ADDIS ABABA -- Ethiopian Minister of Health Lia Tadesse has commended China's support for Ethiopia's fight against COVID-19, saying its vaccines will further contribute to the African country's vaccination campaign.

"The Chinese government has been undertaking various types of anti-COVID-19 support to the Ethiopian government ranging from sending medical supplies to sending a Chinese medical team," Tadesse told Xinhua recently at a ceremony to receive a batch of China's Sinopharm COVID-19 vaccines.

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ULAN BATOR -- Climate change-related desertification is the main factor behind the increase in the frequency of yellow dust storms in Mongolia in recent years, a senior official of the Environment and Tourism Ministry has said.

"Mongolia has a harsh continental climate, and is one of the most vulnerable countries to climate change. The frequency of climate-related natural disasters such as yellow dust storms have been on the rise in our country," Altangerel Enkhbat, head of the climate change department at the ministry, told Xinhua in a recent interview.

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UNITED NATIONS -- Africa and China have an "unprecedented" opportunity for collaboration through the African Continental Free Trade Area (AfCFTA) agreement, the AfCFTA chief has told Xinhua.

Calling China "a strong partner to Africa," Secretary-General of the AfCFTA Secretariat Wamkele Mene said that China has provided Africa with "significant development support and investment support" over the past decade.

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LOS ANGELES -- A shooting occurred Wednesday evening in the city of Orange, 55 km southeast of downtown Los Angeles, leaving at least four people dead and two others injured, a local NBC news affiliate reported.

The Orange Police Department was quoted as saying that they responded to reports of a shooting around 5:30 p.m. local time (0030 GMT) and then found "multiple victims at the scene including fatalities" where shots were being fired.

"The situation has been stabilized and there is no threat to the public. More details to follow," the twitter read.

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WASHINGTON -- U.S. President Joe Biden on Wednesday unveiled a 2-trillion-U.S.-dollar infrastructure investment plan, touting it as a "once-in-a-generation" investment in the country.

"What I am proposing is a one time capital investment of roughly 2 trillion dollars in America's future, spread largely over eight years," Biden said in a speech in Pittsburgh, Pennsylvania, where he kicked off his presidential campaign in 2019.

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GENEVA -- The World Trade Organization (WTO) said on Wednesday global trade was primed for a strong but uneven recovery, forecasting an increase of 8 percent in world merchandise trade this year.

Prospects for a quick recovery in world trade have improved as merchandise trade expanded more rapidly than expected in the second half of last year, the WTO said in a statement.

"World merchandise trade volume is expected to increase by 8 percent in 2021 after falling 5.3 percent in 2020, a smaller decline than previously estimated," the WTO said. Enditem

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