canadian Prime Minister Justin Trudeau said on Monday that the four aerial objects shot down in recent days, including one over Yukon territory on Saturday, are connected in some way, without elaborating.

"Obviously there is some sort of pattern in there - the fact we are seeing this in a significant degree over the past week is a cause for interest and close attention," Trudeau told reporters in a news conference in Whitehorse, Yukon's capital.

WASHINGTON, Feb 14 (Reuters) - Former UN Ambassador Nikki Haley said on Tuesday that she will seek the Republican presidential nomination in 2024, putting her at odds with one-time boss Donald Trump, the ex-president also seeking to win back the White House.

"I'm Nikki Haley and I'm running for president," Haley said in a video that her team sent out by email.

Haley, a former South Carolina governor who served as U.S. ambassador to the United Nations under Trump, will lay out her campaign plans in a speech in Charleston, South Carolina, on Wednesday.

Feb 13 (Reuters) - T-Mobile (TMUS.O) users across the United States reported network outages late on Monday, according to an outage tracking website, as the company said it was quickly addressing a disruption that had affected some cellular services.

The U.S. wireless carrier said it was working on resolving a problem that had caused intermittent issues with voice, messaging, and data services in several areas. It did not say how many users had been affected.

UNITED NATIONS (AP) — Syria’s president agreed to open two new crossing points from Turkey to the country’s rebel-held northwest to deliver desperately needed aid and equipment to help millions of earthquake victims, the United Nations announced Monday.