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Swiss give over $300 mn to global Covid fight

AFP/Editor

Switzerland said Wednesday it would provide over $300 million to help boost access to jabs, tests and treatments in the fight against Covid-19, and to ensure developing countries get their fair share.

The Swiss government voiced its commitment “to ensuring equitable access to vaccines, tests and medicines worldwide in order to combat the Covid-19 pandemic sustainably.”

In a statement, Bern said it planned to donate some 300 million Swiss francs ($328 million, 272 million euros) to the Access to Covid Tools (ACT) Accelerator.

The multi-billion-dollar global programme is coordinated by a range of international bodies including the World Health Organization, the Gavi vaccine alliance, and the World Bank.

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It aims to help develop and ensure access to vaccines, medicines and tests against Covid-19 and strengthen healthcare systems.

“While great progress has been made in the development of tests, treatments and vaccines, broad and equitable worldwide access to these resources is lacking,” Bern said.

It voiced deep concern over the “emerging, highly contagious mutations of the virus”, which are complicating the pandemic fight.

“A quick, efficient end to the pandemic is very much in Switzerland’s interest,” it said, stressing that “the virus can only be successfully contained once its spread is curbed worldwide.”

The Swiss government said its main goal with supporting ACT-A was therefore to help developing countries.

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It said that more than a third of the 300 million francs earmarked for ACT-A would go to Gavi, which works to improve access to vaccines in poorer countries, while some funding would go towards boosting research and development and access to Covid-19 tests and medicines.

The remaining funds, it said, would be used to strengthen local healthcare systems in developing countries.

The Swiss parliament will discuss the required supplementary credit during its summer session, Bern said.

ACT-A is in dire need of additional funds. It has sought $22 billion this year, but by the end of last week, it was still $19 billion short.

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International

Netanyahu: “Today it’s Tel Aviv, tomorrow could be New York”

Since Friday, Israel has struck key nuclear and military facilities in Iran, killing top commanders and nuclear scientists. In response, Iran has launched barrages of missiles.

Seeking to explain the strikes to U.S. citizens, Israel’s key ally, Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu gave lengthy interviews to American media, describing the offensive as “a battle of civilization against barbarism.” In his conversation with ABC News, he defended the attacks to “disarm” Iran and likened Supreme Leader Ali Khamenei to “a modern-day Hitler.”

When asked about U.S. President Donald Trump’s reported veto of an Israeli plan to assassinate Khamenei over concerns it would escalate the conflict, Netanyahu replied: “It won’t escalate the conflict — it will end the conflict.”

He did not confirm whether Khamenei is an Israeli target. “Israel does what it must,” Netanyahu simply stated.

He accused Khamenei of harboring “insane, antisemitic fanaticism.”
“He’s like a modern Hitler. He won’t stop, but we’ll make sure he doesn’t have the means to act on his threats,” Netanyahu added.

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“Iran wants an ‘eternal war,’ and they’re pushing us to the brink of nuclear conflict,” he warned.

“What Israel is doing is actually preventing it — ending this aggression. We can only do that by confronting the forces of evil,” the Prime Minister continued.

“Today it’s Tel Aviv, tomorrow it could be New York,” Netanyahu told ABC’s Jon Karl.

To the Israeli leader, pushing back against Iran’s nuclear ambitions is “preventing the most horrific war imaginable and… bringing peace to the Middle East.”
“That will only be possible if Iran is defeated,” he concluded.

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International

Panama supports Morocco’s autonomy plan as sole solution for Western Sahara dispute

Panama, a non-permanent member of the United Nations Security Council, has declared Morocco’s autonomy initiative as “the most serious, credible, and realistic basis” and “the only solution for the future” to resolve the regional dispute over the Moroccan Sahara.

This position was expressed in a joint statement signed on Monday, June 16, in Rabat, following a meeting between Morocco’s Minister of Foreign Affairs, African Cooperation and Moroccan Expatriates, Nasser Bourita, and the Minister of Foreign Affairs of the Republic of Panama, Javier Martínez-Acha Vásquez, during his official visit to Morocco.

At a press conference following the meeting, the Panamanian foreign minister emphasized that the autonomy initiative proposed by Morocco in 2007 “should be the only solution for the future,” reiterating Panama’s clear support for the plan as a means to reach a lasting resolution to the dispute.

Panama’s support comes after the country severed all ties with the so-called “SADR” (Sahrawi Arab Democratic Republic) in November 2024.

In the same joint statement, Morocco and Panama reaffirmed their commitment to the principles of sovereignty and territorial integrity.

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Both nations also reiterated their shared desire to further strengthen bilateral relations, highlighting the excellent ties of friendship and solidarity between the two countries. They agreed on the need to continue consultations and assess their cooperation in order to enhance and deepen it.

The two nations affirmed that their cooperation is based on the principles of peaceful coexistence, democracy and good governance, solidarity, transparency, mutual respect, human rights, and international humanitarian law, as well as the rejection of unilateral sanctions.

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Internacionales

Tropical storm Erick expected to become hurricane as it nears southern Mexico

The National Hurricane Center (NHC) reported that Tropical Storm Erick is currently located 460 kilometers (about 285 miles) off the coast of Puerto Ángel, Oaxaca, with maximum sustained winds of 75 kilometers per hour (around 46 mph).

According to the latest forecast, Erick is expected to strengthen into a hurricane later tonight or early Wednesday. Heavy rains are forecast for the southern states of Guerrero, Oaxaca, and Chiapas.

Mexican President Claudia Sheinbaum urged residents in coastal areas to stay alert and follow updates from Civil Protection authorities.

“There is a chance that it could become a Category 2 hurricane and make landfall tomorrow, Wednesday. We ask everyone along the coasts of Chiapas, Oaxaca, and southern Guerrero to stay informed,” she posted on social media platform X.

Due to its geographic location, Mexico faces annual threats from tropical cyclones on both its Pacific and Atlantic coasts, typically between May and November.

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In October 2023, Hurricane Otis rapidly intensified to a Category 5 storm before striking the port city of Acapulco, leaving widespread devastation, over 50 dead, and around 30 missing.

More recently, in September 2024, the Pacific coast was hit twice by Hurricane John, which reached Category 3 and caused at least 15 fatalities, mostly in Acapulco.

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