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Added on the 21/04/2022 23:02:42 - Copyright : AFP EN
US State Department spokesman Mark Toner cracked up laughing after calling State Department press conferences an "exercise in transparency and democracy", while speaking to the press in Washington DC on Friday.
UN spokesperson Stephane Dujarric says that UN Secretary General Antonio Guterres is "shocked by the reported death" of Russia's opposition figure Alexei Navalny. "The Secretary-General expresses his condolences to Mr. Navalny's family and calls for a full, credible, and transparent investigation into the circumstances of Mr. Navalny's reported death in custody," Stephane Dujarric tells a press conference. SOUNDBITE
The United States says it has seen some improvement by Israel in narrowing targets in its Gaza offensive as it renews a call on its ally to spare civilians. "We've seen a much more targeted request for evacuations" than in the earlier campaign in the north, US State Department spokesman Matthew Miller tells reporters. "So that is an improvement on what's happened before." SOUNDBITE
The United States warns that any Gaza ceasefire by Israel would benefit Hamas, as the European Union considers a call for a humanitarian pause. A ceasefire would "give Hamas the ability to rest, to refit and to get ready to continue launching terrorist attacks against Israel," State Department spokesman Matthew Miller tells reporters. SOUNDBITE
Ukrainian representative Anton Korynevych brands Russia a "terrorist state", blaming the blowing up a major dam at Nova Kakhovka on Moscow. Ukraine is facing off against Russia in a case before the International Court of Justice relating to Moscow's occupation of eastern Ukraine and the Crimea. SOUNDBITE
British Foreign Secretary Liz Truss calls on the entire G7 to ban Russia oil imports, saying the world's leading economies should "go further and faster" in punishing Moscow and President Vladimir Putin for invading Ukraine. "We must double down on our sanctions," the top British diplomat says at the US State Department alongside Secretary of State Antony Blinken. SOUNDBITE