MOSCOW: Russian President Vladimir Putin will hold separate meetings with the Israeli prime minister and a senior Iranian official before his summit with US President Donald Trump next week.
Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu said before boarding a flight to Moscow that he would have a “very important meeting” with Putin on Wednesday to “discuss Syria, Iran and Israel’s security needs.”
Ali Akbar Velayati, a senior adviser to Iran’s Supreme Leader Ayatollah Ali Khamenei, also traveled to Moscow on Wednesday for a meeting with Putin.
Both the United States and Israel are concerned about Iran’s growing military presence in Syria, where it has provided crucial aid to President Bashar Assad’s forces. Russia, another key ally of Assad, has said it is unrealistic to expect Iran to fully withdraw from the country.
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Putin to meet with Israeli PM, Iranian official in Moscow
Putin to meet with Israeli PM, Iranian official in Moscow
- Netanyahu said before boarding a flight to Moscow that he would have a “very important meeting” with Putin
- A senior Iranian adviser traveled to Moscow on Wednesday for a meeting with Putin
Global leaders commit $1.9 billion to eradicate polio amid funding cuts
Global leaders pledged $1.9 billion to advance polio eradication on Monday, accelerating efforts to protect 370 million children from polio each year amid significant funding cuts.
The budget of the Global Polio Eradication Initiative, a partnership that includes the World Health Organization and the Gates Foundation, is expected to take a 30 percent cut in 2026 and has a funding gap of $1.7 billion up to 2029.
The shortfall is largely due to a global pullback from foreign aid, led by the US, which is withdrawing from the WHO, although its future funding for polio is not yet final. Other wealthy donor governments like Germany and the UK have also made cuts.
The GPEI partners, in response, plan to focus more on surveillance and vaccination in areas with a high risk of polio transmission.
“The new support pledged in Abu Dhabi will be instrumental in helping the GPEI reach all children in the final endemic countries and stop variant polio outbreaks around the world.” said Tedros Ghebreyesus, Director-General of the World Health Organization.
The pledging event, hosted by Mohamed bin Zayed Foundation for Humanity at Abu Dhabi Finance Week, will reduce the remaining resource gap for GPEI’s 2022 to 2029 strategy to $440 million.
Pledges were made from a diverse group of donors and countries, including $1.2 billion from the Gates Foundation and $450 million from Rotary International.
The budget of the Global Polio Eradication Initiative, a partnership that includes the World Health Organization and the Gates Foundation, is expected to take a 30 percent cut in 2026 and has a funding gap of $1.7 billion up to 2029.
The shortfall is largely due to a global pullback from foreign aid, led by the US, which is withdrawing from the WHO, although its future funding for polio is not yet final. Other wealthy donor governments like Germany and the UK have also made cuts.
The GPEI partners, in response, plan to focus more on surveillance and vaccination in areas with a high risk of polio transmission.
“The new support pledged in Abu Dhabi will be instrumental in helping the GPEI reach all children in the final endemic countries and stop variant polio outbreaks around the world.” said Tedros Ghebreyesus, Director-General of the World Health Organization.
The pledging event, hosted by Mohamed bin Zayed Foundation for Humanity at Abu Dhabi Finance Week, will reduce the remaining resource gap for GPEI’s 2022 to 2029 strategy to $440 million.
Pledges were made from a diverse group of donors and countries, including $1.2 billion from the Gates Foundation and $450 million from Rotary International.
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